Sexy Intellectual (part of the Chrome Dreams Group)
PO Box 230, New Malden, Surrey KT3 6YY UK
B002L59RG0 $19.95 www.chromedreams.co.uk

Here in the US during the rise of The Who and other British bands, we were rather insulated from a cultural phenomenon that pervaded the UK. We were more concerned with Beatniks and hippies than with what came to be known as the Mods or the modern generation. A remarkable new DVD by Sexy Intellectual called The Who, The Mods and The Quadrophenia Connection offers a detailed history of the rise of this movement and what it meant. The Who, a band associated with the Mods, was really one that caught the coattails of this fad and road them as far as it could. According to the producers, music historians, and biographers of the era, the Mods began in the 50s with the growing popularity of jazz.

The Mods have come to represent youth rebellion among the working classes. They adopted a style of dress (usually a type of men’s suit that had personal embellishments and eventually incorporated what they called a parka, but was more of a oversized jacket of a military color and cut). Music was also a part of that culture, moving from jazz to the boogie rhythms of Georgie Fame and then to soul and R&B. This was at the point that Pete Townsend, principal songwriter and guitarist for The Who, became enamored with the movement and was actually the only true Mod among his bandmates.

The Mod movement moved through punk and was falling away by the time Townsend wrote and recorded Quadrophenia. The movie of the same name that soon followed in 1979 revived the Mod movement briefly

The Who, The Mods and The Quadrophenia Connection details all of this and much more, offering vintage concert footage and home movies of The Who as well as others in the early Mod movement. The DVD also offers reflections from people who knew the Mods and/or The Who best, including Richard Barnes who was a close friend of Pete Townsend, mod experts Paolo Hewitt and Terry Rawlins, Eddie Pillar who was a broadcaster and owner of Acid Jazz records; members of Mod revivalists The Chords and The Purple Hearts, and Alan Clayson, a The Who biographer and 1960s expert. Their insights add color and weight to what could be just a music journalist’s theory.

For those interested in The Who and this most interesting cultural period in the UK, The Who, The Mods and The Quadrophenia Connection is an intelligent documentary that never drags itself into hero worship or fandom.

I knew from the first page that I was going to love this series. My only regret was that I came into it on the third book. The first two, Chasing Eden and Beyond Eden, introduce Army Chaplain Jamie Richards who stumbles upon a hidden community called Eden that has existed since the beginning of time. It is an advanced civilization that sends out operatives when something happens in the world outside of Eden that could have devastating effects. Jamie, now an operative herself in the third book, Treasure of Eden, must prevent a global financial catastrophe by shepherding an Eden financial expert to a conference in Switzerland. When that duty is over, Jamie is kidnapped by a rogue CIA agent who is sure she knows the whereabouts of a jeweled box that will point to the location of Eden. Jamie faces betrayal, torture, and loss as she once more is tossed into undercover operations and intrigue.

I couldn’t put this book down. The characters are vivid. The good guys are heroic, the evil characters are dastardly, and the rest are humanly flawed yet noble. The action is non-stop and the cultural landscape author S.L. Linnea places these characters upon is richly drawn with details that make readers live the experiences with Jamie and her cohorts. Though Jamie is a chaplain, she is fearless, heroic, and can kick some mighty butt. Yet, she is also compassionate, sensual, and sometimes slips in a curse word or two like the humans we all are. This choice was genius in Linnea’s portrayal of her and the other operatives of Eden.

What I need to do now is track down the other two books so that I can be ready to read the next book Linnea has in the Eden series, Serpent of Eden, a special edition book that tells what happened to Jamie inside Eden. I can’t wait!

Dreamriver Press
12 Franklin Ave, Flourtown, PA 19031-2006
9780979790812 $15.95 www.dreamriverpress.com

Meagan M. O’Nan’s little book, Creating Heaven on Earth: Unveiling the Truth that Was Always There, is a power-packed devotional for unconventional spiritual seekers. In 11 short chapters, O’Nan offers practical wisdom for a life filled with peace and purpose. She does not offer pat answers but simple ones—and those are often the most profound. She encourages readers to live in the present, to seek the Divine within, and to discover the Divine in others. This idea isn’t new – it is the cornerstone of Buddhism and the beautiful concept of Namaste. But O’Nan offers this wisdom in a manner that is more easily accessible to most people than Eastern philosophy or religions.

