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Trip: A Psychological Horror Novel
Where do the beings from legends, myths, and folklore originate? Are supernatural truths hidden in these orated tales? Were they the first works of fiction? Or possibly the hallucinations and ramblings of the mentally inebriated or unstable before humanity understood such conditions?
In the Wisconsin wilderness, resides a setting steeped in lore. If there is truth hidden behind the legend, historical horror fiction author Galen Ramsey-Cantrip may be able to uncover it.
That is, if he can survive his own thoughts, the secrets of Devil's Lake State Park, a powerful psychedelic, and a murderous sociopath...
In the Wisconsin wilderness, resides a setting steeped in lore. If there is truth hidden behind the legend, historical horror fiction author Galen Ramsey-Cantrip may be able to uncover it.
That is, if he can survive his own thoughts, the secrets of Devil's Lake State Park, a powerful psychedelic, and a murderous sociopath...
- GenresHorror
493 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 4, 2025
4 people are currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
A.J. Humphreys
9 books29 followersAJ Humphreys is an emerging author of spooky thrillers, mysteries, and dreadful tales. The small-town serialized four-volume supernatural mystery saga, Season of The Monster served as his debut within the publishing world.
A member of the Horror Writers’ Association, AJ is also the founder, owner, and chief operating officer of Dark Journeys Press.
When AJ isn’t writing, he can often be found outdoors, possibly walking eighteen holes with his parents, brother, or cousin.
Otherwise, it’s almost a sure bet he will have his best buddy, Kobe The Husky, at his side. Together, they both enjoy hiking, and swimming. AJ operates as an amateur landscape and wildlife photographer, which fits in well with the pair’s thirst for outdoor adventuring!
A member of the Horror Writers’ Association, AJ is also the founder, owner, and chief operating officer of Dark Journeys Press.
When AJ isn’t writing, he can often be found outdoors, possibly walking eighteen holes with his parents, brother, or cousin.
Otherwise, it’s almost a sure bet he will have his best buddy, Kobe The Husky, at his side. Together, they both enjoy hiking, and swimming. AJ operates as an amateur landscape and wildlife photographer, which fits in well with the pair’s thirst for outdoor adventuring!
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 18, 2025
Trip starts with many mature content warning, the strongest being negative self talk and suicidal idealization which are consistent throughout the novel. The story centers on Galen, a highly depressed man who recently lost a girlfriend and has had little success with his writing career. Glen, his publicist, suggests taking a trip into the woods hoping to spark some life and writing inspiration back into this suicidal man.
Many of the reviews say the pacing was slow but I disagree. It was fairly quick that Glen and Galen are at Devils Lake Wisconsin, where people lived more than 300,000 years ago. Their plan is to take LSD in hope of getting Glen out of his writers block and depressed state of mind. Humphrey beautifully describes the scenery and brings in some Native American folklore, making a perfect setting for an acid trip. The trip starts out well, Galen starts getting ideas for his new novel, experiences some happiness, but then it all goes to shit after an accident and a bizarre run in with an unlikely group of drug makers with a writing connection to Glen.
From here it turns into a fight for survival, physically and mentally inside Galens mind, as he hallucinates, and lives out his new novel in real time. The prose puts you right into a mind under the influence of LSD, and other heavy drugs (no spoilers).
Overall I enjoyed the character of Galen and watching his mental state drastically change throughout the story. Excellent psychological thriller with plenty of action, and a bit of humor (Agent McNut). Book will be available April 4, 2025.
Many of the reviews say the pacing was slow but I disagree. It was fairly quick that Glen and Galen are at Devils Lake Wisconsin, where people lived more than 300,000 years ago. Their plan is to take LSD in hope of getting Glen out of his writers block and depressed state of mind. Humphrey beautifully describes the scenery and brings in some Native American folklore, making a perfect setting for an acid trip. The trip starts out well, Galen starts getting ideas for his new novel, experiences some happiness, but then it all goes to shit after an accident and a bizarre run in with an unlikely group of drug makers with a writing connection to Glen.
From here it turns into a fight for survival, physically and mentally inside Galens mind, as he hallucinates, and lives out his new novel in real time. The prose puts you right into a mind under the influence of LSD, and other heavy drugs (no spoilers).
