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   Jonas Wisser (jwisser@wandering.shop)'s status on Tuesday, 21-Nov-2023 02:46:45 JST Jonas Wisser

   Dear Internet, please help me find a poorly-remembered book!

   It was scifi, likely published in the 80s but conceivably late 70s or early 90s. I do not remember much of the plot but I remember that there was a playing card motif and I think also a harlequin motif.

   The most distinctive feature I can remember is that there was a virtuoso pianist who would occasionally go into a fugue state; I believe he was one of the main characters.

   Please feel free to share or retweet if you're so inclined!

   • GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
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     Jonas Wisser (jwisser@wandering.shop)'s status on Tuesday, 21-Nov-2023 02:46:53 JST Jonas Wisser

     in reply to

     After ruminating on this further, I've added a few other qualifiers:

     1. IIRC, the pianist is vaguely implied to be a reincarnation (either natural or technological) of Beethoven—or at the very least has a particular fascination with his works.
     2. I think one of the characters is a red-haired woman? (I appreciate that this doesn't really do much to narrow things down when it comes to speculative fiction.)
     3. It was very much a scifi book, not fantasy. Parts are set on a space station, I think.

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     mmby (mmby@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 21-Nov-2023 02:47:52 JST mmby

     in reply to

     @jwisser the only scifi cover I remember with something Harlequin-ish is this Foundation cover from the 80s(?)

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     Sam (Never Mantha) (spills@hachyderm.io)'s status on Tuesday, 21-Nov-2023 02:48:09 JST Sam (Never Mantha)

     in reply to

     @jwisser is it possibly Fool's Run by Patricia A. McKillip ??

     https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fool%27s_Run

     GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
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     Jonas Wisser (jwisser@wandering.shop)'s status on Tuesday, 21-Nov-2023 02:48:11 JST Jonas Wisser

     in reply to

     • Sam (Never Mantha)

     @spills HOLY SHIT. This might be it! And even if it isn't, McKillip wrote Riddle-Master, one of my favorite series of all time, so this goes immediately next on my reading list either way. Thank you!