Join My Cult
Encyclopedia
Join My Cult is a subversive, satirical novel written by James Curcio and released by New Falcon Publications (publisher of some notable counter-culture authors such Robert Anton Wilson
, Timothy Leary
, and Aleister Crowley
). It is a work of collaborative fiction
based on real events. In a subsequent interview the author said the book was meant to be a prologue for his second novel, Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning.
, William Burroughs, and Robert Anton Wilson
. Also like the works of these authors, there have been heated debates about its cultural value or lack thereof.
Various plot elements focus on groups of suburban kids experimenting with shamanism
and hallucinogens, who quickly discover themselves unhinged from the culture around them. It details events surrounding their harrowing plunge into this abyss, regularly shifting narrator and frame of reference from one member of the group to the other. Curcio utilizes atypical narrative and grammatical structures in the form of neurolinguistic and hypnotic
confusion techniques within the text in an effort to stimulate a similar experience over the course of reading. That Curcio was intentionally utilizing these techniques is shown in various interviews such as a Gpod radio interview found on his website.
), Curcio has published numerous novels, graphic novels, essays, albums and podcasts independently as well as through Disinfo
, New Falcon, Alterati, Key 64, JIVE Magazine
, Immanion Press, and New Fiction. Many of these projects use heavily applied viral marketing
, and deal with issues relating to myth
, consciousness
and identity
.
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
, Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
, and Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...
). It is a work of collaborative fiction
Collaborative fiction
Collaborative fiction is a form of writing by a group of authors who share creative control of a story.Collaborative fiction can occur for commercial gain, as part of education, or recreationally - many collaboratively written works have been the subject of a large degree of academic research.-...
based on real events. In a subsequent interview the author said the book was meant to be a prologue for his second novel, Fallen Nation: Babylon Burning.
Plot summary
Many have likened Join My Cult!s non-linear or cut-up style to Thomas PynchonThomas Pynchon
Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
, William Burroughs, and Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
. Also like the works of these authors, there have been heated debates about its cultural value or lack thereof.
Various plot elements focus on groups of suburban kids experimenting with shamanism
Shamanism
Shamanism is an anthropological term referencing a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world. To quote Eliade: "A first definition of this complex phenomenon, and perhaps the least hazardous, will be: shamanism = technique of ecstasy." Shamanism encompasses the...
and hallucinogens, who quickly discover themselves unhinged from the culture around them. It details events surrounding their harrowing plunge into this abyss, regularly shifting narrator and frame of reference from one member of the group to the other. Curcio utilizes atypical narrative and grammatical structures in the form of neurolinguistic and hypnotic
Hypnotic
Hypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
confusion techniques within the text in an effort to stimulate a similar experience over the course of reading. That Curcio was intentionally utilizing these techniques is shown in various interviews such as a Gpod radio interview found on his website.
About the author
Born Jamie Curcio (July 9, 1978, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
), Curcio has published numerous novels, graphic novels, essays, albums and podcasts independently as well as through Disinfo
Disinfo
The Disinformation Company is a privately held, limited American publishing company that focuses in current affairs titles and seeks to expose disinformation. It is headquartered in New York City, New York...
, New Falcon, Alterati, Key 64, JIVE Magazine
JIVE Magazine
JIVE Magazine is a popular-entertainment, technology, and urban-culture magazine. It publishes features, reviews, editorials, photo galleries, and art productions on the web as well as quarterly in print. The web edition is updated frequently. JIVE Magazine launched its website in August 2000...
, Immanion Press, and New Fiction. Many of these projects use heavily applied viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
, and deal with issues relating to myth
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
, consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
and identity
Identity (social science)
Identity is a term used to describe a person's conception and expression of their individuality or group affiliations . The term is used more specifically in psychology and sociology, and is given a great deal of attention in social psychology...
.