The Ecstasy of Consumption: the Drug Ecstasy As Mass Commodity in a Global Market

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Ecstasy of Consumption: the Drug Ecstasy As Mass Commodity in a Global Market The Ecstasy of Consumption: The drug Ecstasy as Mass Commodity in a Global Market. Daniel Maurice Silverstone The London School of Economics and Political Science, submitted for the award of PhD at the University of London. UMI Number: U586648 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U586648 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 POLITICAL AND 7h t =.s £ h Si 2S> Abstract This thesis is an examination of the drug, ecstasy. The central objective was to investigate the people who used the drug, where they used it and how it was dealt. In pursuit of this I undertook two empirical pieces of work, a series of interviews and an ethnography. The interviews were of two sorts, firstly a set of longitudinal interviews of middle class ecstasy users, first contacted when they had just began taking the drug and again when they had stopped. These interviews were supported by one-off interviews with three other groups with similar class backgrounds. The other part of the study was a nine month ethnography of a large London night-club, where the author worked first as part of the bar staff and secondly as part of the security team. This involved participant observation with an occupational culture which is hard to gain access to and observation of an under researched environment. The two studies are linked, as the club was typical of one that my respondents visited and both groups were linked by their intense involvement in drug subcultures. In the first half of the thesis I concentrate on occupational culture and illuminate how criminal activity was structured within the club. In the latter section I concentrate on how the respondents subjectively felt about their drug use. In the last part of thesis I put the rise of ecstasy into the context of British popular culture. On the one hand I argue that it could be posited as part of new dystopian trends, on the other I argue against this, instead characterising its rise as something more positive and more inevitable. However, I conclude that our current methods of regulation are antiquated and unequal. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. The Club 30 3. The Security Team 47 4. Interview Methodology 109 5. The Interviews 130 6. Dystopia 186 7. Utopia 202 8. Conclusion 232 Appendix 236 Bibliography iii Thanks: To my Supervisor, David Downes, for his continual support and to my family for their patience. Dedicated to Joshua Silverstone. 1. Introduction Prologue In my thesis I have looked at the use of ecstasy as an example of a modern commodity chain. I have tried to look at the drug from a variety of perspectives: the history of the drug, the way it is distributed, the way it is consumed, where it is consumed, and the way its use is regulated or controlled. In doing this I have hopefully amalgamated the two theoretical approaches most likely to be applied in isolation to the subject matter. The first and most obvious is criminology. This discipline empirically underpins my thesis, and provides a wealth of ethnographic and interview material, which I have drawn on in my two chapters that contain these two respective methodologies. It also provides the theoretical context for the current debates over motivation for drug use, frequency of drug use and the way drugs should be, and fail to be, effectively controlled. However, the rise in drug use by several different sectors of society as part of a wider increase in crime in western societies has created problems for the part of the discipline still influenced by positivism, and prey to universal theories addressing the causes of crime. Put at its simplest the volume of drug takers raises problems for the viability of the positivist tenets of difference, differentiation and pathology. Meanwhile the huge differences between some drug takers and other criminals means that one overarching criminological theory cannot suffice. Fortunately, the consumer driven desire for goods has also been integral to the modern criminological project and consumer theory though deficient in empirical evidence does provide the theoretical tools to position these changes in drug consumption both into wider society and into the wider changes being experienced elsewhere 1 in it. In particular, it has been1 and still is2 aware of the links between illegitimate and legitimate consumption within the city, something that is crucial in understanding crime in its modern context. To put the argument succinctly, the emergent popularity of ecstasy is less surprising in an affluent global society, driven by rapid technological change where most interaction is mediated and made manifest by consumption. On these foundations I want my thesis to build. More specifically, hopefully both theories can be incorporated into Ben Fine’s proposal for the study of consumer objects, “The commodity chain”. This idea provides my theoretical grounding as contained within it, is an empirical agenda. It can be summarised in the sentence: to understand consumption it is not enough just to look at the object at the point of purchase but to illuminate the chain of factors which give rise to it. In his own words, this has three facets: firstly, “explanations around consumption must be specific to particular commodities or groups of commodities”. Secondly, “each commodity should be analysed in the context of the chain of horizontal factors that give rise to