Into the Void: The new autobiography from Geezer Butler, bassist and lyricist of heavy metal music pioneers Black Sabbath

Product Information

JOE SIMPSON: Touching the Void". Wolfman Productions. Archived from the original on 11 January 2011 . Retrieved 23 June 2012.

Like other Star Wars audiobooks, Into the Void is filled with suspenseful music and every type of sound effect they can possibly fit in. Like a movie in your head, I can't recommend Star Wars audiobooks enough. And January LaVoy does an excellent job bringing Lanoree and every other character to life. Of course, a lot of Lanoree's flaws are just endemic to the Je'daii themselves. I couldn't help sympathizing completely with every character or organization that attempts to cross or oppose them. They occupy the Force-heavy planet of Tython, completely aloof, while non-Je'daii have spread out to the other planets in the system. Non-Je'daii pretty much run their own affairs, but it is clear that the Je'daii treat everyone else like small children, in that they swoop in to meddle whenever they feel like it, whether asked or not, don't bother to consult the opinions of the people whose lives they're interfering with, and don't deign to offer any explanations for their actions, because after all, how could puny non-Je'daii minds comprehend anyway? They're all just completely insufferable "shut-up-I-know-best" douchebags, spouting inane, faux-deep dime-store philosophy. None of this is Lebbon's fault. He is a capable writer and does well with what he had. He was a writer-for-hire in this Into the Void effort. The "Je'daii" have a mysterious society that does its own thing, which tends to be for the betterment of the universe, saying "may the force go with you." In Into the Void, Butler tells his side of the story, from the band’s beginnings as a scrappy blues quartet in Birmingham through the struggles leading to the many well-documented lineup changes while touring around London’s gritty clubs (Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and The Who makes notable appearances!), and the band’s important later years. He writes honestly of his childhood in a working-class family of seven in Luftwaffe-battered Birmingham, his almost-life as an accountant, and how his disillusionment with organized religion and class systems would spawn the lyrics and artistic themes that would resonate so powerfully with fans around the world.Force Punch?! Again, in all my reading in Star Wars EU, I've never heard it called "Force Punch" before (only "Force Push"), and Lanoree overuses it so much, it must be banished from existence. I love the idea behind this. A time where Sith and Jedi were the same: Force users utilizing both dark and light to Get Shit Done. What I did not like was Lanoree. She was fine, there wasn’t any specific thing I can point to about her that set me on edge. I simply didn’t find her empathetic or engaging. We suggested to Bill that he come on tour and do a few songs a show, but Bill, proud bloke that he is, insisted it was all or nothing. I was upset that what should have been a triumphant return for the original lineup had turned into a bit of a soap opera — and ended up making it worse. While Bill was churning out public statements, Sharon was giving me her side of the story, including that Bill had refused to play a charity gig at Birmingham’s O2 Academy. Stupidly, I then put out a statement on the internet, including a line about Bill wanting money for said charity gig. I regret doing that, because I’d ended up doing the band’s dirty work. Worse, I’d betrayed Bill’s friendship by not believing his side of the story, which was that he’d actually agreed to do the charity gig for free. This book also felt like the beginning of a series that they were going to pursue but just didn't. If this was always meant to be a standalone, then that is even more confusing because this book leaves more questions and holes about the early Star Wars universe than it answers.

Here’s my theory – and I could be way off. Lebbon had this idea and sold it to Lucas with some Je’daii lore taped on.Unfortunately, using this ancient technology could also cause a cataclysmic release of power that could destroy all life in the Deep Core. So the Jed'aii send Lanoree to find and stop her brother. There is also a little nod to the future in this book and boy did I love this little Easter Egg. The only thing I will say is she keeps dreaming of a “cloaked figure” OMG!!!!

If I’d been diagnosed with cancer, I’d have cancelled everything and stayed at home for the rest of my life. But Tony’s not like that. When me and Ozzy flew to England to resume writing, Tony would have chemotherapy in the morning and come straight home to his studio, where we’d put some ideas together. A few times he drops hints about his opposition to some 'modern sensibilities' and later describes himself as 'right wing.' It made me feel like he's one of those people who actually spends much of his time raging about "wokeness" despite his vocal support for universal healthcare, animal rights and other 'lefty' causes. But this isn't a book about politics, and Butler comes across as a thoroughly decent man in a truly bizarre industry. It reminds me of Frank Herbert’s 1976 Children of Dune with the setting of two children in the wilderness training and also that each chapter begins with a quote from a Jedi master. This is also more gruesomely violent and in many ways more barbarously dark than the run of the mill SW book. There are no light sabers (though there is an oblique reference), the protagonist uses a sword and decapitates with the wild abandon of a samurai on holiday. At long last, Geezer is ready to tell his side of the Sabbath story, from early days as a scrappy blues quartet through to the many lineup changes, the record-breaking tours and the international hell-raising with Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward. I will be honest, Mr. Moss did an outstanding job pacing the book. The characters work well, especially the Palmers, and the mystery is gripping.

The main character here is Lanoree, and it is through her eyes (first person present tense) the story is told. She’s an interesting character, and it’s nice to read a novel with a female lead in the Star Wars Universe for a change, but Lebbon hasn’t managed to make her have a lasting impact on me as a character, although she does undergo some development throughout the book. The story has some great promise and some great ideas, but ultimately it isn’t more than your average book from this Universe. The setting is the only thing that makes this book stand out, because otherwise Lanoree could be replaced with pretty much any minor EU Jedi character and we wouldn’t notice the difference. At times it felt like a novelisation, as this is my first introduction to this era I found it hard to visualise some of the characters and places. Butler's narrative is thankfully not devoid of ludicrous humour which resonates with Ole Twerks here. The wildly hysterical and often irreverent tales he spins have left me chortling into my sleeves - I'll confess I am amongst those guilty of such responses. You see, I appreciate a hearty dose of scatological tomfoolery, and Butler aplenty ladles out a rich infusion thereof. In this era, the Je'daii are taught all areas of the Force, both Dark and Light techniques of accessing it, but they must maintain balance. As Journeymen, they are sent to the different Je'daii temples specialising in different disciplines (science, art, medicine, martial arts, and alchemy/magic). Butler has a lot of ground to cover in his memoir and he hits the highlights and chooses short, fascinating stories to emphasize events and to color situations. Some of the stories we have heard before either in interviews with Geezer or from the perspective of Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi, who have published books of their own. It is great to get Butler’s perspective. It is not that he contradicts the other accounts, he just tells them in his own words.