Lauren Scharhag

Carcosa

If you want my commentary on the songs, here are the other soundtrack blog posts:

Carcosa, Part 1

Carcosa, Part 2

Going Forth by Day Soundtrack

Art by Andrei Pervukhin

1. Vickers and the Eerin – When I Look Into Your Eyes, Drenge

It's no joke
Working in the heat of the day
It's so hot
Sweating like I'm reaching the end
Give me a hand
I need a friend...

The apocalypse makes for strange bedfellows, no? It's hard to imagine a stranger team-up than the bald, naked, albino hobbits and Aaron Vickers, former MJ-12 muckety muck, not to mention the rest of Carcosa's colorful supporting cast. Fortunately, nothing surprises or fazes Vickers for long, and he gets right to business.

2. St. Matthew’s Field – Waiting for Something to Happen, Veronica Falls

Standing in the middle waiting for something to happen
Are you waiting for something to happen?

The Order's construct, the Field of St. Matthew, is filled with Order survivors and refugees fleeing Starry Wisdom attacks and a plague of violent, supernatural phenomenon. Starry Wisdom was more or less successful in neutralizing the Order. The beaten organization battens down the hatches and settles in to wait for things to end, one way or the other.

3. Brokenhearted Leo – Unfucktheworld, Angel Olsen

In Corbenic, Prince Leopold is pining for his lost love, Alyssa-- as far as he knows, she is never coming back. This is a good, sad song about loss and absence.

Art by Alejandro Magnozz

4. Alyssa Captured – There’s No Way Out of Here, David Gilmour

There's no way out of here
When you come in
You're in for good
There was no promise made
The part you played
The chance you took...

The Oracle Alyssa Calderon surrendered to General Anglicus at the end of the last book, and we see in this one that he takes her to the Starry Wisdom Oracle facility, Naviim House, where she is kept under sedation, just as Clayton once warned her would happen. There's no way out, or so it would seem. Also on the playlist is a song called "No Way Out" by the Electric Light Orchestra, which is punchier, but the Gilmour song has more appropriate lyrics.

5. Bill vs. Akhenaton – Hooked on a Feeling, Blue Swede

Saved by pop culture! Bill succeeds in reclaiming control of his own body-- or, at least, as much as he can while also being on the TAV system. Akhenaton is bound for now, in an old television of all things. It reminded me of how the US military has used rock music to torture prisoners. I imagine American music was absolute torture for Big A. This song also wends its way through some other pivotal scenes, demonstrating just how closely connected everything is at this point. I'm high on believin'!

6. Leto and Bathory – The Blue Danube, Strauss

One of my queer friends who read the series remarked to me that Leto's situation with Bathory was uncomfortably close to their and many other queer people's experience-- that of the problematic, older mentor/lover figure. Bathory is certainly that. Really, no one but Leto could have taken Bathory down, but how do you get close to someone so seductive without getting seduced yourself? I guess the short answer is, you don't.

After I posted the Book VI trivia the other day, I realized I forgot to mention a crucial theme in this book is that of temptation. Bathory is Leto's temptation, fulfilling all of Leto's fantasies, including the one in which she and her beloved dance.

7. Leto's Plan – You’re Gonna Go Far Kid, Offspring

Now dance, fucker, dance, man, he never had a chance
And no one even knew it was really only you
And now you steal away
Take him out today
Nice work you did
You're gonna go far, kid

With a thousand lies and a good disguise
Hit 'em right between the eyes...

Leto goes in with lies and a good disguise and man, they never had a chance. Then she goes home to a knighthood. You've come a long way, baby. Also for Leto on the playlist is "Stay Alive" by Hidden Citizens, which is more about survival, and our Sir Mouse is a survivor above all things.

8. JD Flips a Coin - Escape, Journey

C'mon, you know JD loves Journey. And this is his temptation-- he's living his best life in Cerulean. It takes all of his strength and willpower to flip that coin and bail. But, being JD, he does it. Of course, his life can hardly be called his best life if his Katie's not in it.

