This was indeed a classic case of "it's not you, it's me."

"Bold as Love" was penned in the early 2000s and is situated in a fragmented UK. In this setting, England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have become independent nations, and superstar musicians have transitioned into the realm of politics.

The protagonist, Fiorinda, endures a harrowing experience during her childhood and is determined to hunt down the culprit and exact revenge.

The story had a distinct punk vibe, which led me to anticipate loving it. However, to be frank, it was simply too bleak and overtly dystopian for my current taste. It felt a bit overwhelming and perhaps a bit too much in your face.

Maybe one day, when my mood or perspective changes, I'll give it another try and discover the hidden gems within. But for now, it just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Generally, I only add books as I read them. However, I thought I would include this one. The reason is that it is highly unlikely that anyone would discover it without being specifically directed to look for it.

In the mid-eighties, when I first discovered Gene Wolfe (with works like the Shadow of the Torturer series), I was completely amazed. But it was actually another 10 years before I met another person who liked his books. Then, all of a sudden, he became well known and respected.

I now have the same feeling about Gwyneth Jones as I did about Wolfe 25 years ago. She is an extremely brilliant but completely underappreciated author. After writing a number of works that were a bit too inscrutable, she has finally produced something accessible, although still challenging.

The very first part of this book is truly brilliant, yet also a bit difficult to read, in the sense that bad things happen to good people. The rest of the 5-book series continues in this vein. After all, we are dealing with a near-future dystopia caused by issues such as peak oil, overpopulation, and under-resource collapse.

On the other hand, the heroes are like rock stars! This is by no means a light read, but it is so imaginative, so compelling, and so well written that the mental effort is well worth it.

2.5 stars. This is a truly original novel that stands out from anything I've read so far. The world that Jones has crafted,描绘了一个未来英国陷入无政府状态的世界，is fascinating. However, I found it a bit difficult to engage with the prose and the characters. The plot also seemed a bit too disjointed for my taste, which is why I couldn't rate it higher.

Winner: Arthur C. Clarke Award (2002)

Nominee: British SF Assn Award (2002)

Nominee: Locus Award Best Fantasy Novel (2002)

This book truly blew me away. It wasn't at all what I had anticipated. Just by looking at the back of the book, I thought to myself, "Rock Stars take over England, it'll be a lighthearted romp." Oh, how wrong I was.

This is an often brutally savage book, yet it also contains many tender scenes. It is a powerful, character-driven novel with numerous plot twists and political turmoil.

There are three main protagonists. Although Fioridna gets the most point of view time, especially at the start. She is a singer at odds with the founder of her own band, but that's nothing compared to her other issues. Sage is the leader of a band of serious lunatics (they all wear hologram "masks" of skulls over their heads). Ax is a guitar hero who has long dreamed of leading England. As Great Britain disintegrates, they find themselves riding a wave of counterculture dissent into political power. But who is really in control, and can anything good come of this?

The near-future world-building is extremely cool. It's more cool than realistic, which makes for a great story, but perhaps not a likely future. The technology is very interesting, yet understated. This is a story about characters in an exciting and extraordinary setting.

The only science fiction readers I wouldn't recommend this to are those who struggle with addiction. There is a significant amount of drug use, and even though it's been decades, it still made me think, "ooh, that sounds fun." Except for the vomiting scenes.

This is the first book in a series, but it does hold up fairly well on its own. I thought it was a standalone book until very near the end, when Gwyneth Jones kept reminding me of the plot threads that hadn't been resolved yet.

I'm really looking forward to reading more.

This book, which was published in 2001, gives the impression of being a relic from the 60s and 70s. It takes the idea that rock and roll can change the world very seriously.

That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does seem rather odd. Bold as Love is based on the improbable concept of a group of counterculture rockers seizing control of the English government and attempting to navigate it through one crisis after another.

The broader point is that this is a sort of mock epic, where the Arthurian saga is retold through the lens of rock and rebellion, and it does this reasonably well (even though I'm not overly familiar with Arthuriana). In an era when the public image of the rock star has been supplanted by that of the rapper, and actual rock stars are often seen as boring middle-aged white men making music for other boring middle-aged white men, this too seems somewhat outdated. However, Jones manages to make this concept work through the power of her writing and characterization, particularly that of the core triumvirate. These three central characters are all well-developed and immediately likable, yet also really messed up. The scenes where the three of them bond far from the world of crises are actually the best in the novel.

