Blog Updates: More Reviews Coming in July 2013

  Remember? This blog has been moved to Wordpress: http://bibliophilesreverie.com/

  This always happens!! I apologize greatly for another hiatus, and this time it comes from reading classics rather than any books to review. With other bloggers, I always wonder how people have any time to read fiction/nonfiction books that are not recent releases from publishers. I've always been very curious about that. Oh well, I've never been one for quantity over quality. I cannot write like that, and yet that is what is in high demand in this frenetically-paced world.

    More reviews should be coming in the month of July, and for now, you'll just have to use a certain British tv show (highly addictive one at that) as a scapegoat for depriving me of much-needed reading time! I'll keep all my dedicated readers abreast of news to come about giveaways and other assorted news!!

   

EVIL/Dangerously Addictive

Review of Hope Against Hope:Third Mortimer Drake book

As you're well aware, this blog has recently moved to my newly-repolished Wordpress Blog. This blog is posted there as well!!
Hyperlink for New Wordpress Blog:
http://bibliophilesreverie.com/
Thank you,
Fantastyfreak

Amazon (Kindle & Print Edition)/ Facebook Fan Page for “Mortimer Drake”/Author Website

Synopsis (Taken from Amazon.com):

The world has changed for the living and the undead alike. Mortimer Drake and his family have been forced underground in the wake of the Dark Revelation. Humankind has learned of the existence of vampires and society has crumbled into chaos. The centuries old conflict between True-born vampires and Cross-blood vampires has taken a backseat to a new war that has spread across the globe. HOPE, an organization determined to wipe out the vampire race, has risen to power under the absolute authority of the Director. HOPE promises to restore peace, safety, and security, but that promise has a price. Vampires have been forced from the security of the shadows. They can no longer hide behind the myths and legends. If Mortimer wants to survive, he will have to learn to trust new friends with supernatural secrets of their own. If he fails, the world will never be the same again.

Interview with Greg Wilkey


1.Justin:About your newest book covers, what are your thoughts on Ran Valerhon's work (a fellow "Person of the Page" on Anne Rice's FB page) on the cover-art for the first two Mortimer Drake novels?



**Greg: I could not be happier with the new covers for my series of books. I was introduced to the amazing talent of Ran Valerhon through Anne Rice's FB page. I remember seeing his posts and his artwork and commenting on their beauty. As my books gained popularity, I started to look at making changes and upgrades to increase their appeal. I have no skill in the graphic art realm, so I started to research people who did. Then it hit me -- Why not contact Ran? So, I reached out to him via Facebook and we worked out the details. I think that he has done an excellent job in capturing the feel for Mortimer's world. I am very impressed and I will recommend his artwork to indie writer I know. He is truly helping me take Mortimer to the next level. Also, I have now hired a professional editor. Todd Barselow, also an Anne Rice FB friend, has helped me proof and edit all my books. Like Ran, Todd is professional and very skilled at what he does. I have been very impressed with both Ran and Todd. Mortimer Drake has had a complete facelift!


2.Justin: By the end of second installment of the Mortimer Drake books, your books have progressively gotten much darker. For a series targeted towards young-adult and middle-grade readers, I was humbly surprised by this unpredictable descent into darkness. Momentarily, I thought we were going to get the Mortimer Drake parallel of the Red-Wedding scene in the Game of Thrones books. Without spoiling anything for new readers to the series, did you foresee this inevitable change in the tone of the plot from the beginning?



**Greg: Oh yes, I knew from the beginning that Mortimer's journey was not going to be a pleasant one. When I set out to create his world, I wanted him to struggle. We all know that growing up isn't a pleasure cruise. I didn't want my characters to get everything they wanted. I mean, I write fiction, but let's be honest, life sucks (even for vampires.) In order for the last two books to work, I had to get Mortimer to a dark place. He had to go through some serious stuff. I think that YA books are the perfect place to explore the unfriendly side of life. YA readers of all ages can identify with hardships. I am not a neat and tidy ending kind of guy. I don't do "happily ever after."



3.Justin: On your Facebook fan page, you mentioned that you were starting another new series. Will the plot revolve around vampires again or a host of new supernatural characters?

**Greg: My new series will most definitely be a YA supernatural thriller. The hero of my new novels will face everyday and paranormal challenges, but there are no vampires in these books. My new series will take a fresh, dark, and adventurous look at the dearly departed.



4.Justin: Will Star Blood be the definitive end to the Mortimer Drake series? If Mortimer Drake fans beg enough for a new series, is there room in the plot for a sequel series?

**Greg: I have wrestled with this question for a while now, and to be honest, I still don't have an answer. WillStar Blood be the definitive end? I'm not sure. It's an ending, but maybe not the ending. I will have to wait and see if Mortimer still has more to tell. I guess we'll all find out together :)



Review:

      Once again, the high-octane action sequences and intricate plot that were so intrinsic to the success of the last two installments of Greg Wilkey's Mortimer Drake  series reach a dramatic crescendo in this third volume. Hope Against Hope  successfully outwits the threequel curse that has afflicted other books and movies that are part of a long-running series, and continues to be one of the freshest vampire stories out there. Much of this success stems from the fact that Mortimer Drake  clearly avoid the romantic melodrama that mars the quality of many other vampire series within the YA vampire genre.

     As with the last installment, the journey of Mortimer Drake progressively takes a very dark, gruesome turn in this installment. Rather than have these more morose sequences become overwrought or purely frivolous, Greg Wilkey utilizes the grim quality of these scenes, in order to effectively portray the twisted malevolence of the regime that has taken over Mortimer's world, after human society finds definitive proof of the existence of vampires. Without spoiling any more specific details, the series even has an interesting scene that viscerally affected me towards the beginning of the novel. Fascinatingly, this scene and several other gut-wrenching sequences seem to pay homage to the Hunger Games, which most readers of my blog are well-aware happens to be one of the most popular YA series in recent years.

      Masterfully, the tropes of the corrupt totalitarian state and the imaginative dealings of human society's growing tension over how to coexist with their vampire neighbors (paralleling True Blood)  are fused together in an ingenious way that reflects Greg's profound knowledge of the two most popular genres within the YA market: vampire fiction and dystopian fiction. Some authors are fearful of experimenting with these two genres that they see as being polarized opposites. In reality,both genres have great appeal for the post-modern audience, as both genres reflect a burgeoning sense of our own  apathy and hopelessness with regards to the hope that our world will maintain some appreciable measure of stability.  Both totalitarian regimes and vampires are identically manifestations of that very disillusioning fear that festers in our subconscious that the semi-secure world that we believe is completely impenetrable can be easily shaken and destroyed by some eruption of chaotic violence in this post-modern world. In the last hundred years, the various world wars and smaller wars with intrastate guerrilla factions has also made our clear sense of the division between good and evil became even more muddled.

