Ecstasy Club: A Novel

by Douglas Rushkoff

Book Overview

"A darkly comic contemporary fable: a brave, very funny, very knowing trip through the neo-psychedelic substrate of the wired world." -- William Gibson , bestselling author of Neuromancer and Idoru... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573227021
• ISBN13: 9781573227025
• Release Date: November 1998
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

More Than Just Drugs

The Ecstasy Club by Douglas Rushkoff is the fastest read book I have ever encountered. I consumed and devoured every word, every scene, every concept. This book put priority over almost everything in my life at that time. Rushkoff's ideas and concepts were extremely hard to grasp, but that is exactly what kept me interested. This novel was the first I have ever read about the current club scene: raves, drugs, sex, and Rock 'n Roll (or in this case Techno). One may think that this novel is strictly written for the teenager, but I believe that it may attempt to explain the culture of teenagers to any adult who is interested. I believe, though, that if an adult attempts to read this novel, it will have an "all or nothing" effect; either the adult will grasp the idea completely or reject it out of ignorance.The novel contains a journey theme. This journey consists of a group of kids traveling to throw raves for their enjoyment as well as their profit. On the symbolic level, it is a quest for the truth about life; an answer to all the questions concearning the fate of our world. In the end, the truth is not uncovered by the "deprogrammed" (Ecstasy Club members and alike) outdoing the "programmed" (cultists and fascists), but by an evolution into a mutual understanding between both groups.When this novel was first recommended to me by a friend, I expected it to be good, but definitely not this powerful. The Ecstasy Club had me overwhelmed with the most complex thinking concearning the realites of our world that I will ever grasp. It takes a very smart, open-minded person to enjoy the novel in its entirety. "So do we need an educated elite to censor out the bad information, or are we evolved enough to accept or discard prescriptions for change using nothing other than our intuition? Maybe it's YOU who are unduly afraid of the dominance of favored, state-sponsored memes. If we accept the basic premise that out mindset extends, eventually, to the reality we inhabit, then wouldn't your attribution of the psychedelic revolution to a fear-mongering elite and subsequent admission of your own powerlessness in the face of such adversity ultimately result in the full manifestation of the very forces you hope to quash?" This quote was the first realization of the truth regarding reality that I was in the process of revealing. Sadly, though, the truth is not easy enough for me to just simply tell you; it must be uncovered by diving into the deep, complex dialogue Rushkoff uses throughout the novel's multi-level development.

Simply an excellent read

Well, you have to notice that people either love or hate this book. That means it generated a strong emotional response either way, which for an author, is always a goal. I simply loved it. If you read through expecting all of it to be realistic, you'll be disappointed. If you read through expecting a wild romp with some unforgettable scenes describing the philosophy of the 90's "rave culture" - you'll enjoy yourself quite a bit. Keep in mind that the book is narrated from a perspective of a person who is rather heavily drugged most of the time - I think the people who state that it is not 'believable' are missing the point completely. This book was a page turner that kept me up all night until I read it, start to finish. Simply an incredible piece of work, and I would urge any open minded people to give it a chance. The writing style is crisp and easy to follow, making it an even more enjoyable read. One of the best books I've picked up in weeks. Five stars, all the way.

Esoteric-Brain Scramble

For those of us entangled in the wonderful world of sex, drugs, and electronic music this tale provides a twisted reality. Rushkoff gives some interesting characters that any raver can picture. The book takes you on this journey through the lives of a few smart people and then flips around and makes what you thought to be another old novel into something you've never seen before..

A dense bundle of millennial memes!

Have you ever looked at how the events in your life are unfolding and discovered in yourself the unshakable conviction that there are no coincidences? After reading "Ecstasy Club," you may look back on your discovery of the book as an integral element in a larger pattern; a pattern so seamless that you cannot see it as just an orderless juxtaposition of "random events." Rushkoff uses this tale of cyber-savvy twenty-somethings who commandeer an abandoned piano factory and turn it into a wired commune and rave cult headquarters as a vehicle for infecting the reader with a virulent set of consciousness-transforming memes. It's okay if you don't know what a meme is. You'll have an intuitive understanding after you've read "Ecstasy Club." Rushkoff doesn't stop to explain memes, the significance of novelty, Ericksonian hypnosis, the attractor at the end of time, or really much of anything. If you're already familiar with these concepts, you'll get a warm self-satisfied glow as you think, "Nobody's going to get all these references." If you're encountering these concepts for the first time as you read "Ecstasy Club" you'll experience the electrifying thrill of discovering that the world is a far stranger and more wonderful place than you'd previously realized, and you'll think "Wow!"