#greg walters

REVIEW

The Gargoyles of Notre Dame by Greg Walters

Action-packed fantasy with magical elements and gargoyles that is set in Paris just before the French Revolution. I had the feeling it would make a good book for perhaps youth or young adults. The plot, pacing, setting and writing were excellent.

The two main characters are 15-year-old Catia, daughter of a noble, and 22-year-old Henri, a stonemason apprentice. The book is told from their viewpoints and flips between the two unless they are together. Nyron, the gargoyle that bonds and binds with Henri, also plays a big part in the story as he communicates with Henri in rhyme. The bond between Nyron and Henri is strong and they support one another and at times save one another’s lives.

The times are tense and much like what I imagine the time prior to the French Revolution might have been.  Both main characters suffered losses, but they also grew and learned as the story progressed. I wonder if there will be a sequel.

I can see this book being made into a movie and now wonder who might be cast in the roles of Henri and Catia.

Thank you to NetGalley and Book Whisperer for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

BLURB

Oshawa, ON – The Oshawa Generals announced today they have agreed to a two-year contract extension with Head Coach, Greg Walters.

The former Ontario Junior Hockey League and Canadian Junior Hockey League coach of the year brought over a winning pedigree to the team from his previous coaching experience. Walters, in his first season as a head coach in the Ontario Hockey League, has led the Generals this season to an impressive 44-20-4-0 record and a third place finish in the Eastern Conference.

Greg Walters 6/10/13 by Cathy Wagner

I've been sitting on this post about Brooklyn's Tiny Victories for months. I absorbed the band and mulled over what to say, I kept trying to see them live and decided that my writing would wait until then. Not that recordings and performance should be viewed as inclusive, but they coexist. Both inform what you know as "the band".

Tiny Victories is, surprisingly, just two people: Greg Walters and Cason Kelly. While both are multi-instrumentalists, during their live setup you will see Kelly mostly behind drums, while Walters is on vocals and keys - sampling live sounds and audience members throughout and incorporating them into the tracks that you can hear on their first release "Those Of Us Still Alive" EP.

The first time I heard "Mr. Bones" I felt that rare but familiar feeling of that fantasy scene in that coming-of-age movie where someone is running and everything culminates in this epic romanticism. It had this John Hughes emotional tug and reminded me strongly of General Public's "Tenderness". That is to say, what a single! It's that song that makes you believe in anything. Two decades ago, I would spend an entire sunny afternoon with my finger tensely levitating above the "Play/Record" buttons on my stereo waiting to hear this song on the radio.

"Gravitron" is another unmistakeable gem, with Walters' low octave vocals set against a bright synth-laden backdrop, it's almost like a perfect amalgamation of Passion Pit and Future Islands.  Do you remember The Russian Futurists? One of my favorite tracks was the opener to their eponymous 2003 album "Let's Get Ready To Crumble", which starts by saying  "I make pop 'cause that's where my heart goes, I don't call it art, no sir." Tiny Victories is bubbling over with such sentiment; its songs' hazy, magnetic layers contoured by sweetly tense pulses. The arrangements would put a twinkle in Paul Simon's eye.

Their debut "Those Of Us Still Alive" EP is a really impeccable sampling of what I hope is the best is still to come.  It may have come out early in the year, but these are the songs that will make your summer.

Dig in: watch the video for "Mr. Bones" and listen to the whole EP below.

Connect with Tiny Victories: Facebook | Twitter | Last.fm | Bandcamp