Latex Records

I found this book simply by chance. It happened to be sitting in a very visible location of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror section of a local bookstore while I was browsing for something new and entertaining to read. That is something I hardly do these days as usually I have predetermined list of things I want to read before ever entering a book store. I don’t normally read Star Wars books to be honest. In fact, I’ve only read two in the past. One of them was by RA Salvatore who I am a fan of for his Dark Elf series and the other was the first Star Wars book I’d ever seen after the movies started called Splinter of the Mind’s Eye by Alan Dean Foster. This one however caught my eye because of the unique artwork on its cover, a bloody storm trooper helmet suspended from a chain on a hook. I picked up the book and realized it was a Horror novel set in the Star Wars universe, published as an official Star Wars novel. Now, that’s interesting!!!

The main concept behind the story is a Prison barge, “Purge”, is on its way to its destination when two things occur. First, it has engine trouble and needs assistance and/or parts. Second, they encounter an Emperial Star Destroyer. When hailed, there is no response from the Destroyer so they send an team to locate the needed parts. Readings of the ship declare there is no life aboard. The Destroyer seems to be abandoned.

I don’t want to give any spoilers but will say that there is a lurking “evil” on the Destroyer and that the first half of the book is focused more on the disease the team takes back to the “Purge” and the rapid elimination of its crew to this deadly virus. As you can guess, the Destroyer is not empty but is instead infested with Emperial undead, zombies. The few remaining survivors have to navigate the “Purge” and the Destroyer to acquire the needed items and make an attempt at escape. I will say that about midway through some well known characters from the Star Wars saga are introduced and a lot of fun chaos ensues!

I found this book highly entertaining and would LOVE to see this in a movie form. Usually, I find novels better than their movie counterparts. However, in this case, the written word cannot do justice to the visuals that would be brought to life by a film. The only difficulty would be the already known Star Wars characters and who would play them.

If you love Star Wars and/or zombie fiction – this is definitely a fun and unique ride. I found the chapter of the Flesh Hill the most gross though. I hope there are more books in this series. Highly enteraining!!

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This is actually a collection of essays from several individuals whom have studied the topic. Within are also many varied perspectives regarding the 2012 prophecy as it relates to the Mayan calendar and our immediate future. If you are one who has seen much on the topic that has made you anxious or despair this Winter Solstice then you would be doing yourself a favor to read this book. It contains a lot more positive perspectives relating to the possibilities of this coming event.

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Trigger is the first complete novel by Todd Durrant, owner of A Different Drum record label. While A Different Drum is known for great modern Synthpop, Todd Durrant will quickly be known for great and philosophically thought provoking science-fiction. I was extremely impressed with this as a first work by him and anxiously look forward to more. The story was riveting and I couldn’t put it down! It is the type of story with many interesting layers of plot revelation that keeps the reader on edge waiting to see what will happen next. I loved that it was not overly predictable as I find many stories both written and filmed to often be. Instead, this just seemed to get more curious with every page turned.

The most difficult thing about writing this review is that I really don’t want to include too many, if any, spoilers as the greatest fun about reading it was the interesting turns the plot took as more information was revealed. Basically, the story takes place in two different timelines. In one, you have a group of human exiles from Earth who are trying to make their way in space after forcefully leaving the planet due to a an invasion by mechanical “lifeforms”. In this timeline, there are divergent political perspectives revolving around either going back to retake Earth by force or expanding further into space and pioneering further development and growth. In the other timeline, which is pre-invasion, the focus revolves around a major corporation, scientific development, and a secret project to help prevent human annihilation by creating a device which is only activated after the calamity has occurred by using a trigger backwards in time to activate it.

The only criticism I have at all about this work is that I think more development could have been done on the desperation that humans faced in the future on these remote space colonies. However, in many ways the author did make it obvious and other readers may likely disagree with me on this one as much of the first part of the book does have quite a bit relating to this in it. However, I have to admit, character development is probably the most difficult aspect of writing a fiction novel and a marked improvement was shown as the story developed. Overall, I think Todd did a great job and I really liked the characters he created. They are all unique and interesting, no carbon copies, archetypical or stereotypes here except maybe where The Admiral is concerned but that is at it should be in my opinion. I also like that he has strong female characters and sensitive male characters. He also shows many situations where their actions are very human indeed, sometimes logical and sometimes purely emotional, but most often a combination of both as their plight is very unique and unusual. I also like the tech in this book and how he stuck to realistic descriptions regarding the physical dynamics of space, unlike the hollywood movies where you see and hear great explosions and flames in space.

