Last February I bought a book from an author I've wanted to read for a few years. We were at the LTUE writing symposium and all the authors were hawking their goods. I didn't have enough cash to buy one of his bigger novels, so he suggested I pick up The Sound of Broken Absolutes, and I'm glad I did. It's a great little story.
Peter packs a lot into his novella. It shares the same world as many of his stories so I feel confident I'll enjoy those as well. Peter has an extensive background in music. We were even on a panel at one of the Salt Lake Comic Cons discussing music and writing. It's evident from the first page of this story his musical background greatly affects his writing. The story is basically a tale of two men, a student and a teacher. And it opens with the destruction of a precious instrument.
As with most quality stories, something like a musical instrument represents more than the obvious. We begin a journey where a man turns his back on his past and prepares for war. Yes, there is a war in this story and the most devastating weapon is the human voice. The student must use his talents to inflict death on the enemy, which he does.
Using the power of a voice to kill as a plot device has been done before, most notably in Frank Herbert's Dune. But Orullian kicks it up a notch by using his vast knowledge of music to make us believe a song can literally inflict death.
I love when authors include personal information in their works. Peter gives us a little background as to how this story came to be. It helped me understand a writer I've admired for some time a little bit better.
This is a fast read, only a hundred or so pages, but like I said earlier, there's a lot in this story. You can order the book: HERE, and it's only a buck on Kindle. If you're not familiar with his work and you'd like to enter a world full of creative possibilities, give this one a shot. I did and I want to read more.
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