Review - Voice

Local rock band Ragman is finally taking off. Stephanie Case’s flamboyant performances and scorching guitar work have started attracting crowds, and singer John Tsiboukas—aka Johnny Tango—is delivering the best performances of his life. After months of playing to dead rooms, it looks like success is at hand.


The thing is, there’s something wrong with Johnny’s voice. Until just a few weeks ago, he couldn’t hit the right pitch if you painted a target on it and let him stand real close. Now he sounds amazing. . . and strange things happen every time he sings. Lights burn out. Whole rooms become cold and hushed. People get violent.

For Johnny and Case, Ragman is a ticket out of a life of meaningless, dead-end jobs and one lousy gig after another, but as the weirdness surrounding Johnny begins to turn into outright nightmare, they find that the price of stardom might be higher than either of them could ever have imagined.

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My review:

We have all heard the urban legend about the blues player/guitarist that goes to the Crossroads and sells his soul for fame, money and success.  But what if it wasnt an urban legend?  That's what you find out in Voice.

John wants to be a rock singer but he has a voice that should be fronting an alternative band instead.  He has a talented band behind him though and nothing can compare to the lead guitarist Case.  When Case gets the stellar reviews John doesnt know what to do.  When after another disappointing show, he meets the mysterious stranger that knows who he is and seems to have an idea of what can help he goes with him.  He ends up at a Crossroads where he meets a man that promises him everything he desires.  After than John becomes Johnny Tango and his vocals blow everyone away.

After that it becomes a story of the band getting success and their first shot at opening on a real tour.  But while this is happening there is still the price to pay.  For this is not talent driven success.  Johnny gets surrounding by a mysterious fan club that follows from show to show and seems to grow as they move.  They also end up surrounded by fights and violent acts that follow them from city to city.  How does the band deal with fame, success and how do they all pay the price for what Johnny did late one night in the Crossroads is the story you can only get by reading the book.

Voice is a well-written novel that takes the classic urban legend and answers the questions of what if? and what is the price that might be paid for such an act.