Tag Archives: Music

Blood Song by Lynda Hilburn

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of paranormal romance book cover

Title: Blood Song
Author: Lynda Hilburn
In: The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance (Trisha Telep)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Music, Paranormal romance, Vampires
Dates read: 6th December 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2009
5th sentence, 74th page: What the hell, Ethan?

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Synopsis

Ethan has roamed this earth, cursed for decades. Yet, when he accidentally stops a woman from being attacked, her song could change everything. If only he lets it.

Thoughts

The idea of healing someone through music and sound was a really fantastic idea. Weaving through this ideas of vampirism and the lore that tends to be associated with that was just that much better. Something about the story and the blending of some very unique ideas drew me in happily, completely and perfectly. It was just such a great idea. And I’m really disappointed that it was only a few pages (which tends to be a bit of a trend with me anyway).

I love that vampirism is something that can be “cured”. It’s not an idea that I come across very frequently. Normally the stories I read about vampirism make them out to be some superpowered human-types. I liked that this took a darker, more traditional take on this supernatural beast. It was a refreshing change.

My favourite message in this entire short story was the idea that to become different you have to want to be different. You can’t be cured without wanting to be. It’s quite a powerful little message there and one that I myself believe in strongly… so it was nice to read a story that also emphasised this.

 <- The Lighthouse Keeper and His Wife ReviewThe Princess and the Peas Review ->
Image source: Goodreads

The Ballad of Kate Eddowes by David Bishop

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for the mammoth book of jack the ripper stories book cover

Title: The Ballad of Kate Eddowes
Author: David Bishop
In: The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Stories (Maxim Jakubowski)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Crime, Music
Dates read: 6th November 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: Robinson
Year: 2015
5th sentence, 74th page: She could have sold them on her own, just by singing.

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Synopsis

Kate Eddowes wasn’t just a victim, she was also a person. And one man is determined to make sure that she’s remembered for that.

Thoughts

This is a great flickering story – it jumps between the present and the past surrounding Kate Eddowes murder. And brings to life the woman who lost her life. By showing the before and after of her murder, The Ballad of Kate Eddowes brings to life a woman who is only normally considered as a victim, and not a being in her own right.

This short story is all about making the victims of Jack the Ripper REAL. They’re not just people who were killed, but they lived a life beforehand. They left behind lovers and friends, enemies and people who would miss them. It’s the most realistic and touching of the stories so far in The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Stories collection. Because it diminishes Jack’s acts and highlights what he destroyed…

There is music interspersed throughout this story. After all, it’s a ballad of love and loss. One that will make you stop and actually consider who was lost before you think about who did the taking.

 <- An Anatomically Inspired Tale ReviewThey All Love Jack Review ->
Image source: Amazon

“All Shook Up” by P.N. Elrod

Book Review, , , , ,
Overview
Image result for my big fat supernatural wedding book cover

Title: “All Shook Up”
Author: P.N. Elrod
In: My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding (P.N. Elrod)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Humour, Music, Paranormal fantasy
Dates read: 27th October 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2006
5th sentence, 74th page: Frankie looked at the Elvis guy, her jaw dropping.

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Synopsis

The Elvis impersonator at the wedding she’s catering gets a little bit too into his routine. But there is something deliciously attractive about him that makes her want to get to know the crazy a little better…

Thoughts

This story is a little crazy and different. It’s kind of intense, super fun and features Elvis. Which, of course, immediately makes me think of my Mum. Because she is completely Elvis obsessed. A bit like the Grandmother in this story… a woman who is just deliciously enthralled by the long-dead entertainer. I actually thought that in this story he had been bought back to life… but it was still just an impersonator.

Although this is a wedding story, it’s one that is about the caterer, not the bride. I’ve been to many, many weddings, but mostly as the wait staff. So it was nice to read a tale that I could relate to the lead a lot more. I’ve never been a bride, but I’m aware of all the difficulties and intricacies of working a wedding. Trying to feed the masses and (sometimes) not laugh at the amusing antics of the bridal party. It made this funny, cute and sweet story so, so, so much more relatable than most of the wedding stories I’ve read.

One of the parts I loved most about this story though was the fact that it featured the power of music. I’ve always found music to be an intense pathway through which to experience human emotion. And this story takes it just that little step further… in making it a pathway to help people adjust their emotions for the sake of others. For the sake of the marriage which is just about to begin.

 <- Dead Man’s Chest ReviewThe Wedding of Wylda Serene Review ->
Image source: Amazon

The Bricks of Gelecek by Matthew Kressel

Book Review, , ,
Overview
naked-city

Title: The Bricks of Gelecek
Author: Matthew Kressel
In: Naked City (Ellen Datlow)
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Music, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 15th October 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Short story
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Year: 2011
5th sentence, 74th page: But you have.

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Synopsis

He is an annihilator. One who destroys cities, and then doesn’t remember them. Until he meets a young girl with a gift for songs… and he realises that maybe he shouldn’t forget what he’s destroyed.

Thoughts

Many mythologies have a creature of destruction woven into their stories somewhere… but I’ve never read a short story in which one such creature felt regret. Of any kind. Which made this incredibly enjoyable. I love when a story takes a slightly different spin. Instead of being the antagonist, the brother of destruction was simply doing what he’d been born to do. Until he found a conscience…

The power of music is something that has always fascinated me. And filled my life with happiness. Which meant that the use of music to bring a conscience to an annihilator hit a great chord with me. After all, music is often about memories. And love. All of which are eventually realised, and the course of one beings life changed for ever.

Cities come and go. That’s a part of history, and it’s not entirely ridiculous. Yet, this story really helps to drive home that when your city disappears, eventually no one will remember it… ever. It’s a little bit sad, a little bit nostalgic. But mostly, it’s a great reality check and reminder of reality.

 <- Priced to Sell ReviewWeston Walks Review ->
Image source: Patricia Briggs

Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for scar tissue book cover

Title: Scar Tissue
Author: Anthony Kiedis
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Biographies, Memoirs, Music
Dates read: 18th – 25th June 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Sphere
Year: 2004
5th sentence, 74th page: So as far as they’re concerned, you and I are best friends, and we work on school stuff together, and that’s it.

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Synopsis

In 1983 four self-described ‘knuckleheads’ burst out of the neo-punk rock scene in LA with their own unique brand of cosmic hard-core mayhem funk. Over twenty years later, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, against all the odds, have become one of the most successful bands in the world. Though the band has gone through many incarnations, Anthony Kiedis, the group’s lyricist and dynamic lead singer, has been there for the whole rollercoaster ride.

Scar Tissue is Kiedis’s searingly honest memoir – a story of dedication and debauchery, of intrigue and integrity, of recklessness and redemption. It is a story that could only have come out of Hollywood.

Thoughts

I read this for the first time about ten years ago. And I was completely blown away. Rereading this as an adult my mind was still completely blown. But I also felt really quite uncomfortable by the stories that Kiedis was imparting. I just can’t fathom a childhood and life such as his. Which of course made it all the more enthralling to read…

Red Hot Chili Peppers is one of those bands that I’ve always loved and will continually return to (no matter how my tastes change). Which meant that reading about the story behind their creation and beginning was absolutely amazing. The fascinating journey that they took and the struggles that were faced are completely beyond anything that I could ever imagine. The amazing insight provided into a world that I had previously known nothing about also made this book nigh on impossible to put down.

I read a lot of good fantasy and fiction books. After all, it’s easy to be swept away in a world that is just not your own. And, although I love biographies, I don’t tend to pick them up as readily. I find that the author has to be very good to sweep me away into their world. After all, I already live in this world, and it can make the stories a little boring if not written well. Luckily, and maybe not surprisingly, Anthony Kiedis is an amazing writer. He foreshadows and builds suspense. Transports you in a way that makes you feel like you’re actually there. And, probably most importantly, makes all of the insanity and bad things that have happened to him, seem like no big deal. It doesn’t have a depressive feeling to it. But one of hope and wonder.

 <- An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth ReviewYami Review ->
Image source: Wikipedia

The Chamber Music of Animals by Katherine Vaz

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Image result for coyote road book cover

Title: The Chamber Music of Animals
Author: Katherine Vaz
In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Medical, Music, Tricksters
Dates read: 28th April 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Firebird Fantasy
Year: 2007
5th sentence, 74th page: She’d consumed nothing but coffee all day; no wonder she ached with heartburn.

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Synopsis

Sophie has lost her husband, and now cancer is threatening to take away her only son. Does the power of music have the ability to battle away the awful disease?

Thoughts

I’m really glad that this story didn’t have a sad ending. I was fully expecting it to, after all, Sofia had already lost her husband, and she was incredibly close to losing her son to cancer. Although this tale is in a collection about tricksters, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have trickster tales that are sad. Rather than their usual witty, entertaining journeys.

Monkeys are often tricksters in mythology. They’re the characters which run amok through the lives of people and change the world around them. Just by creating chaos. And believe me, if you’ve ever watched a troop of monkeys, or apes, you can understand how their presence can incite change and align them with the tricksters of myth and legend. Which means that it was probably about time for a monkey to show up in The Coyote Road.

The parallel running of this story worked really nicely throughout. There are the battles which Sofia is fighting for her son. The life that her mother is trying to live with a broken leg, and an incredibly sick grandson. And finally, the music and internal war that Rangy is fighting to save a well-loved boy. Even if he has been left in the cupboard for years on end…

 <- Crow Roads ReviewUncle Bob Visits Review ->
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