Overall, the book has great technological ideas, interesting philosphical questions, multiple timelines, fairly well developed characters, mostly unpredictable plot lines and a very compelling story!

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While there are many books out there that try to summarize mysticism and/or magic into its basic parts, most of those are often written in a more trivial manner that has often been dubbed “magic 101″ or “paganism 101″ (for beginners), usually as a sort of tongue-in-cheek joke. However, the Matthews’ have compiled a book that is not only more focused and concise but also from a more experiential perspective and not one that is just a rehash of whatever seems to be popular esoterica today.

This book takes a careful examination of the esoteric, mystery, tradition running beneath the surface of Western religion and how its formation and even modern paradigms were affected by Gnosticism, Hermeticism, and the Egyptian Mysteries. With careful and studied examination it also takes the reader through practical knowledge from Shamanism to, as they term, Magus, meaning more ritualized magic. The writers do not speak in flowery terms to appeal to modern witches and pagans like many authors do. They speak in logical and practical terms based on their personal knowledge. Anyone with real experience in the mysteries can easily attest that they are speaking from experience based on the things discussed. In fact, this book turned out to be a first source for a possible explanation for one of my own experiences that I’ve never heard similar ones related by other practitioners or sensitives. While they do not speak regarding things that are often speculative but taken by some as ‘reality’ as other individuals may throw terms and ideas around without much caution, they instead speak clearly and plainly about some things that only the experienced can contest to. Thus, if the reader has not had experience in some areas, there are some things that are said in the book that may seem presumptuous but take note that they authors do not speak carelessly about any topics discussed. They also cover a wide variety of traditions and practices and how they correlate which can also be very useful to anyone who has not already made these associations. There are also practices laid out for personal use if one chooses. All of which seemed highly practical and based on real traditional practices and not just their own made up ideas. However, they also clarify that for a tradition to survive it must be “living” and thus changing and growing all the time, which I personally feel is very important. I think this book could be very insightful for anyone in Western culture wanting to know more about esoteric mysticism and/or any mystic wanting to know more about the Western Way. I only wish I had discovered this earlier before I’ve read so much trite compositions by authors trying to make a quick buck off of the spiritual community!

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First, The Erbeth Transmissions is anything but typical. Erbeth, seems to be another name for what is commonly called LifeForce, Chi, and also known by many other names. This story is a unique Science-Fiction that takes a lot of esoteric, mystic, religious, philosophical, theological, occult, gnostic, and metaphysical concepts and portrays them as Fritz’s version of the true history and nature of mankind and his relation to celestial beings in the universe. You will find accounts relating to ancient colonization of Mars in man’s prehistory as well as mention of such things as Nibiru, the 12th Planet, the Reptilian Agenda, Luciferianism and the true meaning of the Legend of the Fall, and many many more conceptual ideas. This book is a MUST for any fan of Asmodeus X as it helps to explain the many terms, phrases, and concepts behind the band and music, especially as it relates to date to the albums Morningstar and Sanctuary. For anyone who is not well versed in esoteric philosophy, this book may just seems like a very interesting fiction read. For for those who are, you may note some, at times, rather profound, conceptual ideas and conceptions and unique linkages to varous philosophical ideas. It is both amusingly humorous as well as thoroughly though provoking. It is the type of book that is both a quick read and also a lot to take in. I can’t imagine how much for someone who is not versed in esoterica. However, it is the also the type of book you will want to read over again and could also be the cause of some very interesting new cults. On the level with the best works by Robert Anton Wilson and his associates but is definitely a new breed of further thinking. I can only think of about a handful of authors out of the hundreds of books I’ve read that I have found their works hard to put down and this is definitely one of them!

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This comic contains 5 short stories picking up where Captain Marvel left off and leads into The New Avengers: Revolution. These stories revolve around such characters as Captain Marvel, who faces the Skree on thier turf, Marvel Boy, Wonder Man and the Best, who both think the other is a Skree, Abigail Brand, and the Agents of Atlas.