it, production, distribution, retailing, consumption and material culture surrounding if. Finally, each “consumption good will be linked to its own differentiated chain of activities, which will form an integral unity and will be termed a system of provision3”. An almost identical concept is proposed, by Paul du Gay, who uses the label, a “circuit of culture”. His circuit includes the following five categories, “production, consumption, regulation, representation, identity4”. My idea is to take the drug ecstasy as example of a particular commodity and then analyse it, in precisely the way Fine recommends, examining the five horizontal factors that give rise to it. I hope this will have a number of 1 See, for example Chapter O, (Prostitution, Gambling), in Benjamin, W. (1999) The Arcades Project, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London :The Belknap Press o f Harvard University Press. 2 Ruggerio, V. (2000) Crime and Markets: essays in anti-criminology. New York; Oxford University Press. 3 Fine, B. (1995), ‘From Political Economy to Consumption’ in D. Miller, (ed.) Acknowledging Consumption: A Review o f New Studies. London: Routledge, p 42. 4 du Gay ,P. H all ,S. Jones, Mackay, H . Negus, K. (1997),Doing Cultural Studies: The Study o f the Sony Walkman, London: Sage in association with Open University Press, p. 3. 2 advantages. Firstly, as a novel way of looking at any consumer object, as Lee5 mentions later in the same book, it has the advantage of exposing our fetishism of commodities. As it forces us to consider both production and consumption, the researcher must delve beyond the image and the use of the product, to reveal the forces and labour present in its construction. This is useful, as du Gay et al., (1997, 17) states in his study on the Walkman, as “ what makes the Sony Walkman a part of our culture, we argued earlier, is not only the ‘work’ which has gone into constructing it meaningfully, but the social practices with which it has become associated”. Secondly, by dwelling on distribution, the study can be focused on who is part of the sales process and how a particular commodity is sold. This is especially interesting when addressed to an illicit commodity like ecstasy. It also forces us to examine where the commodity is sold, to look at the actual physical space where it is on offer, in my case a club. These spaces can be important, as Glennie comments on the centrality of the department store in the 19th century. “Department stores were pivotal sites of cultural appropriation and identity construction, through their ability to create the meanings of commodities and consumers6”. Thirdly, in Paul du Gay’s incarnation it includes the stipulation that regulation must be considered. Again by looking at both distribution and consumption, this immediately directs the researcher to the crucial question that regulation is unlikely to be uniform in theory or practice. This insight leads to macro questions about the general enforcement of law but also to micro concerns. Thus my study 5He asks why, ‘when a commodity arrives in our shops, it should show no manifest trace of all the labour that was invested in it during its production’. He goes on to show how ‘surplus value revealed in the exploitation of labour, is concealed in the fetishism o f commodities and how the commodity form is the mask hiding the expropriation of value of one class at the expense of another’. Lee, M. (1993) Consumer Culture Reborn: the Cultural Politics o f Consumption, London: Routledge, (p. x ii), quoted from Jackson, P and Thrift, N. (1995) ‘Geographies of Consumption’, in D. Miller, (ed.) Acknowledging Consumption: A Review of New Studies. London: Routledge, p.220 6 Glennie, P. (1995) ‘Consumption within historical studies’, in D.
Recommended publications
  • The Link Between Drugs and Music Explained by Science 25 January 2018, by Ian Hamilton, Harry Sumnall and Suzi Gage
    The link between drugs and music explained by science 25 January 2018, by Ian Hamilton, Harry Sumnall And Suzi Gage two key compounds in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiols, influence the desire for music and its pleasure. Cannabis users reported that they experienced greater pleasure from music when they used cannabis containing cannabidiols than when these compounds were absent. Listening to music – without the influence of drugs – is rewarding, can reduce stress (depending upon the type of music listened to) and improve feelings of belonging to a social group. But research Credit: Henny van Roomen/Shutterstock.com suggests that some drugs change the experience of listening to music. Clinical studies that have administered LSD to For centuries, musicians have used drugs to human volunteers have found that the drug enhance creativity and listeners have used drugs enhances music-evoked emotion, with volunteers to heighten the pleasure created by music. And the more likely to report feelings of wonder, two riff off each other, endlessly. The relationship transcendence, power and tenderness. Brain between drugs and music is also reflected in lyrics imaging studies also suggest that taking LSD while and in the way these lyrics were composed by listening to music, affects a part of the brain leading musicians, some of whom were undoubtedly to an increase in musically inspired complex visual influenced by the copious amounts of heroin, imagery. cocaine and "reefer" they consumed, as their songs sometimes reveal. Pairing music and drugs Acid rock would never have happened without Certain styles of music match the effects of certain LSD, and house music, with its repetitive 4/4 beats, drugs.