Photo by Artem Podrez

9. The White Bird – Teardrop, Massive Attack

Teardrop on the fire
Feathers on my breath...

Bathory's gift to Leto was a white dove, which Leto was forced to release. It's always hard to say goodbye to a pet.

10. Bathory & Nathan’s Demise – Blow, Kesha

A song for when things get explosive.

11. Kate & Sarosh – Once Upon a December, the Anastasia soundtrack (1997 film)

Kate's middle name is Anastasia-- that wasn't an accident. The song is from the film Anastasia, which is about a woman who is unaware of her true identity, as Kate is. Also, the name Anastasia means "of the resurrection." Death and resurrection were always in the cards for our favorite red-haired musician.

Kate and Sarosh's relationship continues the theme of temptation-- Kate tempted to cheat on JD is obvious, but she is also tempted to consume Sarosh. If she had, she would become just like Starry Wisdom, like DePriest, like Jack, like the Corbenese-- for all intents and purposes, a vampire. Fortunately, Kate is made of stronger stuff.

12. The White Room – A Woman Caught, Penny and Sparrow

You don't have much practice at
Being honest with yourself
What hold you have for showing me that
You don’t love nobody else

And Hallelujahs are all around
But the roof's caving in
And Hallelujahs are all around
Honestly, girl where you been...

Alyssa and Michael get up close and personal, though not in any way Alyssa might enjoy. They do this crazy dreamfast/mind meld thing, which was inspired by The Dark Crystal, only, instead of sharing their memories, they meet up in each other's dreams of a white room. Alyssa and Michael's temptation is each other-- there's definitely attraction there, and maybe something a bit more. But to give in to that temptation would require them both to abandon everything and everyone they've ever cared about. It's a highly uncomfortable stalemate.

13. Stoned Joan and the Aftermath – Aftermath, Tricky

So this is the aftermath
Your eyes resemble mine
You see as no others can
Here inherit my kingdom
Speak of our people's plan…

Just when I thought
I was winning
Just when I thought
I could not be stopped...

Joan checks Alyssa out of Naviim House like a library book. Joan has always wished for Oracular abilities, but alas, that was not among her not inconsiderable gifts. Alyssa is just the sort of Oracle she's been waiting for. We imagined Joan basically sucked in Alyssa's essence like a junkie with a hash pipe, so when Michael finds them, she's a bit stoned-- which is how Oracles are when they come down from one of their visions.

Joan was tempted by Alyssa and she gave in. For someone who prides herself on being so disciplined and ascetic, Joan proves over and over that she does NOT have as much self-control as she thinks.

14. Kill Me - Bury a Friend, Billie Eilish

I actually think this song could be applied to the whole book-- "When we all fall asleep, where do we go?" But it's especially relevant to Alyssa and Michael's continued strange headgames, and Alyssa's feelings about her Terminus. "Honestly, I thought that I would be dead by now," and above all, "I wanna end me." She really believes that Michael will be the one to kill her and fulfill her death prophecy, and it's easy to see how she arrived at that conclusion.

Art by Mihaly Zichy

15. The Healing Kiss - Apocalypse, Cigarettes After Sex

Sharing all your secrets with each other
Since you were kids
Sleeping soundly with the locket
That she gave you clutched in your fist

Got the music in you baby, tell me why
Got the music in you baby, tell me why
You've been locked in there forever
And you just can't say goodbye...

Rather than murder her, Michael cures her. As with Vickers and the Eerin, (or Bathory and Nathan, or the Order and the Corbenese) some seriously strange bedfellows.

16. Through the Looking Glass – The Truth, Handsome Boys Modeling School

The man in the looking glass
Is looking back at you at last
You can't hide from the truth

Because the truth is all there is...

Michael and Alyssa break the mirror. No one was watching them-- no one was ever watching them. They just had to learn to let go of their paranoia and confront the truth about themselves.

Photo of Indus Valley Civilization ruins by Fahad Siddiqui. Inspiration for Tarweja.

