Through a muse, darkly

Ha ha. I'm not sure what to say about this crazy tome "A Dark Muse: A History of the Occult". Gary Lachman used to be a rock musician, working with Iggy Pop and Blondie, before deciding on a career as an author. Indeed, this particular book comes with a blurb by Kirk Hammett, Metallica's lead guitarist. The book itself is essentially a mini-encyclopaedia of various writers and their connections to the occult. I admit that this ghost train tour through Symbolism, Decadence and fin de siècle Paris is a fun read, but only so far! Drugs, sado-masochism, suicide and Satanism clearly aren't my idea of lighter Friday night entertainment. But yes, I loved reading about August Strindberg's alchemical experiments and paranoia during the "Inferno crisis" in Paris. They pretty much confirmed my impressions of this troubled soul, LOL. If this book really helped Metallica (or anyone else) to find their dark muse, might be another issue entirely...