Vampires and Polar Night: 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun

 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun by Rodney Barnes; art by Chris Shehan and Maan House

30 Days of Night: Falling Sun cover

Rodney Barnes

Many thanks to IDW Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun. I wasn’t aware of this series, but I remember the film being an inventive and scary take on vampires, and realized that the film was originally based on an older comic series. The premise is great since Barrow, Alaska experiences a month long night of darkness, which would be attractive to vampires. In this story, both humans and vampires are confronted with past trauma, and they seek out new communities and opportunities in finding ways to survive. As readers, we are more likely drawn to Jalen, a young LA transplant who moves to Barrow with his uncle to escape the dangers of LA. Unbeknownst to Jalen, he’s running from the frying pan to the fire by going to Barrow. Around the same time, a group of vampires preparing for the month long darkness resurrects the soul of an old vampire leader using blood and ash. This resurrection leads to opportunities for vengeance, with the vampire seeking out revenge for his brother. The two stories of the survivors of Barrow and the vampires out for blood converge in a bloody standoff in the town.

This story has all the great elements of the classic vampire siege movie/story, whether it’s The Lost Boys, From Dusk Till Dawn, or the more recent Sinners. The townspeople eventually become trapped in a space and need to withstand the attacks from outside and within, sometimes battling among their own for dominance within the group. I actually really liked the vampires in this book too. While the story doesn’t delve too deep into their backstory, their ritual to bring back their leader is dark and creepy, with bloody and unique artwork by Chris Sheehan and Maan House. It’s also cool to see how the vampires have their own kind of hierarchy and seek out revenge, much like humans. Even though the story is about a group of vampires attacking a polar town plunged into darkness for a month, there were some elements that seemed somewhat unbelievable. For example, some of the gang members Jalen is fleeing from manage to get to Alaska from LA, and they bring their guns with them, creating an additional standoff that the humans must weather. I can see how this adds to the tension in the standoff, but it felt somewhat unbelievable that these gangbangers are going to suddenly make it to Alaska from LA. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this graphic novel, and I hope that there are other stories in this series coming out. Recommended!  

