Itemize Books As 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

Present Epithetical 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	:	Anniversary Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 332 pages
Published	:	May 4th 2001 by Picador (first published 1981)
Categories	:	Fiction. Science Fiction. Literature. Fantasy. Novels

Representaion In Pursuance Of 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 Epithetical Books Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)

Ratings: 3.77 From 4428 Users | 241 Reviews

Critique Epithetical Books Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)

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.

Having recently read The Rolling Stone Book Of The Beats got me interested in checking out some Beat writing. It's been a long time since I read any Burroughs or Kerouac. The last thing was Burroughs' Exterminator!, which I really enjoyed, so I thought I'd have a go at Cities Of The Red Night. It's definitely getting into Burroughs with a bang. Non linear as they get, this story is impossible to explain. What would be the point? I'd say it's a metaphor for rulers and the ruled and the dream of

You know, I'm starting to think that after writing 'junky' and 'naked lunch', Mr. Burroughs just re-wrote 'naked lunch' in various guises because once you've read that one you've kind of read all the others. They're all violent, hallucinatory, non-linear, apocalyptic trips into Mr. Burroughs own messed up, drug and sex mad mind. Whether they were all exorcisms for some kind of disgust Mr. Burroughs had with the world, I don't know. But that doesn't mean 'cities of the red night' isn't worth

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.

A Warning of the Faustian Decline to Come........and it has already started. I'm not sure why but this was a really enjoyable book to read over the summer. (Read this during the summer of 2011)Many criticisms have been levelled at this book. However, I feel the reviewer of December 2, 2005 on amazon.com in particular has hit the nail on the head. It is not easy reading and is definitely not for the faint-hearted or prudish. As the above reviewer points out, this trilogy is for thinking people

The only reason I read this book is because I consider it a character flaw to start reading a book and not to finish.I became familiar with Burroughs in freshman year of college when one of my classmates recited from Naked Lunch in a voice and articulation class. The bizarre imagery astonished us all-probably because we were college freshmen. I vowed to read Naked Lunch one day. (Of course there was Steely Dan naming themselves after an object in that book which kept the flame alive for 36

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