    [Show full text]
  • About Emotions There Are 8 Primary Emotions. You Are Born with These
    About Emotions There are 8 primary emotions. You are born with these emotions wired into your brain. That wiring causes your body to react in certain ways and for you to have certain urges when the emotion arises. Here is a list of primary emotions: Eight Primary Emotions Anger: fury, outrage, wrath, irritability, hostility, resentment and violence. Sadness: grief, sorrow, gloom, melancholy, despair, loneliness, and depression. Fear: anxiety, apprehension, nervousness, dread, fright, and panic. Joy: enjoyment, happiness, relief, bliss, delight, pride, thrill, and ecstasy. Interest: acceptance, friendliness, trust, kindness, affection, love, and devotion. Surprise: shock, astonishment, amazement, astound, and wonder. Disgust: contempt, disdain, scorn, aversion, distaste, and revulsion. Shame: guilt, embarrassment, chagrin, remorse, regret, and contrition. All other emotions are made up by combining these basic 8 emotions. Sometimes we have secondary emotions, an emotional reaction to an emotion. We learn these. Some examples of these are: o Feeling shame when you get angry. o Feeling angry when you have a shame response (e.g., hurt feelings). o Feeling fear when you get angry (maybe you’ve been punished for anger). There are many more. These are NOT wired into our bodies and brains, but are learned from our families, our culture, and others. When you have a secondary emotion, the key is to figure out what the primary emotion, the feeling at the root of your reaction is, so that you can take an action that is most helpful. .
    [Show full text]
  • MDMA and Sexual Behavior
    Note: This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Substance Use & Misuse following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version [McElrath K (2005) MDMA and sexual behavior: ecstasy users’ perceptions about sexuality and sexual risk, Substance Use & Misuse, 40:9, 1461-1477] is available online at http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g714012467 MDMA and Sexual Behavior: Ecstasy Users’ Perceptions About Sexuality and Sexual Risk KAREN MCELRATH School of Sociology and Social Policy, Belfast, Ireland Published in Substance Use & Misuse,(2005) 40:9,1461—1477 This study examines the relationship between MDMA (Ecstasy), sexual behavior, and sexual risk taking. The sample consisted of 98 current and former users of MDMA. Several strategies were utilized to recruit respondents and data were collected through in-depth interviews during 1997 and 1998. The majority of respondents had used MDMA during the 6-month period prior to the interview and a large percentage had consumed the drug on 100 occasions or more. Most respondents reported feelings of emotional closeness while consuming MDMA but without the desire for penetrative sex. Others, however, reported that MDMA increased sexual arousal and some respondents (in particular gay and bisexual females) had used MDMA specifically for sexual enhancement. Sexual risk taking (e.g., having multiple partners, engaging in sex without a condom) was prevalent among respondents who did engage in sexual activity during MDMA episodes. Explanations for the findings are offered and implications for prevention/intervention are discussed. Keywords MDMA; ecstasy; sexual behavior Introduction Although a patent for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) was issued in 1914 (Shulgin, 1986), “recreational”a use of the drug did not surface until the 1970s and 1980s, and for the most part was restricted to selected regions in the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Eotm the Agony and the Ecstasy
    EYE ON THE MARKET SPECIAL EDITION THE & agTHE ny ecst sy THE RISKS AND REWARDS OF A CONCENTRATED StOCK POSITION The Agony and the Ecstasy is a 1961 biographical novel by American author Irving Stone on the life of Michelangelo: his passion, intensity and perseverance as he created some of the greatest works of the Renaissance period. Like Michelangelo’s paintings and sculptures, successful businesses are the by-product of inspiration, hard work, and no small amount of genius. And like the works of the Great Masters, only a small minority stand the test of time and last over the long run. The Agony and the Ecstasy conveys the disparate outcomes facing concentrated holders of individual stocks in a world, like Michelangelo’s, that is beset with intrigue, unforeseen risks, intense competition and uncertainty. EYE ON THE MARKET • J.P. MORGAN Eye on the Market J.P. MORGAN The Agony and the Ecstasy: The Risks and Rewards of a Concentrated Stock Position Executive Summary There are many Horatio Alger stories in the corporate world in which an entrepreneur or CEO has the right idea at the right time and executes brilliantly on a business plan. But history also shows that forces both within and outside management control led many of their businesses to suffer serious reversals of fortune. As a result, many individuals are known not just for the wealth they created through a concentrated position, but also for the decision they made to sell, hedge or otherwise take some chips off the table. In this paper, we take a look at the long history of individual stocks, and at the risks and rewards of concentration.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of the Civil Service
