Hard Drug Chronicles

From Cocaine, that most troubling and fascinating of substances; through Speed, an oft demonized and misunderstood drug and on to Heroin, long seen as the most 'literary' of narcotics - the contributors to this all-new original anthology reveal that those who partake are forever changed, but the price of paradise is often steep.The Cocaine Chronicles: that most troubling and fascinating of substances is the subject, the subtext, the whys and whereofs in this collection of original short stories that are funny and harrowing, sad and scary, but at all times riveting. In this bold anthology by a cross-section of today's most thought-provoking writers, we meet the casual sniffers, the heavy users, the dealers, the victims and the unsuspecting victims - hysterical romps, tragic characters and unfathomable lows - rendering cocaine a drug that is anything but glamorous.The Speed Chronicles - Deprived of the ingrained romantic mysticism of the opiate or the cosmopolitan chic of cocaine, there is no sympathy for this devil. Speed - crystal meth, amphetamines, Dexedrine, Benzedrine, Adderall; crank, spizz, chickenscratch, oblivious marching powder, the go-fast - twice the productivity at half the cost, and equal opportunity for all. It feels so good and hurts so bad. The first contemporary collection of all new literary short fiction on the drug from an array of today's most compelling and respected authors. These are no stereotypical tales of tweakers - the element of crime and the bleary-eyed, shaky zombies at dawn are here right alongside heart-wrenching narratives of everyday people, good intentions gone terribly awry and dreams going up in flames.The Heroin Chronicles - That most "literary" of narcotics - the enigmatic opium poppy and its various derivatives - and as these stories reveal, those who partake of the sacred flower are forever changed, but the price of paradise is often steep: overdose, hepatitis C, degradation and self-destruction. The editor, Jerry Stahl, himself a recovering addict with long-term sobriety, has assembled an impressive array of writers to create this 'encyclopedia of bad behaviour.' Indeed, these tales of chasing the dragon, with corollaries often violent and savage, will satisfy devotees of noir fiction and outsider art alike.The Hard Drug Chronicles runs to over 700 pages and contains more than 40 all new stories from Lee Child, Jerry Stahl, Ken Bruen, Laura Lippman, Nina Revoyr, James Franco, Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, Megan Abbott, James Greer, Tao Lin, Joseph Mattson, Eric Bogosian, Gary Phillips and Jervey Tervalon.CONTENTS - COCAINETen Keys - Lee ChildThe Crack Cocaine Diet - Laura LippmanWhite Irish - Ken BruenBeneficent Diversions from the Crackdkins Diet - Donnell AlexanderPoinciana - Susan StraightThe Screenwriter - James BrownTwilight of the Stooges - Jerry StahlChemistry - Robert WardShame - Kerry E. WestViki, Flash, and the Pied-Piper of Shoebies - Deborah VankinGolden Pacific - Nina RevoyrSentimental Value - Manuel RamosJust Surviving Another Day - Detrice JonesA.K.A. Moises Rockafella - Emory Holmes IICamaro Blue - Bill MoodyServing Monster - Jervey TervalonDisco Zombies - Gary PhillipsCONTENTS - SPEEDHow to Go to Dinner With a Brother On Drugs - Natalie DiazWar Cry - Sherman AlexieBad - Jerry StahlLabiodental Fricative - Scott PhillipsOsito - Kenji JasperAmp is the First Word in Amphetamine - Joseph MattsonAddiction - James FrancoWheelbarrow Kings - Jess WalterTips 'n' Things by Elayne - Beth LisickPissing in Perpetuity - Rose Bunch51 Hours - Tao LinEverything I Want - Megan AbbottThe Speed of Things - James GreerNo Matter How Beautifully It Stings - William T. VollmannCONTENTS - HEROINFragments of Joe - Tony O'NeillHot for the Shot - Sophia LangdonDos Mac + The Jones - Nathan LarsonPossible Side Effects - Jerry StahlGoing Down - L.Z. HansenBaby I Need to See A Man About A Duck - Michael AlboGodhead - Eric BogosianGift Horse - Jervey TervalonGhost Town Lydia LunchThe Monster - John AlbertBlack Caesar's Gold - Gary PhillipsSunshine for Adrienne - Antonia CranePoppy Love - Ava Stander