thewrittenword's reviews
19 reviews

A haunting and fascinating tale of power and the supernatural, The Testament of Solomon taps into the ancient fears and myths of man's dark and mysterious world and the authority of the creator towering above it. The story goes that during the building of the temple of Jerusalem by Solomon the king of the Jews one of the workers who happened to be in his favor was harassed by a demon. Noticing the young man's plight Solomon asked help from God and received a ring from the archangel Michael which will enabled him to command demons to do his bidding. Thus is set the intriguing and compelling story of how a man with the blessing of God summoned the fiends of the underworld and forced them to reveal themselves and to follow his orders in the creation of a monument to the master who they hated and feared. 

The fascinating interaction between Solomon and the demons sets a dark and quite unsettling mood. The imaginable hideousness and grotesequeness of the cursed entities and their vile natures and practices which they boldly and shamelessly state depict the horrid and detestable core of evil on the printed page. Solomon's dominion over them contrasts like a healing shaft of light which illuminates these shadowy encounters in the reminder of God's absolute control of and over evil and everything.

What's speculative about this work is how much is fact. The tone from the start is that of fiction with its clichéd scenes and the references from its time in relation to medicine, geography and religion among others prove there's nothing out of the ordinary in the creation of the text. But anyone attuned to the supernatural and the dark, sinister side of this world will immediately sense the underlying truth in the portrayal of the malevolent reality of existence.

One of the gripping and darker tomes from the religiously fertile and turbulent era of Palestine during the early 1st millennium AD, this mysterious text written in Greek and a hybrid of Jewish, Greek and Christian beliefs is one of the more readable and relevant of the non-biblical writings. A riveting and disturbing portrayal of a world depicting the challenges of man and a reminder of the One who alone  can save and is the Supreme ruler of all.

I was reminded of this tale by coming across an article in The Guardian on how the novella has found fame and a whole new audience in TikTok (of all places). For some strange reason in a site where people like to flaunt their dance moves the great titan of literature known for his heavy and brooding tomes struck a chord with the generally obnoxious and shallow herd of the millennium. An amusing and definite testament to the man's staying power and universality.

And why this particular title? For one, it's short, which caters to the ADD-addled netizen show-offs. Two, it's a love story (of sorts) so the appeal is broadened mostly to the estrogen crowd who comprise the majority of readers in fiction.

And what of the story itself? Think of the great man in his younger years without the weight of experience that enabled him to pen his masterpieces but with the already natural touch of the master flirting with Chick Lit. Here, Dos has a young man filling space in the nocturnal streets of St. Petersburg and nourished by loneliness imbibes the life of the city with nightly strolls that soothes and balms his isolated existence. Think of the modern day incel only with this instead of gunning down people or ramming them over the clueless and miserable unfortunate broods, broods and broods. A chance meeting with an individual unleashes a torrent of scenarios that pulsate with intense emotions of familiarity, understanding, friendship and unrequited love.

As with Dostoevsky's works the prose is among the finest in all of literature. The strength of the plot and the skillful symmetry of words pull the reader in and stir the emotions with their strong display of riveting real life portrayals. 

But boy oh boy, did Fyodor lose the plot when he went all flowery and ruined what he impressively gained with the story's strengths. I know beta males are among the most embarrassingly inept attempters at Casanova-like effusions and Dostoevsky got it right with the protagonist's breathtakingly bad and head-shake inducing declarations of lurv.  It's to his credit he got the real world right and to his eternal damnation he can make a reader want to throw the book with a single paragraph alone.

Start with "Crime and Punishment" or if you're more daring "The Brothers Karamazov" if you want to know why the great man is the only novelist to come close to Cervantes in the realm of the novel but if you're the girly or more casual-reader type you can take a neat dip with this and get an idea on what the fuss is all about. One of the standout novellas, this is prime literature.