    HOUSE OF COMMONS SESSION 1993-94 TREASURY AND CIVIL SERVICE COMMITTEE Fifth Report THE ROLE OF THE CIVIL SERVICE VOLUME I Ordered by The House of Commons to he printed I November 1994 k 27-1 House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Online. Copyright (c) 2007 ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. 2 FIFTH REPORT FROM The Treasury and Civil Service Committee is appointed under S.O. No. 130 to examine the expendi- ture, administration and policy of the Treasury and the Office of Public Ser\'ice and Science (but exclud- ing the Office of Science and Technology and the drafting of bills by the Parliamentary Counsel Office), the Board of Customs and Excise and the Board of the inland Revenue. The Committee consists of a maximum of eleven members, of whom the quorum is three. Unless the House otherwise orders, all Members nominated to the Committee continue to be members of the Committee for the remainder of the Parliament. The Committee has power: (a) to send for j>ersons, papers and records, to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House, to adjourn from place to place, and to report from time to time; (b) to appoint specialist advisers either to supply information which is not readily available or elucidate matters of complexity within the Committee's order of reference; (c) to communicate to any other such committee and to the Committee of Public Accounts their evidence and any other documents relating to matters of common interest; (d) to meet concurrently with any other such committee for the purposes of deliberating, taking evidence or considering draft reports.
    [Show full text]
  • Club Cultures Music, Media and Subcultural Capital SARAH THORNTON Polity
    Club Cultures Music, Media and Subcultural Capital SARAH THORNTON Polity 2 Copyright © Sarah Thornton 1995 The right of Sarah Thornton to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in 1995 by Polity Press in association with Blackwell Publishers Ltd. Reprinted 1996, 1997, 2001 Transferred to digital print 2003 Editorial office: Polity Press 65 Bridge Street Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK Marketing and production: Blackwell Publishers Ltd 108 Cowley Road Oxford OX4 1JF, UK All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any 3 form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. ISBN: 978-0-7456-6880-2 (Multi-user ebook) A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Typeset in 10.5 on 12.5 pt Palatino by Best-set Typesetter Ltd, Hong Kong Printed and bound in Great Britain by Marston Lindsay Ross International
    [Show full text]
  • Boxer Handsome; a Novel and Critical Study of Representations of Masculinities in Modern Literature
    Boxer Handsome; a novel and critical study of representations of masculinities in modern literature. Anna Whitwham Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Royal Holloway, University of London 2014 1 Declaration of Authorship I, Anna Whitwham, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: Anna Whitwham Date: 31/08/2013 2 Acknowledgments A very special thank you to my supervisors, Andrew Motion and Robert Hampson, for all their invaluable support and guidance throughout my PhD. I would also like to thank my agent, Simon Trewin for believing in my writing. I am very grateful to Chatto &Windus for publishing my novel to my editor, Parisa Ebrahimi. 3 Abstract This thesis is a study of modern masculinities as represented in both fiction and non–fiction. It is explored through a novel, Boxer Handsome and through a critical essay. The critical essay will explore working class masculinity through an analysis of 1950s fiction, cinematic representations and factual accounts of boxers and gangsters and the performance of masculinity within sub-cultural groups. I will look at how representations of masculinity are performed within specific sub-cultural groups of men and the way language is formed as a response to social and cultural experience. The thesis will be separated into four chapters: Chapter 1. Post-1950s British fiction and cinema; Chapter 2. Fictional and factual accounts of boxers; Chapter 3. Gangsters and Violence, and Chapter 4. Representations of women in some of these cultures.
    [Show full text]
  • Repeat-The-Beat: Industries, Genres and Citizenships in Dance Music Magazines Repeat-The-Beat: Iii
    Repeat-The-Beat: Industries, Genres and Citizenships in Dance Music Magazines Christy Elizabeth Newman This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Communication Studies at Murdoch University 1997 Repeat-The-Beat: i Declaration I declare that this dissertation is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary educational institution. ____________________ Christy Elizabeth Newman Repeat-The-Beat: ii Copyright License Permission to copy all or part of this thesis for study and research purposes is hereby granted. 1. Signed Christy Elizabeth Newman Date: November 3, 1997 2. Title of Thesis:Repeat-the-Beat: Industries, Genres and Citizenships in Dance Music Magazines Repeat-The-Beat: iii Abstract This thesis examines a particular cultural object: dance music magazines. It explores the co-imbrication of the magazines with dance music and considers how a reconfiguration of the field of genre theory can help to dismantle the generic separations of ‘textual’ and ‘industrial’ approaches to cultural objects. The main argument of the thesis is as follows. The magazine industries produce an object of cultural exchange which is made commercially viable through a narrowing of its target audiences. These audiences arise in the space created by the dance music industries’ negotiation of an imagined contest between 'underground' authenticity and 'mainstream' productivity. In turn, dance music magazines produce a powerfully exclusive space for the communication networks of the dance music genre by capitalising on the desire to stabilise genre and therefore taking up generic instability as a positive youth marketing strategy.
    [Show full text]
  • Mediated Music Makers. Constructing Author Images in Popular Music
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto Laura Ahonen Mediated music makers Constructing author images in popular music Academic dissertation to be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki in auditorium XII, on the 10th of November, 2007 at 10 o’clock. Laura Ahonen Mediated music makers Constructing author images in popular music Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology Publ. 16. © Laura Ahonen Layout: Tiina Kaarela, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies ISBN 978-952-99945-0-2 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-10-4117-4 (PDF) Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology Publ. 16. ISSN 0785-2746. Contents Acknowledgements. 9 INTRODUCTION – UNRAVELLING MUSICAL AUTHORSHIP. 11 Background – On authorship in popular music. 13 Underlying themes and leading ideas – The author and the work. 15 Theoretical framework – Constructing the image. 17 Specifying the image types – Presented, mediated, compiled. 18 Research material – Media texts and online sources . 22 Methodology – Social constructions and discursive readings. 24 Context and focus – Defining the object of study. 26 Research questions, aims and execution – On the work at hand. 28 I STARRING THE AUTHOR – IN THE SPOTLIGHT AND UNDERGROUND . 31 1. The author effect – Tracking down the source. .32 The author as the point of origin. 32 Authoring identities and celebrity signs. 33 Tracing back the Romantic impact . 35 Leading the way – The case of Björk . 37 Media texts and present-day myths. .39 Pieces of stardom. .40 Single authors with distinct features . 42 Between nature and technology . 45 The taskmaster and her crew.
    [Show full text]
  • Proponents of Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom from 1950 to 2017
    DOI 10.14746/ssp.2017.4.3 Omelian TARNAVSKYI Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Ukraine Proponents of Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom from 1950 to 2017 Abstract: The author of this article explores the issues of the Proponents of Euroscep- ticism in the UK from 1950 to 2017. The researcher claims that Winston Churchill was the first Eurosceptic Prime Minister. The author believes that Euroscepticism is not related to any political party, but is a non-party phenomenon, not linked to a par- ticular ideology. However, the researcher concludes that the biggest number of Euro- sceptics in the UK can be found among the Conservatives. In addition, in his study, the author identifies the main theorist of contemporary British Euroscepticism as well as the moderate and radical types of Euroscepticism. Key words: European Union, Euroscepticism, Brexit he idea of a united Europe gained special significance and was ac- Ttively discussed in the academic and political circles of Europe after the Second World War. In spite of enthusiasts, this idea also attracted sceptics and opponents. The British were the most sceptical politicians regarding European integration processes. Therefore, the aim of this arti- cle is to identify the adherents of Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom between 1950 and 2017 and to study the ideological foundations of their Eurosceptic positions. The main methods applied in this study are histori- cal and comparative methods as well as analysis. The author investigates the problem taking into consideration the positions of the leaders of the government, ruling parties and opposition in the UK, so an institutional approach is fundamental in this study.
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix: “Ideology, Grandstanding, and Strategic Party Disloyalty in the British Parliament”
    Appendix: \Ideology, Grandstanding, and Strategic Party Disloyalty in the British Parliament" August 8, 2017 Appendix Table of Contents • Appendix A: Wordscores Estimation of Ideology • Appendix B: MP Membership in Ideological Groups • Appendix C: Rebellion on Different Types of Divisions • Appendix D: Models of Rebellion on Government Sponsored Bills Only • Appendix E: Differences in Labour Party Rebellion Following Leadership Change • Appendix F: List of Party Switchers • Appendix G: Discussion of Empirical Model Appendix A: Wordscores Estimation of Ideology This Appendix describes our method for ideologically scaling British MPs using their speeches on the welfare state, which were originally produced for a separate study on welfare reform (O'Grady, 2017). We cover (i) data collection, (ii) estimation, (iii) raw results, and (iv) validity checks. The resulting scales turn out to be highly valid, and provide an excellent guide to MPs' ideologies using data that is completely separate to the voting data that forms the bulk of the evidence in our paper. A1: Collection of Speech Data Speeches come from an original collection of every speech made about issues related to welfare in the House of Commons from 1987-2007, covering the period over which the Labour party moved 1 to the center under Tony Blair, adopted and enacted policies of welfare reform, and won office at the expense of the Conservatives. Restricting the speeches to a single issue area is useful for estimating ideologies because with multiple topics there is a danger of conflating genuine extremism (a tendency to speak in extreme ways) with a tendency or requirement to talk a lot about topics that are relatively extreme to begin with (Lauderdale and Herzog, 2016).
    [Show full text]
  • Time of Judgement: Vampire. Gehenna: the Final Night
    A Race Against Armageddon For millennia, vampires have fed on the living, hidden in the shadows of mortal society. Legends say the undead descend from Caine, the first murderer portrayed in the Bible, who passed on his curse through his blood. Those same legends speak of a final reckoning, when Caine and his mad children will rise from slumber and consume all the undead. Vampires call this time Gehenna. For the vampire Beckett, a researcher among the undead, it means one last shot at understanding the mysteries of the get of Caine—and at outrunning his own sins. Vampire: Gehenna, the Final Night is the first act of the Time of Judgment, telling the story of a wide-ranging Armageddon among the supernatural entities of the World of Darkness®. Act One of Three dark fantasy ISBN 1-58846-855-0 $7.99 U.S WW11910 A Race Against Armageddon For millennia, vampires have fed on the living, hidden in the shadows of mortal society. Legends say the undead descend from Caine, the first murderer portrayed in the Bible, who passed on his curse through his blood. Those same legends speak of a final reckoning, when Caine and his mad children will rise from slumber and consume all the undead. Vampires call this time Gehenna. For the vampire Beckett, a researcher among the undead, it means one last shot at understanding the mysteries of the get of Caine—and at outrunning his own sins. Vampire: Gehenna, the Final Night is the first act of the Time of Judgment, telling the story of a wide-ranging Armageddon among the supernatural entities of the World of Darkness®.
    [Show full text]