Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Are you looking to buy
Chandos Ring: Death Star Earth? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer
discounts of up to 90% on
Chandos Ring: Death Star Earth. Check out the link below:
>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers
Chandos Ring: Death Star Earth ReviewI received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review.
Let's start with brass tacks. This book is a strict hybrid of epic poetry and western philosophy. The first two thirds of the book are a series of philosophic essays, in prose, which establish some of the author's rather remarkable views. The language of these essays is powerful, epic; just as is the language in his poetry. The ideas which this extremely thundering language clothes are sometimes incoherent, sometimes revolutionary. To an experienced student of philosophy, none of them are truly original; but the way they are expressed, which reads something like a manifesto, will catch your eye (or offend, or confuse).
The second two thirds is a poem, which is sort of the other side of the coin to the story the author is trying to tell. The author expressed to me that his intention was to "elevate" the American language. This plan, this desire, can be seen between the lines at every moment of his poetry. There's something frightfully monolithic about the whole thing --- if Mark Chandos's poetry was a physical object, it would be the Monolith in 2012: A Space Odyssey. In practice, though, I'm afraid it's not actually good poetry. It's disorganized in its use of metaphor, and employs a stream-of-consciousness structure (which is to say, little or no structure at all). The voices in the poem respond to questions which are never asked in the poem, and one is forced to guess who is being spoken to, when; and what certain words, which are used in a completely nonstandard way, mean. If one reads this poetry carefully, attempting to parse every word, even a deep lover of poetry can't stay in the ring for more than a page and a half.
But because of the intensely epic subject --- nothing short of the creation of a new human thing, and the extension of human life into space (and beyond the confines of the mortal body) --- the poem, and the author's voice, can be gripping. I confess that the rare moments of drama in the poem, in which characters went through conflicts and were juxtaposed with each other, had my heart racing. And the questions that this book raises had me thinking --- although ultimately, as a result of that thought, I rejected the book's main premise.
Here are the people to whom I recommend this book, in descending order of the strength of the recommendation.
1) Students of western philosophy who are just coming to appreciate poetry. This is a perfect book for you.
2) Seekers of literary curiosities. The style, tone, and structure of this book are strictly original.
3) People interested in epic poetry, especially epic poetry written in the last 20 years or so. You may find something you can respond to.
4) Spiritual seekers and concerned Christians, because of the author's rather original views on Christ and the nature of the spirit.
All others should probably stay away. This book demands a great deal of effort, and returns to the average reader comparatively little reward.
OH! And I decided to share a particularly emblematic bit of the poetry, because a picture is worth a thousand words. Taste it for yourself.
~~~~
Show me one perfect monster.
And not just a man.
I see you sprint with good or evil,
why do you quickly tire, winded?
I would that you were hot or cold.
The righteous men keep no gift I need.
I do not need mimes.
As a child, I knew at once
this god does not favor good men,
does not number good or evil men,
does not turn his neck for evil men,
counts both good and evil, mere beginners.
Human monsters are broken and lame,
then self-destruct;
human righteous are fat and healthy,
then help themselves.
The West cannot make one dangerous monster.
Till I arrive at the hunt.
(copyright 2011 Mark Chandos)
Chandos Ring: Death Star Earth OverviewWant to learn more information about
Chandos Ring: Death Star Earth?
>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
