Adrenaline (novel)

Adrenaline is the first novel written by James Robert Baker (1946–1997), an American author of sharply satirical, predominantly gay-themed transgressional fiction.[4][5][6]

Adrenaline
First edition
AuthorJames Robert Baker under the pseudonym James Dillinger
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SubjectGay love, drug use, AIDS, homophobia, hypocrisy of organized religion
GenreGay erotic noir thriller[1]
PublisherSignet Books/New American Library (1985), Plume (1988), Alyson Books (2000)[2][3]
Publication date
1985
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages302
ISBN0-451-13563-6 (Signet)
ISBN 1-555-83565-1 (Alyson Books; reprint)
OCLC12303275
Followed byFuel-Injected Dreams 

History

After graduating from UCLA, he began his career as a screenwriter, but became disillusioned and started writing novels instead.[7] After the controversy surrounding publication of his novel, Tim and Pete, he faced increasing difficulty having his work published.[8]

Adrenaline was published in 1985 under the pseudonym James Dillinger.[9] A story of two gay fugitive lovers on the run, it presaged the satire and drug fueled violence so prominent in his later books.[10] Here Baker began developing the themes that dominated his following works: anarchy; angry and somewhat paranoid gay men; the dark underside of Los Angeles, juxtaposed with its sunny outward image;[11] the hypocrisy of organized religion; anonymous sex and its implications in the age of AIDS; and homophobia and the oppression of gays in a Republican-dominated America.[12][13][14] Its plot device of underdog characters forced into flight due to circumstances beyond their control was one Baker explored in all of his subsequent work.

Plot summary

A native Californian, his work is set almost entirely in Southern California, and the book is about two "lusty" gay lovers from Los Angeles named Nick and Jeff who at the beginning of the novel were having passionate sex when two "wildly homophobic cops" break in on them.[1][15] They fight back and while trying to defend themselves, they take one cop as hostage.[15] A SWAT team shows up and accidentally kills the cop hostage and blames the two lovers.[15] After that incident the two are on the run from the authorities throughout Los Angeles on the way to Mexico.[16]

Reviews

Planet Out noted the book as an "unapologetic jackhammer of anti-right, anti-homophobe, anti-corporate invective, despised by polite gays, embraced by activist queers, and garnered both hostile reviews and exuberant word-of-mouth."[1] LaBlonte noted it "set the teeth of early AIDS activists on edge."[1] The Los Angeles Times noted it as "over-the-top satire enthusiastically blending humor with rage and violence".[17] James noted "Baker had many issues with the world at large, homophobic cops and preachers along with closeted Hollywood moguls, in particular, and he was able to find satisfaction in his novels that he could not find in real life" stemming from "pent up anger at the homophobic America at elected Ronald Reagan twice and sat by clucking their teeth while so many gay men died of AIDS."[15] Gay Community News noted "he has an eye for the absurd, the quixotic, and the downright existential in pop culture".[3]

Subsequent works

The modest success of the novel encouraged him to devote himself to what have become his best known works, Fuel-Injected Dreams (a novel revolving around a character loosely based on record producer Phil Spector)[6] and Boy Wonder.[18][19] Though he garnered some fame for his books Fuel-Injected Dreams and Boy Wonder, according to his life partner the move to more mainstream novels instead of writing the fiction he wanted to create were a contributing factor in his suicide.

Posthumously, Baker's work has achieved cult status in the years since his death, and two additional novels have been posthumously published.[1][20]

As of 2006, first editions of Adrenaline, Boy Wonder, Fuel-Injected Dreams, and Tim and Pete have become collector's items and command high prices at rare book stores.[21][22][23] First-edition copies of his earlier works have also become collector's items.

References
  1. Labonté, Richard (2000). "Testosterone and Adrenaline by James Robert Baker". Planet Out Book Reviews. Archived from the original on February 23, 2001. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  2. "Out". Vol. 9 no. 5. Here Publishing. November 2000. p. 55. ISSN 1062-7928. Retrieved June 2, 2019. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. Baker, James Robert, JABberwocky Literary Agency, 2002.
  4. "Robertson's official Baker website". Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  5. "Beat Writers". April 30, 2005. Archived from the original on October 19, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  6. Rivenburg, Roy (April 8, 1993). "He's Angry, Raunchy and Unapologetic". Los Angeles Times. p. E-1. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  7. Lentz, Harris M. (1998). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1997: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-0460-4..
  8. "Obituaries:Robert Baker, Satirical Novelist, 50". The New York Times. November 24, 1997. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  9. "James R. Baker, writer". The Palm Beach Post. November 25, 1997. p. 3B. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  10. Perry, Joel (October 10, 2000). "Pumped Fiction: The newest pedal-to-the-metal novel by James Robert Baker is, sadly, his last". The Advocate. Here Publishing. p. 73. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  11. Dines, Martin (Fall 2007). "From Subterranean to Suburban: The Landscapes of Gay Outlaw Writing". American Studies Journal (50). ISSN 1433-5239. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  12. Wharton, Greg (2000). "Testosterone". 3AMmagazine. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  13. "James Robert Baker". Daily Variety. December 10, 1997. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  14. Levy, Dan (June 20, 1993). "Up-Front or Undercover?". Sunday Review. San Francisco Chronicle. p. 9.
  15. Chester, James B. (February 17, 2014). "Adrenaline by James Robert Baker". James Reads Books. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  16. Gunn, Drewey Wayne (2005). The Gay Male Sleuth in Print and Film: A History and Annotated Bibliography. Scarecrow Press. pp. 44–6, 305. ISBN 0-8108-5681-6.
  17. Oliver, Myrna (November 15, 1997). "James Robert Baker; Satiric Novelist, Cult Filmmaker". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  18. Luke, Gary (April 30, 1993). "Proto-Punk Brutalism Meets Semi-Ironic Hyper-Romanticism: James Robert Baker's Out-rage-ous Humor". Lambda Book Report. Vol. 3 no. 9. p. 12.
  19. Bell, Madison (May 4, 1986). "Paperbacks; Psychopathorama". The New York Times. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  20. Willis, Paul J. (November 2000). "Testosterone". Forward Magazine. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  21. "Alibris Rare Book Search Engine". Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  22. "Biblio Rare Book Search Engine". Retrieved June 2, 2019.
  23. Young, J. (August 17, 1995). "Bob's Head Soup". Herald Sun. Australia.
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