Overall I enjoyed the character of Galen and watching his mental state drastically change throughout the story. Excellent psychological thriller with plenty of action, and a bit of humor (Agent McNut). Book will be available April 4, 2025.
did-not-finish
January 10, 2026
Blurb:
"Are supernatural truths hidden throughout legends, myths, & folklore? Were they simply ancient works of fiction? Or possibly the ravings of the mentally inebriated or ill before humanity understood such conditions?
Within the Wisconsin wilderness, resides Devil's Lake State Park, a place bathed in a murky mythos. If there is truth hidden behind the park's lore, author Galen Ramsey-Cantrip may be the one to uncover it.
Unfortunately, in order to tell it, he will have to survive his dark thoughts, a vivid psychedelic, and a homicidal sociopath..."
DNF'ing this at 40%. It's not bad. The writing is really good, the chapters are really short, and that cover is so cool, but I felt like nothing was happening and I couldn't get into the folklore and legends about the lake as much as I hoped. It's possible that if I kept at it, the story could get engaging, but I lost interest. From where I left off, it seemed to be a two-to-three star read. But that doesn't mean I won't want to try to pick it up in the future and see what the heck is going on at Devil's Lake and if Galen finds true peace and happiness. If you are interested in reading a horror/mystery/thriller book amid the great outdoors, this book might be for you!
Content Warnings: depression, anxiety, negative self-talk, blood, invasive thoughts, intrusive thoughts, loss of a parent, gun violence, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, suicide, death
Thank you to Dark Journey Press for the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and statements are my own.
#DoNotTRIPAlone #NetGalley
Within the Wisconsin wilderness, resides Devil's Lake State Park, a place bathed in a murky mythos. If there is truth hidden behind the park's lore, author Galen Ramsey-Cantrip may be the one to uncover it.
Unfortunately, in order to tell it, he will have to survive his dark thoughts, a vivid psychedelic, and a homicidal sociopath..."
DNF'ing this at 40%. It's not bad. The writing is really good, the chapters are really short, and that cover is so cool, but I felt like nothing was happening and I couldn't get into the folklore and legends about the lake as much as I hoped. It's possible that if I kept at it, the story could get engaging, but I lost interest. From where I left off, it seemed to be a two-to-three star read. But that doesn't mean I won't want to try to pick it up in the future and see what the heck is going on at Devil's Lake and if Galen finds true peace and happiness. If you are interested in reading a horror/mystery/thriller book amid the great outdoors, this book might be for you!
Content Warnings: depression, anxiety, negative self-talk, blood, invasive thoughts, intrusive thoughts, loss of a parent, gun violence, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, suicide, death
Thank you to Dark Journey Press for the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and statements are my own.
#DoNotTRIPAlone #NetGalley
January 25, 2025
Galen is a writer who’s his own worst enemy. Out of ideas and full of self loathing, he agrees to go on a camping trip with his editor and friend Glen (yes- I totally mixed up their names a few times).
Once they get out to the desolate campground they start exploring and decide to take a “trip” on LSD to get Galen’s creative juices flowing. It felt like it took a long time for the story to actually get to this point. There’s a lot of self reflection by the main character, which slowed the momentum for sure.
Their psychedelic journey proves insightful until a grievous accident puts them in the crosshairs of a murderous group of drug lords. I felt this whole section was my favourite- it was very intense and shocking.
Dosed with more drugs, Galen and his fictional characters try to make a break for freedom. I was a little frustrated with all the dialogue and the weird surreal events happening. It was hard to stay engaged in the story when it felt like the main character wasn’t reacting as seriously as I felt they should be. The hallucinations were just strange, but I get that Galen’s author brain is just trying to cope while on so many drugs.
The ending is a mixture of fast paced action and brutality, commingled with a ton of monologue. You’ll question whether some of these events are real, supernatural, or drug induced. The ending overall gave me mixed feelings.
This wasn’t a bad book, but it just wasn’t my style. I definitely prefer something a bit more fast paced.
I would recommend Humphreys’ book for fans of:
-character driven fiction
-unreliable narrators
-surreal thrillers
Thank you to BookSirens & the author for a copy.
Once they get out to the desolate campground they start exploring and decide to take a “trip” on LSD to get Galen’s creative juices flowing. It felt like it took a long time for the story to actually get to this point. There’s a lot of self reflection by the main character, which slowed the momentum for sure.
