The Astonishing

The Astonishing

  • Downloads:7571
  • Type:Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date:2021-11-02 09:54:54
  • Update Date:2025-09-06
  • Status:finish
  • Author:Peter Orullian
  • ISBN:173381051X
  • Environment:PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Summary

In a not so distant future, our world has returned to the ugliness of feudalism。 Only this time, those in power control the servant class with the very thing that once inspired men to rise up and take back their lives—music。 But it is not the music of old。 That music is forgotten。 No, this new music is engineered entirely by machines。 This music suppresses that part of humanity which might be inspired。 This music suppresses hope。

But what is old will be made new again。

In the village of Ravenskill lives a young man, Gabriel, who comes with a gift of power。 A gift of music。 As a human expression。

Gabriel’s brother, Arhys, leads a rebel militia that is trying to liberate the people。 And he believes Gabriel’s gift is the key; a key he hopes will help him keep a promise he made his wife on her deathbed。

But the emperor and his son have different plans--to maintain control。 Those plans may find an unlikely challenger in their own family。 And the resulting conflict may yield lasting consequences。 For them all。

With music as a moving force, the choices each player must make will bring them to a shared moment of pain。 And perhaps redemption。

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Reviews

Drake Hahn

2。50 out of 5。00I genuinely liked the concept of the book, even if it could’ve been taken as silly。 The world was really cool as a whole and inspired some of my writing, but I felt like this could have been so much better。I think a lot of that falls on the actual writing。 The editing was terrible, the pacing was not spectacular, and the characters, equipped with corny names, weren’t anything to write home about。 The characters were too predictable to be enjoyed and any crossing or twists had no 2。50 out of 5。00I genuinely liked the concept of the book, even if it could’ve been taken as silly。 The world was really cool as a whole and inspired some of my writing, but I felt like this could have been so much better。I think a lot of that falls on the actual writing。 The editing was terrible, the pacing was not spectacular, and the characters, equipped with corny names, weren’t anything to write home about。 The characters were too predictable to be enjoyed and any crossing or twists had no impact, even though they should have。 Despite liking it, the world seemed thin, even with attempts to expand it (most of those attempts felt like a waste and there were too many chapters I could have done without)。It seemed a crime that there were basically no songs actually written in prose。 I could recall maybe one, but most of them were just untold。Song Two-Thirty-Seven was a really great short story that I’m shocked wasn’t included in the actual story。 That gave more depth to a character than the entire story did to most of the characters。Despite its flaws, I still love that an album got a novelization; I wish it would happen more。 But, in regards to album novelizations, this ranks low for me。 Books like “Clockwork Angels” and “A Dying Machine” far exceeded The Astonishing。Overall, it was neat to see the story of my favorite Dream Theater album come to life, but it let me down after reading it。 。。。more

Matthew Kozak

My first printing edition has an abundance of typos。 Beyond that, the reading experience is not as exciting as one would hope, given the scope of the project。 It is a fair assumption that the production process of this novel is less than ideal, and the author was likely put on an unusual deadline。 The book feels rushed, not as expansive as it had the space to be given the format。 Still, the ideas are fun and it does have many scenes absent in the source material that are very well written。

Jae Templemire

I love Dream Theater, and this album is my absolute favorite by them so I went in with super high hopes for this book and it well surpassed them all! My only critique is I wish it was a longer read!

A。L。 DeLeon

As a music and fantasy lover, I find the weaving of the two in this story very interesting and compelling。 It may be fiction, but the dynamics of war and relationships that are explored here are reflective of the things we often fail to see or acknowledge in real life。 If nothing else, the Astonishing will remind you of the power and importance of music in our lives。

Kayla Robison

I really enjoyed reading this book along with listening to the album!

Michael

The novelization of John Petrucci's/Dream Theater's concept album 'The Astonishing' was much better than I thought it would be as I dived in reading。 DT's parent album was good-but-not-great; to my ears their reach exceeded their grasp in throwing down a 2+ hour concept album。For me I see the story as a mash-up of Rush's "2112" , Terry Brooks' 'The Wishsong of Shannara' and Triumph's "Magic Power"。 Rush covers the future where music is all but outlawed/forgotten, Brooks' tale covers the performa The novelization of John Petrucci's/Dream Theater's concept album 'The Astonishing' was much better than I thought it would be as I dived in reading。 DT's parent album was good-but-not-great; to my ears their reach exceeded their grasp in throwing down a 2+ hour concept album。For me I see the story as a mash-up of Rush's "2112" , Terry Brooks' 'The Wishsong of Shannara' and Triumph's "Magic Power"。 Rush covers the future where music is all but outlawed/forgotten, Brooks' tale covers the performance of a song as having tangible magical & physical properties, and Triumph's classic tune covers the non-magical aspect of music in being able to comfort & uplift the soul。For such a nice edition, there were some noticeable errors - various misspellings, and at least two or three instances where either a character was completely misidentified as another or a character's last name was used as they were introduced but then (presumably) referred to by their as-yet-not-mentioned first name。The story itself is a fairly quick read as roughly 60% of the book is the actual novel; the rest is interviews & various behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the album & novelization process。 。。。more

Robert Rich

It’s a novelization of Dream Theater’s concept album from 2016。 The album, while ambitious, was not great, and neither is the book。 The writing is capable and far better than I had hoped it would be, but the story is still paper-thin and filled with heavy handed, cheesy and sometimes cringeworthy elements (the evil emperor is named Lord Nafaryus。。。get it?)。 I’m still an ever-faithful Dream Theater fan, but man, I’m ready for a new, much heavier album。