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The Armageddon Chord

by Jeremy Wagner (Goodreads Author)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 50 ratings · 21 reviews

With the help of abominable Egypt

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Paperback, 254 pages

Published August 22nd 2011 by Knight Romance Publishing (first published July 18th 2011)

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Aug 25, 2011 Jeremy Wagner rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

"Wagner debuts with a highly entertaining blend…of heavy metal and hardcore horror…
Electrified by breakneck pacing, a cast of over-the-top characters and memorable lines...this thriller neatly exploits the considerable shared fanbase of apocalyptic fiction and Apocalyptica."
— PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“THE ARMAGEDDON CHORD is like The Da Vinci Code with a heavy-metal soundtrack!”
— Katherine Turman, Co-author of Louder Than Hell

“Combining the world of heavy metal with malevolent supernatural forces Wagne...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jun 12, 2011 wendy rated it 3 of 5 stars

here we go, jeremy. ;)

2 likes · like · see review

Oct 02, 2012 Megan Kennedy rated it 1 of 5 stars

Heavy metal, plus ancient mysteries, plus the apocalypse: it sounds like a cocktail made especially for my black little heart. Unfortunately, execution of this infernal concoction by musician-turned-author Jeremy Wagner left a lot to be desired. “The Armageddon Chord” is his debut novel about “god of guitar” Kirk Vaisto, living the kind of rock star wish-fulfillment dream life that would make the Eighties blush, and his accidental entanglement in a plot to begin Armageddon using an ancient song...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Susan Helene Gottfried rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: west-of-mars-recommends, rock-fiction

Every now and then, you hear about a book that excites you beyond belief. A book you absolutely MUST read, so much so that you go track down the author so you can get a copy for yourself. Yeah, I know. It happens to me fairly often. What can I say? I'm a book freak. Bibliophile, I believe the word is.
Now, I'm not the world's biggest fan of horror. Oh, I like the genre, don't get me wrong. My problem with horror is that I like really well-done, squirm-in-your-seat, psychological horror. The blo...more Every now and then, you hear about a book that excites you beyond belief. A book you absolutely MUST read, so much so that you go track down the author so you can get a copy for yourself. Yeah, I know. It happens to me fairly often. What can I say? I'm a book freak. Bibliophile, I believe the word is.
Now, I'm not the world's biggest fan of horror. Oh, I like the genre, don't get me wrong. My problem with horror is that I like really well-done, squirm-in-your-seat, psychological horror. The blood and gore? Yawn. But if you promise to mess with my brain and make me afraid of what might be creeping around in the dark, I'm there.
I suppose it makes sense that this horror novel that caught my fancy was written by the one and only Jeremy Wagner, guitarist for metal bands Lupara and Broken Hope. The man rocks harder than I do, and now he's treading on MY turf: rock and roll fiction.
The Armageddon Chord, his debut novel, is the story of Kirk Vaisto, God of Guitar. Poor Kirk's a good guy, living a quiet life in a mansion, with a backyard music studio. The set-up reminds me of Jason Newsted and his Chophouse, but not quite as communal. Kirk's a loner, all right. I'm not sure the poor dude has friends.
Anyway, Kirk gets suckered by his amazingly opportunistic agent into signing a contract with Festus Baustone, a bully who keeps company with some really sick people. Baustone and his buddy want Kirk to play a song for them. It seems simple at first -- until Kirk finishes the transcription and plays it for the first time. Then, he's smart enough to turn tail and run. Or... try to. Remember when I said Baustone was a bully? Yeah. That.
It's Satan who's coming to visit via the mystery song. And it's up to Kirk to not only summon him, but vanquish him as well. Is our man up to the task?
This storyline is so awesome, I'm not sure why it wasn't an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Really. Joss Whedon is wherever he is in all his brilliance, wondering why he didn't think of this plotline. It's that good.
And while I know there are an awful lot of people who dismiss the power of music, Wagner spends some time letting his characters wax more poetic than I ever could on the subject.
One area where I could use a little less waxing is near the end, when religion figures very strongly into the situation. Oh, I get that it's necessary and I love what the guitar does to the heavy. Plot-wise, it works. It's just that the characters get a bit too preachy about the glory of Christianity for this good little Jewish girl from the 'burbs.
I hope Wagner's got more up his sleeve, with or without Kirk and his love interest, Mona (that's a provocative name...). He shows some serious author chops in this too-short novel (am I the only one bemoaning the lack of subplots?), although there are some clunkers that show Wagner as a writer who's still got some growing and polishing to do on the mechanical level. Yet he's close: on page two, he hits us with a band so evil, they "made Slayer look like Justin Bieber."
Dude. I hope you know the Slayer guys if you're going to go around dissing them like that. I've met them. They scare me. (Actually, that's not true. I have met them, but they didn't scare me. Still, it sounds good, so we'll go with it.)
Keep writing, Jeremy. You've earned this West of Mars Recommended stamp.
(less)

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Aug 21, 2011 Jeremy Wagner rated it 5 of 5 stars

Deep beneath the Egyptian sands, an ancient and evil song written in hieroglyphics is discovered in the long lost and buried pyramid of the demonic pharaoh, Aknaseth. It is written, that if this song is performed for the world to hear, it will unleash the Apocalypse upon the world of man…Satan will reign and grant immortality to the chosen.