Their psychedelic journey proves insightful until a grievous accident puts them in the crosshairs of a murderous group of drug lords. I felt this whole section was my favourite- it was very intense and shocking.
Dosed with more drugs, Galen and his fictional characters try to make a break for freedom. I was a little frustrated with all the dialogue and the weird surreal events happening. It was hard to stay engaged in the story when it felt like the main character wasn’t reacting as seriously as I felt they should be. The hallucinations were just strange, but I get that Galen’s author brain is just trying to cope while on so many drugs.
The ending is a mixture of fast paced action and brutality, commingled with a ton of monologue. You’ll question whether some of these events are real, supernatural, or drug induced. The ending overall gave me mixed feelings.
This wasn’t a bad book, but it just wasn’t my style. I definitely prefer something a bit more fast paced.
I would recommend Humphreys’ book for fans of:
-character driven fiction
-unreliable narrators
-surreal thrillers
Thank you to BookSirens & the author for a copy.
January 26, 2025
this was a good book. However, it was kinda slow paced at first. It did eventually pick up and it was good after that. There was a lot of repeating things. It probably could have been cut down some due to that. I don’t like to read the same thing multiple times. I did enjoy the story itself. I enjoyed the part with the drug lords. It was definitely heart pounding. Overall I did enjoy the book for the story. I can appreciate what the author was trying to do, but the repetitiveness, dragging out parts and getting confused a few times I have to go with a 3 star. I do like the author and will definitely be looking into another book from him!
February 15, 2025
I received an advanced copy for free, and I am leaving a review voluntarily.
-
First a few points I wanted to address:
As a Wisconsin Resident, I was intrigued to find much of this book taking place outside of Baraboo. I'm curious to know to what extent the author spent walking the trails around Devil's Lake. Related to that, there is utilization of Ho-Chunk stories and cultural references, strangely in the past tense. I was left wondering to what extent the author spoke to or interacted with anyone from The HoChunk Nation, during the writing of this book. With all that addressed, let's dig into the book..
-
That is certain long standing safety rule, very much grounded in science, for those choosing through various chemical means, to take their minds beyond the set boundaries of their skull. Peeling back the layers, opening the third eye, transcending this realm, getting F'd Up...Call it what you will, the key thing to remember here is to be patient, wait. Whatever is going on, or what you think is going on in the first hour or two is just an opening act. Whatever it is, once it hits the brain, you best be buckled in, for good or ill, you've bought the ticket, and you're taking the ride.
A.J. Humphreys understands this very critical piece of information. The Title and and Book cover, call back to media from the late 60s and 70s, exploitation pieces of various flavors and dubious memoirs of an authors " TRIP ". Once again, that Humphreys seems aware of that and it works to his favor. We the reader know that things are going to get weird, we just don't know how. We also know things are going to get bad...but we really don't know just how bad.
Humphreys takes specific care to address the struggles and dangers caused by Depression and Loss.
Insight into Galen's silent struggle with depression, and the strides he takes on his journey to over come it, and to return to the headspace where stories and characters are born. Humphreys' creative approach to representing time, was a fascinating way to show the disconnect between time in and outside of the mind, and to drive home to the reader just how subjective and fragile our own perception of time truly is.
Lest we forget, this is more than just a tale of one depressed author's vacation to re-discover his passion for his craft...
When TRIP truly takes off it becomes a grizzly, lurid and cathartic nightmare. There were points where I wondered how the late Hunter S. Thompson would have handled a similar scenario. Most likely far worse than for Galen, and honestly that's saying something. As Galen's trip spirals to its darkest most violent depths, I found myself laughing. Humphrey's delivers moments of Dark humor that border on the absurd at times. Frankly, it was my kind of party.
-
First a few points I wanted to address:
As a Wisconsin Resident, I was intrigued to find much of this book taking place outside of Baraboo. I'm curious to know to what extent the author spent walking the trails around Devil's Lake. Related to that, there is utilization of Ho-Chunk stories and cultural references, strangely in the past tense. I was left wondering to what extent the author spoke to or interacted with anyone from The HoChunk Nation, during the writing of this book. With all that addressed, let's dig into the book..
