Song

I was hoping this would be an original, but it turned out to be a filk...TTTO "Lady Amber" by Meg Davis.

woken to a pastless life
no more am i sleeping
find the ones who put me here
soon there will be weeping
walking to my lady's house
answers am I wanting
bluff my way till i can go
memories a-hunting

take her car and off we go
brother mine is driving
see the landscape change and flow
whither am i riding
worlds around me i should know
scenes i should remember
why is it my heart grows cold
when he mentions Amber

through the woods of Arden wild
quiet now and silent
hear the hounds and hear the horn
swiftly we must fly it
down towards the ocean's edge
plunge into the water
down the endless stair we tread
to reflected Amber.

deep within the palace there
memory is waiting
walk the pattern's liquid fire
all my past unveiling
trade an insult, trade a blow
with my cruel brother
off to find an army then
i shall reign in Amber

)(

now at table with the king
darkness is before me
curse him as he takes the crown
curse the realm that bore me
failed the battle, lost the war
quenched the dying ember
Eric rules in house and hall
i am held in Amber.

)(

though i lie forgotten here
blinded and forsaken
i will find a way to live
reclaim what was taken
waking to a patch of light
know my sight's returning
draw a path to freedom now
leave my cell a-burning
send a bird of my desire
bid them all remember
i'll return with shadow's fire
claim the crown of Amber.

The Shockwave Rider

Just re-read it. It was time. Surprised all over again to recognise a clear primary source for our old friend The Pretender (do I do that every time, I wonder?). Also noticed interesting parallels between Brunner's Great Bay Quake and the real-life Katrina disaster...unfortunately probably not extending to the formation of a community like Precipice. Actually, it's frightening how true the book rings, not in its technical details necessarily but in its mood. Everyone notices Stand on Zanzibar and The Sheep Look Up, but this book is no less valid a warning for not being immediately obvious.

Friday will be the twelfth anniversary of his death. I plan to raise a glass of something.