17. Calamity to the Coming of the Matriarch – Believer, Imagine Dragons

This is another song I sort of associate with the whole book. The idea of faith and belief is a major component of Cerulean life. Between breaking the mirror and finding what Michael had bequeathed to Millie, we see how Cerulan's particular brand of religion was made.

18. Ancestor – Don’t Call Me, Daughter, Pearl Jam

She holds the hand that holds her down...

Millie finds out exactly what her relationship to Michael is.

19. Michael’s Death – Carry On, My Wayward Son, Kansas

Michael releases Alyssa and pays the price-- which is exactly what his mother expected him to do. Joan was hoping it would move him to fight her, but Michael refuses to raise a hand to her. Speaking of problematic mother figures, their relationship was dysfunctional right to the bitter end.

20. Millie Addresses the Nation – Uprising, Muse

They'll try to push drugs that keep us all dumbed down
And hope that we will never see the truth around...

It's really good that the people of Cerulean don't even know what dishonesty is, otherwise they might not have believed Millie's story. It also helps that the TAV system records everything, so she had the video evidence. Imagine learning your entire world was a lie.

Utopia/Dystopia, art by Jonas De Ro

21. TAV Shutdown – Kingdom Fall, Claire Wyndham

I'd rather watch my kingdom fall
I want it all or not at all
I'd rather watch my kingdom fall
I want it all or not at all
I want it all or not at all

Painful reckoning, reckoning...

The only way the people of Cerulean can be free is to get off the TAV system. But there are, shall we say, side effects.

22. Ghosts Unleashed – Raise Hell, Dorothy

Millie was not satisfied with only freeing the living people enslaved in Cerulean-- she had to release the souls that had been trapped there as well. The title of this song really says it all.

23. Emotions – Revolution, The Score

For the first time, the people of Cerulean can feel the full range of their emotions. Unfortunately, this turns a lot of them into rage zombies and carnage ensues. We'd figured that a lifetime of repression meant that some of this has just been simmering beneath the surface, some of it was the sudden chemical imbalance, and some of it was just people who'd never had to control their anger before-- why would they know how to do that? And, to be fair, if I found out that Joan and her cronies had done that to me, I'd feel pretty murder-y too.

St. Michael the Archangel among the souls in purgatory - artist unknown

24. Michael Escorting the Souls - Awake O Sleeper, The Brothers Bright

Oh, Abraham would raise his hands
And mourn this very day
For his children left the promised land;
In search of their own way
They kick and scream like wayward sons
And always wanting to sleep
And dream away these evil days
In hopes that God can't see...

Michael lives up to his namesake and guides the recently freed souls of Cerulean to the afterlife.

25. Riot - Anarchy in the UK, the Sex Pistols

As Murphy said, "How did we get from 'I Want to Buy the World a Coke' to 'Anarchy in the UK'?" See what I said above about feeling murder-y. Also on the playlist are two other songs, both called "Start a Riot," one by the Beginners and one by Duckwrth.

Concept art by Zy Hwang

26. Isfet – Paint it Black, Ciara

When Joan invokes Isfet, the unmaking, everything goes black. The doors to a multitude of realities have been kicked open and she just has to wait for universes to collide and topple, like dominoes.

27. Every Magician – One for the Money, Escape the Fate

Are you ready, motherfuckers? Are you ready? Let's go!

The Corbenese to the rescue, led by none other than the Grand Master himself. He rounds up every capable magician in the empire and they go to Cerulean to restore order.

28. Kate - See Who I Am, Within Temptation

The world is in our hands
This is not the end...

This is another song that I associate with the entire book. It's definitely not the end if Kate West has anything to say about it.

29. Aftermath – Fallout, Unsecret

Cerulean is in ruins and their population has been decimated. The Corbenese, also, suffered terrible losses. Henri, Leo and Christophe are left to pick up the pieces.

30. Naviim House Ruins – Kiss the Sky, Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra

It's not too late to keep the world from dying
It's not too late to spread the love you have...

Leo and Christophe see the smoking ruin that is Naviim House and have to assume that Alyssa is dead. It rips my heart out to see my prince in such agony-- thank God he has Christophe to comfort him.

