Pavane

By: Keith Roberts

Narrated by: Steven Crossley

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), cast the narrator and produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.

A few words from Neil on Pavane: "When Old Earth Books told me they are reissuing Pavane, which was originally published in 1968, I told them: 'I read one story from Pavane when I was nine, and it scarred me…. I read the whole book as a teenager and learned where that story had come from, and the shape of the whole story and I felt the scars heal….' Pavane was Keith Roberts' masterpiece: profound and still remarkable."

Considered Keith Roberts' masterwork, this novel consists of linked short stories (six measures and a coda) of a 20th century in which the Roman Catholic Church controls the Western world, and has done so since Queen Elizabeth of England was assassinated in 1588. The Protestant Reformation never happened, and the world is kept in a Dark Age of steam-power transportation, with no allowance for electrical power, by a tyrannical Rome. Pavane shows the harshness of life in this society and details the generational struggle for independence by the citizens of Dorset, England. It's through this series of moving tales that Roberts interweaves a discussion of Destiny and History that take the book out of the ordinary. And the author's great love of his native country makes this the most English of novels, and one of the finest in fantastic literature.

To hear more from Neil Gaiman on Pavane, click here, or listen to the introduction at the beginning of the book itself.

Learn more about Neil Gaiman Presents and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).

©1968 Keith Roberts (P)2011 Wildside Press LLC

Critic reviews

"Roberts's vivid depiction of the day-to-day lives of the common folk gives these stories a tangible reality. Steven Crossley's gentle voice, embedded with a regional accent, enhances the characters and places them solidly in their milieu." ( AudioFile)

Total waste of time

I didn't enjoy this...I couldn't figure out what the point was. Where was the narrative? They seem like connected stories

Enjoyable episodic alternate history

Would you listen to Pavane again? Why?

Not likely. There are just too many books to read.

What did you like best about this story?

I felt Roberts created a reasonable, though not necessarily likely alternate future where the Roman Catholic Church was not challenged by the Tudors or Germany. Technology and society grew in different directions which played out through the book.

Thank You Neil

This is a book I would have never listened to or read if Neil Gaiman hadn't recommended it. I am a big science fiction and fantasy fan but still had never heard of Pavane. And reading the descriptions here in Audible and on Amazon didn't really pull me in. But I tried it based on Neil's recommendation.

For the first 10 minutes I thought I had made a mistake. A few days later I came back, tried again from the beginning, and was hooked. I'm a big fan of the alternate history genre and this is not your usual alternate history novel. But in this case that is a very good thing.

My first real science fiction reading just happened to be 70's English "New Wave" like Michael Moorcock, Brian Aldiss and J.G. Ballard. Pavane reminds me a lot of the best New Wave writing I remember from my youth.

Not for everybody but fantastic for those who can appreciate it.

Dense & rich - not a light listen

I knew in the first 10 minutes of this recording that I would not be able to do anything requiring multi-tasking while listening. The story is so deep and so full of the facts of this alternate universe, that it needs full attention.

It is written as though the author didn't just consider the surface change of this non-reformation world, but the skeleton and tissue of it's history - each of the separate stories centers on how the characters would live and react in a world dominated and restricted by the one and only church. The reader does a superb job of conveying the feel of this world and its characters. Overall it is a dark world, but ends on a message of hope and the alternative world feels solid and real.

History rediscovered

I've read and listened to a lot of alternative and "real" history, and this is one of the best. Yes, it is hard to listen to sometimes, partly because it makes you THINK about history. About the changes that were needed to say, invent the airplane.

But also, it is so rich and detailed. The workers make you think about most jobs, the routines you go through every day, to make your job work. I listened to this just after "23 things they don't tell you" about Capitalism, which affected my feelings about this work too. About how the framework of your society, affects your personal decisions.

Pavane is not a work I would have selected, based on the description. I AM hooked now though, on Niel Gaiman's sense of taste. The only think I like better are the books he himself narrate.

Very entertaining and creative

The author does a wonderful job telling this big story through several excellent, connected short stories. Really excellent.

