Dreamseller (Hardcover)

~ Brandon Novak (Author)
Key Phrases: sean williams, sports elite, ryan dunn, Powell Peralta, Tuerk House, Bucky Lasek (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

As a teen, Novak joined the premiere skateboarding team and toured the world. Unfortunately, he also indulged in "recreational" drug use that led to debilitating heroin addiction and the abandonment of his career. Eventually repudiating the abject life of a junkie, he entered rehab and subsequently recovered with the help of fellow star skateboarder Bam Margera. This would be most powerful for an audience weaned on the X-Games; also a forthcoming film of the same name.—Lynne Maxwell
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Review

As a teen, Novak joined the premiere skateboarding team and toured the world. Unfortunately, he also indulged in "recreational" drug use that led to debilitating heroin addiction and the abandonment of his career. Eventually repudiating the abject life of a junkie, he entered rehab and subsequently recovered with the help of fellow star skateboarder Bam Margera. This would be most powerful for an audience weaned on the X-Games; also a forthcoming film of the same name. --Library Journal

Pro skateboarder loses everything to drugs, sees little light at the end of the tunnel afterward.Readers will learn more about Novak's impressive skateboarding career in the '90s by reading Tony Hawk's foreword than by reading the book itself. This is an addiction memoir, and the genre's format is by now practically set in stone: modern-day opener into which rude reality intrudes, then flashback to start of life of addiction, leading up to getting clean and ultimately vindication. While Novak and co-author Frantz don't stint on the stock scenarios, they break the mold by not pretending that a junkie's chaotic life can or should be represented in such a cut-and-dried fashion. Novak begins on August 11, 2003: "I am a twenty-five-year-old junkie, sleeping in an abandoned garage in one of the worst parts of Baltimore City." By the end of that day, he has hustled money from his mother, stolen furniture and turned a trick with a man twice his age to get his fix. The narrative settles into a rhythm after the recidivist Novak is checked into detox by a sponsor of nearly limitless patience. Following that, his account only occasionally darts backward into a happier youth, when he was touring the world as part of the famous Powell Peralta team, skating with the likes of Hawk, Buck Lasek and Steve Caballero. He served as a courier for a dealer while still on the team and crawled into the depths from there. The story of his inveterate addiction is only competently delivered, with Novak and Frantz providing reams of unnatural-sounding dialogue for the totemic figures - understanding counselor, abused mother, tough guardian-angel fellow junkie - who try to halt his slide into self-destruction. The book's saving grace is the conclusion, which rejects the easy self-congratulation of too many addiction memoirs in favor of a closing memento mori.Dutifully constructed and sometimes surprising, but only occasionally insightful. (Kirkus Reviews) --Kirkus Reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Citadel Press (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806530030
• ISBN-13: 978-0806530031
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #365,005 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall an interesting read, but not the whole story., October 13, 2008

By	K Smith - See all my reviews

Overall this was a great read, and thank god this wasn't another 'junkie chic' book pretending to warn of the pitfalls of drugs while bragging about the all the 'awesome' things the author's done despite/while on drugs. Novak's not afraid to get into the ugly, gritty details of being a drug addict and the desperate things he did as an addict - I defy anyone to not have their jaw drop at least once when they read this book.

Considering that after the early promise Novak showed as a skateboarder, he ended up famous essentially for being part of Bam Margera's crew, it's really interesting to read this book and get a better grasp of what Novak is like as a person and not just as an extension of Bam. (Although I have to admit, Novak's brief description of Bam and his friendship in the book is the only thing in about ten years that's made me feel sorry for Bam. It's an eye-opener.)

Having listened to Novak on the radio his voice really comes through in the writing - you can tell in certain places things are phrased exactly as he speaks in real life, so the book doesn't appear to have been overly ghost-written by his co-writer. In writing, he seems to have more intelligence (although that could be Frantz's contribution) than comes across from his radio/tv appearances.

My only complaint about this book is that those with more than a passing familiarity with his life know there is a *lot* missing from this book - it's essentially a collection of stories about his journey from skateboarder to junkie to rehab to ...(I won't spoil the end) - we're not getting the whole story. His father, for one, who he has cited as a huge influence over how his life ended up is completely missing in the text (for legal reasons, I assume). The book feels a little disjointed - partly from the way it was written (swapping back and forward between different times and leaving some fairly key parts of his life out), and partly because Novak kind of writes like an outsider looking in on his life - he seems to lack insight in a lot of passages. (I assume he was writing them from the perspective he had when he was on dope, but it would be interesting for him to have said if he still has the same perspective when he's clean).

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Drugs are not worth doing., January 13, 2009

By	Justin Hardin "Mariachi" (Knoxville, Tn) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Brandon Novak is a former professional skateboarder with that had a bright future filled with promise and success. Growing up Brandon had all the natural talent to become one of the greats but he threw it all away for greed and drugs. I am a former heroin addict and I can tell you I've heard many stories similar to Brandon's. This book is well written and very witty but it does lack a lot of the story it's almost as if Brandon wrote the story but not entirely the truth or the whole story.

Novak gives some gritty details about being a junkie that you would mostly expect from a drug memoir. The self loathing and deprecating acts that one will do to get the next fix. He speaks of the lonely streets and the once loving family that has nothing to do with him. What you mostly learn is that like most addicts Brandon Novak is a selfish person. Brandon's life follows the predictable patterns of most junkies which entails a string of rehabs and string of rap sheets but that's all part of the experience of those that choose this life. The one thing you have to give him credit for is the fact that he doesn't ask anyone to look up to him and he doesn't expect any praise.

If you're looking for a whole lot on Bam's crew and how Novak fits in you won't really find it here. What you will learn is that behind the scenes Bam has a loving family and they all care about Brandon but when the cameras are on Novak is always the punch line. Bam wants to help Brandon to get clean but Brandon is basically kept around for amusement value as the loveable f-up that everyone likes to keep around to make them feel better about themselves. This book for me really fell short on what's most important which is someone bettering themselves from addiction. There really is no moral to the story in this book. It's a bunch of stories strung together punctuated by a couple of praises to the lord and then it ends. If you are looking for absolution or bright spot at the end of this book you won't find it but if you want a book that shows you how bad you shouldn't want to do drugs then read this. Brandon Novak is not someone to be admired but in the end he is someone that you can learn from.

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, November 7, 2009

By	Spenser Cattin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dreamseller (Paperback)

This is probably the best autobiography I've ever read. It shows just how low a human can get and it shows a textbook case of addiction, from beers on the weekend to pot every once in a while all the way through heroin. It should probably be read in schools.