-
That is certain long standing safety rule, very much grounded in science, for those choosing through various chemical means, to take their minds beyond the set boundaries of their skull. Peeling back the layers, opening the third eye, transcending this realm, getting F'd Up...Call it what you will, the key thing to remember here is to be patient, wait. Whatever is going on, or what you think is going on in the first hour or two is just an opening act. Whatever it is, once it hits the brain, you best be buckled in, for good or ill, you've bought the ticket, and you're taking the ride.
A.J. Humphreys understands this very critical piece of information. The Title and and Book cover, call back to media from the late 60s and 70s, exploitation pieces of various flavors and dubious memoirs of an authors " TRIP ". Once again, that Humphreys seems aware of that and it works to his favor. We the reader know that things are going to get weird, we just don't know how. We also know things are going to get bad...but we really don't know just how bad.
Humphreys takes specific care to address the struggles and dangers caused by Depression and Loss.
Insight into Galen's silent struggle with depression, and the strides he takes on his journey to over come it, and to return to the headspace where stories and characters are born. Humphreys' creative approach to representing time, was a fascinating way to show the disconnect between time in and outside of the mind, and to drive home to the reader just how subjective and fragile our own perception of time truly is.
Lest we forget, this is more than just a tale of one depressed author's vacation to re-discover his passion for his craft...
When TRIP truly takes off it becomes a grizzly, lurid and cathartic nightmare. There were points where I wondered how the late Hunter S. Thompson would have handled a similar scenario. Most likely far worse than for Galen, and honestly that's saying something. As Galen's trip spirals to its darkest most violent depths, I found myself laughing. Humphrey's delivers moments of Dark humor that border on the absurd at times. Frankly, it was my kind of party.
March 24, 2025
TRIP is the latest from emerging talent AJ Humphreys, and whooo is it a doozy. A marked departure from his debut series, Season of the Monster, instead of a creature-feature, TRIP is a psychological horror that will leave you ruined. The premise is simple on its face—a struggling author goes to the woods to use LSD in a last ditch effort to crack open his creative roadblocks. What follows is 400+pages of pure madness.
Told mostly from the perspective of our struggling author, Galen, TRIP starts at a pretty even pace. We meet Galen, his only friend, Glen, and discover the crux of the problem. Galen has fallen into a soul-crushing depressive spiral, and what few words he manages to churn out are nothing short of hot garbage. With nothing left to lose, the two friends decide a camping trip is in order. After all, it's just a little LSD. What could possibly go wrong?
Everything. The answer is abso-fucking-loutely everything. A night of drinking leads to a morning of nasty hangovers, which quickly becomes the least of our duo’s problems as they encounter a bad trip, injuries, and a drug ring. Before long, Galen is trapped in a drug-fueled fight for his life with consequences reaching across countless broken lives. The pace is insane.
I love how AJ used his chapters and their heading to help fuel the book’s intensity. In the beginning, the chapters are neatly labeled with dates and times, only to turn into squiggles as the drugs take hold. Finally, when shit really hits the fan, they instead are reduced to moments. Critical snapshots, forever frozen in time. The short chapters combined with this type of chronology truly has a small, but mighty impact.
Humphreys also uses this book to show off his character skills. There are so many things that could have gone wrong with this premise. Honestly, it didn’t sound like my type of story, but I trust AJ’s skills. I’m so glad I did. His love of the craft shines through. His characters are living, breathing creations, jumping off the page to haunt your nightmares. No one is perfectly innocent, just like in real life. Flawed characters work, and AJ puts that on full display.
TRIP gave me so many visceral reactions, I had to keep a box of tissues nearby. My chest, already heavy from pneumonia, could barely contain my racing heart. In short, I’m pretty sure AJ tried to kill me with this one. TRIP officially debuts on April 4th. You don’t want to miss it!
Told mostly from the perspective of our struggling author, Galen, TRIP starts at a pretty even pace. We meet Galen, his only friend, Glen, and discover the crux of the problem. Galen has fallen into a soul-crushing depressive spiral, and what few words he manages to churn out are nothing short of hot garbage. With nothing left to lose, the two friends decide a camping trip is in order. After all, it's just a little LSD. What could possibly go wrong?
