‘Ring the Bells’: Sound and Silence in Garth Nix’s Old Kingdom

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I would like to thank the author for submitting this MS and for laying out a unique reading of the text. These discussions have deepened my understanding of the function of sound as a motif in Gothic high fantasy. I present the comments and reactions below as constructive feedback that I hope will help strengthen/refine the MS.

General Comments

Strengths

• Excellent job of locating the series within its contemporary literary context.
• References some key scholars in fantasy/SF studies. Really well researched.
• Compelling comparisons to elements of Tolkien’s work.
• Great sampling of key Gothic texts in which sound fulfills specific Gothic functions
• Very informative (which is also a weakness—see below).

Weaknesses

• Mainly descriptive and informative—could strive to clarify the larger interpretive point and develop/sustain that interpretation via the various discussions.
• An overarching theme in the paper is how bells/sounds link high fantasy and the Gothic in Nix’s serious—consider how to weave a more concrete interpretive point from this issue. What is Nix doing that is unique? How does that advance the genre of fantasy or dark fantasy? How is Nix contributing to this sub-genre?

 

Specific Comments

Lines 15-18: A rather abrupt beginning—might be a smoother read by starting with line 22 and integrating this statement of purpose more gradually within the introduction section.

Line 23: Consider deleting the Wikipedia reference—not an academically authoritative source

Lines 92-93: consider nuancing this claim about the supposed simplistic depictions of good and evil in Lewis and Tolkien. Both used sophisticated elements of Natural Law theory, drawing from their love of medieval culture and theology, and Tolkien developed the notion of eucatastrophe to explore the complex intersections between pain and suffering that leads to an unexpected grace or turn of events. Indeed, there are simplistic depictions of good and evil in some popular fantasy texts, but it seems a bit injudicious to include Tolkien and Lewis.

Lines 107-110: This sentence could be expanded a bit for a smoother analytical move to the main focus. Consider working the opening sentence into this portion and providing a more concrete interpretive thesis—what specifically is being argued here?

Lines 130-58: Excellent references to the importance of sound/music in the mythic creation of Arda and Middle-earth in Tolkien. Consider references to the medieval notion of the music of the spheres which heavily influenced Tolkien. Also, it is no accident that his good friend Lewis describes the creation of Narnia as resulting from Aslan’s singing its reality into existence. Reference this as another example?

Lines 347-93: Interesting and detailed comparisons of sound/music and the world-building of Nix and Tolkien, but it’s mainly descriptive. Why compare them? What larger, compelling interpretive point can be made through the comparison?

Lines 443-50: Nice job distinguishing this analysis of Gothic sound in Nix from other analyses of Gothic elements. The author notes that analyzing sound through the lens of the Gothic is “clarifying” but should explain at some point what exactly is clarified through such an analysis? Again, provide more concrete interpretive arguments.

Lines 609-11: Ok, here the author makes a more concrete claim answering the “so what?” question. Develop this earlier in and throughout the paper. Consider how it relates to Tolkien’s characterization of fairy-stories/fantasy as involving escape, recovery, and consolation. How does this relate to one function of Gothic uncanny which is to reveal cultural anxieties? Can an argument be made about these texts revealing cultural anxieties and then bringing consolation through the process of fantasy escape and recovery?

Other Considerations

• Include descriptive section headings instead of # to visually and thematically organize the content.
• Could there be an argument for the relationship between ringing bells and chanting spells? Both involve fluctuations of sound intended to interact with and/or influence supernatural dimensions and realities.
• Some of the discussions are more descriptive than interpretive—What larger interpretive point/s are being made and link the various discussions more carefully to these larger points. E.g.: lines 268-70—great point, but it is raised and then dropped. Is there an interpretive argument to be made about the function of the bells and how that relates to social critique?
• The connection between Nix’s mythopoesis and the uncanny is an intriguing idea—could a sharper interpretive point/argument be made here about how and why bells function thematically to link these two elements and why Nix links them? This could also speak to the larger observation about the interrelationship between high fantasy (mythopoesis) and the Gothic (uncanny).

 

Author Response

[author] I’m extremely grateful for the lengthy and detailed feedback on my paper, and I have endeavored to respond effective to every point, with only a couple of exceptions.

• Mainly descriptive and informative—could strive to clarify the larger interpretive point and develop/sustain that interpretation via the various discussions.

