The Song Of The Universe, And Other Musical Musings
So, music, eh? It really is brilliant, isn't it? I've long believed that art and especially music are just as responsible for the evolution of the human brain as science and technology. I like to think that's how Flash Gordon could beat Ming the Merciless; he had Queen on his side (and BRIANBLESSED, of course)...
I'm a sci-fi author, so you can take it as read that I'm obsessed with sci-fi. I mentioned in an earlier post that the reason I'm obsessed with sci-fi is that I listened to Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds, but in that post, I also mentioned that this album is the reason why I'm a musician. I'm a drummer, in fact, and my love of music can be attributed mostly to that album.
It was pretty much inevitable, then, that music was going to factor into my story universe, the Cynos Union series, in some fashion...
Even if that was just in the form of sneaky references to War Of The Worlds (yep, they're in there), I always knew there had to be something in there, some little genius bonus that could give any reader who gets the reference a knowing smile on their face.
Cue the vossarulls...
Believe it or not, the vossarulls, lanky 7 foot tall humanoids that they are, were originally conceived as a race of, well, space elves. Even their name was different; as I was sketching out the universe my books would inhabit, I originally had the name 'sjatarr' in mind for them, to make them sound slightly Nordic (fun little aside: the three main races I came up with first, the koetaani, vossarulls née sjatarr, and the sookas, were inspired by UFO conspiracy stories, following the pattern of Greys, Nordics and Reptilians).
There was an ever so slight problem with them being space elves, though: space elves are boring, and so, like a good song, they needed a hook.
As I realised the significance of that last bit, I realised the answer was staring me in the face...
In the Cynos Union series, there's a realm of existence beyond the material universe, known as the Metastate. Going into detail about that is a thingie for another day, but for now, it's enough to say that if the universe exists within a bubble, then the Metastate is that bubble. It's also where souls come from, even split souls, and a split soul will confer different abilities on an entity, depending on their species. So, the koetaani, for example, all have split souls, and it's this which gives them their telepathic ability.
With the vossarulls, having a split soul allows them to hear 'the song of the universe', and thus a new race was born, one for whom the entirety existence is sound. They exclusively use sonic weapons (and swords, based on old sword dances). Their leader is the Diva. As for their name, vossarull, well...
Ah, but, y'see, the thing is, right, that when you include their design aesthetic (that wonderfully evocative 'raygun gothic', all fins and classic 30s rocket ships), they become one massive shoutout to something very specific.
Hmm, raygun gothic, golden-age-of-sci-fi styling, with a thumping, epic soundtrack...
What was that video at the start of this post, again?
The ever-expanding and growing Cynos Union Series is available to buy now! Subscribe for more news from the world (and brain) of Mark W. Bonnett!
I'm a sci-fi author, so you can take it as read that I'm obsessed with sci-fi. I mentioned in an earlier post that the reason I'm obsessed with sci-fi is that I listened to Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War Of The Worlds, but in that post, I also mentioned that this album is the reason why I'm a musician. I'm a drummer, in fact, and my love of music can be attributed mostly to that album.
It was pretty much inevitable, then, that music was going to factor into my story universe, the Cynos Union series, in some fashion...
Even if that was just in the form of sneaky references to War Of The Worlds (yep, they're in there), I always knew there had to be something in there, some little genius bonus that could give any reader who gets the reference a knowing smile on their face.
Cue the vossarulls...
Believe it or not, the vossarulls, lanky 7 foot tall humanoids that they are, were originally conceived as a race of, well, space elves. Even their name was different; as I was sketching out the universe my books would inhabit, I originally had the name 'sjatarr' in mind for them, to make them sound slightly Nordic (fun little aside: the three main races I came up with first, the koetaani, vossarulls née sjatarr, and the sookas, were inspired by UFO conspiracy stories, following the pattern of Greys, Nordics and Reptilians).
There was an ever so slight problem with them being space elves, though: space elves are boring, and so, like a good song, they needed a hook.
As I realised the significance of that last bit, I realised the answer was staring me in the face...
In the Cynos Union series, there's a realm of existence beyond the material universe, known as the Metastate. Going into detail about that is a thingie for another day, but for now, it's enough to say that if the universe exists within a bubble, then the Metastate is that bubble. It's also where souls come from, even split souls, and a split soul will confer different abilities on an entity, depending on their species. So, the koetaani, for example, all have split souls, and it's this which gives them their telepathic ability.
With the vossarulls, having a split soul allows them to hear 'the song of the universe', and thus a new race was born, one for whom the entirety existence is sound. They exclusively use sonic weapons (and swords, based on old sword dances). Their leader is the Diva. As for their name, vossarull, well...
Ah, but, y'see, the thing is, right, that when you include their design aesthetic (that wonderfully evocative 'raygun gothic', all fins and classic 30s rocket ships), they become one massive shoutout to something very specific.
Hmm, raygun gothic, golden-age-of-sci-fi styling, with a thumping, epic soundtrack...
What was that video at the start of this post, again?
The ever-expanding and growing Cynos Union Series is available to buy now! Subscribe for more news from the world (and brain) of Mark W. Bonnett!
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