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Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Look at Lifestyle and Murder
Review: I certainly entered a world in which I've never been when I opened "Disco Bloodbath." I was drawn to this book after I saw a documentary on the "club kid" murder of Angel Melendez by flamboyent club promoter Michael Alig. Although the title of the book implies that it is a typical true crime book that thoroughly covers the murder and aftermath, it is actually a look at the club kid lifestyle and all the drugs and Max Factor that went with it.Former club kid and "celebutante" James St. James gives the reader a disturbing look at life as a K junkie and (in Alig's case) heroine fiend. Whether it be tearing up floor boards for
lost drugs (of course, it must have fallen into the floor boards!) or Alig asking James if he could stitch up an artery as Alig (desperate without a needle) planned to slash open his wrist in order to push his heroine into his vein, James' account is quite revealing. Except for the introduction and the last few chapters (which, to me, seemed a bit rushed) the murder seems to take a back seat to the everyday drug-infested mess of the club kid scene. Sometimes, I found it difficult to follow due to the many characters who are introduced (although, I imagine there are many more people James could have included in his account). Photos would have been a welcomed addition, but I understand why the author did not include any. Some information is missing (i.e. how Alig was finally arrested and Alig's official confession--the confession of partner-in-crime Freeze is included). The lesson James learns from his experience is that "you CAN'T just make up your own rules. And you CAN'T just live in your own little world." ......OK. Still, this book is a must have for those (like myself) who found themselves fascinated by the club kid murder. It's a wonder James was able to remember those days so clearly and was able to survive with his brain and sense of morality intact to write his account. I have a feeling Alig will be writing his own account and, once out of prison, will be making movies somewhere. That's justice for you.
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Summary: Welcome to Clubland
Review: I found Disco Bloodbath to be a perfectly accurate desciption of club life. Although the book, in the beginning, seems to be that of an odd murder mystery, it turns out to be a another story entirely. It tells of homosexuality, clubs, drugs, and all the little humorous and not so humorous things that go with them. I myself am a Club Kid and at the time I read this book I was far into the third trimester of pregnancy. It brought me back to the world I missed so much with the decriptive tellings of how things are in Clubland. I have recommended this book to every Club Kid I know and a few people who are not in the club scene. Everyone that has read it has come back raving about whether or not there is a sequel to this tale. Sadly there is none that I know of. In conclusion, I say that this book is a must read for anyone who is in the club scene or just curious about what really goes on there.
Rating:
Summary: FAAAAAABULOUS DARLING
Review: I found the book, as well as the author to be fabulous. James St. James has a rare and shining quality to his writing that I adored. One can so easily imagine themselves absorbed into the scene described so brilliantly by Mr. St. James. It made me want to spike and dye my hair, put on a feather boa and ruby slippers and party, girl, party. This book has it all, comedy, tragedy, sex, drugs and rock n roll. Not to mention brazen and shameless name dropping. The descriptions are hysterically funny while at the same time conveying deeper meaning. This is one of the best books I've read this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Back In The Day...
Review: I haen't read the book yet, but I met James St. James, Alig, Keoki, Julie Jewels, Bella Bolski, The It Twins and others back in 1988 and 1989. I was only 17 back then. My friends and I partied at the The World, Red Zone, Mars and numerous outlaw and after hour parties. Drugs were never in short supply. By the time Michael got really big, I'd foregone that clubkid scene for more docile (!!) hiphop shindigs.
Can't wait to read the book and see the movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Biased story, Clubland is much better
Review: I have read the Clubland, written by a Village Voice journalist, and believe it to be much more accurate. The fact that St.James is a part of this scene makes his point of view vulnarable to biased opinions, especially considering his not-so-innocent ways himself. Clubland also puts the story in a bigger picture and connects the dots much better. I'd prefer Clubland any second over this book (I have no affiliation to either book's author, publisher, etc). One important thing is that the subject of both books is (same subject) very interesting and anybody who's been in NYC or been to a club in the 80s and 90s should read one of these books (Clubland is a much better read, too)..
Rating:
Summary: Truly gruesome
Review: James St Jame's book "Disco Bloodbath" is THE best anti-drugs message I have EVER come across. Intelligently (although slightly pretentiously) written with an eye to gruesome detail. After reading this, the mere thought of taking any form of recreational drugs repulses me.
Rating:
Summary: Hellooooo Special K-itty!
Review: James St. James, do not listen to those negative naysayers who have nothing but nasty things to say about your book. I absolutely love it! Your book gives all of us who weren't there a colorful and vivid glimpse at the mess you all made and let me tell you, it had me rolling with laughter! I just watched Party Monster again and James, you are much cuter than Michael anyday! You are Beautiful! And no matter how shocking and outrageous your fellow club kids were, nobody had your cleverness and talent to live to tell about it. You have left your legacy...And you didn't have to kill anyone to do it!
Rating: 
Summary: BURN BABY BURN, IT'S A DISCO INFERNO
Review: James St. James. My darling, I must say when one writes a juicy "insider" story of the pseudo rich and famous (but in reality troubled and rather tawdry), one tends to build themselves up into a super hero of pristine proportions. May I say I found this modern day Aesop's nonfictional fable to be just the opposite? This bizarre book, not at all for the squeamish, is written by one who is unafraid to bare himself along as an active participant in freakdom along with the enormous cast of "club kid" characters. Sex, drugs, rock and roll, as well as a strange living autopsy cannot begin to explain what you will find between the pages as you read about how those 80's hometown disco drug addicted divas really lived. There is another world outside the "Wall Street" mentality which personified the 1980's and it's dark and seamy and unbelievable to the middle American eye. You must have the gumption to pay strict attention to the flow of the story, which occasionally requires backing up a few paragraphs. When James loses his place, so do we. It is sometimes diffcult to follow his ramblings, but if the effort is made, suddenly the book opens up into a story with a moral. It's a definite contender for the "This is your brain on drugs" Bible. James St. James was an eyewitness to the downfall of a counter culture, King Alig, and fellow drug addicts who actually felt they were part of something important until it overdosed on itself. Many of the anecdotes are tragically hilarious as these stumblebums hook new sources for money and media hype, as well as the stalkings of those perceived as "the beautiful people." Interesting as well, the manner in which he lays out the ease in which a young kid with low self esteem can be lured into a new family situation all in the name of "belonging." He is self effacing by disguising himself in a self important manner as he tells the story of the murder, and develops into a psychotic Alice who has fallen into a deep hole. He winks at us, yet it seems a desperate gesture....
Rating:
Summary: Biased story, Clubland is much better
Review: This story starts off with the murder of Angel Melendez, a New York club kid known for dressing as an angel, cmplete with wings. Angel's murderers Michael Alig and his sidekick Freeze are gruesome about it, leaving Angel in their apartment's bathtub for a few days and even throw a party, during which guests complain about the smell. The rest of the story is told in a manner that leads up to this murder -- how Michael is the faaaabulous but monstrously selfish leader of the 1990s New York "Club Kid" movement, and James St. Jmes is his best friend whom he treats like dirt as they party and do drugs with abandon. Michael regularly makes the gossip columns of the Village Voice, and is patted on the head by the police for commiting crimes. As James put it, nobody ever blamed Dorothy for the double witch homicides in The Wizard of Oz because she was Judy Garland, for goodness sake, and the studio made her take diet drugs, poor thing... But things have to come to a head and so they do ...... I like the irony in that the book has two rather embarrassing references to Macauley Culkin, because he has decided to portray Micael Alig in the movie version, aptly titled Party Monster!
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