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Annabel
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 8, 2016
Having recently stumbled my way into the world of Alesana's music, and the glorious Annabel Trilogy, which have been on a relatively constant repeat since I discovered them. It was all in an effort to try and decipher the story told within the 3 hours of music, and figure out what was going on.
Sure, the story of "The Emptiness" was pretty easy to follow. "A Place Where The Sun Is Silent" was also pretty simple to figure out just through the nature of the lyrics and knowing it was inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy. However, something felt "off" about the way the story's final part, "Confessions," came out, and when I found out that there was a book version of the Trilogy's story on the horizon, I was elated. Finally a chance to understand what the hell Shawn and Dennis had started back in 2010!
There are 3 questions that people are likely going to ask about the book, and I'm looking to answer them here, sans spoilers for those who haven't heard the albums, or read the book.
1. Is the book well written?
Well, on a technical level, it's a decent read. The story is told in a way that can be relatively hard to follow, and some of the prose doesn't really feel professional. The phrasing in some places comes off as downright odd, and there is a liberal amount of lyrical quotes from the songs of the three albums.
In fact, it's these sections that feel the most out of place, as if you don't know the source material very well lyrically, it will be kind of jarring. This didn't really affect my reading of the book, but that's because I've been listening to the album trilogy for months trying to figure out the story, and to see how much I could figure out before reading. Which leads right into the second question.
2. Can you substitute the albums for the book and enjoy the story being told?
I'm going to be honest here, you probably won't like the book much if you don't already like the music. The book was very clearly made to help make the story of the albums a little easier to follow, since the albums tell the story in a loose way that is hard to figure out. That being said, you could very well end up liking the book, even if you have never heard the music that inspired it before. I can wholly admit that the music isn't for everyone, and this is a decent enough substitute.
However, once again, the book was obviously made for the Alesana fans that wanted an easier to decipher story, so the book is best served with prior experience with the 3 hours of music. Or, if you prefer something a little more fitting of this kind of thing, you could listen to the 3 accompanying albums front to back, as I found that enhances the experience greatly.
3. Does the book help make sense of the story told in the 3 albums?
That kind of depends on what kind of answers you are looking for. For instance, it explains how the events transpire more effectively than the album could. Believe me, I've listened to all the albums front to back many, many times, and I was only able to come to some of the conclusions after several weeks of listening to them adnausiem.
Personally, I went in with the intention of getting something of an explanation and a proper order of events. And I was pleasantly surprised by the things that I found. Theories I've had about the nature of The Artist and who he really is were answered, and I was also shocked to find out what exactly drove the man into the state of near catatonic lunacy we find him in during the events of "The Emptiness."
With that said, going in and looking for answers to every question is a fruitless endeavour. This is mostly due to the fact that the story itself leaves some things up to the reader's interpretation. And while this is all well and good for the albums, as the music poetically paints the narrative picture with a broader stroke than the prose that came after all three slices of the trilogy have graced the ears of Alesana fans.
However, this book leaves some things to be desired in the sense that we don't get a real conclusion to the trilogy in the book. Within the albums, "Catharsis" and/or "Ciao, Bella" give you all the closure you need, and you are able to draw your own conclusions as to how the story ends. Here, I feel the ending felt a lot less like a real ending, and more like an excuse to explore these characters again in a future one-off, or even a new trilogy. I'm not opposed to this, but at the same time, the story doesn't feel like it's over, and the ending is paramount in enjoying the trek through this 250-ish page tome. Shawn has said he's interested in exploring one of the characters, "The Puppeteer," in a future project, but we'll have to wait and see.
Regardless, I hope I answered those three questions that I posed well enough, and helped you figure out if you want to dive head first into this story (which you can via Kindle Unlimited, or you can pay around 5 bucks outright to own and read at your leisure), or maybe it persuaded you to purchase the three albums/listen to them on Spotify.
Either way, I enjoyed the read myself, ending be damned. I can tell you without hesitation that I'm also looking forward to the day when Shawn and Dennis decide to perhaps come back to this world in a future creative project, and shine some light on the places that are "up to interpretation," as I've always felt that's just the writer being too lazy to articulate... though that's probably just me.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to the music that inspired this book for the upteenth time. Thanks for reading!
