Book Review: In The Lap of The Gods

Right, before I go any further I need to say that I know as much about the band Queen as the next person, in that I'm well-acquainted with quite a few of their hits, know the names of the band members, about Live Aid, about Freddie's death. But they’re not a band I’ve really investigated, so when I was asked to take a look at this book, I thought it was a good opportunity learn more.

Actually, the music of Queen has played a part recently in my own musical endeavours. Late last year, I began singing lessons, partly to give me the confidence to sing in public. One of the first songs I tackled was Somebody To Love, and I was chuffed when I reached that high note near the end without issue. I also joined a Rock Choir last month and we’ve been singing Save Me. I’m afraid it's a Queen song I, and the majority of the other choir members, had not heard before, but with the amount of times we’ve sung it at practise and I’ve played it back at home, I’ve become as familiar with it as much as my favourite Queen songs such as Don’t Stop Me Now, Radio Gaga, You're My Best Friend and, as it's referred to in this book, “Bo'Rap”.

Front cover of In The Lap of the Gods (artwork by Jim Sangster)

In The Lap of the Gods is a non-fiction anthology edited by David Geldard and Jay Gent, with interviews and writings from friends, colleagues, and fans of Queen, some of which were originally published on the We Are Cult website, as mentioned in the footnotes.

While every submission revealed something to me, what stood out most were those of the fans. Their love of the band and how it impacted their lives in small, or more significant ways, really jumps off the page and reminds of the impact my favourite bands have had on my own life through the years.

I like that it’s not just a series of “Why I love Queen” or “When I worked with Queen…”. The articles in this book range from reminisces from fans and colleagues, yes, but theres also a behind-the-scenes look at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert, a Top 5 list of Queen gigs (courtesy of official Queen biography, Jim Jenkins who also features in a separate interview later in the book), an interview with hosts of a Queen podcast, and the final thoughts of the band by the book's co-editor, David Geldard.

Has reading this book made me desperate to do a deep dive into all things Queen? Not quite, though I do plan to listen to one or two albums for my New (to me) Music series, but it has reinforced my appreciation for other fandoms and that at the end of the day, every single one of us has a band, movie, book, TV show, etc, that we’d all happily wax lyrical about our love for in a similar anthology book. This is a perfect gift for fans of Queen, both old and new

The book is available in paperback from Amazon. All proceeds of the book go to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.