     While the above discussion may seem wholly irrelevant to a vampire series targeted to middle-grade readers (though realistically for any type of reader), Hope Against Hope  has become much more sophisticated in its construction. As Greg Wilkey continues to grow as a writer, he is beginning to unconsciously (or consciously) develop a story that has much more underlying meaning. As with the other books, this book is extremely entertaining, and that is something that Greg has always deftly accomplished. Starting with the end of the last book though, the series has become something deserving of closer inspection. The development of his first three stories of the Mortimer Drake  series unwinds as seamlessly as Anne Rice's own Vampire Chronicles.  Again, this might seem presumptuous, but I really feel that the dark overtones of this series and the more challenging ethical questions raised in this third installment are some of the very same ethical questions that were beginning to become more fleshed out in Queen of the Damned, which was also another "threequel" that avoids the "threequel" curse.

   Written with flourish and the keen eye of a very talented writer, Hope Against Hope is the novel that cements my feelings that Mortimer Drake is a comic book drama of the highest caliber. Like X-men, Watchmen, Batman,the plot plumbs interesting ethical depths that other series in the middle-grade genre stray away from discussing. Hope Against Hope is a very dark book, but the darkness of the this novel is the substantive type that is also balanced with moments of levity and genuine hope. The darkness of the series never becomes onerous or excessive to wade through. Different from the more superficial incarnation of action heavy story , all the books in the Mortimer Drake  series invariably questions violence and debates ethics in a way that fantastically coheres with the heart-stopping action and well-orchestrated suspense that has made this entire series a true pleasure to read.

    I really look forward to the final installment of the Mortimer Drake  series, entitled Star Blood, that should be arriving right on the coattails of this review! Again, this entire series comes with my highest recommendation. While some readers may want more sophisticated prose, this is a series aimed for middle-grade readers, and I think the succinctness of Greg's prose is truly a very hard thing for any writer to achieve. Of course, there were some minor editorial errors in some of his other books, but he has recently re-released  newly edited versions of all his books with the help of Todd Barr (serving as his excellent editor). This has never taken away from my enjoyment of the series because I always saw an extremely engaging story, even  in what some would term it's "roughest form". With that said, I'm really excited for Star Blood,which will be covered on this blog once it's released later this summer.

For More Information on Greg Wilkey's series of books; Check out the below links!
Mortimer Drake Facebook Fan Page

Greg Wilkey's Author FB Page
Greg Wilkey's Author Website       

New Book Covers for Mortimer Drake

As many of you know, this post is also available on my Wordpress blog (eventually to become my main blog, before the impending destruction of this satellite blog)

    If you have been checking Greg Wilkey's updates on Anne Rice's Facebook page, you are well-informed then of the exciting release of the newest cover art for his "Mortimer Drake" series. As though the premise of the series was not enticing enough, these new covers, created by talented graphic artist Ran Valerhon, should hopefully persuade more people to check out this series.

Cover for Growing Up Dead: Book 1



Cover for Out of the Underworld: Book 2




   In other news about the Mortimer Drake series, the upcoming review and interview for this upcoming Friday will feature the third book:the penultimate installment in the Mortimer Drake series. The series will conclude with the fourth book, Star Blood,  which should be released sometime this summer (my bets rest on either end of July or beginning of August)



Upcoming Book Review/Interview (Posted Simultaneously on both this blog and my newest Wordpress blog)
Friday, June 14th
Hope Against Hope (the third installment of the Mortimer Drake series)

Amazon (Kindle & Print Edition)/ Facebook Fan Page for "Mortimer Drake"/Author Website

Review of "The Resurrectionist"

   Note: My blog has recently moved to WordPress  but I will keep posting posts on both blogs for the next five months. After five months, this blog will be completely deleted. I advise you to check out the post here on my new wordpress blog (http://www.bibliophilesreverie.com/)




                         Amazon.com/BN.com

Synopsis

Excerpt Taken From Quirk Books Product Detail Page:Philadelphia. The late 1870s. A city of cobblestone sidewalks and horse-drawn carriages. Home to the famous anatomist and surgeon Dr. Spencer Black. The son of a “resurrectionist” (aka grave robber), Dr. Black studied at Philadelphia’s esteemed Academy of Medicine, where he develops an unconventional hypothesis: What if the world’s most celebrated mythological beasts—mermaids, minotaurs, and satyrs— were in fact the evolutionary ancestors of humankind?
The Resurrectionist offers two extraordinary books in one. The first is a fictional biography of Dr. Spencer Black, from his humble beginnings to the mysterious disappearance at the end of his life. The second book is Black’s magnum opus: The Codex Extinct Animalia, a Gray’s Anatomy for mythological beasts—dragons, centaurs, Pegasus, Cerberus—all rendered in meticulously detailed black-and-white anatomical illustrations. You need only look at these images to realize they are the work of a madman. The Resurrectionist tells his story.

Review


  Quirk Books has always excelled in publishing some of the quirkiest books out there, as the name of this awesome indie publisher's name aptly suggests. What is the novelty, or more appropriately, quirky element of their latest release The Resurrectionist then? First of all, it is a Gothic-horror novel of sorts that is written in the vein of Gothic classics like either Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Unlike these classics, Dr. Spencer Black outdoes Victor Frankenstein in the department of depravity, since he endeavors and succeeds in creating multiple hybridized creatures that are partially human, but also experimental replicas of such noteworthy mythological creatures like either minotaurs, mermaids, and satyrs. Anatomical sketches of all these rather subversive creatures are preserved for posterity in the back section of the book, and it is being published for the first time in an attempt to regale readers with some of the most disturbing monstrosities that have ever been created in the name of science (For more sensitive readers or those inclined to gullibility, I only jest by saying that this account is by any means a non-fictional account; well, it might be a bit nonfictional)


 One of the more outstanding qualities of this book is just how believable this disturbing account could be taken as. I'm talking suspension of disbelief that is used very effectively. When I started reading the finely detailed prose of the beginning sections of the book, I had to ask myself: Has this really occurred? Knowing the Philly area really well, I also had to contemplate whether or not these mythological creatures were buried somewhere in Philly. If they were buried, where would they be buried? Hopefully, this kind of grand conspiracy wouldn't inspire Disney to make another National Treasure movie, starring the infamously weird Nicholas Cage of Wicker Man fame? Then, I remembered that this book is reassuringly a fiction book, and I could relax that a more skilled resurrectionist couldn't somehow resurrect Dr. Spencer Black's mythological creatures, emulating the unnatural scientific experiments that he chronicles within this exciting book. This is an entertaining novel, not an instructive piece on how to make people suspect that you've gone completely out of your mind.



 Throughout the narrative portion of the book (the book is part-narrative/part-art book), the question about the ethical limits of science are raised. Currently, we live in an era that fortunately has laws in place that protects human beings from having unwanted experiments conducted on them. Increasingly, there is more controversy about animal rights and whether certain types of experimentation on certain species of animals are unethical. While this book never explicitly delves into such contemporary issues, the novel broaches these questions nonetheless, as it implores the reader to think about the continued debate of the ethical limits of science. In the last hundred years, science has awed us with miraculous drugs and vaccinations that have offered us the means to outwit death. At the same time, we have created such horrific weapons, like the nuclear bomb, that was an abominable weapon that murdered many people's lives during World War II.


  Returning to the plot of the novel, the real ethical dilemma that Dr. Spencer Black's  actions raised lies with whether or not the dead bodies of human beings are truly sacred property: Is it unethical for him to utilize these dead bodies for the creation of new life in the form of hybridized creatures? Are the ethical sanctions of religious organizations relevant to a scientist's endeavors? Even though the narrative section is fairly short, E.B. Hudspeth does an adept job, raising these interesting questions in the frame of a truly engrossing Gothic tale.

     Fascinatingly, the book is skillfully juxtaposed with an entire art section at the end of the book that is filled to the brim with meticulously drawn images of the various creatures that Dr. Spencer Black managed to create during his fictitious lifetime. While paging through this section, I wish I had the means to order poster versions of some of these drawings. They would be the perfect artwork to hang next to my delightfully macabre Edward Gory poster of The Gashlycrumb Tinies. In many ways, the Gothic art style seems partly inspired by Edward Gory, but it really is uniquely its own brand of Gothic art. Of course, the actual shape of the figures pays homage to the monsters from comic-books as well. E.B. Hudspeth's style is really his own eclectic style, and I really loved these well-drawn illustrations, along with some of the accompanying notes that give some brief descriptions of each of the mythological beasts that the infamous Dr. Spencer Black managed to create during his lifetime. If you are either an Edward Gory, Mary Shelley, or Bram Stoker fan like myself, this is the book to check out because it will both entertain and fascinate you for many immeasurably long hours!! For More Information about the novel or its author,

Check out the below links:Quirk Book's Facebook Page
Event Page for Upcoming Signing at Indy Hall in Philadelphia,PA

BEA Wrap-Up 2013

   Please note:I know I'm belaboring this point, but I am planning to delete all posts on this blog in five months, as many of you know, this blog has henceforth been moved over to a new Wordpress location:
(http://bibliophilesreverie.com)
    These posts are still only posted here to serve as a reminder to readers of this blog that I have moved. Thank you!

      

 





     Every year, BEA is greeted with the same unadulterated fanfare, and a long slog of a sleepless night during the evening prior to the event. For this year, I decided only to attend Thursday because, to be quite frank, Book Expo America normally overwhelms me and expends every last ounce of energy that I paradoxically exerted being excited about prior to the event (can someone please explain this weird adrenal phenomenon?) Anyways, the best way to convey just how exciting this year was is by writing up highlights. Unlike book reviews, this type of writing can become very taxing for me, as I hate  summarily writing a bunch of of things that happened this year in chronological details. It is far easier to discuss certain highlights piecemeal both for the sake of your sanity and my own. 

Highlight A: Interviewing Gugor (star of Razorbill's upcoming The Creature Department)


      Yes, I interviewed a computerized AI monster with the eccentric name of "Gugor." It was really quite a lot of unexpected fun. My notes were very disorganized and haphazard to the point, where I cannot even come up with an accurate transcription of how the interview went between Gugor and myself this past Thursday at the Penguin's fantastic BEA display for  The Creature Department,  written by Robert Paul Weston. 

     Anyways, I can say confidently  that Gugor has some apprehension about being in a musical, mostly due to being semi-self conscious about the whole business surrounding musicals and  unease with singing. For now, his first feat as a public figure will involve starring in this upcoming book. By scanning the below synopsis, you'll see that his upcoming adventure in novel format will be something to look out for, from Penguin, this upcoming Fall. I'll definitely have more information to provide readers about this exciting project in the future.

           "    About The Creature Department: Elliot and Leslie visit their Uncle Archie inside the glass and steel towers of DENKi-3000, the world’s fifth or sixth largest electronics company. They’ve heard rumors about a creature department hidden somewhere inside and they beg their uncle for a look. And it’s unlike anything they’ve ever seen! They meet creatures with wings, creatures with tentacles, creatures with horns, creatures with three heads, creatures who are nothing but head, and even a couple creatures with extremely unmanageable hair. Elliot and Leslie become friends with these hilarious creatures. And then Uncle Archie disappears and the menacing Chuck Quickweather arrives with an announcement that he is going to streamline DENKi-3000 and discover its secret. Elliot and Leslie must team up with the ringleader of the creatures: Jean-Remy, a remarkably perceptive Parisian fairy-bat with sartorial flair, to motivate the creature department into inventing something incredible that will save them all from Quickweather, his evil henchmen, and downsizing." 

    Interestingly enough, our conversation began with a conversation about Gugor's favorite vampire character. He ecstatically began acting out Nicholas Cage's hilarious scene from the film,     , where Nicholas Cage stars as one of the campiest vampires out there. Just, how frightening is Nicholas Cage's "I'M A VAMPIRE, when it is spoken without any gravitas whatsoever!"
   

    If Nicholas Cage can star in campy films like Vampire Kiss, I reassured Gugor that he'd be fine, potentially starring in a future Creature Department film as himself. Perhaps, if The Creature Department  gains enough interest upon its release this fall, Gugor may very well be on our movie-screens in a short after a release that hopefully won't prove cataclysmic in the wrong sense of the word.

    I wish all my readers had the chance to have the fun opportunity to interview an AI monster that is exceedingly smarter and more friendly than the inferior being named "Cleverbot," who has been fairly popular among internet users for far too long. Perhaps, his ingenious marketing and publicity team will have him tour nationwide, giving readers the first true interview with a fictionalized character that otherwise is some abstract nobody.

