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Burner
ow far are you willing to go, and how much are you willing to sacrifice in order to realize your dream?
Jason Teal, is a hip-hop deejay and producer who dropped out in his last semester as a college astrophysics major and moved to san Francisco with his rapper friends to pursue a career in music. Three years later, the hip-hop group he co-founded has signed a major label deal – without him. Meanwhile, Jason has lost sight of his dream. He’s working a job he hates and his relationship with his stripper-girlfriend has hit rock bottom. And now, with greater frequency, he’s having hallucinations. He hallucinates walls and trains covered with graffiti pieces (burners). The burners are the work of his dead brother, PSYCHOPOMP, a great graffiti writer whose death, more than twenty years ago, has given rise to strange rumors. Some say he was murdered by the Illuminati, others believe he was in the Illuminati.
Into the chaos of Jason’s downward spiral steps a man named Cyril Magbion, a mysterious figure with ties to a secret society. Cyril has the power to transform Jason’s life overnight. He has money. He has answers. He seems to know everything. But first Jason must prove himself worthy of such a mentor and undergo “The TEST.”
The TEST will take Jason Teal down the rabbit-hole into the new paradigm of wave/particle duality where quantum physics meets mysticism at the level of the unseen. In the rabbit hole, he’ll encounter a dominatrix with a chip on her shoulder, a gangster who blew off his leg making a bomb, a man in a wheelchair dressed as a pharaoh beckoning him with ESP, a ginseng store owner who looks like Peter Lorre on speed, CIA MK ULTRA experiments, and many more weird and terrifying things that will lead to a head-on collision with himself, and the Big Bang of consciousness.
Can you handle a mind-altering adjustment to the mass hallucination we call reality? If the answer is yes, then read this book.
Jason Teal, is a hip-hop deejay and producer who dropped out in his last semester as a college astrophysics major and moved to san Francisco with his rapper friends to pursue a career in music. Three years later, the hip-hop group he co-founded has signed a major label deal – without him. Meanwhile, Jason has lost sight of his dream. He’s working a job he hates and his relationship with his stripper-girlfriend has hit rock bottom. And now, with greater frequency, he’s having hallucinations. He hallucinates walls and trains covered with graffiti pieces (burners). The burners are the work of his dead brother, PSYCHOPOMP, a great graffiti writer whose death, more than twenty years ago, has given rise to strange rumors. Some say he was murdered by the Illuminati, others believe he was in the Illuminati.
Into the chaos of Jason’s downward spiral steps a man named Cyril Magbion, a mysterious figure with ties to a secret society. Cyril has the power to transform Jason’s life overnight. He has money. He has answers. He seems to know everything. But first Jason must prove himself worthy of such a mentor and undergo “The TEST.”
The TEST will take Jason Teal down the rabbit-hole into the new paradigm of wave/particle duality where quantum physics meets mysticism at the level of the unseen. In the rabbit hole, he’ll encounter a dominatrix with a chip on her shoulder, a gangster who blew off his leg making a bomb, a man in a wheelchair dressed as a pharaoh beckoning him with ESP, a ginseng store owner who looks like Peter Lorre on speed, CIA MK ULTRA experiments, and many more weird and terrifying things that will lead to a head-on collision with himself, and the Big Bang of consciousness.
Can you handle a mind-altering adjustment to the mass hallucination we call reality? If the answer is yes, then read this book.
384 pages, Paperback
First published July 16, 2012
About the author
M.C. Mars
3 books8 followersM.C. Mars is the author of DON'T TAKE ME THE LONG WAY, his memoir of driving a cab at night in San Francisco for twenty- four years. In 2012, he released his second book, BURNER. He’s also a rapper with three albums to his credit, and hip-hop roots that go all the way back to the late 70s. He lives in San Francisco, where he continues to perfect his free- style, and his spaghetti sauce.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 16, 2012
This book is so multi-layered with psychedelic delusions, insertions of physics, paranoia and the very real and gritty distortions provided by fame and violence inherent in the inner city that adding a tinge of conspiracy theory is almost one element too many. Almost. While the story is admittedly full of complexity, the flow fits a personality that is in crisis, searching and seeking in a non-linear manner. From a near monastic adherence to the ‘next thing’ we are then dragged into the tumultuous relationship between Jason and his girlfriend, then thrust to his obsessive infatuation with hip-hop and rap, and the fame that surrounds a lucky few. I’m still wondering if Jason is a mad genius, or genius driven mad by his never-ending thoughts and ideas.
