What do you think?
Rate this book
Oneiros
For over 250 years, the use of the tarot for divination has been a mainstay of mystical and occult practices. The themes and forces represented by the cards are said to govern our lives and our destinies. Whether you believe that or not, the story of the cards is nevertheless the story of our lives -- the accomplishments and the pitfalls, the path from soaring joy to crushing defeat and back again.
Caleb is fleeing from the realities of his life, hiding in a dream of the Moon. The God of Dreams finds him there and draws Caleb deeper into the night with promises of passion and closeness otherwise denied to him. But in the waking world, a chance for something real forces Caleb to choose between love and immortality.
Caleb is fleeing from the realities of his life, hiding in a dream of the Moon. The God of Dreams finds him there and draws Caleb deeper into the night with promises of passion and closeness otherwise denied to him. But in the waking world, a chance for something real forces Caleb to choose between love and immortality.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 6, 2011
1 person is currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
S.L. Armstrong
56 books133 followersSupport S.L. Armstrong & K. Piet on Patreon!
S.L. Armstrong has been writing for as long as she can remember. Art and reading have played a large part in her life since young childhood, but around fourteen, writing became her passion. Voraciously consuming every book in front of her opened up hundreds of worlds in her head, and she soon wanted to create worlds for other people as well. She has a particular fondness for gothic horror, horror, high fantasy, urban fantasy, and romance novels. The authors she turns to time and again are Stephen King, L.J. Smith, V.C. Andrews, R.L. Stine, and Anne Rice, among others. She has no shame in picking up the young adult novels she loved as a child, and she will talk your ear off about grammar and punctuation.
After she married her husband over seventeen years ago, she began to truly delve into the world of writing for public consumption. It was sheer chance that she stumbled on M/M fanfiction, and she's not looked back. Though fanfiction will always have a fond place in her heart, she soon grew tired of playing in other people's sandboxes. When she discovered M/M romance, and how it was now a legitimate branch of romance writing, she knew her course. S.L. plans to release F/F, M/M, M/F, and multiple partner books as she continues her writing career. M/M romance is where her heart lies, no matter what else she may write or read, and it's where she keeps returning to. There is something about two men passionately in love that just makes her heart melt, and she has no intention of giving that up anytime soon.
S.L. Armstrong lives in Florida with her husband, partner, two dogs, and twelve cats. She hates the heat and longs for a northern, snowy climate. She writes with K. Piet on a number of projects, but she also writes her own solitary titles as well.
S.L. Armstrong has been writing for as long as she can remember. Art and reading have played a large part in her life since young childhood, but around fourteen, writing became her passion. Voraciously consuming every book in front of her opened up hundreds of worlds in her head, and she soon wanted to create worlds for other people as well. She has a particular fondness for gothic horror, horror, high fantasy, urban fantasy, and romance novels. The authors she turns to time and again are Stephen King, L.J. Smith, V.C. Andrews, R.L. Stine, and Anne Rice, among others. She has no shame in picking up the young adult novels she loved as a child, and she will talk your ear off about grammar and punctuation.
After she married her husband over seventeen years ago, she began to truly delve into the world of writing for public consumption. It was sheer chance that she stumbled on M/M fanfiction, and she's not looked back. Though fanfiction will always have a fond place in her heart, she soon grew tired of playing in other people's sandboxes. When she discovered M/M romance, and how it was now a legitimate branch of romance writing, she knew her course. S.L. plans to release F/F, M/M, M/F, and multiple partner books as she continues her writing career. M/M romance is where her heart lies, no matter what else she may write or read, and it's where she keeps returning to. There is something about two men passionately in love that just makes her heart melt, and she has no intention of giving that up anytime soon.
