Goodbye, Dad. I love you.

Dad

That brings me to the Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud.  These books are masterpieces and I recommend them to any reader of any age or walk of life.

The Original Trilogy

The original trilogy consists of The Amulet of Samarkand, the Golem’s Eye, and Ptolemy’s Gate.  These books follow a young magician named Nathaniel, who comes to learn that magicians don’t have any powers of their own.  They can only summon and enslave spirits to do their bidding.  More powerful spirits are tricky to control, and will find an interpretation of their instructions that will allow them to turn on their masters.

Nathaniel is too ambitious to be satisfied with summoning lesser imps and demons, so he calls up Bartimaeus, a sarcastic, shape shifting djinni whose chapters are written in first person perspective and liberally sprinkled with hilarious foot notes.  I rarely laugh out loud while reading, but I’ve embarassed myself in public laughing at Bartimaeus’s scathing insults aimed at other characters, and humankind itself.

You see, as a slave, Bartimaeus has seen a very ugly side of humanity.

The Bartimaeus series, while filled with colorful characters and action packed magical battle scenes, is really a rumination on the nature of political power, corruption, and the cycle of the rise and fall of powerful civilizations.  The history of Bartimaeus’s world is very well fleshed out with a combination of real and fictional Kings, Empires, and oligarchies.  It’s all handled brilliantly.  You never feel like you’re getting a history lesson, everything flows naturally through the dialog or narration.

The Ring of Solomon

The Ring of Solomon is a one off prequel, giving us a slightly younger but no less acerbic Bartimaeus in the time of King Solomon.  It’s a damn good read, but it’s really only because so much of it is from the titular djinni’s point of view.  While the original trilogy’s human characters live and breath on the page, the human characters in The Ring of Solomon are dissapointingly one dimensional, and I often found myself tempted to skim ahead to the next Bartimaeus chapter.  I stuck with it though, I’m not a skimmer.

I still recommend the Ring of Solomon to fans of the first three books, and honestly, I’ll read just about anything Stroud puts out.  The man is a genius.

No Exception

Meanwhile, for a sneak peek, check out our all new website http://www.WeAreNoException.com We’ve got a rough track up in the Tunes section.

Those of you who know me personally are probably saying “But John, you loath Christmas,” and you’re correct, but I’m not going to turn down a show that benefits kids.  Those of you who are already sick of hearing the same fourteen songs on the radio everywhere you go, rejoice, as my set is 100% Christmas song free!

Doors 9:30, show starts at 10:00pm

See you there!

I haven’t been to NYC in a while, but unfortunately I won’t have much time to explore.

Vengeance is Mine – Miles Away Live

No Exception – Rain Live

July 31st, 42nd Street Sports Bar in Greensburgh

With Visions of Scion and Arcane Haven.  Brutal!  It’s a Sunday, but the show starts at 5:00 so you can get to bed early if you are a wuss, but if you’re a wuss you probably don’t belong at a metal show anyway.

August 11th, 42nd Street Sports Bar in Greensburgh (Tentative)

This show is still up in the air, I’ll post more details once things get nailed down.

August 30th, the Inn Termission on the South Side

With D.R.E.A.D.  We love playing at the Inn Termission.  There is usually no cover charge, and the sound is surprisingly good.

Come check us out!

Raven

I guess it’s not the most unique idea, but I’m intrigued.  I like John Cusack and think it’s decent casting.  He’s too good looking to play Poe, but Hollywood never gives ugly people a chance so you have to take what you can get.  V for Vendetta was a damn good flick, if you could get past the heavy handed political message.

Seems like it’s worth checking out.

Wednesday, July  13th 8:00: No Exception at Howler’s Coyote Cafe in Pittsburgh with Chris Darby and Alicia Romano.

Chris Darby is a singer song writer from Chicago, and he’s stopping off here in Pittsburgh on his tour to support his new album.  It’s probably unwise to play favorites, but Alicia Romano is my favorite singer song writer working in the Pittsburgh area.  Her voice is beautiful and her songs are catchy as hell.  This should be a great show!

Thursday, July 14th 6:00: Vengeance is Mine at The Smiling Moose in Pittsburgh with Armor for the Broken and Belie My Burial.

This is going to be brutal.

Saturday, July 16th: Ninjafest

Ninjafest is a huge festival in Adrian, Pa.  It runs Friday through Saturday.  We’re playing Saturday at 6:00pm, but there’s over 60 bands and most of them are killer.

Get in and see one of my bands live before I die from exhaustion, ha ha ha.