Of course, the problem with trying to tell an epic with flawed heroes is that they still have to be heroes in some way, elevated above the masses. Jones seems to achieve this by showing contempt for just about everyone outside of the Holy Trinity, especially the rank and file of the countercultural movement they lead. This is my main issue with Bold as Love, which I suppose is mainly a political one: for all its subversive trappings, it's simply restating the Great Man theory of history all over again.

Of course, this could potentially change over the course of the series, but I didn't love this book enough to want to read another four installments. I am, however, looking forward to reading some of Jones' other work, as she clearly has some serious writing skills. Bold as Love is just about perfect for what it is, but I'm not entirely sure that I like what that is.

Bold as Love and its sequels were truly formative for me during my late teens. Castles Made of Sand remains one of my all-time favorite novels. The series has stayed with me physically and emotionally through countless moves and clearouts. In 2023, I decided to reread it as it seemed increasingly relevant. The situation described in the books, including the dissolution of the UK, loss of trust in institutions, and various social and environmental issues, is almost spookily similar to the current state of the world. The rise of eco-fascism, as described in White Skin, Black Fuel, also reminded me of this series. The characters of Fiorinda, Ax, and Sage are fascinating and appealing, and their story is both bleak and hopeful. The first time I read Bold as Love, it was after being blown away by Castles Made of Sand, but I now recommend reading them in the intended order. The recent SF Masterworks edition of Bold as Love hopefully will encourage more people to discover this wonderful series, and I can't wait for the next book to see what further adventures await Ax, Sage, and Fiorinda.

Bold as Love
Castles Made of Sand
White Skin, Black Fuel: On the Danger of Fossil Fascism

Go ahead and pile on the rape, incest, murder. But don't be all casual about it.

Is this, like, English "public school" humor? While trying to read this last night, I actually said out loud, "I hate this book."

Now that I have had a sleep, I know I will not try again. Other reviews here seem to say that it just keeps on the same way for 5 volumes.

Did Jones vote Leave? Did she vote UKIP? Hateful. Apparently she is a member of the Green Party and an Amnesty member but you wouldn't guess it from this misanthropic jumble.

Or was she just very very high when she typed this? That would explain the painful Britpop references. YUCK!

This book seems to be filled with disturbing and inappropriate content presented in a rather callous manner. It fails to engage the reader positively and instead leaves a bad taste in the mouth. The author's supposed affiliations with the Green Party and Amnesty International are hard to reconcile with the misanthropic nature of this work.

Perhaps the use of such extreme and offensive themes was an attempt to shock or make a statement, but it has clearly backfired. The repetitive nature of the content over multiple volumes also makes it seem rather tiresome.

Overall, this is not a book that I would recommend to anyone. It is a prime example of how not to write a engaging and meaningful piece of literature.

This is a bit of an odd one indeed. It's a strange mixture of mild sci-fi and mild fantasy. The story is written in an unusual style, with very little explicit world-building. Instead, it focuses more on the characters and the immediate events. There's also a strange and unusual amalgam of music and politics, which is quite unexpected.

There was just about enough in it to hold my interest for 400 pages. However, I was rather annoyed that I'm expected to go on and read book 2 and the rest of the series. By the end of this one, nothing coherent enough had happened. It felt a bit like a tease, leaving too many loose ends.

As a result, I won't be bothering with any more of this "sequence". I'm not sure if others will feel the same way, but for me, it just didn't quite deliver. Maybe if there had been more of a conclusion in this first book, I would have been more inclined to continue. But as it stands, I'm left feeling a bit disappointed.

Given its age, this work offers a perceptive view on how certain then-modern trends could have evolved. There are the so-called green Nazis and self-proclaimed ecologists, rock bands with their rock chicks, music festival-goers and hippies, travellers, Muslim immigrants, refugees from poorer regions of the world, and the emergence of mobile phones.

However, it is let down by the seemingly endless exposition of rock-musician lifestyles, the detailed descriptions of the clothing they don, the repetitive accounts of concerts, and the unexplained continuation of a more or less normal economy despite the mayhem that erupts all around them.

Perhaps a more in-depth exploration of the social and cultural implications of these trends, rather than just focusing on the surface-level aspects of the rock music scene, would have made this work more engaging and thought-provoking. Additionally, a better explanation of how the economy managed to function during times of chaos could have added another layer of complexity to the narrative.