Son of the City: A Memoir by Dante Ross

Son of the City book cover

Author, A&R, but no scrub Dante Ross

I’ve been reading a bunch of music memoirs, especially about the downtown NY music scene. In the past few months, I read Thurston Moore’s Sonic Life and Chris Stein’s Under a Rock. Both books were good and explored how their respective bands benefitted from the diverse musical scenes that helped birth punk, noise, and alternative rock in the 1970s and 80s. Interestingly, both books had connections to the emerging Hip-Hop scene; Thurston Moore shared one episode where he either attended or almost attended Kurtis Blow’s Christmas Rappin’ recording; similarly, Blondie were a part of the downtown scence that included Basquiat, Keith Herring, Ramalzee, and Fab 5 Freddy, featuring Fab 5 in the song and video for Rapture. Dante Ross may have slightly overlapped with these memoirists too, but his experience growing up in NYC in the late 70s and early 80s was a little more outside of this downtown scene. I absolutely loved this book, and this was by far the most entertaining of the 3 music memoirs dealing with NYC’s downtown scene (as a side note, one other memoir, Kathleen Hanna’s Rebel Girl, was also fabulous and has a connection with the Beastie Boys, much like Dante Ross does). There were so many great elements to Dante Ross’s memoir. I found his voice to be so real and also entertaining. I loved that he used hip-hop vernacular that I haven’t heard for a minute. It added to a fun and relaxed style of narrative, even when some of his early life was not always a crystal staircase. Growing up with an absent drug addict father and an alcoholic mother who struggled with keeping a job and maintaining her mental well-being, Ross candidly and fearlessly shares how challenging this was with a wise and introspective perspective that seems to indicate how much he gained from these experiences trying to find shelter, friends, and food, or surviving, in NYC. While his mother had her own challenges, Dante also paints her as a committed activist who kept to her ideals. One story he shares about the NYC blackouts was really interesting and made me think about my own parenting and whether I maintain my principles in the face of challenging situations. Ross also shares how he helped his friend learn to read, diagnosing him as dyslexic when the schools had more or less given up on him. These experiences also help Ross explore his own privilege, despite not having much money and living a precarious situation at home. Although I knew about Dante Ross from De La Soul, I didn’t realize how deep and wide his musical roots are in NYC and beyond. Ross hung out with in the NYC hardcore scene that birthed the Cro-Mags, and shared his amazement at seeing Bad Brains in the early 80s. He also details the birth and evolution of the Beastie Boys, and these were some of the funniest and most joyous scenes in the book. I read Dan LeRoy’s great book about Paul’s Boutique, and this is another insider perspective about that time and the challenges that the Beasties faced in transitioning from Def Jam to Columbia. Furthermore, I think that Ross’s friendship with the Beasties and his participation in a wide array of musical styles early on helped shape his perspectives on hip-hop. Ross eventually falls in with Tommy Boy, helping to bring De La Soul to a larger audience. Looking at De La Soul, Queen Latifah, and A Tribe Called Quest, all acts that Dante Ross had a hand in getting record deals, you can see how his omnivorous musical tastes helped him work with these artists who were different from the more mainstream B-Boy brand of hip-hop. These acts, and Dante Ross’s role in promoting these acts, really helped to challenge the boundaries of hip-hop, extending them for the better and re-shaping the rules for what was acceptable in hip-hop circles. I think that the diversity in the downtown NYC musical scene had a lot to do with this. These acts, not quite alternative or backpack rap yet, brought in different , jazzier samples, conscious lyrics, and an Afrocentric sensibility towards fashion. It was really interesting to see this theme running through the artists that Dante Ross worked with throughout his career. I loved reading the later chapters as well. It’s not just Dante Ross’s voice that is so enthralling, but also the fact that he was working with so many of the rappers and groups that I loved in my early adolescence. Reading through this book was like reminiscing—but also learning since Ross shares some incredible stories of working with artists like Leaders of the New School, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Grand Puba and Brand Nubian, MF DOOM (Cev Luv X of KMD), 3^rd Bass, Guru, I could just go on, but this was like the wall of cassettes and crates of records in my high school bedroom. Reading about working with ODB, KMD and later DOOM provided me with an insider’s perspective of these artists, and I really liked that his detailing of his close work with ODB and DOOM helped to provide another viewpoint, showing how thoughtful and creative these artists were. I think that many people recognize DOOM’s creative genius, but Ross explains that he has been upset about how people view ODB, and his stories helped to show how intentional and creative ODB was in creating his persona and the arti and design for his album. Although I’m not a big fan of Everlast’s solo work, Dante Ross produced and really had a hand in helping Everlast get this album going. This was also a great section of the book. His descriptions about the challenges and health risks they faced in creating this album were captivating. I loved learning more about the creative process of making music, and especially the technical aspects of it. I’m amazed to see how Dante Ross didn’t really have a music background beyond being a huge fan, and worked his way up from working in the mail room at a nascent Def Jam to become a creative force in not only artist and repertoire, but also in production and beat making. It was really cool to see his own growth in the field—working with artists and record labels—and eventually moving into musical production. I really appreciated Ross’s candidness about his life, whether sharing about his family, his loves and losses, or his substance abuse and eventual sobriety. I felt like beyond the entertainment of the stories he shares, he also drops knowledge about career management, relationships, both romantic and platonic, and mental health. Maybe it’s all that conscious hip-hop he’s been a part of, but he’s skilled at subtly kicking science to the masses. Finally, I loved that I finished this book on father’s day. I didn’t know anything about Dante Ross’s dad, but he starts the book out talking about how his dad was the kind of motivating force in starting the book; his later chapters go over being with his dad during his final year or so. It was really beautiful, and I can tell that the sobriety has given him some perspective on his relationship with his father and his eventual passing. As someone who also had a complicated relationship with his father, it helped me remember the better times and how I was able to be there for my dad during his final month. I really resonated with Ross’s experience of being there and wanting to be there despite the specter and impending fear of death. I realized that this experience had something to teach me. It was kind of like a nice connection I felt to Dante Ross’s experiences. One other final note, I loved that Dante Ross described another A&R who he disagreed with as “a mountain climber who plays an electric guitar”. Loved that Protect Ya Neck reference. Always thought that was hilarious 90s stereotyping. If you are a music fan or a fan of memoirs, this is a great one to read, even if you are not familiar with Dante Ross or the artists he’s repped over time. Chances are, you’ve encountered some of the music he’s had a hand in bringing to a larger audience, whether your from the 80s, 90s, or later. Really great memoir, and I hope that Dante Ross has more books coming out. 

