Songmaster

1995 hardcover edition cover

Songmaster is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card originally published in 1980. The story of the Songmaster occurs within a future human empire, and follows Ansset, a young boy whose perfect singing voice has the power of amplifying people's emotions, making him both a potential healer and destroyer. He is trained in the art of singing so beautifully that his songs can express ideas and emotions more truthfully than words. Because of his talent, he is sent to the Emperor Mikal himself to sing.

Plot introduction

The empire of Songmaster is a place of treachery, resembling that of ancient Rome and the Galactic Empire of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series.

Major themes

The book is morally ambivalent, and there are no moral laws laid down in this book. Fraud, kidnapping, assassination, murder, homosexuality, pedophilia, devotion, political machinations, even true love all are themes that get an examination here, and each of them is shown in more than one light. As with many Card works, the story is more about the interplay of people, and their moral issues, than it is about technology, although the Galactic Empire clearly has advanced technology.

Literary significance & criticism

One reviewer characterized this as "Quite possibly Card's best published work, ever.". The publisher characterised the story as "...a haunting story of power and love--the tale of the man who would destroy everything he loves to preserve humanity's peace, and the boy who might just sing the world away".

Awards and nominations

As with some other Card novels (Ender's Game, for example), this book started out as a shorter story, which was a Nebula finalist in 1978.