The Strange Attraction
- gstjohn
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 12 hours ago
Since Strange Attractor: The Hallucinatory Life of Terence McKenna underwent the formality of actually occurring in early October, I'm thrilled, if not simply relieved, to report that the book has splashed down to a warm reception among fans of McKenna and reviewers alike.
Strange Attractor sold out its first pressing within three weeks from the sale date causing some shipping delays in Oct-Nov, an unforeseen situation that was soon after corrected with the availability of the second printing.
The opening launch, at the Berkeley Alembic on Oct 8, was an auspicious occasion, thanks to the venue's founder Erik Davis (who wrote a great foreword to the book) and to expert emceeing by Chris Mays. The venue is two miles due west from 2894 Telegraph Avenue, i.e. the address of the student rooming house formerly at that location that McKenna leased from 1965-1967 (which was replaced by a Bank of America car park in the early 1970s). It was a remarkable event, the room populated by many of Terence’s old friends from Berkeley and earlier, including a few who had rented rooms in that house.
Since then, the book made landfall at launches on three continents, from Berkeley to Berlin to Bristol, and from CoSM in upstate New York to EGA's Garden States east of Melbourne.
Among the many highlights were my meetings with folks who've been pivotal to gaining an understanding of our subject during his Berkeley phase, before and beyond. Sarah Hartley, Elizabeth Hansen, Douglas Hansen, George Csicsery, Roger Williams, Kevin Mahoney, Bill Cole, Nina Wise, R U Sirius, and Dan Levy are among those encountered in my brief coast to coast sojourn, all awesome interlocutors whose stories are layered into the book, following years of exchange.
In the wake of events in NYC organised by Lou Sagar of Alchemist’s Kitchen (including an event at Gospel nightclub), I was privileged to a tour of the fabulous three-level Entheon by none other than Alex and Allyson Grey themselves. That followed my talk at the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (CoSM) on Terence’s role as a psychedelic psychopomp and meta-trip sitter. A version of that talk was delivered in webcast for the Society for the Advancement of Psychonautic Studies on Sep 16, 2025. The Greys were wonderful hosts!
In the wake of New York, I had a chance to speak about McKenna’s life as an “accidental occultist” at Berlin’s 2025 Occulture Conference, where I joined Julian Vayne and Maya Bracknell Watson on a panel in the staggering Negredo Hall. There I had the opportunity to talk about the strange circumstance whereby McKenna has become something of an “entity” himself. Offering a sumptuous feast of esoteric content both from and for scholars and practitioners alike, the world’s finest conference of the occult features a quality that is rare for conferences –managing to be all-at-once spectacular and intimate.
This outcome was in no small part due to the event’s new home in the former industrial area Oberschöneweide. The remarkable MaHalla is a vibrant cultural hub that has reclaimed and transformed the AEG industrial complex, which was founded in 1897 as one of the world’s pioneering three-phase power plants. With the massive site and its labyrinthine basement providing the context for Occulture’s entire four day and evening programme, the “old soul” of this historical complex was imaginatively exorcised and reanimated by its current inhabitants. I am expecting my recorded lecture to be soon available for viewing on Occulture’s YouTube channel.
With thanks to my host Toby Shone, I then addressed a rapt audience filling BASE social centre in Bristol, a city at the nexus of a long history of activism and psychedelia. The strong showing was an indication of BASE's reputation as an anarchist kitchen (my talk followed the Sunday Squat Cafe dinner), while also demonstrating that UK readers are keen to learn about the life and times of McKenna — who made several trips to the UK in the early nineties, and even once had a #18 hit on the UK Singles Chart (with The Shamen).
A few weeks later, under the auspices of Entheogenesis Australis (EGA), I appeared at the innocuously titled Garden States: Regeneration, which occupied a scout camp at Gembrook, east of Melbourne. EGA had not held an outdoor ethnobotanical conference since 2018. But with a dedicated leadership and crew, including over 200 volunteers, EGA once again proved themselves to be responsible for organising a world class grassroots community event.
