Lords of Chaos

A sensational story told in a slightly less sensational book. Having watched a documentary about these characters...and that's really what they were...self-manufactured identities...I was fascinated and read several articles, which led me to seek out this book. The authors do a good job explaining who these kids were, where they came from, how they met up and then unfolding the story of the many disastrous consequences resulting from their friendship and the shared worldview they created. I found it difficult to get a handle on these kids. On the one hand, most of them seem articulate and of at least normal intelligence. But their failure to understand that the almost cartoonish “Satanic” imagery their musical heroes projected was just an act paints them as highly immature, or excessively naive. The fact that they then attempted to live up to such nonsense, to the point of committing murder and arson more than hints at some degree of mental instability. What really disturbed me the most was the absolute lack of remorse these guys expressed, even years later. Those who committed murder were even indifferent to what they'd done or the effect it had on the victims' families and friends. That may be due to the fact their own cohorts seemed just as unmoved. Even those who had been close friends with the killer or the victim offered not much more than a shrug when asked how they felt about it. Beyond that, the authors provide plenty of background information about the environment in which these events took place. My only criticism is that the second half of the book seemed a bit tedious as the authors reached beyond the original story/events and interviewed many who we're not directly involved and provided only tangential interest.