Dateline NY: Old SH fan becomes new TW fan
348250
Ive read every original Sherlock Holmes novel and story at least half a dozen timessome, more like two dozenso the premise of this new Sherlock Holmes Legacy series immediately caught my interest. Fessenden does a decent job of what-iffing Conan Doyles original characters. (Teeny-weeny nitpick: From the moment Harry Ragans contorted face was mentioned, I was expecting someone to mention Sherlocks Tregennis case, and I felt a bit let down that they didnt. Serves me right for being an SH fan-girl. Heh, heh...)

Although the action wasn't edge-of-seat and plot developments were telegraphed a bit too conspicuously, Fessendens outstanding knack for dialogue and first-person narration made The Case of the Exploding Speakeasy a very enjoyable read. His mastery of deep POV techniques, with a touch of humor, drew me right into Thomas Watsons predicaments. Young Watson is an immensely likable character. Fessenden surrounds him with a terrific supporting cast of allies and adversaries, good guys and goons, and rivals for his affection who will, I hope, show up in future installments.
As a side note, Im always interested to see Christian faith play a part in the lives of characters in novels that are not Christian fiction. This book gives just a glimpse of how faith, or rejection of it, impacted several supporting characters, which reflects real life, in my opinion. Will their experiences influence Thomas? Ill have to wait for the rest of the series to find out. :)
595251
Saw them live as the opening act for Meghan Trainor, and LOVED their sound. Had to have the EP right away! Hoping for them to release a LP soon.
1403652
So 15 years ago (good god), I picked up the beginnings of the original Wraeththu trilogy and fell very much in love with the characters, the style of the author, and so forth.  When I found a hardcover of the third about 3 months later, I bought it and then gave it to a friend so I wouldn't read it out of order... and waited 6 more months for the second book to publish in the US.
Since then, Storm's done a lot of different things in her books.  Some of these books I've been less than thrilled by, others I have been completely floored by.  About 5 years ago, I noticed that her narrative voice had changed a lot, and in March of this year I consumed the most recent trilogy that she's written (the Magravandian Tapestry), and found myself surprised to find that not only is she writing again in the style I most enjoy- but her writing in that style is far stronger than it once was.  And so she returns, 15 years later, to the same storyworld that first captured my mind.
I'm writing this about 100 pages into the book: her new writing style is much stronger; much more human in scale.  Before she often wrestled with these huge metaphysical contexts and her characters were, while not badly drawn or uninteresting, secondary.  This batch of characters (thus far secondary characters from the first trilogy) are far more strongly drawn- and far more accessible.  I eagerly look forward to more. And more and more (this is the 'First Book of the Wraeththu Histories', per the frontispiece).
As the dedication states, this book is for all of us who would claim to belong to that world.
3747618
I have always been slightly embarrassed that I kept listening to, and liking, W.A.S.P., after 8th grade in the 80's.  At least with early Black Sabbath, I can get a kick out of the "ewww gross" reaction to one of their t-shirts, or by cranking a tune in my Honda Civic, from the young college princesses and many hipsters these days, and the preppies, jocks and non-rocker girls back in the day.

But lately I've been re-thinking this when it comes to W.A.S.P..  I mean what the hell are these guys about? They don't really fit into any particular scene or stereotype, which is awesome, and I cast them off as L.A. biker trash fodder long ago.  I was mistaken, they are some sort of mix of goth/punk, 80's metal and classic rock that got thrown into the harder side of the hair metal scene in the mid-80's.

I actually saw them in 1983, opening up for Kiss, and they shot posters into the crowd from a cannon and wore butt-less pants! Who does that? Of course today they'd be cast-off as gay bikers, but back then it was a statement against overly strict moral art codes.  And of course in their early shows in L.A., they threw raw meat into the crowd.