Stepping out of a bush monolith, under the curious gaze of Lord Baden Powell, I delivered two presentations that will eventually be published at EGA’s YouTube channel. One of those talks addressed McKenna's 1997 trip to Australia, a whirlwind two-week tour the memory of which is firmly lodged in the memories of many. That Terence at that strange juncture adopted a role as freak frontman to numerous manifestations of the Aussie experimental music underground is a subject covered in my essay Florentine Prince and Funny Bugger (originally published in EGA Journal 6).
At Garden States, I appreciated all the moments, even the weird moments, especially the weird moments, shared with many, including my campmates Ian, Marc, Angus and Sean, and many old friends. My woggle was toggled. I’m looking forward to watching the videos of all talks that I am informed will soon be available. I salute Ronny for creating a remarkable event from which I remain in a state of descent.
Meanwhile, I’m delighted to report that the book has been very well received among fans, scholars, and reviewers alike. There have been strong reviews in Publishers Weekly, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Lucid News, among various other venues. Brief examples of praise:
“The book has, like a dark planet, drawn an entire menagerie of late 20th-century weirdness into its oblique orbit.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
“Strange Attractor is a sympathetic and infectious travelogue of McKenna's psychedelic multiverse, but also pretty unflinching and even rigorous in unpacking the very, very high weirdness." — Jesse Jarnow, author of Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America
“Richly layered, blending academic rigor with a storyteller’s flair, Strange Attractor stands as the definitive biography of McKenna.” — Journal of Psychedelic Studies (Jahan Khamsehzadeh)
I want to thank the dozens of TM fans who have messaged me sharing praise. I can’t state enough how thrilled I am to receive these messages. Also happy to hear criticism, whether regarding overlooked content, mistakes, or disputes about interpretation. And if you enjoy the book, and want others to read it, please do share the love on Goodreads and/or Amazon.
At the same time, I've been appearing on a stack of podcasts, including lately the History of Philosophy Audio Archive with William Engels (#37, Nov 24), Rejected Religion with Stephanie Shea (#44, Dec 19), and the latest of my three Brainforest Café appearances, Strange Attractor Live Webinar (Dec 11), where I joined Dennis McKenna and an intriguing group to talk Terence (featuring Tama Starr, R.U. Sirius, Bruce Damer, Dan Levy, and Lorenzo Hagerty). Stay tuned for a free link - for now you can see my other recent chats with Dennis here and here.
Among that line up, it is worth noting that Tama Starr was responsible for recording what is possibly the oldest surviving recording of Terence, “Amazon Psychotropical Quest” (Nov 1972). With Tama’s support, this remarkable rap was released on YouTube in September 2025 with a video sync produced by We Plants Are Happy Plants (watch it here). In conjunction with that release, I published a four-part blog essay “Terence McKenna in Embryo” about “Amazon Psychotropical Quest,” the social and historical context of the recording, and the significance of McKenna’s voice. The first part of that Edgecentral blog essay can be read here.
Over the last months, excerpts from Strange Attractor have been published in MIT Press Reader and Psychedelic Press. I also had the opportunity to respond to a few on-point inquiries from R.U. Sirius in an interview published in Mindplex.
As the first serious biography of McKenna has been well met in such diverse locations, we appear to be at a momentous juncture 25 years after the passing of our strangely attractive subject, among the most loved and yet enigmatic figures.
And as we pass into 2026, the show continues. As for further book launches and signings, there are a couple of Strange Attractor events in Australia scheduled for January 2026 (with further events to be announced):
· Melbourne, Sunday Jan 11, 2026, 4.30pm AEDT at Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI). Conversation with the author, as part of ACMI's Psychedelic Film Festival following a screening of The Trip. More info TBA.
· Sydney, Sunday Jan 18, 2026, 3pm - 5pm AEDT, Temple on the Park, 158 Australia St, Newtown, Sydney 2042. In association with the Australian Psychedelic Society. Facebook invite. Tickets
To order the book, find purchase options here.
All information about Strange Attractor can be found at Edgecentral.
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Wishing you a happy holiday season and bright start to the new year!
Graham