Her concepts can be applied by anyone from any spiritual path – and that is the beauty of her book. She does not give readers narrow definitions of spiritual concepts nor does she say that the book is the ultimate answer for everyone or that she is a guru who must be followed and obeyed to the letter. She doesn’t even speak of the Divine in black and white terms, preferring to offer several different constructs: God, Higher Power, the Divine, Love. From the first pages of the introduction and repeatedly throughout the chapters, O’Nan reminds readers that this is what she has learned from her experience and offers it to readers in the hope that they will experience the joy of living she has had through her practice of these simple concepts.

I really appreciated this book because of O’Nan’s broader approach to spirituality and the readability of the book. Creating Heaven on Earth: Unveiling the Truth that Was Always There will become a permanent part of my spiritual library as a book that I will take with me into meditation, pondering further on an idea, a turn of phrase, or a spiritual concept. Thank you, Meagan M. O’Nan for writing a straightforward spiritual book that doesn’t preach.

Karina L. Fabian has been writing Dragon Eye, PI stories for years. Fans have eagerly awaited a full-length novel focusing on the exploits of Vern, a dragon private investigator, and his associate, Sister Grace of the Faerie Catholic Church. Magic, Mensa & Mayhem: From the Case Files of Dragon Eye, PI is sure to please fans.

Vern and Sister Grace are originally from the realm of Faerie, an alternative universe for which access had only recently been afforded to human beings. As humans and faerie beings interacted and crossed into each other’s realms, they also began to exchange cultural and economic ideas and goods.

In Magic, Mensa & Mayhem: From the Case Files of Dragon Eye, PI, Vern and Sister Grace have been asked to “babysit” (as Vern calls it) a Mensa convention to which many faerie experts have been invited. Mensa is a real human organization of highly intelligent people who have to test into the organization with an IQ of 140 or higher. They often meet at conventions such as the one in this book. But here, Vern and Sister Grace soon find that babysitting intelligent humans and quirky faerie folk at a Billy Beaver’s Fantasyland is not a restful vacation for them. Vern goes on nightly patrols with the hotel security staff, gets into trouble with local environmentalists when he takes a moonlit dip in the ocean, and deals with cleaning brownies, a nymphomaniac Valkyrie, a charming trickster Coyote, and ego-inflated elves who are in the midst of a longstanding feud.

Magic, Mensa & Mayhem: From the Case Files of Dragon Eye, PI is chockfull of comic incidents, snappy one-liners from Vern, and lots of Sister Grace’s magic. And, of course, the whole faerie entourage is larger than life and full of their own humorous quirks.

I really enjoyed Magic, Mensa & Mayhem: From the Case Files of Dragon Eye, PI. Vern has such a unique personality and a strong sense of humor – but he still behaves like a PI. Sister Grace is long suffering and behaves – for the most part as you would expect a nun to act – except that a faerie nun uses magic as well as prayer and she is subject to a wholly different set of spiritual rules than members of a spiritual community in the human realm.

That, I think, is the hallmark of Karina L. Fabian’s work. She has created a new “religion” for her characters who are members of the Faerie Catholic Church. (Even Vern is part of that spiritual recreation since he is the dragon that St. George conquered – except he wasn’t killed. St. George subdued Vern and put a spell on him to wipe his memory and thus all of his knowledge. Vern has spent years regaining his wisdom and his powers by doing good deeds.) Fabian has been instrumental in helping writers create not only new worlds in fantasy and science fiction, but also new religions and spiritual practices. She is the co-editor of Infinite Space, Infinite God, a collection of short stories that deal with spirituality in space – a most refreshing idea in science fiction.

Currently, a second Dragon Eye PI novel, Live and Let Fly, is completed and being shopped to publishers

I just sent in my last review for Myshelf.com.