With the help of the abominable Egyptologist, Helmut Hartkopff, nihilistic multi-billionaire, Festus Baustone the Third will do whatever it takes to bring the...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Grace Fonseca rated it 5 of 5 stars

Okay, I got this book at Book Expo America and I must say the cover intrigued me and the blurb made me more intrigued. What made this book more intriguing, was that when I looked up the genre that this book came under, it was horror, which is a genre that I don't really read that often.

What made this book very good and suprising to me to was that it read like a battle between good and evil, which is a common theme in a lot of bibilical literature. A man who is caught in a situation that he has...more Okay, I got this book at Book Expo America and I must say the cover intrigued me and the blurb made me more intrigued. What made this book more intriguing, was that when I looked up the genre that this book came under, it was horror, which is a genre that I don't really read that often.

What made this book very good and suprising to me to was that it read like a battle between good and evil, which is a common theme in a lot of bibilical literature. A man who is caught in a situation that he has no way out of, but somewhere along the lines God or a messenger of God's comes in & gives our hero the weapon he needs.

This book was great. It had a very likeable character in Kirk Vaisto. Here is a man who has acheived a lot of things in his life. Has a great career, not a great romantic life. Who can have everything, right? Yet, his manager who is greedy gets in touch with him to meet Festus Baustone and Helmut Hartkopff. Some of these names are bibilical and the use of Egyptian mythology here was very impressive.

Love that this book has a lot of rock-n-roll elements in it. Like the way the author uses the Egyptian Mythology along with Christian Mythology to explain that when this song is played that Hell will be unleash on Earth. This book also had an incredible flow to it. What I mean by flow, is that this book took the hero on a journey of self-discovery about what he wanted, not about money. Money is the way to hell they say. In this case quite literally.

The villians were somewhat unlikeable and that made the story more appealing. Although you are not supposed to feel for them. I somewhat felt bad for Festus Baustone at first, because he had bone cancer. Then as the story progressed the way he treated Mona, made me sick and others. Also the character of Helmut was quite a villian as he killed two people right in the beginning of the book.

Love how this book was like a ride, you didn't want to get off, once the second half of the book started. The chemistry between Mona Baustone and Kirk was interesting because it wasn't exactly a love match. Yet, the author makes their relationship work because at first it starts off being about business, but they get scared once they realize that the music shows them images and very terrifying visions

Once Kirk and Mona start talking to each other, they realize how similiar they are in their interactions with people. Mona has a difficult relationship with her father. Her father doesn't really care about her. Yet Kirk and Mona decided that they want a different life for themselves.

The book takes us to Egypt in a stunning conclusion and someone, a priest gives Kirk a guitar that will stop the Armageddon supposedly. In a strange series of events that just boggled my mind, but in a good way, he uses the guitar to stop hell from coming to Earth.

Also like how Helmut and Festus get theirs in the End.

So if you're looking for a book that has rock-n-roll, good love story, battle between good and evil. This is the book for you. In some ways I found this book to be very good and quite different from anything else that I've read.

Rating: 5 Hearts(less)

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May 23, 2012 Juliet rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed, top-fun

Hard to say what I think about this book exactly. I’ve read it in no time at all, so it’s certainly fast paced and accessible and it’s not the longest of novels. What I can’t decide is whether or not it’s meant to be somewhat tongue in cheek. It’s tagged as horror, although I’d say it was more of a supernatural thriller and quite light-hearted too.

When asked about my musical tastes, I always say Metal is my first love and my mistress and although I might stray from time to time, I always come ba...more Hard to say what I think about this book exactly. I’ve read it in no time at all, so it’s certainly fast paced and accessible and it’s not the longest of novels. What I can’t decide is whether or not it’s meant to be somewhat tongue in cheek. It’s tagged as horror, although I’d say it was more of a supernatural thriller and quite light-hearted too.

When asked about my musical tastes, I always say Metal is my first love and my mistress and although I might stray from time to time, I always come back to her and she welcomes me with open arms. That’s why I chose to read this book. It appealed to the Bill and Ted lover in me. That’s sort of how it read too. That’s not a negative statement in any way.

Everyone’s heard of guitar heroes and guitar gods. I imagine that’s where the idea first took root for this story. As KISS sang, God gave rock and roll to ya and KISS crop up more than once in this volume (no pun intended on volume and I’ll stay away from saying anything goes to eleven).

I’ve told my other half that he’d enjoy the book. He’s a guitarist. It may give him delusions of grandeur though, so I might just hide it from him. It’s a fun read and picks up on a few things we sort of know about the music industry and suspect about billionaire businessmen. Festus a twist on Faustus perhaps?

One point where I think Hell, yeah but laugh at the same time is that Metal has always come under fire as being ‘unholy’ and the fans as being Satanists (Word auto-capitalises that btw, not me!) and this book defends the music and our right to wear black quite admirably. The demonization of Metal might be another point of origin, although who am I to say where a writer gets their ideas?

Why only three stars then? Well I can’t give 3.5 and it’s not quite 4 for me. There are a couple of incongruities in the storyline. I’ll not explain them because I don’t want to spoil anyone’s reading, but a continuity editor/buff would spot them too. Also a few linguistic hiccups and I’m a writer and proof reader so they made my mark-up alarm sound. Three stars rates my overall reading experience of the book and not only the story. Get a more vigilant editor, Jeremy!

The Armageddon Chord is an enjoyable read and would make a good screenplay in a Raiders of the Lost Ark sort of way. I don’t think you could pull it off as a terrifying horror but as a thriller with mystical overtones, yes. Read it – it’s fun!(less)

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Oct 15, 2011 Kara-karina rated it 5 of 5 stars

4.5/5
Oh that was such an insanely overdramatic book it was right up my alley!

Ancient Egyptian evil, the end of the world, Indiana Jones-like adventures with Nazi archeologist, and super-villanous media magnate, God and Devil, and crazy priest with stigmatas... I had great fun!

You might shake your head a lot while reading this book but you won't get bored. It's bright, full of action, hallucinations, gorgeous guitar music and glamourous life of a famous musician.

Kirk Vaisto is asked to transcribe...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Frank Errington rated it 4 of 5 stars

For some reason, I was prepared to not like this book, which was strange, because I really like and admire Jeremy Wagner as a person. Having met him at Horrorfind Weekend 2011, I found him to be genuine, confident and really hard not to like. I guess my problem going into "The Armageddon Chord" was that I'm not into Metal, and was not at all familiar with Jeremy from his work in the music industry. I figured since I don't listen to Metal, I'm not going to like the book. Let me admit, I was just...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Kevin Lucia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jeremy Wagner’s The Armageddon Code is a solid debut that strikes some bold new ground – with our rock star hero - while hinging on the classic themes of the eternal struggle between good and evil. Kirk Vaisto is a character that creates empathy. He’s a good guy who just wants to play the music he loves, caught up in something bigger than himself, forced to make choices no mortal man should ever have to make. Blending Egyptian myth, End Times/Christian allegory and even some physics, The Armaged...more

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Sep 26, 2011 Vicki rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Well, for one thing, music heals. It helps you get in touch with and identify your emotions. Music opens a door. It can get your emotions across to people and it can also help you understand the emotions of others." -Kirk Vaisto, The Armageddon Chord.

This is just a small paragraph from Jeremy Wagner's book The Armageddon Chord. But it really spoke to me and left a smile on my face after reading it because I think it's very true of the relationship people can have with music. I've loved music al...more

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Dec 02, 2011 Greg Chapman rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the apocalypse with a wicked soundtrack.
Wagner uses his own talents as a musician and a writer to create a memorable and original take on the end of the world.
His protagonist Kirk Vaisto, may be your stereotypical rock star, but the situation he gets himself into is far from normal, when he's forced to play a piece of music intended to raise hell.
Wagner's descriptions of Kirk's guitar playing and the hellish visions it generates are very evocative.
I look forward to more from Wagner in th...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 25, 2011 Allison Claire rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was such a fun and suspenseful read. Totally original and interesting concept. Music is powerful and important to our lives and to use that angle to write an apocalyptic book was very clever. I loved the Egyptian and biblical references as well as all the knowledge of the technical aspects of producing and playing music. The character development was strong and I have a crush on Kirk! The author was able to take a subject that is very feared and really a mystery to everyone and ma...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Jose rated it 5 of 5 stars

I saw the commercial for it once and I knew I had to read it, and when I finally bought it and read it, I was so pumped up. I love this book and will read many times more.

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Sep 13, 2011 Jasmine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jeremy Wagner intrigued me when he introduced his book to me at the RT Booklovers convention...horror with a touch of metal to it. I read it in just a few days, because I just had to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next...how will it end. It's an ageless tale of good vs. evil. His main character Kirk Vaisto(hope I spelled it right), gets thrust into this quest for power. He soon realizes the horror of what may come with that particular musical piece. Finding his faith, he finds t...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Carol Stucki rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked it. Despite some vulgar language it had a good story. Interesting that the good versus evil battle was done with music!

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Jun 11, 2011 Nick Cato rated it 4 of 5 stars

See my review over at THE CROW'S CAW:

http://thecrowscaw.com/2011/06/11/rev...

1 like · like · see review

Sep 11, 2011 Sheri White rated it 5 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this. Will write review soon.

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Oct 10, 2011 Misty Rayburn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Official review coming soon.

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Sep 27, 2011 Pia Veleno added it

Shelves: genre-horror-thriller-mystery, source-paperback-or-hardcover

Excellent story about the power of music blended with ancient Egyptian mythology.

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May 11, 2013 Tristan rated it 5 of 5 stars

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