Elephant Song is a novel in which the O'Hara's Greater Shows interstellar circus are stranded on an alien world.[1]
Stranded on a planet far from the spacelanes by Arnheim's sabotage of the City of Baraboo, the survivors of O'Hara's Greatest shows must struggle to survive on the unsurveyed world of Momus with no pioneering equipment and the show scattered across the planet. The Baraboo's shuttles (she was an adaptation of a regimental assault carrier) that had launched once orbit was achieved because the ship was desperately short of air had had to set down where and when they could; for instance, the shuttle assigned to the midway acts set down on an island continent halfway around the world from the rest of the show.
The focus of the novel is on the bullhands, the elephant handlers. They are facing a cruel reality. Although they had managed to get the menagerie shuttle with the animals that had survived following the sabotage down, one ironclad circus rule is only female elephants troupe with a show due to the danger of a male elephant going into musth and becoming uncontrollable. Without a male elephant to serve as a stud, sooner or later all of the "rubber mules" are going to die, and with them the bullhands' way of life. It focuses the reader on the last order given to the show's route book man, the Pendiian "Warts" Tho, by Governor John J. O'Hara as he lay dying: "Never let these people forget who they are, Warts. Never let them forget that they are circus."
As the years pass, the performers and support staff adapt to life on Momus, highlighted by their annual four day performance of all the acts in the show. And they watch with sadness as the number of elephants dwindles, until at last only one is left. Along the way, they learn some of the children have esper powers ranging from telepathy to telekinesis. Some of the descendents of the show become farmers and ranchers, but Warts is successful in obeying the Governor's final order. The people of Momus never forget that they are circus.
Receptionedit
Michael J. Lowrey reviewed Elephant Song in Ares Magazine Special Edition #2 and commented that "Whether or not you've ever looked wistfully at the lives of circus performers, you will understand how a new and beloved world is built on the pride expressed in their three-fourths cynical, one-fourth heartfelt motto: 'Life with a circus is just one long uninterrupted dee-light!'"[1]
Reviewsedit
Review by Michael T. Pattow (1982) in Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review, #6, July-August 1982[2]
Review by C. J. Henderson [as by Chris Henderson] (1982) in Dragon Magazine, August 1982[3]
elephant, song, longyear, novel, 1991, novel, wilbur, smith, elephant, song, smith, novel, elephant, song, novel, barry, longyear, published, 1982, first, edition, publ, berkley, books, cover, artist, john, rush, contents, plot, summary, reception, reviews, re. For the 1991 novel by Wilbur Smith see Elephant Song Smith novel Elephant Song is a novel by Barry Longyear published in 1982 First edition publ Berkley Books Cover artist John Rush Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Reception 3 Reviews 4 ReferencesPlot summary editElephant Song is a novel in which the O Hara s Greater Shows interstellar circus are stranded on an alien world 1 Stranded on a planet far from the spacelanes by Arnheim s sabotage of the City of Baraboo the survivors of O Hara s Greatest shows must struggle to survive on the unsurveyed world of Momus with no pioneering equipment and the show scattered across the planet The Baraboo s shuttles she was an adaptation of a regimental assault carrier that had launched once orbit was achieved because the ship was desperately short of air had had to set down where and when they could for instance the shuttle assigned to the midway acts set down on an island continent halfway around the world from the rest of the show The focus of the novel is on the bullhands the elephant handlers They are facing a cruel reality Although they had managed to get the menagerie shuttle with the animals that had survived following the sabotage down one ironclad circus rule is only female elephants troupe with a show due to the danger of a male elephant going into musth and becoming uncontrollable Without a male elephant to serve as a stud sooner or later all of the rubber mules are going to die and with them the bullhands way of life It focuses the reader on the last order given to the show s route book man the Pendiian Warts Tho by Governor John J O Hara as he lay dying Never let these people forget who they are Warts Never let them forget that they are circus As the years pass the performers and support staff adapt to life on Momus highlighted by their annual four day performance of all the acts in the show And they watch with sadness as the number of elephants dwindles until at last only one is left Along the way they learn some of the children have esper powers ranging from telepathy to telekinesis Some of the descendents of the show become farmers and ranchers but Warts is successful in obeying the Governor s final order The people of Momus never forget that they are circus Reception editMichael J Lowrey reviewed Elephant Song in Ares Magazine Special Edition 2 and commented that Whether or not you ve ever looked wistfully at the lives of circus performers you will understand how a new and beloved world is built on the pride expressed in their three fourths cynical one fourth heartfelt motto Life with a circus is just one long uninterrupted dee light 1 Reviews editReview by Michael T Pattow 1982 in Science Fiction amp Fantasy Book Review 6 July August 1982 2 Review by C J Henderson as by Chris Henderson 1982 in Dragon Magazine August 1982 3 Review by Thomas A Easton as by Tom Easton 1982 in Analog Science Fiction Science Fact November 1982 Review by Mary Gentle 1983 in Paperback Inferno Volume 7 Number 1 Review by Ken Lake 1986 in Paperback Inferno 61 Kliatt 4 References edit a b Lowrey Michael J 1983 Books Ares Magazine TSR Inc Special Edition 2 59 https www isfdb org cgi bin title cgi 3378 https archive org details DragonMagazine260 201801 DragonMagazine064 page n75 mode 2up https archive org details sim kliatt 1982 09 16 6 page n19 mode 2up Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Elephant Song Longyear novel amp oldid 1181079433, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