Overall, while the initial premise is interesting, the execution falls short in several areas, leaving the reader with a sense of dissatisfaction and a desire for more comprehensive analysis.

If you have a penchant for immersing yourself in a fully furnished fictional world that seems to have no end, then you simply must seek out the elusive Bold as Love series by Gwyneth Jones. It's like embarking on a thrilling quest. For a taste of this captivating world, visit the series website, which is a multimedia work of art in its own right, at www.boldaslove.co.uk.

The five novels in the series draw their titles from Jimi Hendrix's song list and tell the story of a near-future "Dissolution" of England. In this tumultuous time, rock stars step up to the challenge of holding the nation together in the face of numerous crises, including environmental disasters, economic collapse, Internet quarantine, a bloody coup, and the menacing threat of a Neurobomb technology that can shatter the mind/matter barrier.

Three main musician characters take center stage: Ax, the president of the Rock 'n' Roll Reich; Fiorinda, the protector of the displaced masses; and Sage, who miraculously returns from the Zen Self neuroscience experiments. They enact an Arthurian saga of power politics and love, much like Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot in a modern-day threesome. However, it's important to note that these novels are not suitable for children.

Bold as Love, the winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, introduces the extensive cast of characters that Jones deftly weaves throughout the series. You can find this remarkable work in a library or purchase it used through online booksellers. If Bold as Love, Castles Made of Sand, and Midnight Lamp explore Arthurian themes, Band of Gypsies takes a more Shakespearean turn. Along with Rainbow Bridge, the final installment in the sequence, Band of Gypsies and Midnight Lamp are available in paperback in the United Kingdom.

Literate, highly allusive, and character-driven, these novels will revolutionize your understanding of what "science fiction" truly means. While serious literary fiction usually only dabbles in sci-fi in the form of dystopia, Bold as Love poses the question in a positive light: What would it take to build a utopia, and who would you choose to sit at that Round Table? Rock stars, perhaps…our new royalty.

From Christmas Critics.

I'm not entirely sure if it's due to Covid, my age, or perhaps a combination of both, but I've come to a significant realization.

I'm no longer willing to persevere and finish books that simply aren't good.

And I'm starting with this particular one.

In the past, I might have felt obligated to power through a lackluster book, thinking that I should give it a chance until the very end.

However, now I understand that life is too short to waste on something that doesn't engage or inspire me.

There are countless other wonderful books out there waiting to be discovered, and I don't want to spend precious time on those that don't meet my standards.

This newfound determination gives me a sense of liberation and the freedom to explore only the books that truly capture my interest.

So, here I am, ready to move on from this not-so-good book and embark on a new literary adventure.

DNFing at 15%

In the abstract, the concept of this book seemed really cool. The idea of rockstars as revolutionaries getting involved in politics, a "pop-icon team that's supposed to make the government look cool," had a certain allure. However, in reality, it left me completely cold. I didn't have any affection for the characters, the story, the writing, or pretty much anything about it. Also, as I had suspected for a while and now it's been confirmed, I truly despise reading about the indie music/hippie rockstar scene and music festivals. And there are an excessive number of messed-up, dirty hippie musicians in the first 51 pages.

(You might wonder just how hippie it is. Well, the Whole Earth Catalog is name-dropped. And I actually know what that is since my parents have been, well, pretty hippie for most of my life. Oh god. I've just realized that I am also a 21st-century hippie...).

To be completely honest, there is a really, really disturbing fact that you learn about Fiorinda, the main character (and also, as the back cover describes her, a "talented brat" and a "rock and roll princess by birth"), that made my stomach turn. This isn't a spoiler as it's in the first chapter and is the core of the story. She was impregnated at age 12 by her father, in an event orchestrated by her aunt, in order to get back at her mother. (At the time, the father and daughter didn't know each other in the slightest.) Fiorinda has the baby, the baby dies, and then (a few years later) a now-teenage Fiorinda is searching for her father at this revolutionary rockstar political festival. I mean... she's looking for him? I just didn't want to read about this, and I'm quite sure it's going to come up again.

So, nope. I wanted to like Bold as Love because I wanted to like Gwyneth Jones. This is two strikes (since Proof of Concept was also disappointing), and hopefully Life isn't three.