Ecstasy Club is a novel saturated in all of the sex, hardcore drugs and half-formed, quasi-mysticism
of the rave sub-culture from which it draws its inspiration. The story follows a small
group of young
ravers, led by self-styled, self-proclaimed guru George Thomas Duncan, a British expatriate, as they set up shop in an abandoned factory in Oakland, in the San Francisco Bay area. Duncan believes that humanity is on the cusp of an evolutionary shift from individual, isolated minds to a single group-mind and intends to use raves as the catalyst to bring about this shift.
The ravers get their club up and running and stage a series of parties in quick succession, trying to reach the goal Duncan has placed before them. But problems begin to arise before too long. Duncan becomes convinced that an outside influence is attempting to sabotage their efforts and places the blame on E.T. Harman, the head of a local new age group known as the Cosmotologists. This polarizes the group, with those loyal to Duncan harkening to him, and others to another member, Zach Levi, who has begun to grow tired of Duncan's egomania. Events take on an otherworldly tone. During one of their raves a strange explosion of energy occurs inside the building, causing all the characters to have bizarre visions. From this point on Duncan is certain the Cosmotologists are actively engaged in psychic warfare against the group. This leads to an eventual kidnapping and confrontation with E.T. Harman himself.
What makes this book such an enjoyable read is the air of lurking fear and uncertainty. The characters are never sure, just as the reader is, by extension, never sure, whether they are experiencing actual manifestations of the supernatural or if they are simply at the mercy of their own drug-fogged, paranoid imaginations.