Everything. The answer is abso-fucking-loutely everything. A night of drinking leads to a morning of nasty hangovers, which quickly becomes the least of our duo’s problems as they encounter a bad trip, injuries, and a drug ring. Before long, Galen is trapped in a drug-fueled fight for his life with consequences reaching across countless broken lives. The pace is insane.
I love how AJ used his chapters and their heading to help fuel the book’s intensity. In the beginning, the chapters are neatly labeled with dates and times, only to turn into squiggles as the drugs take hold. Finally, when shit really hits the fan, they instead are reduced to moments. Critical snapshots, forever frozen in time. The short chapters combined with this type of chronology truly has a small, but mighty impact.
Humphreys also uses this book to show off his character skills. There are so many things that could have gone wrong with this premise. Honestly, it didn’t sound like my type of story, but I trust AJ’s skills. I’m so glad I did. His love of the craft shines through. His characters are living, breathing creations, jumping off the page to haunt your nightmares. No one is perfectly innocent, just like in real life. Flawed characters work, and AJ puts that on full display.
TRIP gave me so many visceral reactions, I had to keep a box of tissues nearby. My chest, already heavy from pneumonia, could barely contain my racing heart. In short, I’m pretty sure AJ tried to kill me with this one. TRIP officially debuts on April 4th. You don’t want to miss it!
March 17, 2025
*4.5 stars*
Galen is an author struggling with self doubt. He hasn't put out anything worthwhile since his first book, and the publisher is giving him one last chance to release something good. He goes to his agent and the only person left in his life, Glen, who suggests going with him on a weekend trip to Devil's Lake State Park so they can get high on acid and he can find inspiration for his next novel. He has doubts about the trip, but goes along begrudgingly. In those woods, he finds that there fates worse than never again having a best selling book.
I'm not going to lie, this one was slow going for me at first, but it was necessary exposition and build up to the second act. I love the formatting of this book, how the times were displayed at the beginning of each chapter, and how it evolved as Galen went further and further along into his trip (which had SEVERAL different meanings throughout - I wasn't expecting that).
There were necessary and painful moments throughout the second half, ones that hurt to witness. Characters grew, evolved, devolved, and terrified me in such a real life way.
AJ's writing style is beautiful and intriguing, I love the way the words flowed across the pages - well, screen since I read it on my kindle. I'm really going to have to bump up the Seasons series on my already forever long TBR.
Galen is an author struggling with self doubt. He hasn't put out anything worthwhile since his first book, and the publisher is giving him one last chance to release something good. He goes to his agent and the only person left in his life, Glen, who suggests going with him on a weekend trip to Devil's Lake State Park so they can get high on acid and he can find inspiration for his next novel. He has doubts about the trip, but goes along begrudgingly. In those woods, he finds that there fates worse than never again having a best selling book.
I'm not going to lie, this one was slow going for me at first, but it was necessary exposition and build up to the second act. I love the formatting of this book, how the times were displayed at the beginning of each chapter, and how it evolved as Galen went further and further along into his trip (which had SEVERAL different meanings throughout - I wasn't expecting that).
There were necessary and painful moments throughout the second half, ones that hurt to witness. Characters grew, evolved, devolved, and terrified me in such a real life way.
AJ's writing style is beautiful and intriguing, I love the way the words flowed across the pages - well, screen since I read it on my kindle. I'm really going to have to bump up the Seasons series on my already forever long TBR.
March 20, 2025
Galen has been through a lot and feels as though he is heading toward rock bottom. Even before doing LSD with Glen (his writing agent and good friend) in the woods, we experience every intrusive thought Galen has. Trip is mostly written with Galen's stream of consciousness.
The whole book is very surreal and takes place in my home state of Wisconsin. Tripping in the forest is never a good idea and things get worse for him. It’s written in a way that you feel like you're sharing Galen's brain. I really enjoyed how chaotic this book is. There's a ton going on literally and within his mind. Some things are truly unreal, while some aren't. We hope reality is only a hallucination, but we know that isn't true. We see his frantic state of mind while he reacts to the horrible events that start to happen midway through the book. I really enjoyed this psychological horror novel with an unreliable narrator.
