Band of Gypsys (novel)
Encyclopedia
Band of Gypsys, first published in 2005, is the fourth of a series of five books written by Gwyneth Jones
and set in a near-future version of the United Kingdom
.
a secret military test of the Neurobomb went live, and the altered-brain neuronauts died in the act of wiping out the planet’s reserves of fossil fuel. Like the bombs exploded over Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, the "A team event" seemed both horrific and benign. The latest US/Islamic conflict was over at a stroke, the terminal sickness of post-peak-oil mercifully cut short. No way back to "business as usual": now there must be a new world, a better world. Band of Gypsys opens, some months later, with a complete change of pace. Having failed to make terms with a corrupt and dangerous Westminster government, the Triumvirate are in Paris, conducting a mordant John and Yoko style, "bed-in" in protest against conditions in English labour camps. Ax gets some bad news. US President Fred Eiffrich, the man who "Banned the Bomb", is doomed: brought down by a cunningly manufactured scandal.
The hour is getting late. The rescue of Ax's family, held as hostages for his good behaviour, shows Ax and friends doing what they do best: extracting bloodless victory from a nasty situation. There's a festival at Reading
, there's a clandestine mind/matter tech space programme in the basement of the Heads' Battersea HQ. But nothing is as it was. The ideals of the Rock and Roll Reich are alien to a new, post-Crisis generation.The leaders of fashion are neo-feudalist dandy Jack Vries MP (secret chief of the secret police), and Toby Starborn, sinister young virtual artist. Ax 'n Sage 'n Fiorinda are outdated icons, corpses in the mouths of the bourgeoisie. When Ax and Sage are engulfed in the Lavoisier Massacre Scandal a moment's shocking loss of control precipitates disaster. The Triumvirate find themselves — like many English Royals before them — incarcerated. Once more they are forced to provide rockstar window-dressing for a reactionary and degenerate Green regime, but this time Ax Preston has no miraculous solutions. Locked away in the shadowy, haunted fortress of Wallingham House, the prisoners hear distant echoes of a new blitzkrieg. The Chinese, emerging from their own struggle with the Crisis years, are taking over in Central Asia. They are almost at the gates of Europe.
Unlike previous episodes, Band Of Gypsys can't easily be read as a stand alone. In Midnight Lamp
the past, seen from a fresh angle, illuminated character and motivation. Now the past is all there is. A freezing garret in Montmartre
, where the three enacted the miserable fate of England's former hedonistic consumers, turns out to have been the last glimpse of open sky, a viable future. Fiorinda's hopes of pregnancy fade, as she plods through the motions of her national sweetheart role. Ax and Sage see the life ahead of them as a dreadful imprisonment, long before Ax self-destructs. Finally we are facing the real, monstrous bulk of the evils Ax tried to combat, and it's too late: it was always too late. England was never going to be saved. It's relentless, claustrophobic stuff. Fans might have preferred the saga to end on the high note of Midnight Lamp
. Yet this bleak downturn is as rich as ever in outrageous invention, black humour and acute social commentary — and true, on many levels, to what has gone before. Camelot moments do not endure, Ax told us at the start that he was bound to be defeated in the end. When a civilised country dies the first shocks may be exhilerating, even liberating, but then the grim symptoms appear in earnest, and there's no more dancing in the streets.
In 1969, Hendrix felt he’d reached a dead end, and embarked on a major career change. It did him no good. His new band, (Band Of Gypsys
: the title of the novel honours Hendrix’s misspelling), didn’t last, and in a few months he was dead. The Rock and Roll Reich version ends differently, in passages of elegaic beauty and steely hope. An idealised England that never was cannot return, horror broods over the birth of a new world, but the Triumvirate are still standing, and la lutte continue.
.
Gwyneth Jones (novelist)
Gwyneth Jones is an English science fiction and fantasy writer and critic, and a young adult/children's writer under the name Ann Halam.-Biography and writing career:...
and set in a near-future version of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Plot summary
In the last pages of Midnight LampMidnight Lamp
Midnight Lamp, first published in 2003, is the third of a series of five books written by Gwyneth Jones and set in a near-future version of the United Kingdom. It was nominated for both the 2003 BSFA, and the 2004 Arthur C...
a secret military test of the Neurobomb went live, and the altered-brain neuronauts died in the act of wiping out the planet’s reserves of fossil fuel. Like the bombs exploded over Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and Nagasaki, the "A team event" seemed both horrific and benign. The latest US/Islamic conflict was over at a stroke, the terminal sickness of post-peak-oil mercifully cut short. No way back to "business as usual": now there must be a new world, a better world. Band of Gypsys opens, some months later, with a complete change of pace. Having failed to make terms with a corrupt and dangerous Westminster government, the Triumvirate are in Paris, conducting a mordant John and Yoko style, "bed-in" in protest against conditions in English labour camps. Ax gets some bad news. US President Fred Eiffrich, the man who "Banned the Bomb", is doomed: brought down by a cunningly manufactured scandal.
The hour is getting late. The rescue of Ax's family, held as hostages for his good behaviour, shows Ax and friends doing what they do best: extracting bloodless victory from a nasty situation. There's a festival at Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, there's a clandestine mind/matter tech space programme in the basement of the Heads' Battersea HQ. But nothing is as it was. The ideals of the Rock and Roll Reich are alien to a new, post-Crisis generation.The leaders of fashion are neo-feudalist dandy Jack Vries MP (secret chief of the secret police), and Toby Starborn, sinister young virtual artist. Ax 'n Sage 'n Fiorinda are outdated icons, corpses in the mouths of the bourgeoisie. When Ax and Sage are engulfed in the Lavoisier Massacre Scandal a moment's shocking loss of control precipitates disaster. The Triumvirate find themselves — like many English Royals before them — incarcerated. Once more they are forced to provide rockstar window-dressing for a reactionary and degenerate Green regime, but this time Ax Preston has no miraculous solutions. Locked away in the shadowy, haunted fortress of Wallingham House, the prisoners hear distant echoes of a new blitzkrieg. The Chinese, emerging from their own struggle with the Crisis years, are taking over in Central Asia. They are almost at the gates of Europe.
Unlike previous episodes, Band Of Gypsys can't easily be read as a stand alone. In Midnight Lamp
Midnight Lamp
Midnight Lamp, first published in 2003, is the third of a series of five books written by Gwyneth Jones and set in a near-future version of the United Kingdom. It was nominated for both the 2003 BSFA, and the 2004 Arthur C...
the past, seen from a fresh angle, illuminated character and motivation. Now the past is all there is. A freezing garret in Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
, where the three enacted the miserable fate of England's former hedonistic consumers, turns out to have been the last glimpse of open sky, a viable future. Fiorinda's hopes of pregnancy fade, as she plods through the motions of her national sweetheart role. Ax and Sage see the life ahead of them as a dreadful imprisonment, long before Ax self-destructs. Finally we are facing the real, monstrous bulk of the evils Ax tried to combat, and it's too late: it was always too late. England was never going to be saved. It's relentless, claustrophobic stuff. Fans might have preferred the saga to end on the high note of Midnight Lamp
Midnight Lamp
Midnight Lamp, first published in 2003, is the third of a series of five books written by Gwyneth Jones and set in a near-future version of the United Kingdom. It was nominated for both the 2003 BSFA, and the 2004 Arthur C...
. Yet this bleak downturn is as rich as ever in outrageous invention, black humour and acute social commentary — and true, on many levels, to what has gone before. Camelot moments do not endure, Ax told us at the start that he was bound to be defeated in the end. When a civilised country dies the first shocks may be exhilerating, even liberating, but then the grim symptoms appear in earnest, and there's no more dancing in the streets.
In 1969, Hendrix felt he’d reached a dead end, and embarked on a major career change. It did him no good. His new band, (Band Of Gypsys
Band of Gypsys
Band of Gypsys was a blues rock band led by Jimi Hendrix and backed by Billy Cox and Buddy Miles. Hendrix formed the band after the dissolution of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Band of Gypsys is also the band's eponymous live album recorded on two separate nights, 31 December 1969 and 1 January...
: the title of the novel honours Hendrix’s misspelling), didn’t last, and in a few months he was dead. The Rock and Roll Reich version ends differently, in passages of elegaic beauty and steely hope. An idealised England that never was cannot return, horror broods over the birth of a new world, but the Triumvirate are still standing, and la lutte continue.
Inspiration
The titles of all the novels in the Bold as Love Sequence are taken from songs by or works related to Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
.