What hurts this album, is the very hair-metal, transexual album cover with Blackie, which is just awful.  But the album itself is a top three great for them, along with "The Last Command" and their self-titled debut.  It's too bad "Circus" spelled the demise of their greater popularity in the 80's, I remember being the only one I knew who bought and loved it when it was released, and to revisit it, it's suprisingly timeless and full of great songs

Highlights are all over the place, from the title track, to "I'm Alive," "Sweet Cheetah," "Shoot From The Hip" and "Restless Gypsy" making up the best classic WASP tracks. "I Don't Need No Doctor," was a popular cover and is a straight-forward cover with the WASP treatment.  The album romanticizes a rogue lifestyle of the typical 80's metal L.A. street lore of "fast cars, girls and booze," riding free, fast, and for the day! "Put my gun in your holster, like a velvet glove" and other such Kiss-like camp lyrics are abundant and will definitely get the "ewww gross" reaction from your favorite overly-serious snob or school princess, or wife or girlfriend.  And that is what makes life great, and WASP is still one of the best party bands in the world, rock on.
4135313
I just finished the Remember When trilogy...and lemme just say..Thank you!! <3. Especially for Trip's Epilogue at the end.  I was..and am..DYING for more!  I feel like I know them and was there...and want to see how they are!! ;)  I have a HUGE book hangover today.  Caught myself looking at a tabloid!  I'm just sorry I didn't hop on the train to Norman, NJ earlier!!
1510024
I've been a huge fan (fan-girl if u will) of Tyler for as long as I've been watching YouTube. I am so unbelievably proud of him and I know so many Youtubers are starting to become more noticed and expand into different media (awkward wording in obviously not an author like Tyler... ) I've read through the book at least three times and I always notice more and more little things each time. Tyler if u see this know u are truly amazing and ilysm

@JeNny_527 on Twitter
2833366
Back when John Corabi fronted Motley, on what I believe was their nest release ever, you heard what Nikki Six wanted to play. Heavy modern music. On Generation Swine you heard even more of it. Vince Neil's voice did not fit. Traditional Motley fans rebelled against Corabi and Generation Swine. Nikki went back to writing Motley more in the vein of what people expected afterwards. Brides of Destruction was briefly in the picture, but that didn't last. He started a side project to write and play what he was feeling at that time. Sixx A.M. is obviously that project. Modern Vintage is a modern sounding natural record. James Michael, DJ Ashby, and Nikki continue to create quality music. This release is a little more upbeat lyrically than earlier releases. Their cover of the CARS track drive is very cool. I won't break down each track, but it is very good.
2813217
I was lucky enough to pick up an early copy at the Gallifrey One Doctor Who convention in LA in February, and I completely devoured the book on my flight back home to Seattle.  As my tweet on way back home said, "Just finished reading Chicks Dig Time Lords [...] on trip back from #gally and it was great! Recommend for any fan (M or F)"

Not by looking at the female fan culture from across "time and space," it also comments on fan culture of the time. It is interesting to learn about how different the same fandom in the US is from the one in the UK. Being in the middle of it we often forget how different we are.

Also the history Torchwood Babiez strip is hilarious and is placed at the perfect location in the collection.

I hope to see more books cover fandom the way this one has in the future.
1111949
Y0 Y0 Y0 HOME SKELLETZ!!!1!! OMG! THEZ ALBUM R0X0RZ MEH..WELL, J00 NO! anyh00, avril is liek...so h0rnEe. She'z TaLkN AbOuT SuM Sk8R D00d TaHt tApPeD TaHt N LeFt. Pfft. SoUndS dAMb EmO 2 Meh. Anyh00, thez album R0x HardxKoR EmO stYil. WeRd, DaWg!!!1!! AvRyL Iz LiEk TeH bEsT cHiCk EvAr!! OMG, AvRyL N I sHuld GiT sT0n3d 2gEtHuR!11!! OMG!! ThEn I KuLD RePlAyCe TaHt EmO Sk8r D00D. OMGPWNED.
4213384
TS has got a great style about her...hopefully very soon ,she'll meet someone and start writing songs about things other than getting hurt in a relationship...listen to James Taylor,Carly Simon..all those great singers please
3732796
I'm a long-time fan of SEP, so long that I read HOT SHOT when it was issued for the first time years ago.  I love the Chicago Stars series and all its spin-offs.  I love the more recent Chicago-based series, even as some of her stylistic markers have become a little too familiar.  SEP's sense of humor has even carried me through those books whose plots bear more than a faint resemblance to prior books.  However, this early book bears no resemblance to SEP and instead sounds waaaay too much like Judith Krantz - think PRINCESS DAISY - or Judith Michael.  It has the rhythm of those potboilers of the 70s and 80s and the business of starting in the almost-present and then going backwards reminds me of SCRUPLES....and so many others.  Most of the characters are pretty two-dimensional and most of the plot is predictable.

Do I think that this will make dyed-in-the-wool SEP fans dislike it?  Probably not, since I saw that GLITTER BABY jumped to the # 4 spot on The New York Times Paperback Best Seller List in its first week out.  That is probably pent-up demand and I'm curious to see how long it retains that status as word-of-mouth gets around.

By the way, SEP's new hardback book, written recently and hopefully more in line with the style that we all love, is due out next week.  Despite the comments above about this book, count me in to stand on line for the new one!
4175512
I bought the tape when it first came out. My favorite songs were "Iesha," "Coolin' At The Playground," "Jealous Girls," and "My World." I haven't seen my tape since the early 90s and I still remember the words to some of these songs. I sure would love to see how Red, Mark, Ro Ro, Lil' Dave, Chris and G.A. look now. I loved this group.
4139721
I can't get enough T.Swift. As a fan for so many years, I was hesitant about this transition but she has accomplished something beautiful with 1989. The arc of the tracklist is perfect and so many songs are perfect for her next single.
260076
This book ALMOST sounds like an older Clarissa who has had life win a few too many rounds and now she is unsure and confused. By the end I started to understand what might have put her into a tailspin to the point where we first meet her again, but for most of the book I could forget that it is her until details like her fashion sense, mom's love of tofu, dads unusual buildings, and of course Ferg-face are mentioned. The writing style is first person, and she often talks to herself as if she has an audience, which fits with the show's broken-4th-wall style. Emotions were evoked, and I felt genuinely bad for this woman who had clearly been broken in the time since we last saw her.
 I think that the biggest thing that threw me is they aged her down by about 10 years. So while her memories evoke 1991-94 Clarissa, who clearly would have been out of place as a teen in 01-04,  the time line clearly places Sam graduating college in '09. I understand her being in her late 20's serves the plot of the book, and it is easiest to write in in modern day with all the technology we currently have, the jump just takes me out of the "explains" world a bit, my brain working out the math in the background.
Overall, is this a must read book? No. Even for the biggest Clarissa fans, I think that world is still complete without it. But if you are a fan of nostalgia and like catching up with characters like old friends, it might be worth taking the time to read (or listen to) this book
1310735
Love hearing their old stuff! It really shows how talented they are! Cant wait for their upcoming album When My Heart Felt Volcanic!
4784236
Just got my vinyl copy I pre ordered. Awesome! As one of those hard to please nerds and hardcore fan of their back catalogue... I gotta say I am thrilled with this all around! You couldn't reasonably ask for much more of a true reproduction of the STYLE we love most.

I became a fan as a kid in the 90's, listening to the rhino releases of their 60's LP's (yeah I was into records as a kid). JustUs was kind of being modern and was kind of a disappointment in a way, while we were all loving and listening to it anyway cause our boys are on it. This record doesn't attempt to be modern, beyond the sound you get with modern sound equipment. Probably because the lads can see that modern music is no longer a thing to emulate as it once was. Best to just go back to the basics.. acoustic guitars, some crunchy leads and pianos.. bass guitar and drums.

You've got yourself an excellent record here! When I saw them in 2012, this is something we laughingly dreamed about. Fantastic! :-)
appy fan Julie Marie Brown
3143648
Thanks to Mike for putting this together. Great to have such a tangible connection to fellow Stuy alumni. Hard to believe at first that it's been 35 years, but then I look at those pictures...
:)