S.L. Armstrong lives in Florida with her husband, partner, two dogs, and twelve cats. She hates the heat and longs for a northern, snowy climate. She writes with K. Piet on a number of projects, but she also writes her own solitary titles as well.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 20, 2011
Caleb is a young man with a problem. He’s HIV positive. He’s told himself that means he can never have a relationship, however after a particularly vivid dream Morpheus the god of sleep comes to him, and they have some smoking hot sex. At first it’s just a dream, granted a good one. At the same time he runs into Scott at his doctor’s office. Scott is also positive, but having been diagnosed three years ago has come to terms with it more so than Caleb and is a successful businessman. He sees Caleb needs a friend and they start going out every Friday for dinner. Caleb loves that he has someone who understands his life, but he also loves that he has someone he can touch and make love with every night in his dreams. Before long he’s spending more and more time asleep, especially with the aid of sleeping pills, and soon he’s lost his job, his electricity has been cut off and he’s literally sleeping for days.
The positive things about this story were the handling of Caleb’s medical condition. I think it was well done as it’s all fairly new to him and he has yet to adjust to what it means, and not let it define him, and Scott shows him that life does go on, even with the diagnosis. I also thought Caleb’s pull to be with Morpheus was realistic. Who of us doesn’t wish we could escape humdrum jobs and physical problems for a passionate relationship where everything is perfect once in a while. Or is it? Scott wants more from Caleb, but he’s torn, he knows Morpheus will be jealous and he’s become addicted to that escape.
My issues came with little things. For example, Caleb’s heat is shut off for a month in winter and he doesn’t appear to notice. He sleeps for something like nine days straight. Can you do that? Won’t you die from lack of water? What about his poor cat? Wouldn’t the cat be gnawing on your leg? What about the litter box? Ewwww. Those are the kind of details that I notice, and have me thinking about that, rather than focusing on the story.
Scott’s patience in dragging Caleb out of the sleep-induced lethargy was laudable. I’m not sure I would have been so patient. I also thought the writing was very good at portraying how fogged Caleb’s brain was as the obsession went on, and how mystical and wonderful the dream world was. Caleb’s thoughts and feeling were well fleshed out and you could relate to his fears and sense of loss of his life as he’d known it. So for those readers who can let some common everyday details go, for the sake of the overall feel of the story, I think this will be a good choice because the writing is strong and the characters, primarily Caleb, are very well written.
For those who are wondering about the title, Onieros is the “personification of a dream”. Morpheus is mentioned as one of the children of Sleep.
The positive things about this story were the handling of Caleb’s medical condition. I think it was well done as it’s all fairly new to him and he has yet to adjust to what it means, and not let it define him, and Scott shows him that life does go on, even with the diagnosis. I also thought Caleb’s pull to be with Morpheus was realistic. Who of us doesn’t wish we could escape humdrum jobs and physical problems for a passionate relationship where everything is perfect once in a while. Or is it? Scott wants more from Caleb, but he’s torn, he knows Morpheus will be jealous and he’s become addicted to that escape.
My issues came with little things. For example, Caleb’s heat is shut off for a month in winter and he doesn’t appear to notice. He sleeps for something like nine days straight. Can you do that? Won’t you die from lack of water? What about his poor cat? Wouldn’t the cat be gnawing on your leg? What about the litter box? Ewwww. Those are the kind of details that I notice, and have me thinking about that, rather than focusing on the story.
Scott’s patience in dragging Caleb out of the sleep-induced lethargy was laudable. I’m not sure I would have been so patient. I also thought the writing was very good at portraying how fogged Caleb’s brain was as the obsession went on, and how mystical and wonderful the dream world was. Caleb’s thoughts and feeling were well fleshed out and you could relate to his fears and sense of loss of his life as he’d known it. So for those readers who can let some common everyday details go, for the sake of the overall feel of the story, I think this will be a good choice because the writing is strong and the characters, primarily Caleb, are very well written.
For those who are wondering about the title, Onieros is the “personification of a dream”. Morpheus is mentioned as one of the children of Sleep.
March 6, 2012
4.5 stars rounded to 5. According the the Urban Dictionary, Oneiros means the personification of dreams. In this short story, Caleb allows himself to "live" in his dreams, addicted to the touch and warmth he finds with Morpheus, the god of sleep. He immerses himself in the passion and pleasure the god offers, something he believes is denied him in his waking life due to his HIV positive status.