The whole book is very surreal and takes place in my home state of Wisconsin. Tripping in the forest is never a good idea and things get worse for him. It’s written in a way that you feel like you're sharing Galen's brain. I really enjoyed how chaotic this book is. There's a ton going on literally and within his mind. Some things are truly unreal, while some aren't. We hope reality is only a hallucination, but we know that isn't true. We see his frantic state of mind while he reacts to the horrible events that start to happen midway through the book. I really enjoyed this psychological horror novel with an unreliable narrator.
April 3, 2025
I absolutely loved the pace of this book! It kept me guessing at every turn and I never could predict what would happen next which is the mark of a great thriller. I loved the layers to the narrative; the riveting main plot and the subplot of Galen trying to write his next great story. The characters were all fascinating and richly layered as well. What prevented me from rating this 5 stars was the fact that the spiritual/folklore element didn't feel entwined with the narrative and felt almost too separate. This also resulted in a vague epilogue that left the overall ending feeling un-satisfying. Overall, this was an excellent page-turner and I would heartily recommend it to anyone looking for their next thriller fix.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 2, 2025
I have to admit that when I started reading this I wondered what I had let myself in for. So much personal negativity. I felt Galen was only a hair's breath away from committing suicide. The author does warn about these triggers but I guess I just didn't expect them so early in the book. I am glad I kept reading though, because the story does have its lighter moments. "Stoners" will agree that Trip is a very apt title for this book.
Trip is an emotional rollercoaster. Anxiety, paranoia, euphoria, jealousy, regret, embarrassment, confusion and fear, all live within its pages. Not an easy read by any means, it is very engaging and had me turning the pages in an endeavour to learn what would befall Galen next.
I received a free Advance Reader Copy of Trip through BookSirens and have chosen to leave a review.
Trip is an emotional rollercoaster. Anxiety, paranoia, euphoria, jealousy, regret, embarrassment, confusion and fear, all live within its pages. Not an easy read by any means, it is very engaging and had me turning the pages in an endeavour to learn what would befall Galen next.
I received a free Advance Reader Copy of Trip through BookSirens and have chosen to leave a review.
April 7, 2025
What a story! I’m also amazed and proud of myself for how fast I finished this one (on my phone, it came out to be just over 800 pages, though I know the book isn’t that long). I loved the mental health representation in here. As someone who struggles with depression, and has had very similar thoughts and feelings as our mc, this book was a bit difficult to read at some parts lol. This was truly such a unique story. There are moments of sadness, horror, and humor. Really fantastic, check it out.
April 10, 2025
"Trip" is an extraordinary psychedelic journey, and one doesn't even need to be under the influence of drugs to appreciate it. Insightful, daring, and at times terrifying. AJ Humphreys incorporates a multitude of things into this book: Authors, literary agents, drug lords and their associates. A book not for the faint of heart but an enjoyable, dark adventure. Relentless and unyielding. A highly satisfying read for any true horror enthusiast.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
January 16, 2025
I have to say, it started off very slow. It took me a bit to really get into the book as there was too much repetitive thoughts from Galen. When I got hooked, though it was a wonderful ride and I enjoyed the action and thrills of the chase scenes. I feel like the book could have been cut down a little as there was too much of just his thoughts in a good chunk of the book and it dragged on. Overall it was a good read.
February 17, 2025
This unique story is definitely a trip, in more than one way. Literary agent Glen Coppersmith represents R. Nold (pseudonym) and his book is a best seller. Glen finds Arnie to be off putting and repellent but isn’t sure why. Arnie lets Glen know about a great spot for camping in Wisconsin. Glen’s first success was with R. C. Gaelic (Galen Ramsey Cattrip) but Galen is suffering from writer’s block. They’re good friends so Glen proposes they go on a camping trip so Galen can relax and get into a writing mind frame. For additional inspiration, they’ll consume psilocybin. Once they get there, the situation devolves into a surreal experience. It’s also where I’m thinking, really? What’s real and what’s not? This isn’t really addressed in the book and the situation is so incredibly ridiculous, that I can’t justify anything over a 3* rating.
I received an ARC of the novel and this is my personal opinion.
I received an ARC of the novel and this is my personal opinion.
April 4, 2025
I went into this totally cold. It's well written. I never connected with the story. The first half was a bit windy for me.
This story was way out of my norm. I do enjoy his other stories. I will continue reading this author. His monster stories are excellent.