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This chapter of the Secret Invasion comes from the Marvel heroes Civil War. Captain Marvel begins this story in the Negative Zone where an “accident” takes place and he is propelled into the present day. Once he realized where, or rather ‘when’, he is, he must come to terms with not only the undesirable way the world has changed around him but also that history tells that he will die of Cancer upon his return.

During his stay there is a new religious cult formed, the Church of Hala, which revers Mar-Vell as the new Messiah. While he does not agree with this philosophy he does feel the church is doing good, creating another delimma for him to deal with.

Lastly, a Skree, tells him he is not Mar-Vell, the Kree from Titan, but is instead a Skree weapon out of control and a Skree himself with the memories of Mar-Vell instead, but what is the truth?

Will Captain Marvel change history, cheat death, or is he not even who ‘he’ thinks he is? In order to avoid any spoilers for anyone who has not read this one yet — I have decided to leave these questions unanswered. So far the best “I’ve” read of the Secret Invasion series, though I’m only starting. This one got my attention and had some interesting plot concepts and twists and I found it thoroughly enjoyable! So far, this is my favorite in the series.

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This is a collection of Fantastic Four #2, New Avengers: Illuminati #1 and #5, New Avengers #31-32 and #38-39, Mighty Avengers #7, and Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1. This collection retraces the beginning of the Skrull invasion.

While I find this collection, so far, interesting due to its unusual take on the Marvel hero universe, I do find the Skrull history and characters to be a bit infantile and the sci-fi aspects of the story to be very unrealistic, for a sci-fi fan, but possibly more acceptable for young hero comic readers. I think the conspiracy theories regarding an alien reptilian race by David Icke are much more interesting and even strangely believable at times. In comparison, Icke’s Children of the Matrix makes the Secret Invasion look like complete child’s play. If you like the Skrull stories, I say check out the writings of David Icke for a frightening perspective that may even suggest that subconsciously these comic writers may be onto something, or it’s all just paranoia. You judge! Either way, they are both interesting to read and compare… You can take this another step and compare with the basic theory behind the movie They Live by John Carpenter for even more amusement.

What sets the Secret Invasion series apart from these others is that the Skrulls will often imitate Superheroes by taking on their form since they are shapeshifters. Thus, this creates distrust amongst the heroes and much turmoil.

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Not being familiar with hero comics, this was suggested to me as a start to the Secret Invasion. I can see why, it’s a great introduction to the set and setting as well as quick summary and update on the Skrull and the insueing conflict with the Marvel heroes.

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I initially found out about the Promethea graphic novel while reading the book Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes by Chris Knowles and Joseph Micheal Linsner. In it, Promethea was mentioned as a sort of esoteric philosophy in graphic novel form. However, I did not actually find a copy until after the recent popularity of the Watchmen movie by Alan Moore. Having seen the film and recently reading the graphic novel for the movie, I saw that I like the style of Alan Moore. Even more, I liked how he sprinkled the story and characters with small tidbits of mystic philosophy and esoteric theology. I was not disappointed by Promethea.

Promethea is the story of a teenage girl who finds herself becoming the next incarnation of the “goddess” Promethea. Promethea is stated as being a ‘divine incarnation of imagination’. She begins a journey into a strange realm called the Immateria. What I found most interesting about this is that is relates directly to a concept that I had regarding what C.G. Jung terms the ‘Collective Unconscious’. It has been a firm belief of mine since my teenage years that everything we create imaginatively exists ‘somewhere’ in another realm of sorts. If you take Jung’s Collective and my idea it might give you a clue to what the Immateria is. It is a place where Alan Moore displays all things imagined as existing. Traversing the Immateria is like walking through your dreams or subconscious mind. This aspect makes the story have a feel very much like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. I specifically liked how Moore throws in bits of mystic philosophy such as when Promethea defeats some lizardmen and is told that in doing so she is ‘overcoming illusion’. Later, we are told that she learns the ‘way of the sword’ (used here as one of the suits of the Tarot deck) by ‘overcoming obstacles with the proper use of intellect’. I find this a very interesting and intrigueing series and plan to follow through to the end. While the story is sometimes flecked with campy humor, such as the continued display of “Weeping Gorilla Comix”, I think it makes it fun yet philosophically interesting at the same time.

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