Luckily for Caleb, after losing his job and soon his apartment, and his health going downhill, he has a friend (and potential lover) who will not give up on him and offers Caleb a choice between life or fantasy. Great little story that forced me to take the time to think about what I'd just read.
Addictions of all kinds (chocolate excluded, lol) can keep us from living our life fully. That was the take-away for me. I loved it!
Luckily for Caleb, after losing his job and soon his apartment, and his health going downhill, he has a friend (and potential lover) who will not give up on him and offers Caleb a choice between life or fantasy. Great little story that forced me to take the time to think about what I'd just read.
Addictions of all kinds (chocolate excluded, lol) can keep us from living our life fully. That was the take-away for me. I loved it!
August 10, 2012
Who of us hasn't wanted to escape reality from time to time? That's why we take vacations or perhaps just indulge in some serious daydreaming. It's therapeutic, relaxing, refreshing, but most of us realize that it's only temporary and sooner or later, we have to go back to our normal routine. Caleb, from 'Onerios' by S.L. Armstrong, has a good reason to want to escape. He's just been diagnosed HIV positive and his whole world, all his hopes and dreams are dashed.
Caleb isn't quite desperate enough to kill himself. He has a cat to take care of after all, but the emotional burden of being in the here and now is becoming too much; he slowly, but surely, slips into a deep depression. There is no wonder why Caleb is so easily seduced by the idea of having eternal pleasure with the God of Dreams, Morpheus. While Caleb is with Morpheus, he doesn't feel the pain, disappointment, and anxiety of his future being shattered by a few minutes of unprotected pleasure. He's swept away in a world of passion which temporarily satisfies his needs. As he slips further and further away from reality, the voices of the real world get quieter and quieter. Caleb's ability to break away decreases by the moment. Nothing matters but his trysts with Morpheus.
Fortunately, Caleb has a HIV positive knight in shining armor named Scott who is a wonderful, supportive man, wanting more from Caleb than he's willing to give. After all, Scott is in the real world and being there means Caleb can't be with Morpheus. Scott is someone who understands and tries to help. Scott wants to be with Caleb and refuses give up on him. Scott becomes the lighthouse beckoning Caleb back to life.
This is a complicated, but satisfying story which mixes fantasy with reality in such a way that I wasn't sure if Morpheus was real, or a figment of Caleb's imagination, one to help him deal with his condition. The same could be said of Scott. Was he a real person, or the voice of reason in Caleb's head which eventually made him decide to come back and deal with his situation, rather than giving up entirely? Whether these are analogies or not, it's a very effective method of telling the story. S.L. did an admirable job of describing someone in the depths of despair. I'd recommend this story to those of you who enjoy a book with great sex, handsome men, and angst, but also one dealing with the more serious issues of managing depression especially in the face of tragedy and finding a way out of it. Thanks, S.L., for handling this serious problem, while adding some gratifying sensual content in the process.
Caleb isn't quite desperate enough to kill himself. He has a cat to take care of after all, but the emotional burden of being in the here and now is becoming too much; he slowly, but surely, slips into a deep depression. There is no wonder why Caleb is so easily seduced by the idea of having eternal pleasure with the God of Dreams, Morpheus. While Caleb is with Morpheus, he doesn't feel the pain, disappointment, and anxiety of his future being shattered by a few minutes of unprotected pleasure. He's swept away in a world of passion which temporarily satisfies his needs. As he slips further and further away from reality, the voices of the real world get quieter and quieter. Caleb's ability to break away decreases by the moment. Nothing matters but his trysts with Morpheus.
Fortunately, Caleb has a HIV positive knight in shining armor named Scott who is a wonderful, supportive man, wanting more from Caleb than he's willing to give. After all, Scott is in the real world and being there means Caleb can't be with Morpheus. Scott is someone who understands and tries to help. Scott wants to be with Caleb and refuses give up on him. Scott becomes the lighthouse beckoning Caleb back to life.
