What do you think?
Rate this book
Shining the Light
There is a light and there is a darkness. There is, also, a space in between. Homer Antumbra inhabited this no-man's-land. In his flickering flame of a life, he shined the light and lived with the darkness. His life and work changed the craft of songwriting, both showing what a song could be and hinting at where it could go. His work redefined a genre before shattering any attempts at categorization. Shining the Light is the first in-depth look into the man, the myth, the music of Homer Antumbra, ensuring the light still shines.
168 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2018
2 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
A.S. Coomer
21 books68 followersA.S. Coomer is a writer, musician, artist, and friend of cats. Books include Memorabilia, Birth of a Monster, The Fetishists, Songs for Leaving, Shining the Light, Flirting with Disaster & Other Poems, Misdeeds, The Flock Unseen, The Devil's Gospel, & several others. www.ascoomer.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 18, 2018
In the fictional character of Homer Antumbra, A.S. Coomer has created a legend that is true to life. When describing his life and his music, the author does so in perfect detail. The cryptic leanings in Homer's writings and lyrical output are fascinating and pull the reader along as we get to know more about the enigmatic musician. I am so glad I picked this book up. It left me wishing I could seek out Antumbra's albums in reality.
October 30, 2018
Hard to put down and impossible to forget. I'll be buying a paperback soon to proudly place on my shelf. AS Coomer has outdone himself. Five stars is not enough. Well-crafted prose and plot, a book that leaves you wanting more.
January 28, 2021
At the heart of any musician biography (fictional or not) is a central figure of otherworldly proportions; in Shining the Light, A.S. Coomer delivers us Homer Antumbra. He is figure wrapped in layers of mythologies. Musically he touches upon Dylan, Hank Williams, Cash, Guthrie, Robert Johnson directly, while creating a pastiche of more contemporary figures like Elliott Smith, Nick Cave, Cobain, Reznor. Nothing is one to one. Meanwhile, Antumbra is cloaked in Christian and Pagan symbolism, surreal ambitions, and reclusive interiority. His mysticism is only matched by his penchant for self-destruction, his painful past. and his bleak future. He is in all regards an icon for our times.
The story itself is built on the back of characters written beyond any typical archetype. There are record label owners, band members, family members, and admirers—all speaking with their own voices and explored vividly. The world is made fully alive by the characters that our devoted narrator interviews, by his passion for the music, and from the very real world of darkness and light that we are made privy to. We all must commune with Homer Antumbra if we wish to cross the dark river.
The story itself is built on the back of characters written beyond any typical archetype. There are record label owners, band members, family members, and admirers—all speaking with their own voices and explored vividly. The world is made fully alive by the characters that our devoted narrator interviews, by his passion for the music, and from the very real world of darkness and light that we are made privy to. We all must commune with Homer Antumbra if we wish to cross the dark river.
February 6, 2022
So glad I read, or perhaps devoured this book. I love the construct, a fictional biography told by a journalist who appears to be more and more intrigued (as the reader is drawn in), by Homer Antumbra. Author Drew Coomer obviously knows the insides of the indie music world well. Also as an author, it opened my own mind to other ideas about possible narratives and untold stories. Highly recommend this one.
August 22, 2021
Pleasant surprises are the best ones.
Frankly, I had zero expectations when I started this book. A fictional biography of a fictional musician? And the cover looks rather boring. The only reason I picked it up was because Sean Duregger narrated the audio version.
I'm so glad I did! Shining the Light turned out to be an amazing book.
The novella describes the life of the fictional musician Homer Antumbra. It is written like a fake biography, or even more, like a documentary on TV. And it's so well written, that it appears absolutely real.
The author has created some perfectly believable characters that almost seem to be of flesh and blood and the story captivated me from the first moment.
Both, prose and poetry in this book are very well written and the dark worlds of Homer Antumbra shine in a dark and morbid beauty.
However, the star of this product is undoubtedly Sean Duregger, who once again displays his full, outstanding talent here.
I strongly recommend enjoying this book in its audio version! Sean makes it a unique experience.
When I closed my eyes I almost thought I'm listening to a documentary about a musician.
This was a very pleasant surprise and I will certainly pick up more books by the author.
I recommend this book to lovers of literary fiction who like their books spiced up with some morbid poetry.
And get the audiobook version. Seriously!
Frankly, I had zero expectations when I started this book. A fictional biography of a fictional musician? And the cover looks rather boring. The only reason I picked it up was because Sean Duregger narrated the audio version.
I'm so glad I did! Shining the Light turned out to be an amazing book.
The novella describes the life of the fictional musician Homer Antumbra. It is written like a fake biography, or even more, like a documentary on TV. And it's so well written, that it appears absolutely real.
The author has created some perfectly believable characters that almost seem to be of flesh and blood and the story captivated me from the first moment.
Both, prose and poetry in this book are very well written and the dark worlds of Homer Antumbra shine in a dark and morbid beauty.
However, the star of this product is undoubtedly Sean Duregger, who once again displays his full, outstanding talent here.
I strongly recommend enjoying this book in its audio version! Sean makes it a unique experience.
When I closed my eyes I almost thought I'm listening to a documentary about a musician.
This was a very pleasant surprise and I will certainly pick up more books by the author.
I recommend this book to lovers of literary fiction who like their books spiced up with some morbid poetry.
And get the audiobook version. Seriously!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews