Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen
| Author | Michael Marrak |
|---|---|
| Language | German |
| Genre | Science fiction, fantasy |
| Publisher | Amrûn Verlag |
| Publication date | October 2017 |
| Publication place | Germany |
| Media type | Print, ebook |
| Pages | 720–750[a] |
| ISBN | 978-3-95869-257-2 |
| Followed by | Die Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Zeit (novella) |
Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen is a 2017 German science fiction and fantasy novel by German writer and illustrator Michael Marrak. First published by Amrûn Verlag, the novel is set on a far-future Earth inhabited by only a small number of long-lived humans, some of whom possess the ability to animate matter through touch and willpower, in a world dominated by a bizarre "mechafauna".[1][2]
The book won the 2018 SERAPH award for Best Book and the 2018 Kurd Laßwitz Award for Best German-language Science Fiction Novel.[3][4] It also placed third in the 2018 Deutscher Science-Fiction-Preis ranking for Best German-language Novel.[5]
Background and publication
The novel grew out of several earlier stories by Marrak. According to Fantasyguide, the publication history began with the story "Zuhause, so fern …", written for the 50th anniversary edition of the Reader’s Digest Jugendbuch in 2011. A revised version appeared in Nova 20 under the title "Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen"; further stories followed in Nova 21, 22 and 23, forming the basis of the later novel, although they were partly substantially altered for the book version.[6]
Phantastisch Lesen describes the work as having appeared between 2012 and 2015 as a serial sequence in the German science fiction magazine Nova. The second story in the sequence, "Coen Sloterdykes diametral levitierendes Chronoversum", won the 2014 Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for Best German-language Science Fiction Story of 2013.[7]
The complete novel was first published by Amrûn Verlag in October 2017. Marrak also created illustrations for the book.[7][5]
Plot
Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen is set in a remote future in which Earth is inhabited by only a few humans. These humans live for centuries in youthful bodies, and some possess the ability to animate matter through touch and willpower.[1]
The protagonist, Ninive, lives in a hilly region dominated by a four-kilometre-high wall whose original purpose has been forgotten. She travels through the highlands searching for relics from vanished ages, temporarily bringing objects to life so that they can recount their histories. Some of these animated objects become part of her household, including a stove, a lamp and a clock.[6]
The quiet order of Ninive’s world changes when a huge animated mass of scrap tears through the hills. At the same time, the mysterious Cutter appears, and Aris, a wanderer from the distant Mecha-City, is sent to investigate a route beyond the wall. Ninive is drawn into a wider mission involving the search for a lost passage to the world beyond the barrier.[6]
Style and themes
The publisher describes the novel as a homage to Stanisław Lem’s The Cyberiad and robot fairy tales, to animated films by Hayao Miyazaki such as Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, to Michael Moorcock’s The Dancers at the End of Time, and to Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass.[1] Die Zukunft likewise noted this mixture of Lem, Miyazaki, Moorcock and Carroll in its report on the novel.[8]
Reviewing the book for Fantasyguide, Bernd Seibel described it primarily as an exuberant fantastic story with eccentric figures, set in a very distant and exotic future. He emphasized the novel’s unusual ensemble, which includes not only human characters but also ensouled books, a submarine, a diving suit, a river and a mechanical scientist.[6]
The novel combines far-future science fiction with fairy-tale structures, grotesque machinery, posthuman motifs and adventure fantasy. Phantastisch Lesen characterized the book’s story ideas as lying between fairy tale and science fiction, and singled out Marrak’s own illustrations as a notable feature of the work.[7]
Reception
Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen received attention in German-language science fiction and fantasy circles after its publication by the small press Amrûn Verlag. Christian Endres, writing for Die Zukunft, called attention to the unusual scale of the publication, noting that a hardcover of more than 700 pages was significant for a scene publisher.[8]
The novel won the 2018 SERAPH award in the category Best Book.[3] The same year, it won the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for Best German-language Science Fiction Novel of 2017.[4] It was also ranked third in the 2018 Deutscher Science-Fiction-Preis for Best German-language Novel, behind Marc-Uwe Kling’s QualityLand and Dirk van den Boom’s Patronat.[5]
Audiobook
An unabridged audiobook edition was published by Hörbuch Hamburg in 2019 and narrated by Stefan Kaminski. The audiobook has a running time of 21 hours and 1 minute.[9][10]
Sequels and related works
Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen is part of Marrak's Kanon cycle. Related works include the novella Die Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Zeit[11] and the later novel Anima ex Machina.
Notes
- ↑ Sources differ by edition and bibliography. The original hardcover is variously listed as 724, 725, or 750 pages; the later paperback edition is listed by Amrûn Verlag as 720 pages.
References
- 1 2 3 "Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen". Amrûn Verlag (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
- ↑ "Michael Marrak: Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen". Phantastik-Couch.de (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Preisträger*innen". Phantastische Akademie (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
- 1 2 "KLP 2018 Preisträger". Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 "DSFP 2018: Die Gewinner". Deutscher Science-Fiction-Preis (in German). 4 August 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Seibel, Bernd (24 January 2018). "Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen (Autor: Michael Marrak)". Fantasyguide (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Michael Marrak". Phantastisch Lesen (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
- 1 2 Endres, Christian (19 January 2018). "Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen". Die Zukunft (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
- ↑ "Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen". Hörbuch Hamburg (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
- ↑ "Der Kanon mechanischer Seelen". Thalia (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2026.
- ↑ "Die Reise zum Mittelpunkt der Zeit". Buchhandel.de (in German). Retrieved 15 May 2026.