Zachary Ashford

This was wonderfully dark and twisted, and more nuanced than I was expecting. Ashford somehow managed to draw me in with what should have been a fairly mundane opening. The characters had a lot of depth, and although they're tied together through the band, they're each so different, with their own wants, needs, and at times dark, desires. The story is very character driven, and even those that seem like relatively minor players are an important part of the whole in one way or another. The mix of heavy metal and darker things might feel a little on the nose given some views on that genre of music, but none of it felt cliché. Honestly, the whole story read like a fresh new take, even though it has some echoes of other stories running through it. (Faustian bargains, anyone?) If you like your horror to be more on the creepy side, you're going to love this.… (mehr)

I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The book was a roller coaster ride much like it was for the characters. I found myself counting the pages as the narrative hopped from one person to the next (probably eight total perspectives). Sometimes you only hear from a person once and it didn't always serve a purpose. The characters are also very stereotypically written, for the most part, and that makes it tough to read when you don't particularly align with those cultures. However, as another reviewer comments, this is done intentionally and I think well (bend why it's hard to read lol).

Half way through, as the narrative hopping slows and the climax builds, I found myself digging in more and the pages flew by much faster. I do think the different perspectives helped me enjoy the end of the novel more if I'm honest.

If you love metal or rock music and can identify with that type of dialog, enjoy many perspectives, and love horror then this is for you. I think it's extremely well written for niche fans but it wasn't exactly my style. I'll look out for other books from this author.… (mehr)

After lead singer Stephen Oaks ODs on stage during a concert, metal band Polyphemus is in limbo: their record label is demanding an album to complete their contract but the band does not think Oaks, now out of rehab, is trustworthy enough to return, so they look to a new vocalist to help them out. Oaks, however, is desperate to return to “his” band and he will do anything - including seeking the aid of otherworldly beings - to bring the band back…. I received this book as part of Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program. Generally I’m not a big horror fan, but I particularly wanted to read this one because the premise resembles The Armageddon Rag, the second novel by George R.R. Martin published over 40 years ago, and I was curious to see a new take on the premise. Polyphemus updates the theme well, bringing in much more graphic sex and violence, and centering on a musical genre that’s well-suited to the story line. The structure of the book has each character telling part of the story; it’s interesting to me that all the characters are referenced by their first names or nicknames as each narrative is introduced except for Oaks, who is always referred to as Oaks, which maybe suggests a choice by the author to deliberately distance the reader from that character. Anyway, I liked the book alot, once I realized that however adult the characters are meant to be (in their 30s, I’d guess), they’re really stuck in mid-adolescence as so many man-boys are; that awareness made their casual misogyny, massive drug use and semi-hostile homoerotic attitudes toward each other all tolerable as opposed to being infuriating. If you don’t like explicit gore, don’t read this; otherwise, recommended!… (mehr)