Sure, the story of "The Emptiness" was pretty easy to follow. "A Place Where The Sun Is Silent" was also pretty simple to figure out just through the nature of the lyrics and knowing it was inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy. However, something felt "off" about the way the story's final part, "Confessions," came out, and when I found out that there was a book version of the Trilogy's story on the horizon, I was elated. Finally a chance to understand what the hell Shawn and Dennis had started back in 2010!
There are 3 questions that people are likely going to ask about the book, and I'm looking to answer them here, sans spoilers for those who haven't heard the albums, or read the book.
1. Is the book well written?
Well, on a technical level, it's a decent read. The story is told in a way that can be relatively hard to follow, and some of the prose doesn't really feel professional. The phrasing in some places comes off as downright odd, and there is a liberal amount of lyrical quotes from the songs of the three albums.
In fact, it's these sections that feel the most out of place, as if you don't know the source material very well lyrically, it will be kind of jarring. This didn't really affect my reading of the book, but that's because I've been listening to the album trilogy for months trying to figure out the story, and to see how much I could figure out before reading. Which leads right into the second question.
2. Can you substitute the albums for the book and enjoy the story being told?
I'm going to be honest here, you probably won't like the book much if you don't already like the music. The book was very clearly made to help make the story of the albums a little easier to follow, since the albums tell the story in a loose way that is hard to figure out. That being said, you could very well end up liking the book, even if you have never heard the music that inspired it before. I can wholly admit that the music isn't for everyone, and this is a decent enough substitute.
However, once again, the book was obviously made for the Alesana fans that wanted an easier to decipher story, so the book is best served with prior experience with the 3 hours of music. Or, if you prefer something a little more fitting of this kind of thing, you could listen to the 3 accompanying albums front to back, as I found that enhances the experience greatly.
3. Does the book help make sense of the story told in the 3 albums?
That kind of depends on what kind of answers you are looking for. For instance, it explains how the events transpire more effectively than the album could. Believe me, I've listened to all the albums front to back many, many times, and I was only able to come to some of the conclusions after several weeks of listening to them adnausiem.
Personally, I went in with the intention of getting something of an explanation and a proper order of events. And I was pleasantly surprised by the things that I found. Theories I've had about the nature of The Artist and who he really is were answered, and I was also shocked to find out what exactly drove the man into the state of near catatonic lunacy we find him in during the events of "The Emptiness."
With that said, going in and looking for answers to every question is a fruitless endeavour. This is mostly due to the fact that the story itself leaves some things up to the reader's interpretation. And while this is all well and good for the albums, as the music poetically paints the narrative picture with a broader stroke than the prose that came after all three slices of the trilogy have graced the ears of Alesana fans.
However, this book leaves some things to be desired in the sense that we don't get a real conclusion to the trilogy in the book. Within the albums, "Catharsis" and/or "Ciao, Bella" give you all the closure you need, and you are able to draw your own conclusions as to how the story ends. Here, I feel the ending felt a lot less like a real ending, and more like an excuse to explore these characters again in a future one-off, or even a new trilogy. I'm not opposed to this, but at the same time, the story doesn't feel like it's over, and the ending is paramount in enjoying the trek through this 250-ish page tome. Shawn has said he's interested in exploring one of the characters, "The Puppeteer," in a future project, but we'll have to wait and see.
Regardless, I hope I answered those three questions that I posed well enough, and helped you figure out if you want to dive head first into this story (which you can via Kindle Unlimited, or you can pay around 5 bucks outright to own and read at your leisure), or maybe it persuaded you to purchase the three albums/listen to them on Spotify.
Either way, I enjoyed the read myself, ending be damned. I can tell you without hesitation that I'm also looking forward to the day when Shawn and Dennis decide to perhaps come back to this world in a future creative project, and shine some light on the places that are "up to interpretation," as I've always felt that's just the writer being too lazy to articulate... though that's probably just me.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to the music that inspired this book for the upteenth time. Thanks for reading!
September 29, 2016
I had been waiting for the Annabel conclusion for a long time, so I had very high hopes for this and was excited to get into it.
