it's Sunday Morning. I woke up at around 9 something, as I have been for months now - even on the Playa. I picked up the book that I've been reading since Thursday on the Playa. A book call 'The Man Burns Tonight" by Donn Cortez... or should I say, Captain Fun. I can say that because I got the book from Captian Fun himself. He gave it to me while chatting on some tower, sharing a smoke, in a drunken haze called SantaCon. Black Rock City had it's SantaCon on Wednesday. It rivaled many of the local LA SantaCons that I've participated in. We bar-hopped many of the best bars in Black Rock City. It was on the top of one of these bars where I met Captain Fun. We chatted about the random excitement and joys that is Burning Man. He then gave me his just published novel & signed it for me. I do remember giving him one of the last of my custom postcards. I might have even placed proper postage on it. I can't remember because it is around that point when it all became a blur.
So i finished the book this morning. I have to say, it was one of the most fun & exciting books I've ever read. I had a couple issues with the plot, you could say there were a few holes in them, but overall it worked itself out. The thing I enjoyed the most were the characters. The story emphasised the true body of Burning Man, the people - The citizens of Black Rock City. Throughout the novel were interviews of various Burners. Although they are supposed to "fictional" they felt very real. They each had their own personal views of what Burning Man is or means to them. I would find it hard to believe that Captain Fun created all those thoughts & feelings himself, unless he's schizophrenic... which is possible. But in all seriousness Captain Fun was down to earth and... Fun. And so was his character in the book, aptly named, Captain Fun.
The story revolves around a virgin Burner by the name of Dexter Edden, or just Dex. In the beginning he witnesses the violent murder of his boss, who dragged him out to the desert against his own better judgement. He runs for his life away from the killer and gets lost in Black Rock City. He eventually meets & becomes friends with various citizens who decide to help him prove his innocence. "...Dex is wanted by the killer... and by the police."
The book is fast paced and full of wonderful characters. I don't know if the characters were genuinely fleshed out with prose or if my own biased Burner mind was able to fill in the blanks. It didn't matter because all the characters felt very real. It felt like I was really there on the playa. I could see the colorful lights and feel the drying wind. I could also taste the playa in my mouth - Or that could be because I was just there and I havent cleared up completely. Mmmm, playa dust.
Product DescriptionJACK RABBIT SPEAKSA tall figure stands alone, waiting to be engulfed in flames. It is the Burning Man, the giant wooden centerpiece of Nevada's famous weeklong arts festival. Every year, thousands flock to the middle of the desert to push the limits of creativity and outrageousness. Dex Edden is not one of them. A computer programmer, Dex has come to the wild and wooly festival only to please his boss. Out of the blue, he will be a witness to murder.
When a masked visitor enters the RV where Dex and his boss are camped out, Dex's tiny oasis in the middle of the weird and unnerving festival scene is shattered in a moment of blinding violence. Now Dex is wanted by the killer, who fled into the desert -- and by the police. For Dex, survival depends on blending in with the oddballs and eccentrics in an alien landscape. For on the final, fateful night of Burning Man, the flames will rise -- and the masks will come off....--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.
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This book is full of drama but the aothor made things a little bit too obvious. She didn't give the characters a chance to show that they were more than just people looking for love in all the wrong places.
