Official Review: Astrology Poetry 101 Cypher

Juliana_Isabella · Post by **Juliana_Isabella** » 28 Mar 2020, 17:54

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Astrology Poetry 101 Cypher" by Gregory Sulface.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Astrology Poetry 101 Cypher by Gregory Sulface is a short book of poetry meant to free the reader’s mind. The author has written the book as a dialogue with each character contributing a few lines of poetry before another one speaks. The characters include Professor Emeritus, Libra, Aquarius, Cancer, Pisces, Taurus, Sagittarius, Aries, Gemini, Virgo, Leo, Scorpio, and Capricorn.

This book of poetry generally feels like stream-of-consciousness writing, with the author just putting down one word or phrase after another as he thought of them. For example, a few early lines read, “Aquarius: Eccentric, Mortgage and // Quicken Loans, Cosmological // Equations.” I have inserted two slashes where line breaks appeared in the original text, but this is an otherwise exact replica. I couldn’t find many threads to connect different thoughts together, which made it difficult for me to derive meaning from this poetry.

Because of this, I took a hint from the title (cypher) and decided to look for a code, puzzle, or hidden meaning in the text. This turned out to be a fruitless search, and I can only assume the author did not mean to imply that this book was actually a cypher.

Although most of the lines felt nonsensical, there were some continuous threads throughout the book. The author repeatedly comments on poverty, capitalism and socialism, and the political landscape of America. He also makes use of pop culture references and both scientific and science-fiction terminology to fill the pages of this book.

Overall, I would rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. I didn’t see an overarching theme in the poetry, and it didn’t open my mind or cause me to be introspective. I appreciated the way the author made each page look different with changing fonts and pictures, so I decided that it deserved more than one star. However, the actual writing barely even felt like poetry, as the line breaks seemed random and there was no intentional rhyme or rhythm. Because of these issues, I felt that I couldn't award this book any more than two stars.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy stream-of-consciousness writing. I will note that I only found a few typographical errors in the book, and it is definitely an original work that is different from all the other poetry I’ve read before. However, readers who enjoy traditional poetry with a clear theme may not enjoy this book, which is aimed at those who wish to open their minds.

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Astrology Poetry 101 Cypher
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Odette Chace · Post by **Odette Chace** » 29 Mar 2020, 17:21

Hmm. If the whole thing reads like the bit you shared, I will definitely be passing on this one. Thanks for an honest review.

Laura Lee · Post by **Laura Lee** » 29 Mar 2020, 21:25

Wow. It would have been difficult to write a review on a book like that. Thanks for your descriptive review.

funninessishappiness · Post by **funninessishappiness** » 29 Mar 2020, 21:27

As someone that loves poetry, this book looks very intriguing to me. I love stream-of-consiousness writing. I find it interesting that you tried to see if there was a hidden code or meaning under it all. I would love to read this book and see if I could find it. However, you might be right. There might not be any hidden meaning at all. It could just be rambling. I can't wait to read it! Thanks for the review.