10. November 2012, 23:09:46

#10

GiggyTheEvilQuote

I recognised some of them.

Crystal singer is about by the book of the same name, where the main character starts by being told she has a natural flaw in her voice ("music's broken me") meaning she can't go into show business. Instead she meets a crystal miner and becomes one herself - the crystals resonate to the human voice so you have to sing as you cut them or them become useless (or something on those lines, I read it long ago).
I believe Helva's Song is inspired by the book The Ship That Sang, a novel about how children have their brains built into ships to control them. Each ship is a semi-independant entity, and the novel follows Helva throughout various situations.
Hymn to Breakign Strain, well, you've said yourself.

Syble's song sounds familiar, but I can't place that one.

OK, the writing:

The frozen dreamer

Out between the stars, a metal seed drifts through the void. The steel shell is scored with impacts and dents - the many glass eyes cracked and shattered, wounds open to the icy grasp of space. Engines that once flared with might are silent, dead; bled dry of fuel, the huge arrays roar no more.  The seed had a name, once. The caress of interstellar dust has brushed the name from the sides of the hulk, but the stars remember. They recall back along the empty aeons, to when the seed buzzed with life as it leapt from the home soil. The mother tree is dust, now, and the seeds it released to the solar winds blown far from the warm earth.

The iron halls echo to the tinny whisper of memories and dreams, along the abandoned walkways and failed machinery. But deep within the seed, lights still blink a heartbeat amid dead compartments. Ancient systems still watch over a cargo most precious. A spark of life, sealed in crystal and steel. Dark hair sparkles with ice: delicate lashes are beaded with diamonds of frost. The cargo sleeps on in a life like death, waiting for an awakening that will never arrive. Deep within cold dreams, the sleeper lives eternal.

Out between the stars, a dreamer drifts through the void. Time and man have forgotten, but the stars watch over the endless journey, awaiting the return of the frozen dreamer.

It's too short, but I'm not sure how to extend it further. Thoughts?

11. November 2012, 00:59:12

#11

KolyaQuote

It's nice, it has a poetic language without being corny, I like that. In order to extend it, I guess you could go back to the mission this ship once had and describe its crew. It would be nice if there were at least 2 female members, so all we know is that one of them will be the dreamer in the far future, but we don't know who. We might witness the events that led to the lonely dreamer drifting through space.
Back in the present a ship might find the hulk, which would now be interesting because we know the dreamer inside. There might even be a fight over the remains and a rushed wakening. Oh well, just some quick ideas and nothing too original I fear.

10. March 2013, 00:19:15

#12

KolyaQuote

Julia Ecklar's last album "Divine Intervention" appeared 25 years ago. If you like her filk you might be interested to learn that she just released a new album named "Horsetamer". You can pre-listen the complete album and place a discounted pre-order it here.

As with her other albums except "Space Heroes & Other Fools" this deals with fantastic topics. And it is a quality production, with symphony musicians, a production crew and all that. I personally prefer the more intimate raw low-fi (and sci-fi themed) music of her early years. Still "Horsetamer" has great songs ("Gentle Arms of Eden") and your mileage may vary. I'll buy it, if only because I was never able to pay her back for "Space Heroes" which still means a lot to me.

27. May 2013, 02:26:09

#13

AjQuote

I have loved the haunting sound of Julia's music and guitar since the first time I heard Dreamer, Petiron's Song, and ... I could go on with the list.  Love the music, love the voice, love the acoustic guitar. 

26. September 2013, 00:45:05

#14

ra_dioheadQuote

may God bless you, kind sir. many thanks.