My new book Joyful Pessimism: A Memoir of Sex, Mental Illness, and Philosophy is coming out late 2023 from El León Literary Arts.
The memoir has plenty of real-life sex and philosophical pessimism in it, but I’ve decided to spice it up with even more sex and philosophical pessimism—which hasn’t even occurred yet—via a dystopian erotic novella. The novella is entitled Ishtar’s Angel, and takes place in 2033 after an economic collapse due to AI takeover. It is narrated by one Daemon Derriere.
The chapters of this book alternate between my memoir (true) and the novella narrated by Daemon (hopefully never true), and are clearly labeled.
The interweaving narratives deal with topics including: psychedelics, BDSM, witch worship, bipolar, psychosis, anti-porn feminism vs. sex work decriminalization, ancient and future temple prostitution, goddess worship, philosophical pessimism, antinatalism, biomisia, assisted suicide, the AI jobpocalypse, economic collapse, bitcoin, the breakdown of the nation-state and the rise of neo-feudalism: and how to survive it all with gallows humor.
You can get access to the first five chapters of the book by subscribing to my Substack below:
Contents:
- Ishtar’s Angel, Chapter 1: A Gynocentric Gang of Winsome Warlordettes
- Joyful Pessimism, Chapter 1: The Horny Ecofeminist
- Ishtar’s Angel, Chapter 2: The End of the Male Sexual Cartel
- Joyful Pessimism, Chapter 2: Manic Obsessive & Status Depressive
- Ishtar’s Angel, Chapter 3: Brilliance & Booty
- Ishtar’s Angel, Chapter 4: The Mistress of Sorceries & the Temple of Astharoth
Joyful Pessimism 2 : Essays, Comedy, and More Sex Stories
(in progress, drafted as of March 25, 2023)
The title above is a link to a 222 pages (so far) PDF of a companion book to be released at the same time, Joyful Pessimism 2: Essays, Comedy, and More Sex Stories.
(Some readers, of a certain philosophical bent, might enjoy the essays even more than the main narrative book.)
Contents:
- Author’s Note on Mental Health
- The Glass is Half Full (of Piss)
- A Planet of Parasites and the Problem With God
- The Sociopathic Species: A Misanthrope’s Brief
- What’s the Point When There is No Point?
- Fornicate, Replicate, Indoctrinate (Families Are Cults… Cults Are Families)
- The Non-Incarnation Association
- Energy Sex
- Lessons From a Spankstress
For more background, context and explanation about Joyful Pessimism, and candid/unfiltered dialogue about its contents and themes, listen to the 3.5 hour interview Amanda Sukenick did with me on the Exploring Antinatalism Podcast.
Enjoy!
–Michael