A nod to the satanic scare that gripped parts of the world in the 1980s, Houses of the Unholy finds the winning Brubaker-Phillips tandem in action delivering their fare of gritty real life comics like no other. A troubled woman with a past and a butch cut makes a living as a bounty hunter and at present successfully captures a missing teen for parents who she claims "paid a lot of money to rescue her". Her captive escapes during a struggle and what ensues is a dark descent into cults, conspiracies, childhood, secrets and murder.

In his trademark style Ed Brubaker creates a subtly intense world the lead character inhabits where moody introspection clashes with real life challenges. His direct delivery highlighted by realistic dialogues and slice of life scenarios resonate with an underlying air of familiarity. Sean Phillilps' art work ornaments the sordid tale with its visually appealing world of day to day characters rendered in the rough and grime of life itself. I've never been a big fan of Jacob Phillips' work, his blotchy style of daubings never really being my cup of tea. But it's a grower and his work here adds a colorful and somber tone.

While no classic and somewhat let down by an abrupt and a little too clichéd ending, Houses of the Unholy is perhaps Brubaker and Phillips' best stand alone graphic novel to date and is one for comic fans who like their texts and art devoid of anything that slightly resembles a whiff of superhero and fantasy. Check this out.

A fast-paced and highly readable tale of organized crime and homoerotic romance, Beyond the Sea is the Graphic Novel at one of its most mature and accomplished. Set in 1930s Chicago, the story unfolds in the saga of one Jules Tivoli, an Italian immigrant struggling in the dreck of poverty. Barely getting by in a dead-end job with awful people destiny chances an encounter when he meets Adam Czar, a local big shot hood who the luckless youth fancies. He casts his lot with the older and powerful man and the two share a path of sex, romance, crime and power through the twists and turns of fate. Along the way one is witness to the machinations of organized crime in the form of the American Mafia and Tivoli's struggles as a man of conscience in a world of violence and evil.

Writer, artist and colorist Anaïs Flogny shows her admirably well-rounded skills with her highly readable and emotive account of this offbeat take on a well-known plot and colorful art work. The gay scenes are icky to those who aren't of that persuasion but they're well-handled and not overdone while with the art the figures appear somewhat disappointingly of the stick-like kind but without bordering on the childlike and the bright well-balanced coloring and well-executed backgrounds are appealing eye candy.

A page-turner of contemplative profundity, Beyond the Sea tackles on personal challenges and life's choices impressively with its directness and simplicity. Come across some ignoramus who thinks comics are for children? Hand them this.

By 1970 The Beatles were in the most challenging phase of their one of a kind career. With declining popularity and relevance, internal squabbles and business problems each weary band member wanted out despite trying to shoulder on as best he could. Before the end of the year the band was over. You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle for the Soul of The Beatles charts and focuses on the band members' personal and artistic lives together with the business side of the story which enriched the talented foursome and yet threatened to end their personal and musical relationships.

British editor and author Peter Doggett, author of several tomes on Rock music and cultural history and one of the foremost authorities on The Beatles goes into considerable detail on the dense and murky details of the band members' respective stories and the financial and litigatory mess the band and their associates endured. From the problems created by manager Brian Epstein and made worse by his death in 1966 to the group's courtroom drama with Apple Inc. way into the millennium Doggett nails it down. One reads in fascination as The Fab Four create Apple Corps as a hippie business venture to bypass the usual business practices with all the naivete and idealism of the times and the attendant results. Each band member's life story in all their personal and artistic dramas are highlighted revealing their personalities - their interactions with other members of the band and others (both good and bad); their attempts at cultivating their wealth and the times they lost a lot of it; their battles in court, with and against each other; and their attempts to maintain their Rock n' Roll spirit amidst a world of opportunism and monetary temptations. The tale is also an interesting portrait on the four individuals who made it all happen: John Lennon, the archetypal artist with his mercurial personality; Paul McCartney, the focused and mature one who strove to keep the band together and lost them in the process; George Harrison, the insecure and junior partner who neither had the talent nor the personality to back his convictions; and Ringo Starr, the quintessential sideman, talented and self-effacing and who was neither a threat nor an issue with anyone. The direct gaze the book focuses on them is pretty compelling: Lennon's flirtations and difficult experiences with hard drugs and politics and his tumultuous relationship with Yoko Ono onto his murder which kickstarts the book in gut wrenching detail; McCartney's personal and artistic challenges and his path to fortune; Harrison's turbulent relationships with his spirituality and artistic muse together with the personal tragedy that befell him which hastened his passing; and Starr's descent into the wilderness with drugs and alcohol as he struggled to find his way after The Beatles ended and his eventual redemption as one of the survivors and elderly spokesmen of his generation. Doggett gets the word down with seamless, flowing prose in a tone of equal cynicism and justice that sets an account of balance and clear, level-headed objectivity.

