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110 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2013
I guess I should start off with the fact that I must clarify: I have no idea what the standards are for books that are somewhat centered around erotic/bondage themes, and while I wasn't the least bit surprised at all that a decent segment of this novel is a part of that (I mean... it's Will) I don't know how to rate it in comparison to others like it that could be called good or bad... Nonetheless, it was well written and didn't completely take over the plotline.
Will seems to become more and more mysterious as time goes on, and sometimes I have to wonder exactly how much in all his songs, writing, and general ideas that he talks about is true. Clearly with the narrator and protagonist being named William, you can figure right off the bat that at least some of what happened in here is part of Will's real experiences throughout life. Any big William Control fan knows that he's gone through tremendous struggles with every hard drug in the book, alcohol and crime as a teenager, and you can see that for sure with his character in Revelator. The rest... I'm not entirely sure, but I wouldn't be that shocked at anything else (aside from the obvious dream sequence) was true at some point, or even loosely based on an event. However, that just makes it much more enjoyable as a read to think about.
Naturally, there's a large portion based on religion and Will's personal thoughts on it. I think that his spin on Christianity's myths versus "the truth about God and Jesus" from Lucifer's point of view was an interesting take, but it's also something I've heard before from him numerous times, this part reminding me especially of Aiden's "Crusifiction" back from the Knives release in 2009. I don't really have any feelings about it though, being raised non-religiously I've never felt much like or dislike for Christianity or any of its similarly based religion... if anything, more for the people that try to base their living and other people's way of life off of it, which was also taken from that perspective in the dream sequence.
Part of this scene confused me; all that William's character wanted in that sequence was to get to his beloved Vivienne, and Lucifer had told him right where she was; in his kingdom of eternal Hell. Lucifer asked what he wanted and gave him a choice; if all he'd wanted was Vivienne, more than going to eternal paradise or getting a second chance at living what remained of his life, why didn't he ask to join her? Sure, they'd probably both be at least somewhat miserable, but they'd be reunited, which is what he wanted, wasn't it? But perhaps that's to come later, in another book? Am I overthinking this? The answer is probably yes. I enjoyed the fact that despite both William and Vivienne's lustful characteristics to the point of them taking part in crazy S&M bondage orgies, you could tell by every other piece featuring the both of them that they had a true, immense love for eachother, and that at the end of the day (or night, in this situation?) it's all about just those two and how much they live off of eachother. I feel like it shows there's important, meaningful lives and relationships for those that live a "sleazy" life, and that they're not all lowlife scum as people like them are often portrayed.
Based around its ending and then pondering afterwards everything that happened, I can see now that this is finally the story of Will's 2008 release, Hate Culture, coming into place in the form of actual books, and I wonder how exactly long some of these characters and scenes and how vivid they may or may not have been for so many years only to just now in the present find their way into a narrative, and I'm very excited about it! I strongly look forward to part II that Will puts out, which hopefully won't be too long of a wait!