[author] Regarding the article being descriptive and informative: I hope I have clarified the larger point and referred back to it sufficiently now. If not, I am very happy to have another crack at it.

• An overarching theme in the paper is how bells/sounds link high fantasy and the Gothic in Nix’s serious—consider how to weave a more concrete interpretive point from this issue. What is Nix doing that is unique? How does that advance the genre of fantasy or dark fantasy? How is Nix contributing to this sub-genre?

[author] This is an area that definitely needs for further research, but I feel to explore it in further detail lies beyond the scope of the paper. Fascinating area, but given my desire to frame this particular author’s underexamined work under a sonic lens, specifically, not one I felt I could dwell on, alas.

Specific Comments

[author] I have addressed all of these, hopefully, bar the following:

Lines 609-11: Ok, here the author makes a more concrete claim answering the “so what?” question. Develop this earlier in and throughout the paper. Consider how it relates to Tolkien’s characterization of fairy-stories/fantasy as involving escape, recovery, and consolation. How does this relate to one function of Gothic uncanny which is to reveal cultural anxieties? Can an argument be made about these texts revealing cultural anxieties and then bringing consolation through the process of fantasy escape and recovery?

[author] I feel that, while exploring specific cultural anxieties teased at through the Gothic in these texts is definitely something I would have liked to spend more (or, indeed, any) time on, that will have to wait for another paper.

Other Considerations

• Could there be an argument for the relationship between ringing bells and chanting spells? Both involve fluctuations of sound intended to interact with and/or influence supernatural dimensions and realities.

• • [author] As per my previous comment, I feel this would fit best in another paper.
• The connection between Nix’s mythopoesis and the uncanny is an intriguing idea—could a sharper interpretive point/argument be made here about how and why bells function thematically to link these two elements and why Nix links them? This could also speak to the larger observation about the interrelationship between high fantasy (mythopoesis) and the Gothic (uncanny).
  • [author] Drawing a clearer connection between Nix’s mythopoesis and the uncanny leads to a larger discussion, I think, about contemporary fantasy as whole that I felt, also, lay beyond the scope of this paper (intriguing though it is).

 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This very strong submission definitely merits publication, and should require only a few minor revisions. It is a thought-provoking and thoroughly well-grounded analysis of “the tensions between high fantasy and Gothic present in the Old Kingdom texts” and Nix’s use of sound as a part of his uniquely “uncanny mythopoesis.” The only major imperfection I see in the article is the length of time it takes the author to articulate their more specific arguments (rather than simply the subject), as well as the occasionally very brief paragraphs (as at line 107 and 181, and 15 for that matter), two dimensions of the piece's structure that may well be related. Indeed, if these early short paragraphs could perhaps be expanded to provide a better sense of the author’s specific arguments earlier, the essay would be in near to perfect shape.

Perhaps bringing up lines 602-610 earlier in the text (or adding lines like them) could be one way forward, and/or sooner introducing such clear articulations of concepts such as “the double role of magical bells in the Old Kingdom—evinced through their centrality to Nix’s mythopoesis, as well as to the sense of the uncanny in these texts” (323-324). I will leave it at the author's discretion, as they are clearly quite capable.

Indeed, the essay impresses consistently with its breadth of reference to scholarship and the earlier literary traditions in which Nix writes, as well as its close readings of the texts themselves. Particularly strong points are the discussion of bells and clocks at line 243, the notation of the absence of certain words associated with the performance of music (316), and the comparisons (and contrasts) to both Tolkien’s cosmology and the unsettling soundscapes of the Gothic. The author is making an important intervention at the nexus of sound studies and fantasy studies.

There are minor formatting issues to be adjusted in copyediting, of course, and a couple of other points I can remark on:

-I am puzzled by the “Note” at line 42: this should be a proper footnote or endnote if possible, as it interrupts the flow of an already context-heavy introductory movement in the main text.

-Is an alternative word such as “mode” preferable to “setting” in line 77?

-A word seems to be missing from line 381?

All in all, the article should be ready for publication in a not so different form from what was submitted.

Author Response

Thanks very much for your kind words and constructive criticism. I have taken everything you suggest onboard and I hope I have put them into effect correctly. Very much appreciated!

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The revisions made are indeed sufficient for publication. I do hope that the author will follow through with other studies on this text to tease out some of the areas that could be further developed and more interpretive claims sustained. Best of success on future work in this area!