An Intricate Review

Raoul Duke and his friend/ attorney are on their way to Las Vegas to cover a fabulous story for a sports magazine. With a whole galaxy of drugs in the backseat, it goes without saying that this ‘vacation’ will be aggressively strange. Chasing the American Dream in a drug-addled frenzy, Duke and Gonzo end up in unorthodox situations. Nervous nights and hazy memories and a repeated ingestion of drugs keep the whole plot on end. Duke tries to do cover the story he was assigned to, however gets sidetracked along the way. Together, they stumble around Las Vegas in a harmless, disorderly manner, ruining lives as they go. Duke and Gonzo sit though a Drug Conference, search for the American Dream, and experience hallucinations in the Circus Circus, which turns out the be the most horrific experience. Into the depths of a serious drug and alcohol binge, Gonzo and Duke's perception of American Culture changes, now realizing how depressing and ugly America truly is. Throughout the novel, epiphanies are made, sad realizations take place, and lives are changed forever. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas will leave you shocked, uneasy, and enlightened. So hang on, because it will be one hell of a ride.

1. A Strange Beginning...

An American journalist, Duke, and his Samoan friend/attorney are on their way to cover the fabulous Mint 400 in Las Vegas. As both are completely twisted on a large assortment of drugs and other substances, the ability to recall what is reality and what are hallucinations becomes harder and harder. Speeding through the desert in their Red Shark convertible with the wind screaming and "Sympathy for the Devil" blasting, they spot a hitchhiker in the distance and pick him up. With the upcoming events and the whole galaxy of drugs waiting for them in the trunk, it is undeniable that their endeavors will not go unnoticed, even in crazy Las Vegas, where everything goes.

2. Ugliness and Failure

With heads still full of acid, Duke and his attorney are still speeding through the desert on their way to cover the Mint 400 for a sports magazine. After hours of numerous hallucinations and various flashbacks, they eventually arrive at the Mint Hotel. The strange visions starting to overwhelm them, they quickly leave the hotel to cover the race. Duke attempts to cover the story, but it is a task that proves to be too difficult. Both Duke and Gonzo stumble off to a nearby bar where they regroup their thoughts, drink heavily, think heavily, and take heavy notes.

3. The Circus and Flashing Knives

Already deep into their drug stash, Duke and Gonzo and disoriented, with no recollections of the nights before. Las Vegas is getting uglier and uglier. They are getting the Fear. One afternoon, they go to the Circus Circus, which turns out to be a very bad idea. Mescaline, clowns, acid and trapeze acts do not sit well with the Medulla. When Duke gets back to the hotel from aimless outside wanderings, he finds Gonzo in the bathtub with Jefferson Airplane blasting at top volume, and waving a knife, after ingesting an amazing amount of acid. Gonzo asks to be killed at the climax of the song. Will Duke do it?

"You can turn your back on a person, but never turn your back on a drug, especially when it’s waving a razor sharp hunting knife in your eye"

4. Kill The Body And The Head Will Die!

The decisions to flee Las Vegas came suddenly. The Fear and Terror of the place had mounted substantially. Gonzo informs Duke that he is going to retreat back to California. Duke panics with the horrible realizations that he is alone in Las Vegas, with an amazingly expensive car, complete gone on drugs, no attorney, no cash, and no story for the magazine. On top of that, he has the gigantic hotel bill to deal with. Duke decides to flee as well. As he is about to leave, he receives a telegram from Gonzo. He will return, and has an insane plan...

5. Aww, Mama, Can This Really Be The End?

It is early morning; Duke is alone in the Outskirts of Las Vegas, with a head full of drugs and a decision to flee. Duke sits in a dingy café, with 70 hours of no sleep, carefully planning the escape. He jumps into the Red Shark and immediately pushes the gas so that he is cruising at a comfortable speed of 120 mph. During the journey back to L.A, Duke has a run in with the California Highway Patrol cops; however he is let off with some random babbling. Duke calls Gonzo from a pay phone and gets some sense talked into him. Duke will now have to make his way back to Las Vegas where Gonzo will await him. What will happen with the two of them now reunited? Can Las Vegas handle such weirdness?

6. 'Teeth Like Baseballs, Eyes Like Jellied Fire'

Gonzo will be returning in the late afternoon. In the remaining time, Duke speeds around Las Vegas, in a drug fueled style. He trades in the trustworthy Red Shark for a high-tech White Whale. On Gonzo’s orders, Duke goes to the Flamingo to check out their hotel suite. It is full of cops anticipating the National Districts Attorney Association. Not a good thing to stumble into while twisted on various illegal substances. When Duke walks into the room, he finds Gonzo already there, stark naked, which a pit bull-looking girl. Her name is Lucy, and Gonzo met her while on the plane. Lucy is a religious freak and paints Barbara Streisand. Lucy is on acid that Gonzo gave her. Will she Blow the whole fragile plan?

7. A Terrible Experience with Extremely Dangerous Drugs

Duke and Gonzo return to the Flamingo after shaking off Lucy. Now the question is would she remember the heinous acts that Gonzo persuaded her to do while she was on LSD? Duke takes a hit of Andrenochrome, which he later realizes he took way too much. He is totally paralyzed now; the first rush is the worst. Unable to move or talk, he listens to Nixon speak on the TV. The voice is hopelessly garbled, and Duke can only catch ‘Sacrifice…sacrifice…sacrifice…” Hours later, he is finally able to walk and talk, though not yet free of the drug’s grasp. The Drug Convention starts at noon the next day. Sitting in a crowd of 1500 cops, it goes without saying that Duke and Gonzo are twisted on every type of drug available. Listening to insane gibberish by ‘Drug Experts’, they cannot handle it anymore. Will they blow it? Will the cops realize there are intruders in their party? The action never stops in Las Vegas.

8. American/ Drug Culture

Duke and Gonzo try to sit through the Drug Conference with heads full of Downers: mescaline, marijuana and booze. It is the only way. It seems as though the whole program was put together by losers who have been in some type of fantastic stupor since 1964 and are completely uneducated on the American Culture. When the speaker started talking about ‘roaches’, they could not handle it anymore and zoomed off towards the exit. That night, some serious Strip racing had taken place. Gonzo then decides he wants to eat. The go to a diner, where Gonzo harasses the waitress. What will ugly Las Vegas hold for them? Can things possibly get any worse?

9. To Hell with the American Dream

Duke and Gonzo leave Las Vegas. They leave the dreary confines of the Districts Attorneys conference and are not looking for the American Dream. They go to a small diner in Boulder City and chat up the waitress. She says she knows where the American Dream is, and gives them an address. They take it, and end up at a burnt down building. Duke experiences flashbacks of his life. They pair of them continue innocently harassing people in a crazy drug-addled way. No harm meant. Gonzo leaves. How will Duke cope without his friend and attorney? Will he make it out alive?

10. Farewell to the Beast...

The hotel was so rotten, so foul by this time, it is unbelievable that it is not an exaggerated demonstration of what it would be like to trap 30 people, all addicted to something different, in the room for two weeks. There is evidence of the use (and abuse) of almost every single drug since 1544 AD. It is time for Duke to leave.

Everything seems to be ready.
Are you ready?
Ready?

Duke boards the plane, exhausted, reminiscing about the past weeks. The trouble they caused, the sad epiphanies, the lives they had changed forever. Duke boards the plane, just sick enough to be confident…