   Eventually, the website for the book (www.thecreaturedepartment.com) will feature a downloadable App that will enhance the reading experience, and bridge the technological gap between the page and the latest technology that is available on both e-readers and tablets like the IPAD or the Google Nexus. While this book is being targeted for children's fiction market , I am not the first to admit that most of these books have very wide appeal (For example, Harry Potter readers range from the ages of five all the way to, most likely, 100 years old). Interestingly, the visual effects studio, Framestore, that created Dobby in the Harry Potter films and other CGI creations from films like The Golden Compass  are the ones responsible for creating some of the awesome visuals for the planned Creature Departments App in the future.
   
   Lasting Impressions: As evidenced by Penguin Publication's The Creature Department,  publishers are becoming far less apprehensive about the advent of the latest technology, and clever seeking out ways to optimize the latest technology to provide a new dynamic reading experience for the newest generation. Personally, I have seen nothing but more interest in reading overall due to technology. On the HBO front, Game of Thrones is making people accomplish the unthinkable, by reading books that are 1000 pages each.
    With The Creature Department, the planned App and the sheer cleverness of the book itself might help younger readers feel more enticed to read and gain much more enjoyment out of what they are reading. Believe me, this is not the last time you'll be hearing of either Gugor or The Creature Department  on this blog.


   

Highlight B: Brandon Sanderson YA books

 

When it comes to fantasy fiction, I veer more towards Brandon Sanderson’s books more so than George R.R. Martin’s book. If I were go into my reasons, I might end up inciting a mad hive of debate, and I feel that would be disingenuous to the marked differences between the types of writers that Brandon Sanderson and George R.R. Martin are (both competent writers with very different writing styles and story interest). I’m a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson’s past works like the wildly creative, Warbreaker, and the truly epic Mistborn series. His long-spanning series (well, there is only one book thus far, but there is bound to be more in the future), the Stormlight Archives, begins with truly dynamic characters and some of the best writing in recent fantasy fiction. In my personal opinion, a lot of fantasy books are extremely ponderous. The problem that plagues many fantasy books is this excessive dumping of exposition in many fantasy books that is not cleverly done, and just makes the reading experience become as laborious as paging through a textbook about Elementary Physics.

Being extremely judicious with my fantasy fiction, I have admittedly read very few adult fantasy books, and this is a very hard admission to make. There is a lot of very strange pseudo-psychological rhetoric that wants to diagnose readers like myself, as being ADD. Except, I think people, including myself at times, seem to lapse in remembering that readers have varying tastes, and no one should ever feel obligated to either enjoy or like a book just for the sake of conforming to popular expectations. Personally, I am sometimes both thrilled with the popularity of Game of Thrones, and extremely annoyed at times. There has been a truly discouraging trend going on, which revolves around some people insisting that people, interested in the fantasy/scifi genre, should only read Game of Thrones, as it is purportedly the only well-written fantasy book out there. I think this comes from a very fervid, elitist minority of fans. But, I have heard some other disenchanting things from people I know, who show no interest in the series due to the strange, hostile behavior of fans. Most fans aren’t like this, and many of them are huge fans of the other books in the genre that are written with varying writing styles. That is why I like fantasy fiction because there is truly an inherent variety in the genre.

The popularity of Game of Thrones is the perfect opportunity, though, to show newcomers to the genre just how diverse the market is, even if some of the aforementioned elitists wish to dissuade people from exploring other titles. Brandon Sanderson was really the first author to make me understand the mechanics of magic systems, see that action sequences can be written without feeling interminable, and having exposition that is actually integral to the plot. Instead of seeing Patrick Rothfuss, George R.R. Martin, and Brandon Sanderson as vying for the iron throne, we should see all three as equally competent fantasy writers that meet the needs of different types of readers, who have varying interests.

Personally, I have found Brandon Sanderson’s style to be my favorite though among the three most recognizable faces of fantasy fiction right now, and I think it is the witticism in his dialogue that seems completely missing in the more rough and serious Game of Thrones. That is the reason I waited nearly two hours for Brandon Sanderson’s signing for The Rithmatist, which has a magic system that revolves around chalk. I knew, in advance, that this book, andSteelheart that I received at a later signing would offer me hours of endless entertainment without the agonizing periods of boredom that greet me during reading some other fantasy books. Of course, authors like Maria V. Snyder, Jon Sprunk, DB Jackson, and several others have helped make me reconsider all these limiting preconceived notions that I have about fantasy fiction.

Lasting Impressions I keep making some lazy assumptions just because I haven’t gotten around to other author’s books in the genre. Anyways, the main point of the above rant was to drive home my point that it is important that we civilly discuss books with other people in the spirit of knowing that everybody loves different books. There is no one series that is magically the single best fantasy novel.

Having seen the excitement people have for The Rithmatist and Steelheart has shown that HBO’s Game of Thrones has above all convinced large numbers of people to delve into a genre that does have its thorny side. Personally, I hope to review both titles in hopes of highlighting just how versatile in style that the genre is, and how Brandon Sanderson contributes to a growing YA market that also is much more diverse than the stereotype of it predominately being mostly Paranormal Romance books.
   Lasting Impressions I shouldn't judge other authors so harshly because there really is a diverse number of different writers in the genre, and I keep making some lazy assumptions just because I haven't gotten around to other author's books. Anyways, the main point of the above rant was to drive home my point that it is important that we civilly discuss books with other people in the spirit of knowing that everybody loves different books. There is no one series that magically makes you both smarter and superior to other people.
   Having seen the excitement people have for The Rithmatist  and Steelheart has shown that HBO's Game of Thrones  has above all convinced large numbers of people to delve into a genre that does have its thorny side. Personally, I hope to review both titles in hopes of highlighting just how versatile in style that the genre is, and how Brandon Sanderson contributes to a growing YA market that also is much more diverse than the stereotype of it predominately being mostly Paranormal Romance books.


Thanks to all the bloggers and other fantastic people I talked to at BEA!! Tomorrow, reviews will return as usual. Sorry for the delays, as of recently, with my reviews!


 


     

Reuben's Spiritual Odyssey: "Wolves Of Midwinter" Countdown Post #1

This post is available on newly remodeled Wordpress blog, Please read it there! Posts on this blog will only remain here for the next six months.

