By far the most famous of Nietzsche's works, but also one of the harder to read. Will write more when I figure out what to really say about it.

With "La Grande Dance Macabre" Marduk have reached the end of their trilogy of albums, and we see something of a return to the older style again. Perhaps Marduk feel that after "Panzer Division Marduk" they have nothing to prove when it comes to speed, so they slow it down a bit on "La Grande..."

That was a good choice, because when they slow down, it seems they gain as much in songwriting skills as they lose in speed. A solid black metal album that leaves you wondering in what direction Marduk will take this black metal batallion.

With the haunting "De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas" album and the infamous "Deathcrush"-EP, Mayhem set the style for other black metal bands to follow. When Mayhem return in the year 2000, they return to forever change the way we think about black metal again. And they succeed!

I have heard a lot of people complaining about this album, mostly because it doesn't sound like the old material. Is that really surprising? Two of the old members are dead, and it's been a million years since the realease of "Deathcrush" (or at least so it seems) - so why assume they would sound the same? Have Slayer recorded "Reign In Blood" over and over again? No, they progressed. So have Mayhem.

This is probably my favorite record from 2000, and one of my top ten all-time favorites. Instead of ultra-fast, super-brutal white noise we are offered a fantastic blend of pounding drums, menacing guitars and frightening vocals - but in a modern way. Just buy it and you'll know what I mean. Simply fantastic.

Wow! After the great "Metalhead" hopes are up for another great Saxon-release. And I wasn't disappointed. This is even better than "Metalhead" and it has even knocked "Power And The Glory" from it's position as the best Saxon-album ever. Classic hit after classic hit is what's on offer here.

"Dragon's Lair" - Lyrically perhaps a bit too much German powermetal, but what a great song! Catchy riffs, great drumming and a great vocal delivery from Biff.

"Deeds Of Glory" - Classic metal with classic Saxon-lyrics. Every bit as good as "Power And The Glory" and "Stand Up And Be Counted". Has a great and mighty chorus.

"Court Of The Crimson King" - A cover of the King Crimson-song. Instead of the flutes and organs of the original, we are here offered acoustic and electric guitar. Much, much better than the original.

A brilliant book by what appears to be a brilliant author (this is the first book of Nabokov's I've read). The first thing you have to do is disregard everything you have heard about this being a vulgar, exploiting book. It is not. There is no pornography to be found here - unlike Dostoyevsky who describes the deeds of his villain in detail, Nabokov avoids the cleverly set trap that would surely have made this a much less appealing novel. What it is, and much more so than for example "Romeo and Juliet", is a love story. Granted, it is a story about forbidden love; a middle-aged man desperately in love with a young girl, but it is still a love story.

Let me return once more to Dostoyevsky. I found myself comparing Humbert Humbert to Dostoyevsky's Raskolnikov in "Crime and Punishment" - a person torn apart by his own conscience, trying to hang on to his sanity by telling himself that he is doing the right thing. And just like Dostoyevsky, Nabokov takes us inside the mind of a criminal, as if he is trying to makle us understand him. And the greatness of Nabokov lies in the fact that he pulls it off. Even though you don't like Humbert - and you most certainly will not - you can begin to understand the reasons behind his behavior. Perhaps this - and the beautiful prose, of course - is the true greatness of Vladimir Nabokov.

Like director Ridley Scott, composer Hans Zimmer has had his ups and downs. This, luckily, shows him at one of his finer moments. Careful use of sounds of different textures and strength makes this a very enjoyable soundtrack.

The pieces featuring narration by sir Anthony Hopkins are especially haunting; the marvellous "Let My Home Be My Gallows" being the absolute highpoint of this soundtrack.

Not only does it bring to you the sense of beauty found in the scenery of renaissance Italy, but also the chilling calm and deadly charm of dr Hannibal Lecter. The piece starts of beautiully with some low strings and what sounds - to my untrained ear - as an orchestral harp. In comes a beautiful choir of sopranos, followed by the narration of sir Anthony Hopkins. Here the pace quickens a bit; you can feel there's something going on. After that follows a very calm section, again with a beautiful choir and some great string work; intensity building up towards the end - a maelstrom of dissonance, clashing instruments and tortured strings - bringing to life the vision of commendatore Pazzi dangling from the library window.

Ten years after the success of "Silence of the Lambs," psychiatrist, gentleman and cannibal Hannibal Lecter is back. I first saw this movie in a theater, and that's the way it should be seen. A big screen and good speakers are necessary to fully enjoy the greatness of this movie.

The career of director Ridley Scott is full of both highs and lows ("Alien" and "Blade Runner" being two of the highs; "G.I. Jane and "Gladiator" being two of the lows in my opinion), but I would go as far as saying that "Hannibal" brings us Ridley Scott at his finest. From the almost poetic camerawork during Lecter's lecture on Dante to the careful use of slow-motion when needed, Scott shows that he is a world-class director.

Still, this movie would be nothing without the second-to-none acting of sir Anthony Hopkins. He really brings the novel's character to life, with all the finesse and charm one would expect from Hannibal Lecter. Julianne Moore is surprisingly good in her role as FBI-agent Clarice Starling. I have to confess I was a bit worried when I first learned that Jodie Foster would not play the role of Starling, but my fears were completely unfounded. Julianne Moore is just as good as - if not better than - Jodie Foster was.

Other things deserving to be mentioned is the music of Hans Zimmer and the beautiful Italian scenery, both of them huge parts of this movie's appeal. Hannibal - approved.

This book comes across with the bull-in-a-china-shop subtelty we've all learned to love in Nietzsche. But even if you've read all of his other books, nothing will prepare you for this. This is not as much an explanation - you'll find that in his "A Geneology of Morals" - of why Christianity is evil, but rather a fitting end to Nietzsche's career as an author. By far the most outspoken and direct book of his. A masterpiece, not only for the philosphical insights, but also for the prose.

Patrick Bateman is a handsome, fit, wealthy Wall Street-yuppie. He is also a demented sadist and serial killer.

In this fantastic novel, Ellis brings us into the mind of a serial killer so completely without remorse that it's hard to imagine such persons actually exist. The novel takes place in and around New York city in the 1980's, making the novel even more chilling. He has managed to capture the consumania of the 80's perfectly, with Bateman discussing at length the latest Whitney Houston album or comparing his new business card with those of his associates. When Bateman realises that his card isn't the best looking, it's enough to drive him to kill again.

The book contains several long and detailed descriptions of how Bateman tortures and dismembers his victims, making this a book definetly not for the squeamish.

I first started reading this novel when I was 12 years old. I only got through the first 50 or so pages before putting the book down. Now, another 12 years down the line, I picked it up again, and this time I didn't let go.

Fyodor Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" is simply one of - if not *the* best novel I have ever read. Dostoevsky is the master of portraying characters in a believable way; when you're reading the book you feel as though you are in the room with Rodja, Dunja, Razumichin and Luzjin. It's like stepping into a time-machine set for pre-revolution Russia.

The plot revolves around Rodion "Rodja" Romanovitj Raskolnikov, a poor ex-student who murders an old woman in the belief that he's doing it for the good of man. This happens in the first part of the book; in the rest of the book we follow Rodja in his feverish nightmare, walking the streets of Petersburg.

The book is interesting not only because of it's great entertainment value, but even more so because of the philosophical questions it asks. The late great Ayn Rand was also a master of this type of novel. With the exception of "Crime and Punsihment," the only novel I have read where you really feel that the characters are so real is Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."