After reviewing between 50 and 90 books a year for five years, I’m parting with Myshelf.com. I need more time for novel writing. However, I will continue to review for Midwest Book Review and for Muse Book Reviews.

[Midwest Book Review January 2010]

Invaluable Lessons from a Frog: Seven Life-Enhancing Metaphors
Olivier Clerc
Translated by Louis Marcelin-Rice
Dreamriver Press
19 Grace Court, Apt 2D, Brooklyn NY 11201
9780979790836 $14.95 www.dreamriverpress.com 215-253-4621

Olivier Clerc’s little book, Invaluable Lessons from a Frog: Seven Life-Enhancing Metaphors, offers readers insight into life’s wisdom through seven parables. The simple tales are ripe with meaning, especially the initial adage about the lowly frog who jumps into a pot of water, only to be cooked slowly without his awareness than anything is wrong. Clerc goes on to present nuggets about the butterfly needed to break out of its cocoon by itself, the proverb about wax on hot water, the story of the long delay in darkness that Chinese bamboo must endue before it shoots its way forcefully through the ground to grow to an amazing height in a very short time. And, there are more. Each story is ripe with understandings and deeper meanings about how we grow to our full potential as fully aware and competent individuals.

I enjoyed the images Clerc provided and some of his own interpretations of these allegories. I think these concepts are much needed in our world today because they ask us to question what we have learned in the past and to look at ourselves in very different ways. I, however, had some difficulties with Clerc’s intuitive leaps into his own political and esoteric philosophies and agendas, especially those dealing with alternative medicine. While I appreciate alternative methods and respect those who use them, their discussion here didn’t serve the lessons that Clerc was trying to enlighten us about – and in many cases got the way of the power of these simple parables.

Still, the concepts of these metaphors can serve readers well as meditation tools or even lens to use when looking out at the world around us. Invaluable Lessons from a Frog: Seven Life-Enhancing Metaphors could be the next FISH! business tool or life coaching technique.

[Midwest Book Review January 2010]

The Garden
James Dorr
Damnation Books
P.O. Box 3931, Santa Rosa, CA 95402-9998
9781615720149 $6.99 www.damnationbooks.com

James Dorr’s novella, The Garden, was one of the first offerings at Damnation Press, and the publisher Kim Richards was wise to grab this talent. Dorr, a master at short fiction, has two collections of his work out, Strange Mistresses: Tales of Wonder and Romance (2001) and Darker Loves: Tales of Mystery and Regret (2007), both released by Dark Regions Press. But that is just the icing on the cake for this prolific writer. He has had nearly 350 short stories published in prestigious magazines such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Fantastic Stories, New Mystery, Aboriginal Science Fiction, Dark Wisdom, Future Orbits, Tomorrow, and The Children of Cthulhu, as well as magazines in the UK and France. And, he’s had both fiction and poetry listed in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror many times since 1991.

His The Garden begins as an innocent tale of a biochemistry grad student, Steven Kerridge, off on a hike to find a place to write his thesis without distraction. When he stumbles upon Alma Sharp, the daughter of a legendary invertebrate zoologist, on whose work Steven is basing his own thesis, he decides to stay and help Alma tend her lush garden. Steven finds that the local townsfolk are wary of Alma and her plenty, amid their own dying fields. As Steven and Alma work closely together to solve the problems of the blighted countryside, they invariably fall in love and discover more than they ever wanted to know about each other.

The Garden is science fiction and horror at its classic best. This novella explores the morality of biochemistry and experimentation with DNA while it is set in a deceptively idyllic, rustic New England landscape, reminiscent of Hawthorne and Poe. The result is a creepy moral tale that will leave readers sleeping with a light on long after the last page is turned.

I’m hoping that Damnation Press will pick up more of James Dorr’s work. Readers will be so glad they did.

Here they are now.

Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time
Jon Bream
Voyageur Press
729 Prospect Ave, PO Box 1, Osceola, WI 54020
800- 826-6600
http://www.voyageurpress.com

ISBN-10: 0760335079

ISBN-13: 978-0760335079
$40
288 pages

October 1, 2008

Janie Franz
Reviewer

This book, Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time, was the initial release in Voyageur Press’ distinguished visual series on contemporary musical artists. It was written by Jon Bream, a noted musical journalist who is currently on staff at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune but who has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, and Rolling Stone. Bream also wrote Neil Diamond Is Forever: The Illustrated Story of the Man and His Music, also from Voyageur (2009), and Prince: Inside the Purple Reign (Collier Books, 1984).

Bream set the tone for the other books in this series, filling its pages photos, interviews, and commentary. The photos alone are worth the price of the book. There are vintage photos (some of which have never been published), concert photos that range from Led Zeppelin’s early days to today, album covers and even old 45 labels, posters, a collage of ticket stubs, one of buttons, and another of embroidered emblems. The commentary not only belongs to Jon Bream, but to rock journalists who discuss specific albums. There is also a whole bevy of musicians who speak about how this band influenced them, what their music meant to them personally, or reactions to personal encounters with band members. Some of those musicians include Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Ann and Nancy Wilson (Heart), Don Brewer (Grand Funk Railway), Peter Frampton, Steve Earle, Ray Davies (Kinks), Ace Frehley (Kiss), Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20), Chris Robinson (Black Crowes), Jon Bon Jovi, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), and even Dolly Parton and Kid Rock.

And then there are the interviews. There are a few with Led Zeppelin recording engineers, press agents, and managers who comment about their time spent working with the band. In addition, there is one rare vintage interview with Jimmy Page that was conducted by William S. Burroughs that is priceless.

Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of All Time is the perfect book for any Led Zeppelin fan. Whether you want to just leaf through the pages and enjoy the photographs or you dig deep into the commentary, Zeppelin fans will take away a greater understanding of what made this band such a musical phenomenon.

[Midwest Book Review December 2009]

Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock
Phil Sutcliffe
Voyageur Press
729 Prospect Ave, PO Box 1, Osceola, WI 54020
800- 826-6600
ISBN-10: 0760337195

ISBN-13: 978-0760337196
$40
288 pages

November, 2009

Janie Franz
Reviewer

Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock is one of the newest offerings in the illustrated histories of famous musical artists that Voyageur Press has been publishing. This book is as regal and ornate as the band it embodies. The cover, for example, is a black and white photo on a white background with the band’s name done up with a crown in gold. Carried further inside, the book boasts having 300 color photos and 100 black and white ones, starting from when the band first started playing music. Like most of the books in this series, this book doesn’t just contain photos and a history written by a single author. This book also has backstage and offstage candid photos that have never been published, posters, ticket stuffs, album and singles covers, handbills, and even t-shirt designs. And some of the photographs are the work of noted rock photographers such as Neal Preston.

The majority of the commentary in the book is done by Phil Sutcliffe, a freelance music journalist who has written for Sounds, Smash Hits, The Face, The Northern Echo, Mojo, Q, Blender, and the Los Angeles Times, and has interviewed just about everybody in rock stardom. Sutcliffe also enlisted album comments by a number of other music journalists, including Jim DeRogatis and Jon Bream, who both have written some of the other titles in this illustrated music series. As part of the book, Sutcliffe gathered reflections from other musicians such as Slash, Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Geddy Lee (Rush), Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Kid Rock, and even Neil Diamond.

There is even a year-by-year listing of Queen tour dates, a discography, and even some excerpts from publications during Queen’s heyday. Combined with the photos and commentary, Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock becomes one of the most comprehensive histories of this band ever published. It handles the flash and theater of Queen well, while showcasing every member of the band—and not just Freddie Mercury as the frontman. What I was most impressed with was the handling of Mercury’s death. There were absolutely no photos of the singer as his health deteriorated with AIDS. His illness and death are treated with dignity, allowing Freddie Mercury to remain a rock icon and not become a tragic figure to be pitied.

Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock is a book Queen fans will treasure and rock journalists will refer to as a key resource in understanding the dynamics of this legendary band.