New Blog's Hyperlink: http://bibliophilesreverie.com/

Discussion Post #1

     My head has been swimming with various pensive thoughts, surrounding the thematic importance of Teilhard De Chardin's philosophy in correlation with the overall philosophical and spiritual thrust of Anne Rice's The Wolf Gift. As I wait impatiently and restively for the release of Wolves of Midwinter this fall I tried to do something a bit more productive then wishfully think of an Advanced Reader's Copy of the highly anticipated second installment of The Wolf Gift Chronicles being covertly given away at Book Expo America, which I'll be attending for the fourth time tomorrow. Sadly, I must endure the long slog that awaits before October 15,2013 rolls around. In order to help us all make this  unendurable wait much more endurable, I'm planning to pick out certain pivotal sections of the earlier book, and extrapolate on how Anne Rice might develop these mutable plot threads introduced in The Wolf Gift   and theoretically developed  further in Wolves of Midwinter. Knowing her love for Teilhard De Chardin, there is no better way to start then with discussing how Teilhard de Chardin's various spiritual theories relate implicitly with the underlying meaning of Anne Rice's stories.

       In many ways, all Anne Rice's Gothic novels have always dealt with preternatural forces that metaphorically reflect Teilhard De Chardin's highly progressive theories about evolving consciousness. Lestat's own spiritual journey that never goes quite as far as Reuben Golding's novel (in my opinion) ends with a sense of futility in Blood Canticle,in that he never gains complete moral control over his being, all due to the fact that his blood thirst is so intrinsic to a vampire. Invariably,this thirst necessitates murder or immoral action, preventing Lestat from ever gaining the salvation he began lucidly yearning for within Memnoch the Devil.

     Deftly, Anne Rice's The Wolf Gift encapsulates these  moral quandaries introduced in the Vampire Chronicles, but The Wolf Gift goes much further with trying to supply more coherent answers to these quandaries throughout much of the Vampire Chronicle  stories. During Reuben and Jim's confiding conversation at Nideck point in The Wolf Gift, they sit in the Eastern Breakfast room, which has a window that overlooks the dense redwood trees. The descriptions of where Reuben and brother Jim, a priest himself,  reside during this conversation may seem pedantic to some, but these recurrent images throughout the story of the primal woods being juxtaposed seamlessly with a house that is literally part of the woods is extremely reflective of the complex state of Reuben's own psyche. Within his psyche, there is the primal essence of himself jostling restlessly with his own human intelligence, which is the psychological fulcrum of this story's psychological conflict.   Analogously,this wrestling image that metaphorically depicts Reuben's these two psychological twins  image is clearly illustrating the concept of Teilhard de Chardin's evolving conscience.

    Interestingly, Reuben even points to his inner psychological turmoil, being representative of a dynamic clash between his more primeval instincts and his more intellectual self; both of which are an extremely important duality within our psyches that separates us from animals. :

"I seek to come to terms with it. I learn new things from it every time it happens, but I am not devolving, Jim."(The Wolf Gift 272)

    When Darwin first proposed the theory of evolution, many people within the Victorian era feared the revelation that we were closely related to animals. The most erroneous element of our theories of developing consciousness has been a conscious rejection of our primal instincts; those that are represented in Freudian terms by the "ID." Therefore, we have consciously created elaborate religious rituals, which help us to imaginatively divest ourselves of the influence of our baser selves. Except, Reuben provides a very divergent approach, rather than see these two very basic components of our consciousness, the Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or William Wilson  #1 and #2 in Poe terms, being antithetical to each other; he sees them as being closely related and even necessary for a fruitful existence. Reuben's philosophical theory mirrors Teilhard De Chardin's  spiritually progressive discussion found  in  The Future of Man Many of Teilhard de Chardin's theories are very conversant with Darwinian Evolution, and this is why these theories proved to be very subversive to many Catholics, including Reuben's own brother Jim apparently.  Much like Teilhard de Chardin, Reuben believes that both his primeval senses and his more human consciousness are not things to be viewed as mutually exclusive, but parts of our psyche that are indeed mutually inclusive.

     Even though Jim recapitulates the various antiquated notions of moral development and the inherently depraved nature of werewolves, Reuben optimistically finds that the clear fact that his human consciousness remains alive during his transformation into a werewolf signifies the fact that the marriage between his more primeval instincts and intellectual thoughts is very possible. In many ways, Teilhard de Chardin's depiction of our evolving consciousness is extremely Augustinian, in that this theory posits that our overall moral trajectory that is implicit in nearly all our actions is towards the good, even if this moral trajectory can become skewed by our impartial acknowledgement of the full spectrum of our psychological selves. This would explain why Dr. Jekyll is still wholly responsible for the actions of Mr. Hyde because Dr. Jekyll represses these instincts, and never takes full moral responsibility for his actions. Unlike Dr. Jekyll, Reuben struggles throughout the novel trying to make peace with his Mr. Hyde essence and tries to seek ,through  valiant free will, a way to wed these two inextricably opposed twins of his psyche.

     At the very end of the chapter, it is also very important to note that the entire confession, involving his brother Jim, takes place within Reuben's inner sanctum (Nideck Point) rather than the church that is so far-removed from the context of the Redwood forest that imbibes Reuben with a deep sense of his paradoxical self.

     Within the next post, I would love to further this discussion of Reuben's spiritual odyssey, by theorizing how the greatest spiritual conundrum of this novel might be resolved within Wolves of Midwinter:

       "Do you think Teilhard de Chardin could have been right? That we fear God does not exist because we can't spatially grasp the immensity of the universe; we fear that personality is lost in it when maybe it is a super-personality that holds it all together, a super-conscious God, who planted evolving consciousness in each of us." (The Wolf Gift 274)

     Unfortunately, this post only examined the insights that Reuben makes about his own self, in that we must live peaceably with awareness of the duality that exists within our psyches. If our internal psychological personalities are this complex and difficult to fathom, how are we to fathom the potential that a larger force might exist within the universe, like the notion of a God? This is the question that still frazzles Reuben, even by the end of novel. Using another scene in particular, I will continue my next post, in one week or later, with a discussion of the meaning of "midwinter" in different myths that preceded the publication of this novel, and how this may symbolically provide us with  some clues as to how this aforementioned unsolved  spiritual question might be explored further in Wolves of Midwinter.
   

For now, I have Book Expo America to look forward to! 