One has to remember getting into this tome that this is very much a business story on the band's history with all that comes with it. The dry, matter of fact tone and numbers involved detailing the financial matters can come across as stale and as lifeless as bad memories of Accounting class in High-School and is the complete opposite of the artistic highs the band's recordings a fan reading this enjoys. Doggett may come across as a poker face in some of his assessments on The Beatles' and the band members' artistic efforts and his final assessment on the band's legacy comes across as ludicrous considering he seems to have forgotten the ones responsible for making the music that he idealizes so much.

One of the best and most unique tomes on the most important Rock band in history, You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle for the Soul of The Beatles is one of the essential reads for fans of the band, music enthusiasts and historians. Perhaps the only book so far to detail the business side of the band's fabled history this is a cautionary tale on the price of wealth and fame and its complicated effects on everyone involved. After reading this, play a classic Beatles recording and bask in the timeless spirit of artistry and quality that emerges and realize why all the tumult, the turbulence, heck, all the god damn hassle that we go through in this puzzling yet interesting thing called life is worth it.

Loose, amoral, immoral, obnoxious, annoying, irritating, romantic, sensual, sexual, silly, stupid, idiotic, hopeless and oh so fascinating, the libertine and his world are among the most compelling realities that have challenged man since the dawn of civilization. Equally loathed and admired the libertine questions, provokes and reaffirms our moral standpoints in ways that have both soiled and enhanced art and life. Brazen in their shamelessness and pathetic in their downfall these free spirited champions of excess rarely fail to trigger.

The Libertine Reader: Eroticism and Enlightenment in Eighteenth-Century France compiles some of the most representative works of fiction from the nation that popularized and is most associated with it. Spanning the entire century the anthology includes well-known names like Denis Diderot, Choderlos de Laclos and the Marquis de Sade while adding forgotten authors like Crébillon fils, Abbé Prevost and Vivant Denon. Whether set in the exotic East or classical Paris these tales conjure scenes and states of mind like the talking vaginas of Diderot's "The Indiscreet Jewels"; the tittilated wayward soul of Crébillon fils" "The Sofa"; a strange ménage à trois in Denon's "No Tomorrow"; pathological paternalism with Prévost's "The Story of a Modern Greek Woman"; Crébillon fils' second entry with a muddleheaded "playa" in "The Wayward Head and Heart"; Sade's incest-ringed orgy of fatalistic doom with "Florville and Courval"; and my favorite, Laclos' wicked classic of aristocratic abuse and lunacy with "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", the Casanova of the set and the triumph of Libertine and 18th-Century literature. The collection also includes introductions for each story by leading authors and academics including notes and a a timeline of 18th-Century France giving the book a literary and historical perspective.

One will immediately realize early in this tome how novels from this time period really haven't aged well in these direct no-frills times. The dense, wordy, "elegant" style of prose labors this behemoth into a slow, trudging and seemingly endless test of endurance. For short, it's a slog. The dialogues of many will test the patience of even the most gooey-eyed romance novel fanatic. Chick Lit from the 1700s. Yes, that bad. A number of these titles would have worked best as short stories or novellas. The intros preceding the stories show how bad and pointless academics can be proving that life secluded in ivory towers can seriously impair one's writing capabilities and sense of judgment.

Evoking an age of harems, men in leggings and powdered wigs, women with the original "beehive" hairdos, carriages and a nobility before and after their heads were lopped off, The Libertine Reader offers a glimpse into a way of life as disagreeable as it is timeless. Questionably essential but memorable this is one book lovers and historians can take a plunge into.

On September 24, 1991 Nirvana released Nevermind. From then on, the musical, social and cultural landscape have never been the same. In one fell swoop what once was considered inferior, obscure, unknown and inaccessible was now part of the mainstream. Most thought that this success came from a vacuum, an inspired moment from a talented band who hit the big time. But little did they know the rich, deep, wide and wild background it emerged from.

Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Underground 1981-1991 fills the gap. Foremost music critic and author Michael Azerrad, author of the well-regarded Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana narrates the fascinating, wacky and inspiring tales of the bands that created a nationwide scene whose influence would spread far and wide belieing their isolated and difficult stories. Watching a music documentary on Rock he was appalled in one episode how this groundbreaking era was skipped with nary a nod or acknowledgenent to its importance and influence. Deciding to take matters into his hands and inspired by the said era's DIY "Do It Yourself" ethic he got to work. Choosing 13 of some of the best groups from that heady and artistically fertile period one is transported to another time and place. Whether it be the seminal Black Flag, the eclectic Minutemen, the highly principled Minor Threat, the trendsetting Sonic Youth and many others, in brisk, seamless prose injected with opinion and humor Azerrad lays bare these motley group of misfits who created their own musical landscape. With minimal knowledge and equal naiveté and talent these acts started their own record labels, distributed their own music, managed themselves, carried their own equipment, organized their own tours, wrote their own fanzines and endured the hell of being ripped-off, performing to barely existing (and usually violent and hostile) audiences, and sleeping in inhospitable environments all while being ignored by mainstream media and the public at large. One is amazed and inspired at the belief and tenacity of these brave men and women who charted and trekked new frontiers bypassing the usual and comfortable route to a musical career paving the way to the ubiquitous independence in the music industry now taken for granted.

The flaws come primarily from Azerrad's questionable opinions on some of the potent matters discussed in the text. His dismissive and snarky snides on Minor Threat's Straight Edge philosophy and lifestyle says more about him than the band's game-changing and lifesaving ideology. Hey Mike, if you can't quit the booze and the cigars don't take it on MacKaye and his legion of X-marked baldies! His gripe on the global breakthrough and success of Nirvana and the Grunge movement and bemoaning of how it "altered" the Indie scene to what he believes is the worse is deluded hipster posturing as shortsighted as his spectacles signify. What's the point of art if not to share and spread it to as many as possible? Isn't art the elevating release that inspires and enriches people to help them get through the challenges and monotony of life while appreciating its beauty and substance at the same time? The triumph of the '90s Rock phenomenon ended the 20th Century on a memorable note whose legacy continues to inspire in these empty and inferior times.

Widely-praised and since regarded as one of the best books on music, Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Underground 1981-1991 is a highly readable document on a time when people were still at their best, electricity was in the air, the future held so much promise and Rock was everything. Bask in these riveting pages and blast the great music of these one of a kind acts whose sonic musical assaults powered, shook and inspired an entire nation from coast to coast extending to a global reach unlike any seen since. "Rise Above"!

Perhaps the foremost biography on the legendary 15th Century poète maudit, Danse Macabre: François Villon, Poetry and Murder in Medieval France is an informative and compelling read on the fascinating French poet. Archaeologist and historian Aubrey Burl employs a light and interested take on his enthusiasm for the endlessly intriguing man. Burl paints the backdrop of Medieval France particularly Paris in all its filthy, seamy, dangerous and captivating past. He explores and navigates its streets, edifices and personalities and how this shaped Villon and the times. He depicts a man who emerges from the slums of the great city into a relevant and enduring versifier who from the vantage point of a promising education descended into the hell of crime, vagabondage, prison, disease and near-death experiences whose number have to be read to be believed. He also relates his interpretations of Villon's poems attempting to identify their meanings and the personages mentioned providing a striking and moving portrait of a world as distant and yet as familiar as the one at present. Although he makes conjectures considering the many mysterious and unknown episodes in Villon's life Burl nonetheless bases them on as reasonable and solid evidence as possible.

An enticing and haunting study on the life of an enigma, a man who supposedly disappeared never to be seen or heard from again, Danse Macabre: François Villon, Poetry and Murder in Medieval France is a must read for those into poetry, Literature, the Medieval era and History in general. The progenitor of the dark, subversive, "bad boy" side of French literature that spawned Rabelais, Sade, Laclos, Baudelaire, Verlaine, Lautréamont, Rimbaud, d'Aurevilly, L'Isle-Adam, Huysmans, Lorrain, Maupassant, Mirbeau, Rachilde, Céline, Genet, Guyotat and hence the rest of non-academic literature from around the world; Villon is one of the most important and influential literary figures in history and this book gives a bright and engaging account on why.

One of the more intriguing and controversial titles of recent times, Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties is a riveting page-turner on what may have actually occurred with the infamous crimes committed by Charles Manson and his sinister group of followers dubbed the "Family" during the 1960s. Investigative reporter Tom O'Neill was given the task by Premiere magazine in 1999 to write an article on the 30th Anniversary of the  Manson murders. Research into the dark topic led him further into a rabbit hole much deeper than he thought he could have imagined: the CIA, mind control, conspiracy, drugs, sexual debauchery, cover-ups, etc.., are among the surprising revelations he uncovered. With interviews and travels he was able to trace the chaotic and turbulent times that bred and cultivated such an inspired yet toxic environment which found reflection and embodiment in those affluent homes in suburban Los Angeles forever linked with tragedy during the fateful nights of the crimes.

Although he doesn't offer any final conclusion on what led to and really happened in the Tate-LaBianca murders, O'Neill opened a whole new world of possibility and speculation on one of the most notorious crimes in history. Brisk and well-paced this is a must read for fans of True Crime, History and Music.

An Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell tandem that tackles the infamous murders that terrorized Whitechapel in 1888, From Hell is an erratic, all over the place graphic novel that takes on True Crime and History with dashes of fiction depicting Victorian London in all its elegance and inequality. Published as a serial from 1989-1998 and published in book form in 1999 the comic is an intriguing glimpse at the Victorian era and its dark and sordid underbelly.

A tale of conspiracy, nobility, freemasons and the London underclass the comic posits the theory of upper class involvement in the brutal and sordid events and the eventual cover-up that transpired. Writing in his dense, intellectual and poetic trademark Moore narrates the complex series of events as Campbell's B&W illustrations render them with some appeal in stark simplicity and a li'l crudeness.

Perhaps overwhelmed with the reputation and the possibilities of the subject matter at hand Moore lost it. While definitely the foremost writer of the genre who I consider the "Bob Dylan of comics" Moore has the flaw of intellectuals in failing to restrain their verbal onslaughts. In a topic where brevity and directness are called for to deliver that nonstop and climactic punch Moore goes on endless and wearying digressions that utterly dilute whatever strengths come before or after such transgressions. I doubt if he was paid by the word but he sure wrote like it. Utterly unfortunate and the man's exercises in verbal diarrhea ruined any chance of a work that should have been among the best in the field. The appendixes at the end of the complete edition where Moore explains the process on the comic's creation and the history of Ripperology only add to the further slog of this unfortunate reading experience.

Made into a film starring Johnny Depp and regarded as one of Alan Moore's best works, From Hell shows the range and appeal of the comic format and is one fans of History, True Crime and Comics can appreciate.  Flaws aside, in textual and visual form one can see with this tome the dark, complex and ominous nature of reality and man's capacity to emerge from its ruins and move on.