"We were somewhere around Barstow when the drugs began to take hold." And it was with those words that the work of Hunter S Thompson was introduced to a whole new generation of "Gonzonians". That of course was one of the most memorable lines from the 1998 film, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I first saw the film shortly after it was released on VHS (yes, VHS. The kind you had to rewind before returning, imagine that!), and I instantly fell in love with it. It wasn't long before it was frequently viewed before heading out for a night reckless teenage fun and underage drinking.

It wasn't until 6 months after I first saw the film that I discovered that it was originally a book. I was absolutely ecstatic and immediately hopped in my parents Caravan, and took off to the nearest book store to purchase it. I was absolutely positive that it was going to be a read that would keep me entertained for hours and I couldn't wait. I brought it home and began flying through it as soon as I could. I was not disappointed, it was even more vivid than its on-screen counterpart. I couldn't put it down, not even for a minute, and before I knew it I had read it front to back in just a few hours. Hunter's writings had a way of doing that, it was just something in the way he was able to describe the surroundings and characters that he was writing about that would keep you reading the whole night through. His work had a certain tone to it, an authenticity, which I feel was attributed to the fact that he lived through the characters he was writing about, and vice versa. It's hard to explain, but his work had a very clear feel, and at the same time it was very opaque, incoherent ramblings that at the same time were incredibly lucid. I would read his books and there would be certain lines, or even entire paragraphs, that would have me in awe as I read them, "How in the hell did he think to write about this in that manner, using those words? He could describe the most simple situations or surroundings in such a descriptive and beautiful manner, and that was his brilliance.

It wasn't long before I moved onto more of his writings, Hells Angels, The Rum Diaries, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, etc. The way and manner in which he wrote was groundbreaking for the time. By putting himself directly in the situation or subject that he was writing about brought his books that authenticity and feel that was nearly impossible to achieve with any other author of that era.

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