Category Archives: books

books

(book) Joel McIver – Inside The Machine: The Story Of Machine Head

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I love this band since their debut album Burn My Eyes which we listened to as little hardcore and metal kids all the time, discovering more and more music each day back in the first half of the nineties. So, I ordered this baby from Rockmark bookstore and wanted to see, read for myself the thirty years behind this band, which is kept in the scene by resilience and strength of one Robb Flynn, main songwriter, guitarist and vocalist of Machine Head.

What I love about this book is an inside look on writing and recording of all albums, some stories behind most of the songs and how they were spawn. But, what I love more is stories from tours, personal anecdotes of band members, but I didn´t like total and all the time bitching and arguing with other bands, courtesy of Robb Flynn, who is judging by my opinion, formed upon reading of this book, a great musician, but total asshole as a character. I hope I am wrong, but the guy bickers and picks fight all the time via Internet, with Kerry King, with former band members, with other bands, promoters, about which place Machine Head takes on a festival bill, under or above someone and similar. That were the most interesting parts of this book which as a whole is an interesting read, but nothing special.

books

(book) Stephen King – Revival: King´s return to cosmic horror concept

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When I saw the tagline that said vintage King and read a couple of reviews that said about this one King returned to horror, it was mandatory for me to check out this piece of novel for myself.

Jamie Morton grew up with his family in a small village in Maine, one day a preacher called Charlie Jacobs came into his life and life of other people there. Charlie cured Jamie´s brother Conn with electricity experiments when Conn was left without his voice. Everything was fine and idyllic till one day tragedy struck, Charlie changed and horror spread through coming decades leaving Morton, now drug addicted musician to find Charlie again and stop the madness.

I am sorry but I can´t discover more about story of this novel because that would be spoiler for all those who want to read this beauty. Yes, they were right, King returned to horror with this one, and did it big time. This one is a total homage to old school Universal Frankenstein movies, also, and more being homage to late great Lovecraft and his concept of cosmic horror and what lies behind our world. This one kinda starts slow, like we are used to in many of King´s opus, but evolves into one hell of a tense novel and the ending is such bleak and eerie couple of chapters that leave you depressed and in awe what you just finished. So, first half of the book is Americana King style, with some supernatural signs, but other half of the book is awesome horror for us fiends craving for such work. Because of slowness, the book is not perfect but damn close to highest ranks.

8/10

books, Reviews

(book) Star Wars: Phasma

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Besides punk hardcore, my all time love is Star Wars. Besides movies and tv shows, there is whole world of expanded universe through books that I discovered as I started reading and collecting those books.

I must say that I am more of a fan regarding books and SW timeline that came out before Disney took over SW universum. Those books are now regarded as Star Wars Legends and books that are now out as Disney took over are called New Canon. As movie, books that come out are inferior to old ones. I don´t say that as grizzled fart which only mutters to himself, I am a fan who has also all new movies originals dvds in my collection proudly besides old ones and gave them many chances, but I must say, only Rogue One is in my opinion worth SW greatness of all new movies.

Captain Phasma is one of not enough explored characters of First Order and this book is a novel about her, how she came to be Captain Phasma, from her life as Skyre on nuclear devastated wasteland planet, to meeting General Hux Senior and trying to survive the wasteland to go to space and fulfill her destiny. This book has the same problem as all SW newer books. Parts of it are interesting and make you wanna read more and more and then comes last third which is too confusing, too fast like author wanted to finish it by all means as soon as possible. Characters are too shallow, too little explained and explored. Action scenes are okay, but could have been better and the ending leaves more open questions for sequel and explanations of some missing parts. Unfortunately, this one could have been so much better.

4/10