Why, oh, why did I take so much time to read this book? Well, alright, perhaps because I was busy reading other books to teach myself some physics principles, which, I admit, is never a bad thing when your physics classes go back to some, uhhhm, twenty years ago. At the very least.

I found this “metal + physics” approach to be a very intriguing and interesting one—all the more since the author injects a regular dose of humour into it, but never without a purpose (a.k.a. “how to discuss spatial periods using Stryper’s (in)famous striped pants as an example”). I suppose this approach may not work for everyone, but it definitely worked for me, probably because I never took myself too seriously even when dealing with serious things, because, after all, what does it matter, as long as we keep learning, right? Besides, it doesn’t harm when you can feel the passion shining through, and this was clearly the case here.

Overall, the topics broached here made a lot of sense. My own level in maths isn’t terrific, yet the author’s explanations were enough even for me to understand the principles and the equations he related to metal, harmonics, waves and strings, and so on. They don’t remain at such a basic level that they don’t bring much to one’s knowledge of physics (unless you’re already a post-graduate or someone working in that field already, in which case I suspect Fourier’s analysis of waves/patterns won’t seem such a wonder anymore—or will it?), and at the same time, they don’t stray into such abstractions that a beginner will completely lose their footing either. At any rate, I found it quite easy to picture phases when compared to a metalhead moving in a mosh pit…

Seriously, where was Professor Moriarty when I was studying physics at school? (Alright, alright, probably still doing his Ph. D., I guess.)

I only skimmed this, but if you are interested in either physics, heavy metal or both, this will be an interesting read for you.

I just received a chapter or so of this book for review, so I can’t comment on the whole book. However, I did enjoy the excerpt that I was sent.
The book seems to make few assumptions about the level of scientific understanding of the reader and recaps all the science needed. I found it well written, humorous and easy to read.
The numerous footnotes with links to further information were particularly good and varied.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the excerpt.

I thought the book was pretty good. I found the footnotes to be hilarious and entertaining, and Professor Moriarty is great at explaining concepts in a way that's engaging. I also like that he doesn't try to distill everything down into something so simple that there isn't any richness in there. Instead, he faces the complexity head on and guides the reader through the ideas.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. I'm a physics student and I got a lot out the book.