Tom DeLonge

In addition to having a fantastic musical piece backing it, this was a really strong and exciting book.

Angels & Airwaves are on of my all time favourite bands. The Dream Walker is one of my favourite albums. As such, I was going to read this book out of loyalty, but I honestly wasn't expecting too much. I was really pleasantly surprised by how this book drew me in and had me flipping pages furiously to find out what happened.

For the most part, this was a really strong action book, with a fast moving plot and a lot of high stakes tension. In a way, there was a small mystery to be solved, and Jonas was always in some sort of confusion or danger. There wasn't a boring moment in this book. Young's expertise was strongly utilized.

I was really fascinated by some of the ideas that DeLonge and Young rose in this book. The world they've created was extremely intriguing, and I found myself captivated by the ideas they had set up--of poets tunnelling into various dreams, of Night Terrors representing one's fears, and of Genesis, a city where lucid dreamers can meet.

It is a Young Adult book, not at all meaning that adults cannot enjoy this book, but meaning that the main character is a teenager and as such, the main character is experiencing growing up, life, and love for the first time.

Also, shout out to the ending, for being stand alone but for leaving room for a sequel. Beautifully done.

And indeed, our main character, Jonas, felt a little bit bland. His passion and love for his brother was very real and distinct and I admired how he remained loyal to his family persistently, but overall, I wished there could have been a bit more to him.

There were some moments where I could see how this book works better as a comic, specifically in the fight scenes, as the Dream Terrors felt a little uninspired and could have used more description. However, for the most part, I felt very much a part of the dreamscape and could picture the world, its subways, and its massive screens.

My biggest issue with this book was in the romance: it progressed far too quickly and didn't feel at all real.

For the AVA fans: I really loved how The Dream Walker and ...Of Nightmares each melded into the book. There were a lot of lyrics that I drew connections with certain moments in the book which I found very exciting; I'm perpetually excited to find literary and musical connections, so knowing that the authors had this particular set of music in mind was really exciting for me. The albums can definitely stand alone and as I already have my own schema of memories that goes along with them they will for me, but they also make a lovely supplement.

Overall, this was a really strong companion to one of my favourite albums ever and a brilliant EP. I'm really excited by what Tom DeLonge is doing in his multimedia creations. I love that he's taken the connection between human emotion and various art forms and utilized it. I love the collaboration that's happening on all of these art forms and how it's not just the Tom show, but how there are other people involved. I love that DeLonge hasn't restrained himself. And the prologue, quite honestly, was probably my favourite part of the book (despite the tunnel he took to the publishing industry!) I've always loved albums as whole, flowing concepts--something that the original space rock gods, Pink Floyd, did with a charm. Seeing AVA evolve, and really, growing up next to them, has been an absolute treat. The whole concept of having connections through various mediums is truly an inspiration to me, and I'm so enthused to see what Angels & Airwaves does next.


If you enjoy Angels & Airwaves, you'll likely find this book filled with thought provoking connections. If you enjoy a good, action packed adventures, you'll love this book.… (mehr)

So this is apparently fiction woven around confirmed facts, used as a method to convey seemingly unbelievable news.

It doesn't do itself any favours however by including the 1989 Belgian black triangles events nor details of an alleged Nazi Antarctic base, both of which have been thoroughly debunked.

So as a method to convey the contents as real it dismally fails, despite the sensational preface where it seems some top secret information will be subtly revealed, it instead manages to cast a shadow of tinfoil hat crazy over the contents by including the above.

As a purely fiction book, the start is reasonably compelling as you switch between perspectives, the middle is rather dull and dry, then things speed up in the last 20% to a climatic closing.

Overall, I don't see what all the excitement is about.… (mehr)

Having been familiar with some of Levenda’s work, and others such as Richard Dolan, Jim Marrs, etc. this book held decent hopes for me.

Sekret Machines: Gods: Volume 1 Of Gods Man & War by Tom DeLonge and Peter Levenda is an intriguing book, but not without its flaws.

The book does bring about a considerable amount of information on the subject of the UFOs from a broad point of view. Throughout the book, the authors present considerable information that couples to everything from the paranormal, ancient civilizations, the occult, and more. The authors do a fair job of supplanting the book with a veritable amount of sourced material. This definitely gives the book some veracity.

Footnotes are detailed at the end of each chapter, which makes for ease of access which is great. When one has to slog back and forth to the end of a book to conduct verify sources it gets painstakingly asinine. This footnote format certainly streamlines access to that information and is very much appreciated. The only one better would be with footnotes at the bottom of the page, since it is the most efficient.

As an introductory volume to this topic, the book does a good job. The book could have been better, but it could have certainly been worse. The best book out there as an introductory volume to the phenomenon is hands down Richard Dolan’s UFOs For The 21st Century Mind: A Fresh Guide To An Ancient Mystery. Those seeking a more solid foundation from which to jump-off are encouraged to ruminate upon that book.

Now to the bad. The book features sections that could have been better served by some serious editing of run on sentences that give Hemingway a run for his money. Well, perhaps not THAT bad all of the time, but bad enough for it to be noticeable and take away from the content.

Also, one particular point that was quite disconcerting is the fact that the authors take a unilateral point of view of making it seem like UFOs can only be explained by the alien mythos. While this is certainly one possibility, and one with some solid grounding, it is not the only one, and not by far. Dr. Joseph P. Farrell, Walter Bosley, and others have come up with an equally arguable case that argues for human ingenuity as one possible way to explain some UFOs.

Additionally, when one couples the possibility of human ingenuity with certain incisive issues such as Military Abductions [MILABS] then one has an exact mirror for the phenomenon that’s equally disturbing in certain respects. The point of me stating this is not to convince anyone of one possibility or another, far from it. It’s simply to put the light the fact that there’s extensive evidence by Farrell & Bosley which shows an alternative to the unilateral assertion that extraterrestrials are behind everything.

In fact, one could argue that the authors’ belief in the ET-only hypothesis is dogmatic, and it would be hard to argue against it. The fact the authors chose the “Cargo Cult” jargon for humanity speaks volumes of how low they see humanity on the totem pole, even though evidence abounds of there being more than their conformist point of view.

If you haven’t read any UFO books, or are a fan of DeLonge’s work, you will probably find some value in this book. That said, if you are seeking more solid ground that’s just as intriguing, footnoted to the hilt and not dogmatic, then please read any of the following:

UFOs & The National Security State: Chronology Of A Cover Up [Volume 1] by Richard Dolan
UFOs & The National Security State: The Cover Up Exposed [Volume 2] by Richard Dolan
UFOs For The 21st Century Mind by Richard Dolan
Our Occulted History by Jim Marrs
UFOs: Generals, Pilots, And Government Officials Go On The Record by Leslie Kean
Alien Agenda By Jim Mars
Triangular UFOs: An Estimate On The Situation by David Marler

And books that cover the human aspect behind part of this phenomenon:

Saucers, Swastikas & Psyops: A History Of A Breakaway Civilization: Hidden Aerospace Technologies & Psychological Operations by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell
Covert Wars And Breakaway Civilizations: The Secret Space Program, Celestial Psyops & Hidden Conflicts by Dr. Joseph P. Farrell
Cover Wars & Clash Of Civilizations: UFOs, Oligarchs and Space Secrecy Dr. Joseph P. Farrell
Origin: The 19th Century Emergence Of The 20th Century Breakaway Civilizations

The sad part is that the scope of this phenomenon is wider and more intriguing than what many people state it is. That’s why the books above are mentioned, for those seeking further information in order to be able to decide for themselves whether ET really is the only actor in this stage, or if there’s more to this abstruse topic.

Ultimately, what you think is up to you. But to be able to come to a decision one has to know the resources available, and at least now some know part of what’s out there and can make up their own mind on the matter.… (mehr)