Going Lucid

by Holly Dae

“You still haven’t told me where here is.”
“Simply put. This is hell.”
“Hell?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure,” Malakha replied. “Now be serious. Where is this?”
“I’m not kidding. This is Hell.”


When Malakha is punished for sneaking into the music room to find a piano to play, she's forced to witness an exorcism as her punishment. That's when she first hears the laughter, a deep, throaty, mocking chuckle. Malakha hopes it’s not some sick joke the school is playing to scare her into becoming a devout Catholic or soemthing. She hopes even more that she’s not going crazy.

Then, an experiment with illegal drugs at a rave transports Malakha to a barren wasteland occupied by wolf men, harpies, zombie eagles and everything else that Malakha thought was supposed to stay in a horror movie. Malakha goes to Hell, or at least that's what Julius, a young man (a hot young man) who resides there, says. He doesn't know how, but Malakha can cross the invisible divide that separates Hell and Earth. Good thing too, because as soon as she gets back, some of the students begin acting weird, like they're possessed, like something managed to slip through a crack in the divide that Malakha may have caused.

Since no one else can cross the divide to find and stop the demon causing all the chaos, Malakha is going to need Julius' help to navigate Hell and find it, all the while resisting the temptations of the flesh that Hell has to offer.

Genres: Young Adult

ebook

First published August 8, 2013

About the author

Stuck in the transition between graduating from college and starting a life called NO JOB, Holly Dae spends most of her free time writing raw and edgy Young Adult and New Adult contemporary novels that deal with rape, drugs, sex, and general psychological ills. When she isn't doing that, she's writing fanfiction for fun and obsessively playing Mario Kart Eight and Pokemon Games.

Reviews

[Jason Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Years ago I never liked spicy food, or at least, I told myself I didn’t. I refused to try it, assuming that spice was not nice. But now, after being convinced to give it a try half a decade ago, I can’t get enough.

I tell this tale of spice because it relates to my recent read, Going Lucid. It’s the type of YA story… filled with wolf creatures and zombie animals… I would not normally be drawn to. But, like spicy food, I gave it a try and in doing so, it opened my eyes to an entire new genre of reading I haven’t allowed myself to be a part of until now.

The author does a great job of blending visuals with strong dialogue/conversation. I’m not sure where her inspiration comes from, but clearly she has a strong ear for cinematic pacing because at times, particularly in chapters with heavy dialogue, it reads like a movie. Some people may not like that, but as someone who grew up going to the local theater as much as possible, I appreciate that kind of conversational flow.

There are a handful of moments that, as a 35-year-old male, I had a hard time relating to (I myself was never a young female protagonist, after all), but again, the author did a nice job of keeping even the most personal moments of the character “big picture” enough to pull me back in.

My only issue with the book was, at times, the grammatical errors and word omissions that seemed to pop up here and there, would take me out of the story and make me backtrack to make sure I didn’t miss something. As an author, I myself made this mistake with my first book… and dealt with some similar criticism because of it. Independent publishing is not easy (nor cheap when looking for a good editor), but with a proper credit, Going Lucid will take that next step and cement the author as a young talent worth keeping track of!

[Isis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Malakha has been sent to a Catholic Boarding School due to what her family considers to be a crisis of faith. But to Malakha's way of thinking there is no crisis, she simply doesn't share the same belief system as her family. She believes in a higher power, but beyond that things are rather murky. It doesn't help her case that she is both outspoken and sarcastic.

Her roommate Sabrina is used to Malakha's cutting, snide remarks about religion, though she still finds them somewhat hurtful. Her other friend, Malak, claims to be in love with her, and helps her anyway he can.

After attending a rave and taking some LSD, Malakha is convinced that she can travel to Hell & back. Malak helps her discover how to make the trip without needing drugs, which is good as she doesn't want to become an addict, yet she knows she needs to go back to fix the recent rash if problems that have been taking place at school.

While in Hell Malakha meets Julius, who seems to be her protector. For a girl raised as a Catholic her entire life you'd think she would have clued in earlier on that there are no true protectors in Hell. Everyone/everything has its own agenda.

Malakha makes some interesting discoveries during her travels, things that help her to grow as a person & even become more tolerant of those who do buy into the whole religion question. The explanation for those changes are found in the story. Interestingly enough, this story could be considered a parable of sorts, if Malakha is willing to share that is.

[Ann Miletic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Past few weeks have been stresseful for me so I wanted to find a good book that will relax me and take me into the fantasy world at the same time.What a perfect time for me to find this book by Holly Dae.Let me start with good things,because i do have one minus on my list.

The book is easy to read,very imaginative,i love the love elements in it and an adventurous spirit of a young hero named Malakha.It's a good summer read and I have found the book to be inspiring.Also I've noticed that the book gets more interesting with each chapter.I've even learned about a magical creature i've never heard before!

Now the minus part...It seems to me that the book could've had more chapters.I wished it was longer,and the author expanded on the story a bit more.

There's no question that the author is a talented writer and that there are more positive than negative things I've noticed reading this book.Certainly a nice experience for me.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new spin on the paranormal... Blending Catholicism with werewolves, harpies, and of course the Prince of Darkness and his own son! This is semi romance where the heroine is sent to a Catholic boarding school to strengthen her nonexistent faith.
The book is very imaginative with well developed characters and easy relationships.. The elements are all there for a good romance too. i would have liked to have seen more growth in the relationship between Malakha and Julius. It would have been nice to see a spark coming from John maybe as an unrequited interest in Malakha...
its definitely a good story with lots of adventure and certainly leaves you wanting more!

[megHan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting book, especially since I, myself, am Catholic and went to a Catholic school (though I didn't go away to one). Malakha is forced by one of the priests to witness an exorcism and hears laughter - and things go off on a strange ride from there. I like books that end up in "another world" and this one definitely does. It's interesting and well written.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an HONEST review.

[Mikaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going Lucid : i found this book a good fun read.. i love YA book on wolfs and zombies / . it keep me wanting to read more . Me and my 11 yer old daugther loved the hero malakha .. i thought this is a book i would share wih friends or followers on my blog.