A Window of the Waking Mind

Vaxis #2

by Chondra Echert, Claudio Sánchez (Creator), Chase Stone (Illustrator)

Vaxis – Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind is the tenth studio album by American progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria. The album is a concept album that continues the Amory Wars storyline.

A deluxe box-set version of the album included a novella written by the band's vocalist and guitarist Claudio Sanchez and his wife Chondra Echert, with artwork by Chase Stone.

83 pages, Hardcover

First published June 24, 2022

Reviews

[Nikki Null · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another hardcover novella released with the deluxe edition of a Coheed and Cambria album. It's a space opera sci-fi with comic book logic. It's a fun tie-in with the music, and the illustrations are gorgeous. The heart of the story is strong: a pair of space fugitives Nostrand and Nia search the galaxy for a way to help their perpetually comatose son, Vaxis. The most touching moments in both the novella and the album are the ones that are simply about parents doing all they can for their child. This chapter plays out like a soft, spiritual reboot to the original "Amory Wars" saga, with a similar superhero dynamic between the mother and father duo, albeit one in which they're fighting for their child's life.

The nearly immortal Heads of the Houses of the Star Supremacy (HOSS) are trying to find a way to rejuvenate their bodies and/or prevent further decay, via a strange interaction between two different entities: trapped balls of pure energy called 'Quintillian Speakers,' and hiveminded, comatose people called 'Windows'. With the help of some strange allies, the duo desperately agrees to take a dangerous job for the head of a criminal organization (The Liar's Club), no questions asked, in order to steal a Quintillian Speaker from the HOSS in the hopes that it might help their son. But not everything goes according to plan. A number of rapid developments happen at the end that would make little sense without understanding prior Coheed & Cambria lore. A caged Prise (blue space angel from the 'Amory Wars' mythos) named Naianasha is freed, and joins the heroes. While they try to escape, the entity is released from the Quintillian Speaker Containment Unit onto Nos and Nia's ship. Vaxis awakens and saves the day, somehow blowing up the pursuing armada and then freeing Sirius Amory from the Quintillian energy in the final, most exciting revelation of this entry. Sirius was the protagonist of the "Afterman: Ascension" and "Afterman: Descension" double album / hardcover book, whose fate had been unclear. These things promise a fascinating next chapter full of musical reprises and answers to long awaited questions from previous sagas.

However, we don't really get any answers in this one. While "Vaxis I: The Unheavenly Creatures" felt like a self contained, cinematic story, "Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind" reads more like the pilot episode of a limited series. In a way, that could be a great thing, as it builds a foundation for interesting stories to come. If this were ever adapted for TV, it would be a solid 50-minute episode--as long as we didn't have to wait a few years for the next episode. Still, it feels like half of the point of this story is to make us want the next 'episode'. To that end, we jump around to a a lot of perspectives for world building without clear narrative payoff in this novella. Several times, it jumps to different Random Scientists for more exposition dumps. We also spend a little bit of time with the HOSS, but we're certain to forget who's who by the next entry in this series. By contrast, "Vaxis I" showed us all important world information through the eyes of the main characters as events unfolded, so everything was tied to the central story.

Some of the events are so predictable that when the obvious thing is finally revealed, I had to roll my eyes. Like, wow, you mean to tell me that the guy in charge of "The Liar's Club" LIED? Still, I had a good time. I would probably have rated this three stars in a vacuum, but this novella knows its built-in audience of longtime Coheed & Cambria fans, and the tie-ins to the album and the previous lore landed really well for me.

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A better read than the first Vaxis, having chapters and illustrations that came at the right time (compared to the first one where some pictures were waaaay ahead of the story and even spoiled things). I’m probably giving five stars more for the Coheed and Cambria fanboy, because there are definitely some weird syntax moments and some lulls in the action, but the ending and knowing more of the story for the album make it worth it.

[Ian Hrabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a shame you have to stalk the internet to find these tie-in novellas for the Vaxis albums. As usual the story is great, the writing is often cringey but occasionally excellent, and the art is phenomenal.

[Stevie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would probably actually give this a 3.5, but rounded up. It seemed a bit rushed, but the ending was an ultimate cliffhanger and I'm looking forward to the other 3 parts of this story (and the albums to go with them!)

[Meghin · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOLY SHIT MY HEART IS SO HAPPY 😭😭😭 THAT LAST SENTENCE!!!!

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading and verses from songs pop in my head. Anyways, the very beginning was a little slow and seemed predictable. Obsessed with how it turned out. Which I knew I would be.

[Megan Bittick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story is amazing. Art is amazing. The ending… I’ve never been so excited I could cry.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

An improvement upon Vaxis I. The art was much better and the plot is building nicely.

The writing and dialogue is what lets the series down, the kind of fare you would expect from a cliché action/romance movie and not real people talking to each other.

It takes itself a little too seriously which makes the cheesiness a bit more painful than it needed to be. If they could somehow find that difficult to reach balance between serious drama and lighthearted romp I think the Vaxis series could be much better. I still think the comic style from the first few albums would suit perfectly.

There was a really cool reveal near the end which has got me invested for the next one. Plus the music on Vaxis II was killer. I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’re a fan of the music.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way I get to experience these stories. When I hear the album, I imagine the way the story will go, and whether or not I'm anywhere close to how it actually plays out, it feels so satisfying. In the first volume of the Vaxis storyline, Queen of the Dark was the song that had me thinking of the story before I had the chance to actually read it. In this one, every song had me wondering what it meant to the story. And when I was finally able to experience the story, the final scene, the giant twist, even though I somehow saw it coming a mile away, I LOVED it! Incredible. Can't wait for more.

[Sam Hayest · Rating 5 out of 5]

SIRIUS MOTHER FUCKIN AMORY