 Under a Rock by Chris Stein

Under a Rock book cover

Musician and author Chris Stein

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Publishers for allowing me to preview Chris Stein’s unflinching memoir Under a Rock. While I’m not a major Blondie fan, I’ve always enjoyed their poppy music, and I generally love memoirs by musicians, especially those detailing the downtown/CBGB’s music scene of the mid to late 70’s. Chris Stein’s book is a great addition to other books detailing this important time period in American music and beyond. Beyond the music, Stein has led a really interesting life, and reading about his pre-Blondie years, growing up in Brooklyn, travelling to the West Coast and going to Woodstock, as well as attending an alternative school in NYC with other musicians and artists was fascinating. His stories feature some amazing characters and incredible events. The strength of his book, though, details his time with Blondie, forming the band, starting up around the same time as the Ramones and Television, and eventually gaining popularity. Beyond being more pop oriented than some of the other downtown bands, Blondie also incorporated art in unique ways, and Stein’s background as a visual artist, both in photography and videography, probably added to the band’s integration of visual arts with their music. It’s interesting to look back on Blondie’s output and realize how much Debbie Harry’s image was associated with Blondie. However, Stein also shares that Blondie was also one of the first bands to create a video album to go along with their LP. I loved reading about Stein’s time with other musicians and artists, especially how close Blondie was with Iggy Pop, David Bowie, William S. Burroughs, and Andy Warhol. Although this larger section detailing the development and success of Blondie was the strongest of the book, it was also the most harrowing since this was also the time when Stein’s casual drug use eventually spiraled into full-blown heroin and cocaine addiction. Stein details his addictions and some of the depths that it took him to, eventually seeking out methadone treatment to manage his heroin addiction. As Stein notes in his epilogue (which you must read), it’s important not to glamorize addiction the way some artists have. He documents friends who died from overdoses, and the health struggles that he experienced as a result of his habit. The later chapters dealing with the dissolution of Blondie and eventual reformation kind of fly by. I actually had a hard time following along with his timeline of events, and it wasn’t until the section dealing with 9/11 that I kind of caught up with his timeline. In fact, this is probably the one shortcoming I found with Stein’s writing. There weren’t many transitions or connectives in the text, and this led to a kind of stream-of-consciousness thought-process on the page. I found it more with his early life and his later sections. The events jumped around and paragraphs were listed without any sense of how one event related to another—whether it was sequential, emotionally linked, or some other kind of connection. Sometimes, events that were seemingly non-events were listed without any explanation of their significance, making me question its inclusion. Nevertheless, Stein is an important musician and artist, and I appreciated learning more about his involvement in this seminal scene of music. 

 

The United States of Cryptids by J.W. Ocker

 The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters by J.W. Ocker

The United States of Cryptids book cover

Author J.W. Ocker

Ocker’s The United States of Cryptids isn’t quite an encyclopedia, but it is a great reference book and a fun travelogue of Ocker’s quest to document Cyptids in each state/region in the US. I read this along with my son, thinking that he might want to read more about myths and monsters. After riding on the Jersey Devil roller coaster, both of my kids became interested in learning more about the Jersey Devil, and Ocker documents a good amount about the history and cultural legacy of NJ’s most famous cryptid. Each chapter for the book was relatively brief, and I really enjoyed reading about Ocker’s ideas to honor and promote each state’s cryptid. He frequently mentions statues or plaques that would identify sightings, legacy, or other important information about these cryptids. Beyond these recommendations, Ocker’s book can also serve as a great road trip guide for adventurous families and cryptid hunters. He shares where he found more information about these cryptids, as well as some of the annual traditions that might involve honoring the legacies of these mythological creatures. I loved learning about some of the towns and their festivals, parades, or even ceremonies to honor cryptids. One town in Minnesota had an annual gnome festival that made gnomes from the likenesses of townspeople they wanted to fete for the year. It was a really nice way to recognize the contributions of a town. I was surprised to learn that a fair amount of the cryptids stories are created to drum up tourism or promote visiting these towns, and this practice even goes back to the 1800s, when a sea serpent was manufactured to attract visitors to the town’s hotel. Although many of the stories are unbelievable and some are blatantly false or rumors, it is still fun to read about these creates and wonder what some of the more unexplained phenomena might be. Despite these concise chapters, Ocker manages to convey enough information about the origins and history of these, and frequently makes connections to other cryptids in other states or regions. My e-book also had links back to the other cryptids. I’m looking forward to reading some of Ocker’s other books—I have the cursed objects book and read that he has a book about cults coming out, which I really can’t wait to read. Overall, this was a fun and easy read that gave me plenty of ideas about possible road trips or places to visit. 

 Hip-Hop Is History by Questlove

Hip-Hop Is History book cover

Drummer, author, and hip-hop historian Questlove

Questlove’s phenomenal new book Hip-Hop Is History is a must read for any hip-hop fans and music fans in general. Questlove starts by discussing the 50^th anniversary of Hip-Hop’s start, and how he was tasked with organizing the celebration for the Grammy Awards. It is an interesting story that begins to give readers who may be unfamiliar about the scope and depth of Hip-Hop, trying to organize all the different styles and contributors, as well as their egos and personalities, into a short, allotted time frame. I really enjoyed reading about the stress involved in this process, and this story provided an effective set up for the history of Hip-Hop, according to Questlove. While I don’t dispute that Questlove is one of the strongest advocates and most knowledgeable people about Hip-Hop, I did find some places where there were some omissions in his chapters. Thankfully, his list at the end of the book incorporated more artists and groups that I felt were deserving of more time. It’s also just a great snapshot of different eras in Hip-Hop. Interestingly, Questlove organizes the book chronologically, but also pairs each era in Hip-Hop with its drug of choice. I thought this was an interesting choice, but he makes a compelling point showing not necessarily how the drugs themselves, but the social impacts and influences from the drugs (including legality, police enforcement, prison, etc) have impacted the music. It’s why he spends some time discussing PE’s “Night of the Living Bassheads” in the “Back in the Incredible” chapter detailing the golden age of Hip-Hop from 1987-1992, and then exploring the influence of The Chronic, both album and drug, on the “While I Get My Proper Swerve On” (1992-1997). While I loved how Questlove discusses these albums and singles and how he conveys his own personal connection with much of the music in these chapters, he goes beyond just being a fan (or musical contributor) and delves into critical analysis of the music, the styles, and the rhymes. He brings in not just a historical perspective, but also a sociological perspective, examining issues happening in society and relating these events to styles and innovations in Hip-Hop. I was especially surprised to hear how critical and honest Questlove was in this book. He not only discusses calling out certain MCs (Da Baby), but also discusses not initially liking some music and questioning the work of other artists he looked up to (1991 albums from PE and Prince). I really appreciated his candor and honesty in discussing this music, but also appreciated how he sometimes revisited certain songs or music and gained a new appreciation. I think that this book not only provides a history and sociology of Hip-Hop, but also provides new ways to listen to music across different eras. I think that my favorite chapters were those dealing with the early to golden age of Hip-Hop from about 1979-1997. I related to a lot of Questlove’s experiences, remembering the first time I hear Wu-Tang or PE and feeling a kind of transformation—although he mentioned not liking the production values of Enter the 36 Chambers, I felt like it was the varied styles of the MCs that really drew my interest. I also remember having to sneak Hip-Hop into my house since my parents held certain assumptions about it. Now, my mom knows Snoop Dog from his work with Martha Stewart and my kids know Snoop Dog from his cartoon work. I was wondering where DITC fits into some of these chapters- especially Showbiz & AG, but for the most part, Questlove is a completist, and I know that he was trying to keep his list focused and representative of the best Hip-Hop. Although as the book progresses into more recent times and the chapters become shorter, Questlove provided me with some great points of entry for accessing today’s Hip-Hop. I loved how Questlove references artists like Kendrick Lamar who are going back to other eras from Hip-Hop to represent. It’s reassuring to know. This book is not just for music fans, but I could see teachers making excellent use of this book for their students. I would love to use this book to have students develop their analytical skills, researching different eras and identifying and explaining the differences between the eras of Hip-Hop—or taking the historical events and seeing how songs and artists from those eras dealt with or addressed some of the events. There’s so much to consider in this book. Highly recommended.

 

A Prequel- Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

 Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

Wandering Stars book cover

Author Tommy Orange

“Here now doing it, I’m already regretting that I hadn’t before, while also regretting that I’m doing it now. Feelings are always so twinned, with opposite meaning.” (305).

Tommy Orange’s magnificent follow-up (and prequel) to There There traces the history of the Bear Shield and Red Feather families, where we find out how they arrived in California, as well as much of the generational trauma that they have experienced being Native Americans where land, culture, history, language, identity, hair and dress, and even voice were systematically removed. The book starts with Jude Star and Victor Bear Shield, and how their experiences being transported from the Sand Creek Massacre to Fort Marion in Florida, where the goals were to civilize the Indians. These chapters also trace the experiences of Charles Star, Jude’s son, who ends up in the Carlisle Indian School. Much of this early part, told in stream of consciousness from various characters’ perspectives, reminded me of Toni Morrison’s Beloved. Orange has this way with his sentences where he uses chiasmus, using parallelisms and reversals. I loved following these twisty devices as we get into some of the absurdity these characters’ experiences trying to maintain a sense of identity, amidst the systematic destruction of their culture and community. Orange starts the second part, dealing with more of the present situation and following Opal, Jacquie, and the boys Orvil, Loother, and Lony, with a quote from Beloved that emphasizes the importance of stories and legacy, especially oral legacy. I really love that quote, and it was amazing to see how Orange finds relevance in Beloved’s story of redemption and redefinition after trauma and horror.

One of the other strengths of this book is the way that Orange melds his characters’ stories and lives with historical events, just like There There, bringing a sense of reality to these characters. He expertly weaves in historical events and incidents. Whether from the Sand Creek Massacre, the Carlisle School, or and other historical events, we see how Indians were a part of this history, but also how this history is frequently told from one perspective, failing to acknowledge either the destruction and devastation it has caused or how other people participated in these events. This aspect also reminded of a quote from Beloved where Schoolteacher says something along the lines of “definitions belong to the definers.” Wandering Stars seeks to redefine the role of Native Americans in American History by acknowledging where they have been and where they are now. Orange’s realistic characters help to provide a means to further discover this hidden history and unearth the contributions and wrongs experienced by Native Americans, while also helping to maintain some of their identity and culture.

Just like Beloved, this is a book about family and love in spite of difficult, often violent opposition and refusal of culture/identity. I won’t give the ending away, but I loved how the family (for the most part) comes together to find their strength within each other. Furthermore, the book deals with topics that many people experience including violence, addiction, loss, and identity. Tommy Orange is one of the most skilled writers in exploring the language of teens and young adults and how communication online has shifted things for everyone. The sections focusing on Orvill and Sean are interesting. I really liked reading about Sean’s discovery of his identity, and how it almost creates more confusion than certainty with him since he has no Native American friends to turn to. These sections were some of the most fun to deal with. I also felt like the parts that dealt with music were well-written and thoughtful. I remember reading that Tommy Orange studied engineering, and the way he writes about music combines both some technical knowledge with a passion for sound and music. This was an amazing book, and one that I am sure will be taught in many classrooms. I also think it is an engaging book for students as well as adults. I would love to see this book in more book groups. Highly recommended

Paradise of the Damned by Keith Thomson

 Paradise of the Damned: The True Story of an Obsessive Quest for El Dorado by Keith Thomson

Paradise of the Damned book cover

Author Keith Thomson

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for allowing me to read this advanced copy of Keith Thomson’s Paradise of the Damned: The True Story of an Obsessive Quest for El Dorado. Thomson’s book was a well-researched and detailed story of Sir Walter Raleigh’s lifelong quest to find El Dorado, starting from Elizabethan England and moving to Colombia, Venezuela, Guiana and the Orinoco River in South America. The book primarily follows Raleigh, tracing his early years spent in Elizabeth’s court and how he came to exploration and sailing. Thomson’s book features much adventure and many mishaps, especially around the war for the New World in the Americas between Spain and England. The book’s best parts are when Raleigh is in South America, looking for El Dorado while also navigating uncharted rivers, streams, waterfalls, and avoiding unknown predators like anacondas, alligators, and piranhas. It was fascinating to gain a deeper insight into how dangerous the new world was, mostly because of how unknown the terrain was. I also enjoyed learning more about Raleigh’s earlier approaches to diplomacy and finding ways to ensure that the Spanish would not beat him to El Dorado and how he sought out indigenous support from existing tribes. The other parts of the book that took place in England were not as exciting to me. I did not know much about Sir Walter Raleigh, so this book provided an engaging biography, but I was surprised to learn that in England at the time, the rule of law, especially things like evidence and due process were not really part of the society. Thus, reading about Raleigh’s years in prison for a kind of hearsay association with a plot to overthrow King James was important to know about. This also somewhat mirrored Raleigh’s earlier experiences with Queen Elizabeth when he was imprisoned for having a child with his future wife without informing the Queen. Thomson’s sharing of these events and the injustices that Raleigh faced helped to illustrate the kind of whims of the crown that many people, especially prominent people, faced. Although these parts dealing with the legal practices of England were important, I found them to be not as exciting as the chapters set in South America and dealing with the quest for El Dorado. It was also surprising that King James let Raleigh return to find El Dorado, despite being imprisoned for pretty much treason (even if the charges were never really tried). Raleigh’s second campaign, when he was in his 60s, did not go well. Like his initial quest to El Dorado, the hope was to bring money back to England in the form of gold. However, with a strong Spanish presence in the areas in Venezuela, Colombia, and Guiana he struggled to return to some of the areas he visited in 1590s (about 20 years prior). I won’t spoil the ending, but Raleigh does return to England without any gold, failing once again to find El Dorado and dealing with a hungry, tired, and mutinous crew. This leads Raleigh to face King James’s wrath and power. Most of this book was exciting, and I loved the images that Thomson selected to accompany these chapters. They really helped to illustrate the challenges and individuals involved in Raleigh’s various quests. While the book primarily focused on Raleigh’s quest, there were some other chapters that dealt with English and Spanish relations during this time, as well as Raleigh’s time spent imprisoned. These were necessary to understand some of Raleigh’s motivations for seeking out El Dorado once again, and the consequences of his failure to find it and bring home any gold. These sections were not as exciting but helped understand the broader perspective of this society.