Every positive has a negative; the artistic purity of well-crafted rap is always balanced with the dirt and despair of the inner city. Graffiti artists are utilizing symbols from physics and the Illuminati to better define themselves and their work, painting on buildings. For nearly every action, there is some opposite reaction: the only question is whether the reaction is immediate or revealed in later chapters.
It’s not an easy book to read, and I will admit to going back and rereading some sections and chapters twice to understand and better follow the story, but every page read twice was more than worth it. The book reads more like a free-flow of consciousness, with bits of university lecture and side notes of rap. While that should be a cacophony, it makes an interesting composition that demands notice and attention.
** I received an eBook copy from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Every positive has a negative; the artistic purity of well-crafted rap is always balanced with the dirt and despair of the inner city. Graffiti artists are utilizing symbols from physics and the Illuminati to better define themselves and their work, painting on buildings. For nearly every action, there is some opposite reaction: the only question is whether the reaction is immediate or revealed in later chapters.
It’s not an easy book to read, and I will admit to going back and rereading some sections and chapters twice to understand and better follow the story, but every page read twice was more than worth it. The book reads more like a free-flow of consciousness, with bits of university lecture and side notes of rap. While that should be a cacophony, it makes an interesting composition that demands notice and attention.
** I received an eBook copy from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review, and all conclusions are my own responsibility.
October 22, 2012
Burner
By M.C. Mars
Jason Teal dropped out in his last semester of college where he was studying to become an astrophysicist, to pursue his dream in the music industry. As the years go by his dream is still strong but he is no closer to fulfilling it, he works in an elevator where he plays his music for the patrons he must escort to and from their destinations. One day one of these patrons makes him an offer he cannot refuse, taking him down into the rabbit hole with one strange “test” after another until Jason’s entire reality has been altered.
Wow, this novel is completely intoxicating. We start off with Jason Teal hip hop deejay and music producer who seems to be obsessed with his brother’s work. His brother was famous for his street graffiti and in a way it sees Jason is trying to live up to his brother and when he fails he then becomes obsessed. This is only one of the story lines within this novel there is so much that happens and each test that Jason must endure weaves another stranger and mind altering scene then the previous one. What is remarkable about this is not just the series of events that take place but how the author takes you by the hand and makes sure you do not miss a single beat, if he didn’t this novel would surely fail but since he has it makes it thoroughly fascinating. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers this is a must read instead of this novel leaving you wondering “what the heck just happened” it leaves you exhaling audibly and a simple “Wow!”
For More Reviews be sure to visit my blogs at:
http://reflectionsofabookworm.wordpre...
http://bookwormrflects8.blogspot.com/
By M.C. Mars
Jason Teal dropped out in his last semester of college where he was studying to become an astrophysicist, to pursue his dream in the music industry. As the years go by his dream is still strong but he is no closer to fulfilling it, he works in an elevator where he plays his music for the patrons he must escort to and from their destinations. One day one of these patrons makes him an offer he cannot refuse, taking him down into the rabbit hole with one strange “test” after another until Jason’s entire reality has been altered.
Wow, this novel is completely intoxicating. We start off with Jason Teal hip hop deejay and music producer who seems to be obsessed with his brother’s work. His brother was famous for his street graffiti and in a way it sees Jason is trying to live up to his brother and when he fails he then becomes obsessed. This is only one of the story lines within this novel there is so much that happens and each test that Jason must endure weaves another stranger and mind altering scene then the previous one. What is remarkable about this is not just the series of events that take place but how the author takes you by the hand and makes sure you do not miss a single beat, if he didn’t this novel would surely fail but since he has it makes it thoroughly fascinating. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers this is a must read instead of this novel leaving you wondering “what the heck just happened” it leaves you exhaling audibly and a simple “Wow!”
For More Reviews be sure to visit my blogs at:
http://reflectionsofabookworm.wordpre...
http://bookwormrflects8.blogspot.com/
July 11, 2015
Awesome book by M.C. Mars. A classic hiphop novel set in the city of San Francisco. Vivid and colorful storytelling with deep character development and philosophical musings.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews