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Dionysus Logged Out

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I was searching for info re Dionysus the god when I came across the website for "Dionysus Logged Out" (www.dionysusloggedout.com). The blurb piqued my curiosity so I read the excerpt and knew I had to order a copy of the book so I'd find out what happened next. Though I was not even aware of the existence of BBS's back in the eighties, I could still relate to this book because I was into D&D back then, owned a Commodore 64, and would later become even more of a geek when I could finally afford a PC and get on to the Internet.

And even though I lived in New York City, not the suburbs of California, reading this book brought back a lot of memories from when I was a teenager (both good and bad). It really made the eighties live again for me, and to my surprise I found that I actually wanted, and maybe even needed, to return to that bittersweet time in my life, if only for a little while. This book helped me do that, in a way that was both pleasant and painful.

But I also consider this a great book for more objective reasons. It's extremely well-written, and the characters really come to life, not just toward the middle of the book, but in the first 10 pages. I know this is a cliche but once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. I read the whole thing in one sitting, and when I got to the end I turned back to the first page and started reading it again. I highly recommend this book, and I will look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

Dionysus Logged Out
By James David King
Review by Pi Ware

James David King's debut novel, Dionysus Logged Out, is a compelling and heart-breaking work of fiction. It renders all the desperation, emptiness and profound sexual desire of our teenage years so faithfully that the reader can't help but feel transported back, body and soul, to those awkward years. King's book is set in the ChatNet world of the 1986. (ChatNet is one of the world's first chatrooms--the internet before there was an internet.) The protagonist is Calvin Hildebrandt, a teenage computer geek whose ChatNet handle, Iron Man, represents the invincible superhero his childhood imagination wishes he could be. Calvin's troubles begin when his best friend and fellow ChatNetter, Gabriel, changes his handle from Spock to Dionysus and starts a seemingly fearless search for deeper meanings and his true self. Calvin, however, is trapped between following his friend across ethical lines (or are they simply boundaries his fear of change have drawn?) and imitating his straight-laced mathematician father. To further complicate matters, Gabriel begins dating Brooke, the goth girl Calvin has fallen for. And then, seemingly out of the blue, Gabriel commits suicide. Calvin's search for the reason, for the "root cause" of his best friend's death, becomes an investigation into what it is to love and what it is to betray.

King's prose is sparse and staccato. It rockets the first person narration through the novel, and the read is fluid, quick and impossible to put down. The characters are vivid and their portrayals strikingly honest. We read with amazement as teenage identities shift, morph, and revert, as the kids themselves reach out to fill their emptiness with sex, drugs, alcohol, or... ChatNet. James David King's vast knowledge of mathematics and computer programming creates a refreshing and rare voice in the protagonist, Calvin, who sees society, nature, relationships-virtually everything he comes into contact with in the outside world-through the Coke bottle glasses of computer programming metaphors. Dionysus Logged Out is not just a successful debut of one of America's bravest new voices in fiction, it's a geeky hovercraft transport to the very darkest part of the soul, and then, grudgingly, gracefully, a human ascent up the mountain of that soul's redemption.

- Pi Ware, writer/director, SOLITUDE, THE ACT

Those who were into Bulletin Board Systems (BBS's) during the 80's and early 90's would enjoy this fictional story about a BBS called ChatNet. The story takes place in the East Bay suburbs of San Francisco (Berkeley, Orinda, Walnut Creek, etc), with the main character narrating the story to his good friend who has obviously passed away, but the reader has to wait to find out what really happened and the answer to that all-important question: WHY? The author takes us through all the emotions of losing something important in a person's life. Like many stereotypical BBSers, the characters are a bit unique. Okay, let's face it, they're geeks! For example, the main character is a mathematical genius who is allowed to leave his high school each day for a course at UC Berkeley. Chances are you knew of one or two people like that in high school. I was an active member of the BBS on which the author bases his story, so forgive me for being a bit biased when I say that this book held my attention throughout and beyond, leaving me with a wish that James David King could write a series of similar books, perhaps following the lives of a few other characters during those years of ups and downs. Then there could be a concluding book in the series, telling the story of a ChatNet reunion, bringing the characters in the series together. How would he write the sequel? Did they grow up to be successful? Could they put the sadness and depression behind them? What happened to their lives when the Internet practically made BBS's obsolete? Unfortunately, I can completely understand why this book may not interest someone who was not into BBS's and computer communications back in the 80's, but for those of us who were, it will definitely leave you thinking about some of your old memories. By the way, I do not personally know the author, so I am not trying to sell the products of a friend.

James David King's Dionysus Logged Out reminded me of the time when our online communities developed from the BBS system-- the first chance for computer geeks to join a larger world of people who shared their interests. This novel about a group of Bay Area folks-- mostly teens, but some older-- struck a real chord for me with its focus on our inability to connect, sometimes even to those closest to us. The characters are vivid and realistic, and for those who remember this time, or want to learn more about it, Dionysus Logged Out is a must read.

An odd combination of high-tech and nostalgia. Whereas writers have long tried to tap into the speculative potential of the internet and virtual reality, this is a book that looks backward to gritty ways in which the internet was already effecting our lives well before the world wide web. None of the glitz of Gibson novels, or movies like Anti-Trust and Hackers; this is the real world of awkward adolescents, sex, drugs, and dialogue, strung together with a pastiche of pop-culture references. In the end though, it ends up being a touching account of the frailty of personal relationships.

Bound to be a cult classic. Since it's sold through an Independent publisher, too, you can have the rare pleasure of reading a book that NONE of your friends have. (And you can get the smug satisfaction of gifting it to those friends who think they know and have read everyting. Have you read the new Neal Stephenson book? That's so 2001, Haven't you heard about King?)

A MUST read if you were a teen in the eighties. And no doubt intriguing for all ages as the characters engage you and draw you into their lives and deep personal ideals and conflicts. Truely addresses the issues of a modern young adult. In fact, as I sit here and think about it, I am thinking it is about time to read it again - read it about 6 months ago for the first time. I am sure I will get even more out of it on the second read.

This book is a must read, both dark and intriguing. If you haven't read it... READ IT!!!!