A beautiful collection

Pavane, by Keith Roberts, is a beautiful collection of six connected stories written in an alternate England where Queen Elizabeth was assassinated and Philip II won the throne of England. The Protestant Reformation never occurred and Europe, as well as the New World, fell under the control of the Pope. Now it???s 1968 and because the Roman Catholic Church has held back technological advances from the people, the English still live in a feudal society complete with candlelight, castles, moats, monasteries, and much superstition, though the Church has allowed some steam-powered vehicles and the use of semaphore telegraph lines for communication. The Church has electricity, people know they have been repressed, and there are rumors of revolution.

The title Pavane comes from the Spanish-style dance which has six steps and a coda. Likewise, after the short prologue, the book contains six stories and a coda. The stories span a couple of generations and occur in chronological order:

???The Lady Margaret??? ??? Here we meet Jesse Strange who carries freight on his steam engine, which is named ???The Lady Margaret??? after the barmaid he???s secretly in love with. On one of his business trips, during which he stops to see Margaret, he meets an old friend from college. On his way home, he???s attacked by bandits. Jesse, a competent and hard-working man, is the patriarch of the characters we???ll meet in the last two stories.

???The Signaller??? ??? Rafe, who is fascinated by the semaphore telegraph stations that span the country, has his wildest dreams fulfilled when he earns a spot as an apprentice in the Guild of Signallers. In this story we learn that the faeries are still active in England ??? the Roman Catholic Church has not been able to eradicate them.

???The White Boat??? ??? Fourteen-year-old Becky wants to be free and she thinks that the mysterious white boat she occasionally notices on the sea may be her ticket to a better life??? until the Church notices it, too.

???Brother John??? ??? The monk Brother John is commissioned by the Inquisition to use his artistic talents to document tortures and confessions.

???Lords and Ladies??? ???Jesse Strange, now a rich man, lies dying. As the priest intones last rites, Jesse???s niece Margaret remembers her recent humiliating experience with a young local lord and wonders if the faeries would treat her better than the priest???s god does.

???Corfe Gate??? ??? Lady Eleanor, daughter of Margaret in the previous story, defies the Church. Lord Henry, who represents the Pope in England, is sent to bring her down. With the help of Sir John, her seneschal, Eleanor prepares to stand firm. During her struggle, she suggests that history is like the pavane.

In the Coda, Sir John???s son visits Corfe Gate decades later and reads a letter from his father who explains what happened after Eleanor???s revolt. Sir John???s justification of the Church???s actions seems odd and tacked-on. Or perhaps Keith Roberts was going for an A Canticle for Leibowitz-type feel. Either way, it leaves the reader scratching his head and wishing Roberts had just stopped after the last story.

Overall, Pavane is a beautifully written book with well-developed characters, skillful use of language, and vivid imagery ??? dark brooding castles, hulking gothic churches, powerful steam engines, lines of clacking semaphores, horrid tortures at the hands of the Inquisition. These images will stay with me.

I listened to the audio version of Pavane which was produced by Neil Gaiman Presents. Gaiman introduces the book and explains why he loves it and chose to add it to his audio line. The narration by Steven Crossley was excellent; I recommend this version.
Originally Posted at FanLit.

Religious Themed Science Fiction

This is a series of connected stories set in an alternate universe where the Protestant Reformation never happened. It is a biting critique of the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), but has the ring of truth. The excesses and abuse of power , let alone ecclesiastical authority, are well known and this is an extrapolation of actual history. The surprise here is that the characters come alive in your ear. Their actions, motivated by unrequited love or honor, are authentic. This would benefit from multiple listenings. .This novel will help make the case that Science Fiction can deal with grand themes as well as any book I can think of.

Steven Crossley give a fine performance. His portrayal of the many female characters is well played and his tone for the males is always clear; every character getting his own voice, instantly recognizable. His skill is very much evident here.

Stunning.

I want more.
Each novella builds on the previous stories, and each is better than the last.
Just spectacular.

Dense & rich - not a light listen

I knew in the first 10 minutes of this recording that I would not be able to do anything requiring multi-tasking while listening. The story is so deep and so full of the facts of this alternate universe, that it needs full attention.

It is written as though the author didn't just consider the surface change of this non-reformation world, but the skeleton and tissue of it's history - each of the separate stories centers on how the characters would live and react in a world dominated and restricted by the one and only church. The reader does a superb job of conveying the feel of this world and its characters. Overall it is a dark world, but ends on a message of hope and the alternative world feels solid and real.