This book had been highly anticipated by me, as well as, many in my friend group. I pre bought the audiobook on Libro.fm months in advance. So far, this year, has been a fantastic year for me reading books related to my favorite kind of music- Goth and Post-Punk. When I was a teenager in the’90s, I loved talking to my aunt and uncle—my dad’s younger siblings who listened to cool music and wore cool clothes—about punk and new wave music they listened to in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Tolhurst is about the same age as my aunt and uncle, and reading his thoughts about the same genres of music has the same effect. I would love it if I could meet Tolhurst at a book signing. Following his memoir Cured , a fascinating deep dive into the dark Romanticism of Goth music, a misunderstood genre and culture by co-founder of The Cure, Lol Tolhurst I thoroughly enjoyed this book because I love The Cure and Goth bands and novels. I wanted to give this book 3.5 stars, but I can’t do rating fractions on Goodreads. Tolhurst is at his best when he discusses his experience writing and performing music. This is what made his previous book, Cured, so good. Goth: A History is well written but a little disjointed. Tolhurst discusses numerous punk, post-punk, and early and modern Goth bands and their influences on The Cure and other bands. Some bands get more attention; others much less in a manner that seems a little unfocused. There are photos sprinkled throughout the book, but they’re low quality and a little blurry. Several chapters don’t have introductions, which would have improved the book’s organization. The audiobook version of Ruination is narrated by the voice actors of League of Legends and Legends of Runeterra.

There are some great stories, in particular, the time they spent with the Banshees during the ill fated 1979 Join Hands tour. I had just read about this recently in Siouxsie and the Banshees - the Early Years. It is definitely during this tour, that Lol and Robert are influenced by the Banshees and they begin the bands most iconic period that begins their Goth Triology of Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and then Pornography. A lot of this was like catching up on old friends with someone who knows them really well. Lol co-founded the Cure, and many of these people were his peers. When he talks about being at The Priory with Andy Fletcher of Depeche Mode, it's insight that you couldn't get from any other person. There is lots of gossip on how the bands overlapped, what really happened with the original members of Siouxsie and the Banshees, etc. Lol Tolhurst was born in a small town in England, and wanted to get out almost from the beginning. Tolhurst was interested in music, forming bands, and working with his best friend from the age of five Robert Smith. Together the two would go on to create one of the greatest and most influential bands of the eighties, The Cure, but to get there there would be a lot of other influences. Tolhurst looks at the music of the time, punk and how as the anger of the music was co-opted into different darker things, many of these punk musicians began to create a different kind of music. Angry yes, but introspective, as the rage of youth settled into the grudging acceptance of how things were. Tolhurst looks at the draw of Gothic literature, the influences this had on music, the spread of Goth music and culture to Europe and finally to the Americas, where bands literally changed lives and influenced generations of musicians to come. I do think this could've been edited better, as some of Lol’s thoughts seemed repeated and did not need to be said again in my opinion.How you play 1v1.lol depends on the game mode. In most cases, you’ll be playing battle royale, so your objective is to eliminate opponents and become the last remaining survivor. Shoot and build My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for an advance copy of this history not only of a music genre, but of an encompassing art form that meant to so much to many people, saving souls from sameness, and lives and showing that others felt the same.

Gothic is a mode that responds to crisis." I can tell you it did that for me and many of my friends growing up. Goth gave us something to dream about, to aspire to, and to escape sometimes the horrific or humdrum realities of our lives. I usually don't enjoy reading about listening music. Most writers fall so far from capturing the experience that it's uncomfortable. But this guy manages to capture the elusive in a way that's not only a completely accurate discription, but is also a joy to read.Lol also expounds on literary and film Goths that were influential to the movement as well as places like the Batcave and the Camden Palace. More recently, 2011 saw a momentous reunion tour with his former bandmates and Lol performing with The Cure again for the first time in over twenty years. I came to Goth early on in my life (even if I didn't know that it was called that yet) and I can honestly say that this music saved my life on several occasions. I always knew that I was different and my home life was not great to say the least. Finding this tribe to belong to was a blessing. Once a Goth, always a Goth as I say. Kalista seeks to change that. When her young and narcissistic uncle, Viego, becomes king she vows to temper his destructive instincts as his loyal confidant, advisor, and military general. But her plans are thwarted when an assassin’s poisoned blade strikes Viego’s wife, Isolde, afflicting her with a malady for which there is no cure.

As Isolde’s condition worsens, Viego descends into madness and grief, threatening to drag Camavor down with him. Kalista makes a desperate gambit to save the kingdom: She searches for the long-lost Blessed Isles, rumored to hold the queen’s salvation if only Kalista can find them. Some of us changed their mind. It must have been too difficult. Others kept close to their Goth soul.But corruption grows in the Blessed Isle’s capital, where a vengeful warden seeks to ensnare Kalista in his cruel machinations. She will be forced to choose between her loyalty to Viego and doing what she knows is right–for even in the face of utter darkness, one noble act can shine a light that saves the world. “In the tradition of the most memorable Greek tragedies, Anthony Reynolds weaves a propulsive tale of love, loss, war, and duty that recalls the adage, ‘the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for the good to do nothing.’ Those familiar with League of Legends know where this story must leave us, but RUINATION’s power is that—like all good myths—knowing how it ends is just the beginning.” - Evan Winter, author of The Rage of Dragons One of the things I especially liked was Mr. Tolhurst's inclusive attitude when loosely defining musical categories instead of trying to rigidly gate-keep only the purest of the Goth. well done. In the early nineties, Lol relocated to Southern California where he continues to write, record and tour with his own band, Levinhurst.