Review of Out Of The Underworld: The Life and Death of Mortimer Drake Book 2

Be forewarned that this post is only being posted here temporarily. The same post is posted on my newly remodeled Wordpress blog: http://www.bibliophilesreverie.com/
Amazon (Kindle Edition)/ Barnes&Nobles (Nook Edition)
*Please Note-This copy was recently re-uploaded and re-edited by Greg Wilkey, thus the print copy is out-of-print on Amazon. The ninety-nine cent copy for both the Kindle and Nook are still available.*

    Interview with Greg Wilkey (More questions to come next week, when the review for the third Mortimer Drake novel is posted)1.FF: This is definitely the inevitable sequel question, but how was the writing process different this time with Out of the Underworld? What new challenges sprang up? (I'm sure the writing process never become as seamless as the iconic Hollywood scene, where the writer types a whole draft magically overnight on his classy typewriter.)
** Greg: Writing the sequel was very different for me. I think it was because I felt like I was really getting to know my characters. Their actions and reactions were more natural to me. I had a better sense of where I wanted to take the story, but I was also surprised at how much influence the characters had over me. There were times when the direction I had planned suddenly changed because of something I hadn't planned. It was all very exciting. By the time I got to the end of the second book, the outline for the third and fourth books were already forming in my head. Working on Out of the Underworld definitely brought Mortimer's world to life for me.

2.FF:Earning an invitation to Anne Rice's first reappearance at the Lestat ball in New Orleans must have been exciting. How will you be featured at this year's Lestat ball? Will this appearance be your first official book signing?
** Greg:The invitation to the Vampire Lestat Ball was a complete shock to me. I have been a fan of Anne Rice's work since I was close to 25 years now. I have always wanted to attend the Ball, but never had the opportunity. When I received the e-mail from Anne asking me if I would like to attend and be featured as an indie author at Undead Con, I couldn't believe it. Of course I accepted immediately! She put me in contact with Sue Quiroz, the amazing woman in charge of the events, and we began to make plans. I have had a few book signings and I have been featured at a few small festivals and book clubs, but this will me first time at an event of this magnitude. I am very excited and quite honored.

3. FF: What movies have you watched recently that have fueled your inspiration for the fourth Mortimer Drake book that I'm sure the readers of my blog will be anxious to hear about?
** Greg: Oh wow, I love movies almost as much as books. Mortimer's world is a very active and dark place. I love the movie Priest. I like the twist on the vampires in that story. I recently watched The Avengers again. It sparked some unique ideas for the fourth book. I love that movie. The new Iron Man was great, too. I am forever re-watching old horror movies and anything on the Syfy network. I am a big fan of the cheesy movies. I just can't help myself. My books are heavily influenced by my childhood memories of the great super hero comics of the 80's. I love the action and the adventure. I want fast-paced drama in every chapter.

Thanks again Greg Wilkey for taking the time to answer each of these questions, and partake in this interview and hopefully subsequent interviews in the future (for each of the Mortimer Drake books)
Synopsis (Taken From Amazon Product Detail Page)

    " Mortimer Drake and his family continue to work towards a new understanding of how to survive as a supernatural family living in the mortal world. Unexpected events have altered their close-knit family even more as Mortimer’s mother gives birth to a baby girl. Is she human, vampire or something entirely different? A new battle in the war among the Undead begins as the Mother and Queen of the vampire race is discovered."

Review:Warning:This interview is heavily saturated with Youtube clips to enliven the review, plus semi-spoilers, but not real spoilers, not enough to ruin your suspense-filled experience of the book.

  As someone that has spend multiple semesters wading through books with the single-minded goal of thoroughly analyzing them for meaning, I am dependent on books like Greg Wilkey's  very fun, action-packed vampire series-The Life and UnDeath of Mortimer Drake-  to spare my mind the madness that starts to set in, once I forget the fact that there books can be purely entertaining, and not just intellectually stimulating. I don't want to say this series is pure camp, only because of the negative connotations related with that word. Even though the plot does indeed pay homage to the adventure-filled plot lines of older adventure shows, cartoons, and movies of everyone's nerdy childhood, there is still quite a lot of subtle depth in both the characterization and plot within this series. Again, it's not heavy duty drama or Downton-Abbey style soap opera filled with an astonishing number of interlaced plot contrivances (good plot contrivances, of course).
   Instead of merely accessing the book for its quality in this review (that's too dull and pedantic for a book series like this), I will reveal three spoilers, all offered up with enigmatic details and suitable allusions to other tv shows and films that reminded me eerily of scenes from the story. Being a complete, die-hard nerd, I cannot help but throw in the pop-culture references in a series of books that really are comic books in novel form.

Semi-Spoiler #1-There is a heart at the center of the plot.

  Uncannily, Out of the Underworld bears a lot of resemblance to  Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,  except Alexander's sister Lena and Alexander's mother have a formidable charm to them that is incomparable with Indiana Jones' blonde hair sidekick that screams incessantly for help all throughout this rather lackluster sequel. Why do I bring up Temple of Doom? Well,there's an important, treasured item within the story (not divulging the full title because I don't want to disperse the novel's rich air of mystery) that involves a heart-the literal organ in our body.  I will offer this comforting spoiler- this heart is strikingly different from the way hearts are barbarically torn from highly memorable, traumatic scene from the weakest of the Indiana Jones film. Thankfully, Out of the Underworld  is not the weakest of the Mortimer Drake novels.

    


Semi-Spoiler #2-The chamber that holds this precious heart is a cave . 

    Relating back to the atmosphere of the story, there is a mysterious cave sequence that conjured certain recognizable images of cave tropes from both recent television series and movies. There are a panoply of these types of cave images, but the role that the cave plays within the series recalled images from Aladdin, which prominently featured the good old-fashion image from classic mythology of a treasured genie lamp or some other esoteric treasure being buried within a cave, and the intrepid hero can discern these various hazards and recognize then how to see  through their deceptive qualities. In the end, it will be this hero that will have the capacity to find the mysterious item in the cave, thereby unlocking a treasure that will have serious ramifications on the rest of the plot. Without spoiling anything for new readers of the Mortimer Drake  series, Out of the Underworld  does feature its own Cave of Wonder sequence, along with an intrepid hero and his respective sidekicks that will indeed find the famed "heart." Since both  Indiana Jones Temple of Doom and Aladdin  are being compared in this review; I decided to throw in the cave of wonder scene with audio from Indiana Jones that was cleverly woven into the video.
     








Semi-Spoiler #3- Adding intrigue to the mystery of the cave and the heart, there is mythology that works as the fabric of mystery that fully ties together this entire plot-thread.

    In the previous installment of the Mortimer Drake Chronicles,  Growing up Dead,  there was a rich mythological origin story that refashioned the myth of Persephone and Hades as the purported tale of the origin story of vampires. Let's face it! Nearly all adventure stories that contain high stakes and great suspenseful moments need their layer of mythos, which adds to the novel's preternatural atmosphere. This is the well-formulated element that effectively suspends our disbelief, and fully believe temporarily that the world of the novel might very well be a truly tangible realm all of its own.
   When reading of the way that Greg Wilkey builds on the same myth and puts it into question by adding parallel explanations of it, I became more and more intrigued by the very notion of there existing multiple forms of the same story. If these myths were passed down generation to generation in the oratorical fashion (spoken aloud in a dramatic tone, normally before an audience of engrossed people), the accounts that proceed from the supposed, unidentifiable original myth cannot be found.
    In the nineties, there was an excellent television series, and while the series, appropriately entitled Storyteller,  does not explicitly feature the Persephone myth. It does feature a Persephone cameo, during the sequence where Orpheus entreats Hades to revive his deceased lover, Eurydice. Has anyone noticed that Hades has this malevolent ability to just snatch away those we love? Interestingly, the exploration into what or whom represents Hades in the Mortimer Drake  series is one that kept interesting me all throughout my reading of the second novel. Anyways, watch this scene play out, and you'll also recognize that I have managed to feature a cave in all three of these clips. Basically, caves are an important symbolic architecture, when you're trying to build up a plot from the cement base of the first novel. Fittingly, Out of the Underworld serves as the book that explores some of the ensuing results of the aftermath of the huge plot twists at the end of the last novel. More importantly, it  symbolizes Mortimer's deeper exploration into his complex identity as a vampire, a human, and the complex legacy that he puzzles over throughout this novel. With so many well-timed plot twists within this novel, I cannot wait to see where the plot of third book leads.

   



      With all these awesome hijinks and intriguing mysteries that make this series truly gripping entertainment, a paltry 99 cents for the Kindle edition never looked more enticing.

            If you're interested in starting the series and rediscovering vampires without all the Twilight-esque elements, this is the series for you!!

            Check out the below links for more information about Greg Wilkey's Mortimer Drake series:
Greg Wilkey's Author Website
Greg Wilkey's Facebook Fan PageAmazon Link for the First Book in the Series

Review of Emilie Autumn's Gargantuan "Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls," Book

Be aware that this post is now posted on my new blog on Wordpress! This post and other new posts will be here for six months. The link to this blog is http://bibliophilesreverie.com/




Ebook Edition/ Print Edition
Emilie Autumn's Treatise on the Imperfections of our country's Mental Health System, or our continued ignorance of the ramifications of mental health problems....Just Read the Book Summary of Book from Asylum Emporium (Store on her Website)

"Straddling the bookshelves somewhere between psychological study, historical horror story, and fantasy fiction sits Emilie Autumn's debut autobiographical novel, "The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls." Written and illustrated by the notoriously manic-depressive rock star, this chilling tale combines humor, tragedy, and suspense to produce a blood-curdling account of the nightmare that is life inside an insane asylum, comparing those from the Victorian era with our modern day version, and proving, through her own personal experiences, that not much has changed from then to now. Culled directly from EA's real-life diary entries, the story begins with Emilie's suicide attempt and prompt imprisonment inside a psychiatric hospital. Sparing no detail, Emilie shows us exactly what goes on inside this house of horrors, exposing secrets that the general public could never have guessed at. Narrated with the sarcastic and self-deprecating humor present in all of EA's works, much of the subject matter may be considered controversial. Still, as in her song lyrics, Emilie tells the truth at all costs, thrusting the brave reader into a play-by-play narrative of her bi-polar episodes, even providing photos -- blood, cuts, and all. The tale takes an unexpected turn when, whilst still in the psych ward, Emilie discovers evidence of a parallel dimension -- a world that soon becomes indiscernible from her own. As the days go by, the seemingly disparate worlds of the story's two lead characters (Emilie and Emily, EA's Victorian counterpart) begin to merge, leaving the reader, as well as the book's author, rather confused as to whether the accounts are truly autobiographical or whether EA has managed to seamlessly morph from true-life tale to extremely well-researched historical fiction. "The Asylum..." is not all gloom and doom however. It is a reality-bending thriller as well as a profoundly empowering tale of suffering, sisterhood, and revenge that culminates in what is perhaps one of the most suspenseful cliff-hangers of all time. The book's colorful cast of characters (diabolical doctors, mental patients, and the talking plague rats and blood-sucking leeches that fans of EA's music are already familiar with) thoroughly entertain, educate, and engross the reader with prime movie material. "The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls," will leave fans shocked and readers everywhere gasping for air. Each full-color page of this beautifully bound, 266 page hardcover is positively packed with hand written memoirs, fanciful paintings, and sketches of the Asylum's inhabitants. In perhaps the most perverse twist of all, this Rated R publication is cleverly disguised as a high-end children's activity book, complete with interactive elements including notes, craft patterns, and reader quizzes designed both to disturb and delight. This monumental show of literary and artistic talent demands a place on your tea table as well as on your nightstand, although, readers, take care -- you'll never think of your doctor in quite the same way again. Prepare yourself to enter a world most pray never to visit. But beware: It is much easier to get into the Asylum than it is to get out..."

        Reading Emilie Autumn's gargantuan book Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls,priced at sixty dollars at her online store (the aptly named Asylum Emporium), is quite frankly one of the most thrilling, most revealing accounts of the parallel differences of the world of mental illness out there. Working on different levels as pure historical fiction, contemporary about the world of mental health institutions, and also a reflection of our continued perpetuation of dangerous sexist attitudes about women, this book is not merely just drivel, but sophisticated literature, coming from one of my favorite recently-discovered indie techno-goth artists, Emilie Autumn. In the world of music with so many stale pop songs that lack any eclecticism, Emilie Autumn's industrial gothic music shines brilliantly out of the din of uninspired rap and pop music that is so often heard. More importantly, the messages in her music, which revolves around psychological reflections about deep issues such as rape and suicide, have caused Emilie Autumn to be one of the most divisive artists out there. Perhaps, this divisiveness has caused this book, in particular, to be ignored.
 
