Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic by Mark Blake
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Mark Blake’s Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic is a biography based on the legendary lead singer of Queen. The biography looks into the singer’s childhood and life before he reinvented himself into the icon Freddie Mercury, his years before Queen became a band, and of course, the years Queen was together.
The biography was relatively short. I would have loved more information, but the author made up for that with his passion for Queen’s music. It was evident throughout the entire book that Blake was an honest fan of Queen. He handled every stage of Mercury’s life with care. He did his best to represent who Mercury was as a human being and artist. I loved that the book wasn’t just a list of facts. It told a story and kept it interesting with antidotes from Mercury’s life. A Kind of Magic features multiple quotes from the people closest to Mercury, such as Queen band members Brian May, Taylor Roger, and John Deacon. Blake even included quotes from the man himself. It felt like I was getting the authentic version of Mercury’s life and not a fictitious tale of the many rumors surrounding the legend.
As a music lover, it’s nice to read more about the recording process of one of the greatest bands in history. I also loved how Blake described in much detail each Queen album’s musical aspects. The pictures featured in the biography were stunning! I had never even seen some of those pictures before, which was a delightful surprise.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic. However, I hope to find another book that goes even further into the musical genius that is Freddie Mercury. It was a tad more basic in the overview of his life than I had expected. Still, Blake’s sensitivity and love for the book’s subject made it enjoyable.
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