Scan barcode
kaylal's review against another edition
5.0
David Peak is an amazing writer. Wow. I just wanted to get that out of the way. This horror novel is about two black metal musicians traveling to an isolated compound in Eastern Europe to meet with a reclusive band and create a new album. Max is a star in the genre, wanting to show everyone that he can still make incredible music, and Roland is a young drummer who is tagging along to work as a writing partner. Both men are deeply nihilistic, spending their days aimlessly wandering, drunk and/or high. There's no back story for why they are the way that they are, but their views reflect the themes in their music. I like that there's no back story; they are just shitty. Their relationship (if you even want to call it that) is very tense. You always get the sense that they could just explode at each other at any moment, especially with Max actively trying to push everyone away from him. They get to the compound and find the other legendary metal band is living off the land and participating in some vague spiritual activity that fits perfectly into a black metal band's persona.
None of the characters are likable at all, so if that concerns you, turn away. They are all shitty people who are selfish and mean. I know very little about the black metal genre (I watched a documentary and listened to a podcast), but this writer seems to know the genre and general attitudes and trends within the genre well. I kept reading because there's a deep sense of dread, and the pace moves you forward at a fast clip. I just wanted to know what happened next. Not all of the questions are answered, but the plot and characters are tightly written. Nothing is wasted. I loved how he used themes in black metal to create a plot and develop characters in the book. Folklore and nature play a big role, but not in a whimsical way at all, but a very black metal kind of way.
This book is well-written and suspenseful, perfect for a seasoned horror fan who doesn't mind a little nihilism and is down with cosmic horror.
None of the characters are likable at all, so if that concerns you, turn away. They are all shitty people who are selfish and mean. I know very little about the black metal genre (I watched a documentary and listened to a podcast), but this writer seems to know the genre and general attitudes and trends within the genre well. I kept reading because there's a deep sense of dread, and the pace moves you forward at a fast clip. I just wanted to know what happened next. Not all of the questions are answered, but the plot and characters are tightly written. Nothing is wasted. I loved how he used themes in black metal to create a plot and develop characters in the book. Folklore and nature play a big role, but not in a whimsical way at all, but a very black metal kind of way.
This book is well-written and suspenseful, perfect for a seasoned horror fan who doesn't mind a little nihilism and is down with cosmic horror.
More...