31. Jack & Alyssa – All Mine, Portishead

Make no mistake
You shan't escape
Tethered and tied
There's nowhere to hide from me

All mine
You have to be

So don't resist...

Did you catch how the Grand Master noted, "Demonic things were attracted to the chaos"? Is there anything in the multiverse more demonic than Jack? I'm not sure that there is. I can tell you, of all the scary creatures and personages in this story, Jack is the one who makes regular appearances in my nightmares. And thus, the Terminus comes to pass.

Pope Joan by mousykat, Deviant Art

32. Kate vs. Joan – Unbreakable, Fireflight

Now I am unbreakable, it's unmistakable
No one can touch me
Nothing can stop me...

This could apply to both women. They have their own little Thunderdome going-- two enter, but only one can leave.

33. Joan and the Staff – Push the Limits, Enigma

What has Joan been doing her whole life, but pushing limits? Social, moral, philosophical, magical-- you name it. This is Joan pushing that ultimate limit, and storming the country of death like a one-woman army.

34. St. Matthew’s Field Reunion – Never Alone, Barlow

You're here and I'm never alone...

Alyssa and Clayton, reunited for a minute, back where they began. I sobbed when I wrote this scene, and now I can't hear this song without tearing up.

35. Birds in Carcosa – Fly Little Bird, Paul Weller

Carcosa lives on and winged creatures grace its sky once more, beneath a single sun.

36. Bill’s Sacrifice – Female Robbery, The Neighbourhood

I think I found hell, I think I found something
I think I found something in my TV screen
I think I found out that I have nothing...

Bill doesn't have nothing-- he still has one more thing to trade, and greater love hath no man than this.

37. Back to Scotland – Christmas Eve Sarajevo

Throughout the series, Christmas has always been important to our characters. It's around Christmastime on Earth when Emily, JD and Murphy return to help Kate. Again, resurrection is an important theme in this book, as are children. Christ's humble birth signals the beginning of resurrection. In pagan traditions, Yuletide is also important-- the time of the Great Hunt (which our heroes are definitely on), and Odin, the hanged god who received the prophecy of Ragnorak (the end of the world), as well as the Night of the Mothers, a time to honor our female predecessors and goddesses.

38. Sarosh’s Sacrifice – You, Candlebox

Oh, you
It's for you
Only you

It's for you...

Sarosh is nothing without a magician to serve, but I don't think he ever would have sacrificed himself for Joan. Joan always treated him like a slave, and Kate treats him as a friend and ally.

39. Kate Pulls the Trigger – Boadicea, Enya

There's only one way for Kate to follow Joan into the land of death. Nothing with lyrics would do. I also have on the playlist, "Death is the Road to Awe," by Clint Mansell.

Anubis by Mohamed Saad

40. The Afterlife – Hell, Squirrel Nut Zippers

In the afterlife...

I wrote the afterlife scenes in a separate file labeled "Serious Strife."

41. Masquerade – In the Mood, Glen Miller

The afterlife attendants really know how to throw a classy soiree.

42. The Last Dance – Summertime, Charlie Parker

Kate and David finally get to have a date, but it's rudely interrupted when David turns into an elephant. Don't you hate it when that happens?

43. The Girl in the Well – Strange Creatures, Jake Bugg

Oh well a little ghost of a girl
She came to me
She's been haunting me

Strange creatures, oh yeah you and I both
Strange creatures, deep down you and I both...

The afterlife town of Excelsior has flooded. There are fires in the fields. Kate seeks refuge with none other than the James Brothers and Jonas Whitefeather. Then, things get weirder. The little girl Kate has been seeing ever since she arrived in the land of death finally reveals herself.

44. Transformation – Dolly’s Nightmare, Robert Austin

Kate and the little girl merge. Irene Avery had to die in order for Kate West to emerge. Now, Kate and Irene merge to forge yet another persona, one even more powerful still.

45. The Cosmic Forest – Forest Hymn, Deep Forest

Trees and uber lines-- it's both beautiful and more than a little terrifying. Kate enters as a rabbit, small and humble.

46. The Staff of Solomon – Lion, Saint Mesa

Bring the lion out...

Kate has her second and final showdown with Joan, and proves she has no need of the staff or staff segments, unlike Joan.

47. All the Little Girls – Thank Heaven for Little Girls, Maurice Chevalier

As I mentioned in the Book VI trivia, little girls have been a theme running throughout the series-- the children at the Royal Hotel, Katarina, Alyssa, Leto, Angelique, Daisy, Phoebe, Arabelle. Vickers and his lady, Nellie, are expecting a daughter, as are Alyssa and Leo. I also mentioned that the joke we've been setting up since the beginning was the Order of Four Sons, when it was the daughters who ended up saving the universe. You're welcome.

48. Goodbye, Bill – Wild Mountain Thyme, James Taylor

Another funeral, another goodbye.

49. The Wedding – Today, Smashing Pumpkins

Today is the greatest
Day I've ever known
Can't wait for tomorrow
I might not have that long
I'll tear my heart out
Before I get out

Pink ribbon scars
That never forget
I tried so hard
To cleanse these regrets
My angel wings
Were bruised and restrained...

I've always thought of this as an Alyssa song-- a song about scars, the fleetingness of life, and the unexpected pleasure of today. I wish her and Leo every possible happiness.

Cinderella concept art by Adam Brockbank

50. Farewell and Amen - House of Gold

Let's say we up and left this town
And turned our future upside-down
We'll make pretend that you and me
Lived ever after, happily...

I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this song, envisioning our heroes returning to their respective homes, or, in Emily's case, striding off into an unknown future. All's well that ends well.

Sorry, this playlist is so long, but I hope you find it worth it. There were a lot of plot threads to tie off in this final book. Some of these scenes we wrote as far back as 11 years ago, so it's both strange and bittersweet to see all the gaps filled in and the story complete. Thank you for making the journey with us.

As always, please feel free to drop a comment below or shoot me a message. I'd love to hear from you.

Monday, August 16, 2021

The Necropolis Soundtrack

For you O4S fans out there (all five of you), here is the soundtrack for Necropolis, The Order of the Four Sons, Book V.

I've embedded links to YouTube on this list. If you're on Spotify, I've created a playlist called Necropolis. I plan to do the same for the rest of the series, including Books I-IV.

Consider this your spoiler warning - if you haven't read Books 5 and 6 of the series, you might want to stop now.

**10/12/21, Edited to add, I've created Spotify playlists for all the books. The Spotify lists actually have more songs than what I included in these posts, so, I hope you enjoy the bonus tunes.

Spotify Lists:

Carcosa

If you want my commentary on the songs, here are the other soundtrack blog posts:

Carcosa, Part 1

Carcosa, Part 2

The Necropolis Soundtrack

1. Cerulean – Utopia, Goldfrapp

I'm wired to the world
That's how I know everything
I'm super brain
That's how they made me

Fascist baby
Utopia, utopia

Coyote and I always thought of Book I as the dungeon crawl, Book II as the western, and Books III-IV as the fairy tale. Books V-VI are the dystopia. Oh sure, on the surface, Cerulean seems terrific—everyone’s young, happy, and have everything they need. All they have to do is cede their emotional control and then, later, their soul. NBD.

2. Starry Wisdom – Immortals, Fall Out Boy

In an odd way, Starry Wisdom (and the Order higher-ups for that matter) are temporary immortals. They do have vulnerabilities, but otherwise, they can ride the crazy life train as long as they want. Or, they can step off. But that’s not enough for Joan and her little inner circle. They want real immortality. They want godhood. Nothing less will do.

3. Bathory & Mihaly – Kill of the Night, Gin Wigmore

The danger is I'm dangerous
And I might just tear you apart
Oh, ah, oh

I'm gonna catch ya
I'm gonna get ya, get ya
Oh, ah, oh
I wanna taste the way that you bleed, oh
You're my kill of the night…

The student surpasses the master. Wherever Mihaly is, I think he must be at least a little bit proud. (As I mentioned in the Book V trivia, their fight is one of my favorite scenes in the series. I love Mihaly using the chapel figures to fight her—both St. George and the dragon!)

4. Joan/Michael - Black Milk, Massive Attack

Love you for God
Love you for the mother…

Obviously, the most fucked up mother and son relationship imaginable requires a dark song. I don’t know where people get the idea that motherhood is some sort of sacred office because I’ve seen plenty of bad ones, and poured every one of those bad traits into Joan.

5. Kat’s Funeral – Dark Paradise, Lana Del Rey

Every line of this song is Bathory without Kat. If anything could make Bathory suicidal, it would be the loss of her little puss. Fortunately or unfortunately, Bathory loves herself too much to really consider it.

6. Bill joins the Borg Collective – Powerhouse, Raymond Scott

This is an instrumental—if you grew up watching Looney Tunes like Coyote and me, we associate it with industry and assembly lines. We joked that Bill getting hooked up to the machine was a process the people of Cerulean have down like clockwork.

7. The Uriel Recordings – Say Amen (Saturday Night), Panic! At the Disco

I pray for the wicked on the weekend
Mama, can I get another amen?

Joan’s story is told by the person who loves her most—Michael. And Michael, of course, is pretty much the only person who has witnessed her long and extraordinary history. The tragedy of this song and of Michael is that he could have been such a good person. Like Katarina, like Janus, he’s someone who could have been a wonderful person, but was never able to overcome his upbringing. Better luck next time, Mike.

8. Joan – Personal Jesus, Depeche Mode

Joan is her own personal Jesus. They say the greatest sin, the sin that brought down Lucifer, is that of pride. You’d think a former pope would know that.

9. Sanctuary – Take Me to Church, Hozier

If the Heavens ever did speak
She's the last true mouthpiece
Every Sunday's getting more bleak
A fresh poison each week
"We were born sick," you heard them say it...

Joan's propaganda doesn't even have to be particularly good-- she's got her people hooked on her sermons. Literally.

10. Ceana – Lovesong, the Cure

A well-known song, but I think it sums up Michael’s feelings about his wife—simple, straightforward love and devotion.

11. Matriarch - No Handlebars, Flobots

A song about someone who has no limits—no limits on ability, but no limits on ambition and ego either.

12. The Scarab Protocol/Tabernacles – Zion Train, Bob Marley

Which man can save his brother's soul? (save your brother's soul)
Oh man, it's just self control (oo-hoo-oo)
Don't gain the world and lose your soul (just don't lose your soul)

Again, things seem pretty good in Cerulean—except for the whole losing your soul thing. Nothing comes without a price. And maybe the Cerulean peeps would deserve it if, you know, they'd had any choice in the matter. But the horror of it is, they didn't.

13. Geomancers – Stunnin’, Curtis Waters

I'm a pretty boy, I'm stunning (Stunning)…

Whoa, used to be a hot boy but I'm straight gorgeous now
Whoa, if you wanna see me you gon' have to book appointments now
Whoa, baby, call me stone cold 'cause I'm so stunnin' yeah
Whoa, I smell like fresh cookies out the oven mixed with money

I will always have a soft spot for the Corbenese boys—so pretty, so clever, so well-dressed, so rich. But arrogant. And the whole misogyny thing. So I will just admire them from a distance.

14. Football - Hook 'Em Horns, Johnny Ringo

Since Emily mentions she went to the University of Texas-Austin and she teaches the young Corbenese soldiers how to play football.

15. Cat Attack – E-Girls Are Ruining My Life, CORPSE

She say I kill her cat...

This is one of those songs I listened to while writing because of the feel of it—a good action sequence needs something with a hard, fast beat.

16. Opening Salvo – Bring da Ruckus, Wu-Tang Clan

The geomancers make an (unathorized) move, but you gotta give 'em credit-- they bring da ruckus.

17. Rostov – Nightmare, Avenged Sevenfold

Every word of this song describes JD's experience of having his own subconscious turned against him by Starry Wisdom's answer to Freddy Krueger.

18. Ghosts – Street Spirit, Radiohead

For all the spirits trapped in Cerulean who are slowly fading away, if not being consumed outright by Starry Wisdom mages to fuel their own power. A sad dirge for the necropoli, the cities of the dead.

19. Pinkie Swear – Die Young, Kesha

Let's make the most of the night like we're gonna die young

Young hearts, out our minds
Runnin' till we outta time
Wild childs, lookin' good
Livin' hard just like we should
Don't care who’s watching when we tearing it up (you know)
That magic that we got nobody can touch (for sure)

Alyssa tells Kate about her Terminus Revelation. Kate reminds her that she actually has something to live for now, and makes her swear to try and avert it-- pinkie swear, even. Alyssa agrees. But then…

20. Al gets tossed off a building – Blow Up the Outside World, Soundgarden

Nothing seems to kill me no matter how hard I try
Nothing is closing my eyes
Nothing can beat me down for your pain or delight
And nothing seems to break me
No matter how hard I fall
Nothing can break me at all
Not one for giving up though not invincible I know…

So much for the pinkie swear. I think Murph says it best: "Oh, Al."

21. Attack on the City - Jesse James (Just Ask), Bruce Springsteen

At least once in every world, we toss in a Jesse James reference. This is Cerulean’s. The Colonel is humming it when they launch their first coordinated attack on a Cerulean city.

22. Leto Undercover – Game of Survival, Ruelle

Are we the hunters?
Or are we the prey?

Leto poses as one of the Corbenese exiles to get in good with Bathory and Nathan. It feels very much like a Daniel in the lion's den scenario, but look how that turned out.

23. Booya – Born for Greatness, Papa Roach

No we're not nameless, we're not faceless

We were born for greatness

It doesn't matter if the world has gone mad

If we just hold on, if we just hold on, yeah

The sky is falling and the world has gone mad

Emily's leadership pays off in a big way-- the team successfully take out one of the Starry Wisdom MVPs and her minions. (Also a daeva, a rejected god. Again, NBD.) Thank goodness Emily decided to teach the guys how to play football! Hook 'em horns, Hayes!

24. Nathan’s Journey – Beast, Southpaw Remix

I'm a motherfuckin' beast…

Say what you will about Nathan DePriest—he knows what he’s about.

25. Knock-Out Gas – Bodies, Drowning Pool

Starry Wisdom comes up with a fearsome counterattack measure-- taking a page out of the Corbenese's book, they create a knockout gas, which results in one of our heroes getting captured.

26. Open a Gate – All the Things She Said, Tatu

The Colonel, captured. Michael offers Alyssa a trade. The geomancers try to stop her, but just try to stop Alyssa from rescuing the one parental figure she has left. She has five minutes and the clock is ticking.

So that's the list. Next up is the soundtrack for the sixth and final book of the series, Going Forth by Day.

Monday, June 18, 2018

The Sacred Heart Soundtrack

It’s been almost two years since I posted the Book III soundtrack. Man, how time flies. I had promised that I would do Book IV’s sometime after it was published. (Technically, I have held to that.) But then I thought I’d wait until after Book V was done. That took longer than anticipated.

But we’re here now—Book V is basically done! Which means cover art in the works! And The Sacred Heart soundtrack. Hooray!

This part of the story is even more character-driven than the previous entries. As such, I didn’t really focus on soundtracking individual scenes as much as I did assigning the various characters a song.

Without further ado… THAR BE SPOILERS! Proceed with caution.

**10/12/21, Edited to add, I used to have YouTube videos embedded in this post, but videos have a way of getting yanked. So I've created Spotify playlists for all the books. The Spotify lists actually have more songs than what I included in these posts, so, I hope you enjoy the bonus tunes.

Spotify Lists:

Carcosa

If you want my commentary on the songs, here are the other soundtrack blog posts:

Carcosa, Part 1

Carcosa, Part 2