Your roommate says you should date more, that all those spandex nights on stage paying tribute to hair metal and banging faceless groupies only amp...
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Jul 13, 2010
Colin
rated it: 
Gordon Highland’s debut novel, Major Inversions, takes a little while to get going, but the whole winds up being greater than the sum of its parts.
Odds are you won’t like the main character, Drew Ballard. He plays in a hair metal cover band, sleeps with groupies, works off and on as a security guard / commercial jingle writer (everyone is a ‘slash’ in Highland’s town), does too many drugs and torments his nerdy roommate, Barron Vaughn, more than he seemingly deserves. While some rea More...
Odds are you won’t like the main character, Drew Ballard. He plays in a hair metal cover band, sleeps with groupies, works off and on as a security guard / commercial jingle writer (everyone is a ‘slash’ in Highland’s town), does too many drugs and torments his nerdy roommate, Barron Vaughn, more than he seemingly deserves. While some rea More...
Mar 27, 2010
Chris
rated it: 
Drew Ballard is perhaps the least likely protagonist ever. For one, he’s not all that likable, being a drug-dealing and abusing rent-a-cop with musical talent – he plays in a hair metal tribute act, The Down Boys, a jazz fusion act called, Feu Jeune, and works as the jingle writer of choice for the Wilmington area. He’s also a slacker despite his workload, with no real goals beside the next gig. The only thing he wants to do with women is of the carnal desire. He really shouldn’t be the cen
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Aug 15, 2010
Simon
rated it: 
Major Inversions isn't the sort of book you can casually pick up and read. This book demands your attention. Usually I'd say that because the plot has enough complexity to ask more from you than average, but that's not the case here.
The demand from this book is in the prose. The subject matter isn't my cup of tea, but the language is rich, the choice of words meticulously thought out, and there are layers and undertones worth watching for. All that's great, but at times it feels like y More...
The demand from this book is in the prose. The subject matter isn't my cup of tea, but the language is rich, the choice of words meticulously thought out, and there are layers and undertones worth watching for. All that's great, but at times it feels like y More...
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Aug 29, 2009
Caleb
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(this review originally appeared at Outsider Writers Collective
Gordon Highland’s Major Inversion is a first-person meta-tale dominated by the seductive and confident Drew Ballard, 80’s tribute and Jazz fusion guitarist by night, commercial jingle scribe and drug enthused security guard by day. Highland writes with a narrative voice so full of wit and humor, it would be wise to read with a cynical cock-blocking fat friend at your side; the hair-metal spandex and verbal dexterity can m More...
Gordon Highland’s Major Inversion is a first-person meta-tale dominated by the seductive and confident Drew Ballard, 80’s tribute and Jazz fusion guitarist by night, commercial jingle scribe and drug enthused security guard by day. Highland writes with a narrative voice so full of wit and humor, it would be wise to read with a cynical cock-blocking fat friend at your side; the hair-metal spandex and verbal dexterity can m More...
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Jun 21, 2010
Colleen
rated it:
OK I'm not much of a book reviewer, but I won this in a goodreads giveaway, so here we go. It's hard to review because I'm still not really sure how I feel about this book as a whole. After reading the reviews on here, I was positive I was going to love it. Well, we got off to a rocky start. The minute I read the word "salmon-cicle" I was completely put off. I hate the whole women smell like fish thing. I mean, seriously? Another thing I hate is having a joke explained to me. Especiall
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Mar 28, 2010
Paul
rated it:
Major Inversions surprised me, and in the good way.
Drew Ballard writes commercial jingles and plays in various bands, ranging from white-collar jazz gigs to glam rock 80's bands. Oh, and he's also a part-time drug dealer and security guard. The line between his interests and the way he makes money is definitely blurry. He is funny, self-deprecating, and even a bit cocky. His life seems to be a semi-functional equilibrium of loneliness, drugs, music, and interior observations, and th More...
Drew Ballard writes commercial jingles and plays in various bands, ranging from white-collar jazz gigs to glam rock 80's bands. Oh, and he's also a part-time drug dealer and security guard. The line between his interests and the way he makes money is definitely blurry. He is funny, self-deprecating, and even a bit cocky. His life seems to be a semi-functional equilibrium of loneliness, drugs, music, and interior observations, and th More...
May 14, 2010
Pela
rated it:
This novel blew my mind. I loved it.
I expected competence from Highland's debut novel, I assumed he could write well enough, but this novel didn't seem to be my thing; I couldn't tell where the story would lead or how it would manifest any depth, as these things go dangerously unadvertised in the book's description. In fact, the storyline alone is fantastic. Unexpected, interesting and moving, it covers all the points of a high-quality novel. Above that, the narrator is among More...
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Jul 04, 2010
Richard
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This is a funny, dark book, that stays with you. If you like 80s music, hair bands, pop culture, and humor, then this is the book for you. I've seen references to Nick Hornby, and that is a great example, correlation. This was a fun read, very enjoyable.
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