This is a complicated, but satisfying story which mixes fantasy with reality in such a way that I wasn't sure if Morpheus was real, or a figment of Caleb's imagination, one to help him deal with his condition. The same could be said of Scott. Was he a real person, or the voice of reason in Caleb's head which eventually made him decide to come back and deal with his situation, rather than giving up entirely? Whether these are analogies or not, it's a very effective method of telling the story. S.L. did an admirable job of describing someone in the depths of despair. I'd recommend this story to those of you who enjoy a book with great sex, handsome men, and angst, but also one dealing with the more serious issues of managing depression especially in the face of tragedy and finding a way out of it. Thanks, S.L., for handling this serious problem, while adding some gratifying sensual content in the process.
March 20, 2013
Reviewed for Hearts On Fire Reviews
With the nightmare that he feels his real life has become, it’s no wonder that Caleb wants nothing more than to escape. He’s HIV positive, he’s working a boring and unfulfilling job, and he’s desperately lonely as a result of his own self-imposed exile from any kind of relationship. When Caleb’s escape comes in the form of a sexy god who feeds Caleb’s touch starved body with blazing passion as he succumbs to his dreams, then soon Caleb is willing to throw out all reason and even go so far as to resort to chemical help to assist him in spending as much time as possible in his perfect dream world.
In the real world, Caleb meets Scott (also HIV positive) during one of his routine doctor visits and shortly after his affair with Morpheus (the god of dreams) began. They become good friends. Scott would easily make it more, but Caleb holds back. Between his fear of a relationship and the pull of Morpheus, Caleb starts to withdraw from Scott. For Caleb’s sake, it’s a good thing that Scott is a bit tenacious and not willing to let go. Scott was about the only thing tethering Caleb to reality and it was a very thin thread.
I was pretty surprised at the darkness of the story and how uncomfortable it made me feel. This story highlighted the fact that depression can be a tough battle. It showed that coping mechanisms can become addictions, but also that true friends and loved ones can provide hope as well as a light at the end of the tunnel. Scott represented that hope for Caleb and I was so grateful that Caleb finally reached for it with both hands.
This story is more about Caleb’s journey than it is about Scott and Caleb as a couple. It’s about facing a life struggle and emerging if not totally victorious on the other side, then at least on the path to real life happiness and contentment. This story may have been short in length, but it really made me stop and think about a few things. Overall, I really enjoyed it!
With the nightmare that he feels his real life has become, it’s no wonder that Caleb wants nothing more than to escape. He’s HIV positive, he’s working a boring and unfulfilling job, and he’s desperately lonely as a result of his own self-imposed exile from any kind of relationship. When Caleb’s escape comes in the form of a sexy god who feeds Caleb’s touch starved body with blazing passion as he succumbs to his dreams, then soon Caleb is willing to throw out all reason and even go so far as to resort to chemical help to assist him in spending as much time as possible in his perfect dream world.
In the real world, Caleb meets Scott (also HIV positive) during one of his routine doctor visits and shortly after his affair with Morpheus (the god of dreams) began. They become good friends. Scott would easily make it more, but Caleb holds back. Between his fear of a relationship and the pull of Morpheus, Caleb starts to withdraw from Scott. For Caleb’s sake, it’s a good thing that Scott is a bit tenacious and not willing to let go. Scott was about the only thing tethering Caleb to reality and it was a very thin thread.
I was pretty surprised at the darkness of the story and how uncomfortable it made me feel. This story highlighted the fact that depression can be a tough battle. It showed that coping mechanisms can become addictions, but also that true friends and loved ones can provide hope as well as a light at the end of the tunnel. Scott represented that hope for Caleb and I was so grateful that Caleb finally reached for it with both hands.
This story is more about Caleb’s journey than it is about Scott and Caleb as a couple. It’s about facing a life struggle and emerging if not totally victorious on the other side, then at least on the path to real life happiness and contentment. This story may have been short in length, but it really made me stop and think about a few things. Overall, I really enjoyed it!
July 7, 2011
**** 3.5 ****
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews