As someone who loves fantasy, sci-fi, and horror fiction, I was pretty thrilled to discover a new (new to me, that is) author this week, Joe Hill.
I started his novel, THE FIREMAN, on Friday, and I was rather excited to find that one of the characters had been the bassist in a prog-metal band, Unbreakable.
Granted, it’s one reference thus far, but outside of the work of Kevin J. Anderson and Ernest Cline, I can think of almost no author who embraces prog at any level.
So, a huge thank you to Mr. Hill. And, by the way, he’s an excellent story teller.
To order THE FIREMAN, click here.
Progarchy 
It’s a shame that so few fictional characters seem to have a liking for prog. The most noteable example I can think of comes from Ernest Cline’s excellent “Ready Player One” – specifically in Chapter 27, where the protagonist uses his knowledge of 2112 to solve a puzzle in a virtual reality game.
Here’s a few choice quotes…
“He often referred to Rush’s three members… as ‘the Holy Trinity’ or ‘the Gods of the North’.”
“In the absolute center of the city I found a towering obelisk-shaped temple with wind-blasted gray walls. A giant red star of the Solar Federation was emblazoned above the entrance. I was standing before the Temple of Syrinx.”
“I… jumped down through the trapdoor and landed on the dusty floor of the hidden chamber. It was a tiny cube-shaped room with a large rough-hewn stone standing against the north wall. Embedded in the stone, neck first, was an electric guitar. I recognized its design from the 2112 concert footage I’d watched during the trip here. It was a 1974 Gibson Les Paul, the exact guitar used by Alex Lifeson during the 2112 tour.”
If you like sci-fi, “Ready Player One” is worth a read. I’d particularly recommended it to anyone with an interest in gaming or gamer culture, or the sociological impact of massive online communities and virtual reality.
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