Details Books Concering Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)

Original Title:	Cities of the Red Night
ISBN:	0312278462 (ISBN13: 9780312278465)
Edition Language:	English
Series:	The Red Night Trilogy #1

Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1) Paperback | Pages: 332 pages

List Based On Books Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)

Title	:	Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)
Author	:	William S. Burroughs
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 332 pages
Published	:	May 4th 2001 by Picador (first published 1981)
Categories	:	Fiction. Science Fiction. Literature. Fantasy. Novels

Relation Supposing Books Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)

Cities of the Red Night follows a dual narrative, slipping fluidly between the early 18th century exploits of a libertarian pirate crew, led by gunsmith Noah Blake, and the late 20th century “private asshole” (Clem Snide) hired to find the decapitated remains of one Jerry Green -- victim apparent of a bizarre hanging/sex cult. It is worth noting that hanging and the spontaneous erections/ejaculations induced by this mode of execution factor heavily into both tales, at times serving as the literal and symbolic connection between the two. Looking to the invocation, we find that the book itself is dedicated (amongst many others) to:

"Ix Tab, Goddess of Ropes and Snares, patroness of those who hang themselves, to Schmuun, the Silent One, twin brother of Ix Tab, to Xolotl the Unformed, Lord of Rebirth, to Aguchi, Master of Ejaculations, to Osiris and Amen in phallic form, to Hex Chun Chan, the Dangerous One, to Ah Pook, the Destroyer, to the Great Old One and the Star Beast, to Pan, God of Panic, to the nameless gods of dispersal and emptiness, to Hassan i Sabbah, Master of Assassins, [and to] all the scribes and artists and practitioners of magic through whom these spirits have been manifested...."

This intercultural pantheon of creative and destructive deities embodies the underlying mythos of the novel, which centers on transmutation of the soul through the simultaneous experience of orgasm and bodily death. Suggested is the notion of the spirit itself erupting from the inflamed, blistering body, its distinctive musky aroma being that of the “Red Fever” (a.k.a. Virus B-23), a disease originally endemic to the ancient mythical cities for which the book is named: Tamaghis, Ba’dan, Yass-Waddah, Waghdas, Naufana, and Ghadis. In one early episode, the enigmatic Dr. Peterson explains his theory on the virus:

"Now let us consider the symptoms of Virus B-23: fever, rash, a characteristic odor, sexual frenzies, obsession with sex and death.... Is this so totally strange and alien? [...] We know that a consuming passion can produce physical symptoms ... fever ... loss of appetite ... even allergic reactions ... and few conditions are more obsessional and potentially self-destructive than love. Are not the symptoms of Virus B-23 simply the symptoms of what we are pleased to call ‘love’? Eve, we are told, was made from Adam’s rib ... so a hepatitis virus was once a healthy liver cell. If you will excuse me, ladies, nothing personal ... we are all tainted by viral origins."

This equating of human biology and behavior with that of a viral organism is perhaps nothing new, but in Cities of the Red Night it is employed as a vital first premise to the thesis postulated by the Western Lands trilogy, which this book serves to open. In the world put forth by Burroughs, it is the soul itself which is the virus, bound to spread from one corporeal form to the next, at least until it finds a host hardy enough to transcend life as we know it.

Up next, The Place of Dead Roads.

Rating Based On Books Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)

Ratings: 3.77 From 4428 Users | 241 Reviews

Crit Based On Books Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)

There are times when you know something is probably good and you know others think its probably good and for some reason, you should probably read that something but no matter how many times you try, you just cant ever get over the mind-fuck that ensues. And yes, there are good mind-fucks but sometimes, there are also bad mind-fucks. This one is a terrible mind-fuck. The premise is awesome: lots of people are dying because of an epidemic/plague/what-have-you and some queer stuff takes place (it

AIDS-era Burroughs tale of a killer virus, pirate shenanigans and boys doing what boys do best(guess). After re-reading it I kicked it up one star to four because it reminded me of Alejandro Jodorowsky and Dusan Makavejev movies from the early Seventies. If you liked Holy Mountain or Sweet Movie you'll like this. The plot is a dog's breakfast but I'd read it in small spurts, yes spurts - we need to use that word in a Burroughs review.

I loved Cities of the Red Night, as well as the Red Night trilogy as a whole. I have been through the trilogy twice now, and plan on reading them all at least one more time. When discussing literature with friends, I always tell them I think Bill Burroughs should be ranked up there with the greatest of American writers and that, if it weren't for the level of homophobia in this country, he would be considered the American James Joyce. I was an honors student in a university English program, and

well that was disturbingly dark

Extremely strange with loads of extraneous jabber tossed into the mix about naked boys, rectal mucus, and the like. The narrative wasn't terrible but it bounced around so much it was nearly impossible to follow. Some of Burroughs's more autobiographical stuff is phenomenal (i.e. Junky & Queer). But this opener to a series is just too jumbled to be great.

I was fascinated at first but then he mixed too many timelines and characters without any purpose and relied on sex too much so i totally lost interest. A weird book like an experiment but maybe one needs to be under drugs to appreciate it as the writer wrote it.

This is the only book I've read of Burroughs after Naked Lunch that really stood up to the author's immense powers. It's just as crazy only with a slightly more coherant storyline, but only slightly. Great book with lots of homo-auto-erotic-axphysiation.