     When any story touches such touchy subjects like cutting, suicide, and bipolar disorder, the instant reaction from people is a condescending attitude that this is all just "emo whining" or something so unsophisticated that it can't be worthy of reading with a serious critical lenses. Except, this story is more than a tawdry account of the difficulties of a life lived with a mental illness. Rather, the story is deeply cathartic, plumbing psychological depths that other books rarely venture upon. Structurally, the book is a marvel for any serious psychoanalytic critic.

     From the beginning, the story begins in modern times with a rather doleful, but slightly sarcastic account of Emilie's own admission into a mental institution. For more sensitive or prudish readers, they might never be able to suspend their judgement, when they read that she tried to kill herself, but successfully had an abortion. With such depth and introspection, Emilie reflects on the confusing emotions that she faced, when suffering a terrible mental breakdown and a horrible break-up with her boyfriend. Resigning herself from explicitly offering details of the events that preceded her suicide attempt, we get only scattered details about what drove her to madness. The inexplicable factor of this whole scene that might cause some people to lash out with indignant moral judgement is the grey area that exists in the psyche of those with bipolar disorder, much like Emilie  Autumn herself.

       In all her music, there is a ingenious sense of depersonalization, authentically reflecting the deep emotional and intellectual detachment that occurs   as a result of having a serious mental disorder like bipolar disorder. In the psyche, there exists two polarized worlds, and the scheme of the novel reflects the deep division that artistically exists within the narrator's psyche  As we venture further into the conscious reflection of Emilie's appropriately discursive account of the emotional hardships faced in a mental institution, she begin envisaging a parallel world in nineteenth century England that features the title character named "Emily," who is sent to a musical institution all due to her exceptional talents as a violinist  The plot then abruptly segues its way to a disturbing account of emotional and sexual abuse, all too common for women during the nineteenth century England. While Emily manages to escape from the prison of this abusive master, she is then placed in a terrible prison called the asylum. The drama of the "Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls," is populated with many clever, fictitious elements, but the underlying commentary on the mistreatment of women during this time is what is amply reflected throughout this small section and in other sections of this large volume.


      Without spoiling the rest of the book, I will say that things get much more interesting from here on out in terms of the psychological nature of the story. We are never quite sure whether Emilie's perspective from the modern mental institution is real, or the bleak asylum in Victorian England  that her parallel self "Emily" inhabits are real. The story masterfully never ascertains for the reader which perspective is completely real. Many literary critics would simply declare the narrator "an unreliable narrator," and completely dismiss  this text altogether. There is something so richly fascinating and subversive about this book that it is certain to turn people immediately away in disgust. Some people might even have the gall to read it and ignore the underlying analysis of the comparative look at the treatment at women between the worlds of nineteenth century and twenty-first century. In the one lucid frame of our minds, we should be asking ourselves: How much has really changed for people with mental disorders; thereby, what is the state of our mental health institutions?

      In terms of commentary on women's rights, are things really rapidly progressing as it should in respects to the way we treat women? Within some Christian circles, the treatment of women, who comprise the majority of membership to some of these more fundamentalist branches, still actively seek ways to denigrate women by either not allowing them to be pastors, or still preach from the pulpit that they are intrinsically inferior to men. If some churches have abandoned their sexist overtones, they ostensibly still preach frightfully sexist things by neurotically obsessing over the immorality of male homosexuality (not lesbianism as much..very interesting..). Feminism or Egalitarian concerns in society are not just important to women; it concerns all of us.
    Essentially,it reflects the darker shade of our psyche that has the propensity  to not only patronize those we deem as "others," but find ways to propagate the idea  that they are intrinsically less intelligent, less beautiful, and less capable of civilized behavior. The way we treat fifty-one percent of the population by declaring that they're servile sandwich makers is blurred with our perception of those with mental disorders, who we still see as being untrustworthy and crazy. Many women, who are viewed as strong, are still cast as being insane. A man that might have a more socially defined "feminine" or "emotionally-sensitive side"     might be seen as suffering from not being a full male.These were mental health obsessions for those in the nineteenth century: a marked obsessive fear of men perhaps showcasing some emotional traits that are  viewed as more feminine traits in a limited fashion.

    For being so brash, clever, and unapologetic, Emilie Autumn is often called "a misandrist"(a word that curiously does not exist in the dictionary), a drama queen, and some people have even said that her bipolar disorder makes this whole account ( a pastiche of fictional and non-fictitious elements)  suspect. Weirdly enough, everything that Emilie writes about in this book is reflected with the mixed emotions, surrounding this book. In the end, this is remarkable art, where the chiefest, most essential thing is not to merely entertain the reader, but to implore the reader to think deeply about issues that pervade our existence everyday. Those who fear books like this really believe it will make their children suicidal or have dark ideas in their mind; wouldn't Hamlet or any Shakespearean tragedy do the same thing with its accounts of psychopaths and lovers bent on suicide stories? I'm not recommending this book for children of course, all due to the mature subject matter, but people often act petulant nonetheless about adult fiction (as though adult readers should be treated as children, like at some fundamentalist schools that ban PG-13 movies for adults that are 18-23 yrs. old).

      It's surprising  but very commendable  that Emilie Autumn sought to publish her controversial magnum opus herself. Are there more people willing to seriously scrutinize and handle this work as a serious book, worthy of a scholarly analysis? Much like the works of Anne Rice, the gothic theme still signals the words "tawdry pulp-fiction, written by a sex-deprived cat ladly," thus it is then forever easy to permanently dismiss this book as something frivolous. This is a book written with expert prose and great narrative structure. It imbues us with the sense of being in a different world, much like Hayao Miyazaki's animated films  allows us to escape. But, this darkly humorous account harbors a dark side, and this dark side will make us all reflect on a multitude of issues beyond those described as "feminist concerns;" this is a work that diversely explores the deepest depths of our psyche, and makes us wonder just how truly sane  both society and ourselves really are. If you consider yourself a fan of psychological works, I highly recommend this, even if you are not a fan of her industrial gothic music.  This is not yet another self-described emo work. Rather, this is a work that is heavily inspired by the very tragic and dramatic archetypes that Shakespeare once utilized to make the audience members, who watched his plays, seriously reflect on the state of their inner and outer world; their very delicate grasp of what we postmodernists weakly declare "reality."


 Simply put, Emilie Autumn is a widely talented artist that deserves serious attention!


Check out her recent music video for the main single for her newest album:Fight Like a Girl. The music video is directed by the same talented team behind Repo the Genetic Opera  and Devil's Carnival.

Links of Interest:Emilie Autumn's Website Emilie Autumn's Facebook/ Twitter