I feel like some stuff was explained, but other things, like everything Alesana, was open for interpretation.
I do feel like I have a stronger grasp on the Annabel trilogy but I still think I need to make a diagram, probably re read this book and listen intently to the albums some more. Even then I'll probably always have some doubts and unanswered questions.
I feel like some stuff was explained, but other things, like everything Alesana, was open for interpretation.
I do feel like I have a stronger grasp on the Annabel trilogy but I still think I need to make a diagram, probably re read this book and listen intently to the albums some more. Even then I'll probably always have some doubts and unanswered questions.
November 14, 2017
I’ve finished Annabel a little while ago, and it was wonderful! It had it’s faults but even with them it was a good read if you understood the concept of what is happening before reading it. The plot could be confusing at times, even when explaining scenes and the things that were happening it was still made unclear, especially at the end, but it artfully left blanks for your imagination to take hold and mold it in the way you would want it. I suppose that if you were a scientist or really into time travel and space you would understand it better than I did, haha! But with the help of the three albums Annabel was based on you could get more of an idea of what is going on in the book, and with a supposed sequel coming called Madeline, we would be able to understand this story better than before. The author wrote kind of informally, and it felt kind of like the characters could be real rather than just characters.
For anyone wanting to read this book who knows Alesana’s work, I would say to definitely read it but I would suggest waiting to read it with the sequel and with a good understanding of the bands albums. For anyone wanting to read it who does not know Alesana’s work, I would suggest getting into the music or finding a way to understand what happens in the albums so that you could definitely understand what is happening. Standing alone, Annabel is actually very good, and you wouldn’t need to know Alesana to get the concept and enjoy the read, but having the art of their music along with the book is so much better than just alone because it helps your imagination create the scenes.
For anyone wanting to read this book who knows Alesana’s work, I would say to definitely read it but I would suggest waiting to read it with the sequel and with a good understanding of the bands albums. For anyone wanting to read it who does not know Alesana’s work, I would suggest getting into the music or finding a way to understand what happens in the albums so that you could definitely understand what is happening. Standing alone, Annabel is actually very good, and you wouldn’t need to know Alesana to get the concept and enjoy the read, but having the art of their music along with the book is so much better than just alone because it helps your imagination create the scenes.
July 11, 2023
Definitely a mind-bender. I like many before me have spent several hours pouring over the story behind Alesana's Annabel trilogy, and with that as a springboard, I was able to dive into this with some idea of what I was getting into. It was interesting to see all three albums play out side by side, picking up on the snippets of lyrics and symbolism here and there, and really drive home the cyclical nature of the story. "It's round and round and round we go." If you are a fan of the band, this is a must-read. It could be difficult for someone unfamiliar with the concept albums that spawned it, especially the more poetic passages, but at its core, the story lies in the art more than the substance.
Minor spoiler:
My only disappointment is that the ending is not clearly defined. Throughout the story, it is very difficult to tell what is metaphorical and what is literal, what is hallucination and what is reality. It starts to become clearer near the end as Rusalka's work is revealed, but then it becomes less clear once she commits to the final step of her plan.
Minor spoiler:
My only disappointment is that the ending is not clearly defined. Throughout the story, it is very difficult to tell what is metaphorical and what is literal, what is hallucination and what is reality. It starts to become clearer near the end as Rusalka's work is revealed, but then it becomes less clear once she commits to the final step of her plan.
January 13, 2020
read it way back in like 2016 in 6th grade and it was so good i HAD TO READ IT AGAIN immediately after i finished it because i just couldnt take in how good it was!!! Even to someone who doesn’t know or like their music this book is such a cool, chilling paranormal/sci fi fantasy horror with so many layers to it and it really is such a great book. might reread it again soon since it’s been so long but i still remember how much i enjoyed it
March 28, 2024
Fantastic way of telling the story. It takes a lot of effort to make a story that feels like it’s an entirely different story as you are reading it. While it is hard to read/follow, I think it requires a very outside of the box imagination and ability to understand metaphors and symbols for things.
November 18, 2016
It came from Alesana so yeah, I have to give it five stars!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews