Neil Peart, drummer for Rush, takes a year or so to come to terms after great tragedy. Through notes, letters, prose, Neil document his days, weeks anNeil Peart, drummer for Rush, takes a year or so to come to terms after great tragedy. Through notes, letters, prose, Neil document his days, weeks and months as he heals. This serves as a guide to grieving great loss and as well as a travel book as Neil criss-crosses North America on a BMW motorcycle. Much intimate insight and personal growth is revealed here as the healing time passes.
**This review might be considered a spoiler to some.
It’s an effin’ great book. For a Rush fan, such as I, it is a deep-cut look into the life and crea**This review might be considered a spoiler to some.
It’s an effin’ great book. For a Rush fan, such as I, it is a deep-cut look into the life and creative process of every step in the long 40 plus years of Rush. Every album and tour is described in great detail. An absolutely essential read for those who obsess over such things. He also dedicates many pages on his own family, and the strain such an effin’ life such as his has on it, his dedicated team (managers, producers, touring crew and such) but mostly he honours his two closest and dearest friends - the late Neil Peart in particular as his life is sorrowfully tragic near its end.
However, there is much more to this than it simply being a retrospective of a remarkably dedicated hard working rock band who struggled for success by going about it in unconventional ways, such as succumbing to the demands and “recommendations”from various record executives - in spite that they initially foot the bill for the mere possibility of their success. Besides all of that, it is a touching telling of the life of holocaust survivors; the horror of what they went through and how they got on after immigrating to Canada, raising children within a completely foreign culture and time. This part, and it’s a big part, of the memoir makes this a much different rock biography-book than what it generally expected.
Due to this, “My Effin’ Life”, would be a good read for even the most non-rock music fan. Had Geddy Lee gone into some other profession other than being, and I quote his Yiddish accented mother here, “an entertaina” and became a known a politician or a baseball player, this would still be an important book to be read by anyone.
Besides being laced with much tragedy at every stage of Geddy’s life, this is well balanced out with much humour and wit and good natured fun. Geddy writes very candidly in plain language, as if speaking to the reader over glasses of a very special red he gracefully chose to share from his personal collection....more
This is a short novel packed with many underdeveloped ideas. Unusual for Silverberg. Some of these: mind swapping, telepathy, instant long distance (oThis is a short novel packed with many underdeveloped ideas. Unusual for Silverberg. Some of these: mind swapping, telepathy, instant long distance (on earth) travel and such, are not new, and some are recycled from previous works, but very little time is spent developing them - “Stuart” has a great review for this one.
I was surprised this one was written so late in Silverberg’s career. It read like something he would have come up with much earlier. “Lyn” wrote in his review that is was Silverberg’s most PKD-like book. A hierarchy of android civilization as a major element surely puts it there, but it didn’t have that weird PKD factor.
A good read, however. It was fast moving with many new ideas one after another, much like this sort of books were commonly published during the 40’s and 50’s when authors like Van Vogt and Kuttner dominated the pulps....more
This is for the story/novella of that title, not the collection of three separate stories compiled in this collection.
It’s generally a modern zombie sThis is for the story/novella of that title, not the collection of three separate stories compiled in this collection.
It’s generally a modern zombie story without actually use in g the word zombie and the undead don’t look like zombies, they actually look great, however, they are vacant somehow.
I had been wanting to get to Silverberg’s Majipoor books but put them off as they are later works and preferred to familiarize myself with his previouI had been wanting to get to Silverberg’s Majipoor books but put them off as they are later works and preferred to familiarize myself with his previous works first. I also feared this was more fantasy than sci-fi in the traditional sense so did not feel in a hurry before getting to it.
Presently, I have decided to go in with Silverberg’s writing and this went ahead with this but thought the chronic also might be a good place to start as, according to reviews here on Goodreads, it give one an insight to this world Silverberg has created. I was very pleased with it. I thought the way Silverberg tied these stories together with a linking devise, in the way Asimov did with his robot stories in his, “I Robot” book, was clever. I will enjoy this journey, I am certain, as it is a pretty good mix of sci-fi and fantasy, just the way I like it. It’s sort of Dune-like in ways though is very much in Silverberg’s own unique voice. Looking forward to more of this....more
This was one of Silverberg’s best I’ve read yet. A quick read yet a well written and imaginative tale on the subject of the question of sentience and This was one of Silverberg’s best I’ve read yet. A quick read yet a well written and imaginative tale on the subject of the question of sentience and self aware soul-bearing beings (human or its equivalent) as opposed to what would be defined as animal....more
Silverberg’s output was less prolific during the 1970’s than that of the ‘50’s and 60’s but there were some find gem there such as, “Tower of Glass, “Silverberg’s output was less prolific during the 1970’s than that of the ‘50’s and 60’s but there were some find gem there such as, “Tower of Glass, “The Book of Skulls”, “Son of Man”’ “Dying Inside”… however, this one is lesser known and a fair bit different than the other. At first I found it a bit tedious learning what exactly is to be “stochastic” but then things move along well enough. Not a must read but I enjoyed it quite a bit. A good round about study, or speculation, on whether or not our lives are of free will, fate or predetermined....more
This was a decent sci-fi/fantasy novel. I like Koontz early efforts with this genre. Not quite Silverberg but close enough and better than many of thaThis was a decent sci-fi/fantasy novel. I like Koontz early efforts with this genre. Not quite Silverberg but close enough and better than many of that time. I would love it if he returned to this sort of thing more often. Though not heavy handed, this - for the most part - dealt with one race assuming they are superior to another simply because of their “purity” - a familiar attitude and a constant misconception that causes so much hardship in this world, past, present and, hopefully not, future....more
Koontz novelizing a screenplay. Teen horror, typical of the day (1980). I’ve not seen the movie - not a big fan of most horror films - I’m sure the noKoontz novelizing a screenplay. Teen horror, typical of the day (1980). I’ve not seen the movie - not a big fan of most horror films - I’m sure the novel has more to offer than the film....more
I submitted a story to a writing contest hosted by Liu Cixin, so decided to finish this series. It is a very good read. Nice to read such an epic fromI submitted a story to a writing contest hosted by Liu Cixin, so decided to finish this series. It is a very good read. Nice to read such an epic from an Asian perspective....more
I submitted a story for a contest hosted by Liu Cixin, so decided to finish the series after having read the first instalment a few years ago. It was I submitted a story for a contest hosted by Liu Cixin, so decided to finish the series after having read the first instalment a few years ago. It was a very good read. Nice to read such an epic written from an Asian perspective....more
I look forward to every new SK publication. I love that he is so prolific. Even when he is not writing at the level of his best work, you can always cI look forward to every new SK publication. I love that he is so prolific. Even when he is not writing at the level of his best work, you can always count on some elements of what only SK can do and I have enjoyed all that he has published in the last 10 to 20 years.
This one though, I can’t say I liked very it much. I am sure that what I did not like was completely intentional. I simply wasn’t into the style this time. For the first time, this one seemed amateurish, especially during the second half of the novel. I did prefer the first part with the grumpy old guy and hoped it would get better during the fantasy world part but unfortunately… I could list examples, lots actually, but so many seem to love this novel so I don’t want to ruin anyone’s opinion.
Still glad I read it but maybe fantasy is just not my thing. However, I didn’t mind Eyes of the Dragon, Talisman and the Dark Tower series for the most part.
I submitted to a writing contest hosted by Liu Cixin, so decided to read this series - I read the first book a couple years ago, liked it very much. II submitted to a writing contest hosted by Liu Cixin, so decided to read this series - I read the first book a couple years ago, liked it very much. I liked where he went with it. It was all a very good read. Nice to see such an epic done from an Asian perspective....more
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