This story was way out of my norm. I do enjoy his other stories. I will continue reading this author. His monster stories are excellent.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 4, 2025
Devils lake state park is surrounded in myths. An author hopes to unlock the truths. Someone is in the park and the are dangerous. Creepy
August 10, 2025
This one’s a total trip, pun intended.
Galen, despite his depressed mental state and reservations, ventures into the wilderness of Devil’s Lake Wisconsin with his publisher Glen in hopes of sparking his writing creativity back to life. Grieving and suicidal, a sojourn into the wilds begins to open doors for Galen, both cosmic and physical. Especially after the two men take a hit of LSD. And just as the psychedelic surrealism of the brain going wild on acid kicks in, everything goes sideways, turning into a shocking, bloody, and violent fight for survival. I kept wondering what was real? AJ Humphreys paints an exquisite and intricate depiction of the protagonist’s inner turmoil. There’s no lack of Native American legend and myth, existential horror, or relentless action sequences once the story takes off. I had to take breathers, suspended in a state of perpetual anxiety, a testament to the author’s storytelling talent. This is an ambitious work, handled with care. No question the writing is simply awesome, the characterizations spot on! At 480+ pages, it could have wrapped up sooner for a tighter read.
The ending took me a minute. I had to go back through, sleuthing, but once I realized, it hit.
Recommended for anyone craving existential horror, surreal trippy uncertainty, true villains, great writing, touches of experimental story structure, and considerable MC introspection with steady hitting violence and terror.
You can feel the love that went into writing this one.
4.5/5 rounded up to 5
Galen, despite his depressed mental state and reservations, ventures into the wilderness of Devil’s Lake Wisconsin with his publisher Glen in hopes of sparking his writing creativity back to life. Grieving and suicidal, a sojourn into the wilds begins to open doors for Galen, both cosmic and physical. Especially after the two men take a hit of LSD. And just as the psychedelic surrealism of the brain going wild on acid kicks in, everything goes sideways, turning into a shocking, bloody, and violent fight for survival. I kept wondering what was real? AJ Humphreys paints an exquisite and intricate depiction of the protagonist’s inner turmoil. There’s no lack of Native American legend and myth, existential horror, or relentless action sequences once the story takes off. I had to take breathers, suspended in a state of perpetual anxiety, a testament to the author’s storytelling talent. This is an ambitious work, handled with care. No question the writing is simply awesome, the characterizations spot on! At 480+ pages, it could have wrapped up sooner for a tighter read.
The ending took me a minute. I had to go back through, sleuthing, but once I realized, it hit.
Recommended for anyone craving existential horror, surreal trippy uncertainty, true villains, great writing, touches of experimental story structure, and considerable MC introspection with steady hitting violence and terror.
You can feel the love that went into writing this one.
4.5/5 rounded up to 5
March 29, 2025
This book is a psychological horror with mature themes of potential triggers that readers may find throughout this novel.
Anxiety, Blood, Death, Depression, Gun Violence, Intrusive Thoughts, Invasive Thoughts, Loss of A Parent, Murder, Negative Self Talk, Substance Abuse, Suicidal Ideation, Suicide. This is the author's warning. I know this book will not be everyone's cuppa tea ☕☕
This book is about a man called Galen who is a writer who is struggling with his writing. He is handing in a new manuscript, and he's very doubtful his publisher is going to like it. After his mum's passing, he's being struggling. His publisher Glen and also a good friend decide to try and help his friend to get some inspiration whilst still having some fun as well. They decide to go on a camping trip to the Wisconsin wilderness which is at the Devil's Lake State Park, which is massively isolated, what could go wrong I hear you say, grab this book to find out!!!
Will Galen find the inspiration he is looking for or will be uncovered more than he was expecting. Will he be able to survive his anxiety and his dark thoughts and also a homicidal sociopath. This book went where I really didn't expect it to be quite shocking and really surprised me.
It's filled with horrors of the mind and also horrific scenes that will still linger long after in my own mind too, it will take a while to move on from this book. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. I absolutely loved it !!!!
Anxiety, Blood, Death, Depression, Gun Violence, Intrusive Thoughts, Invasive Thoughts, Loss of A Parent, Murder, Negative Self Talk, Substance Abuse, Suicidal Ideation, Suicide. This is the author's warning. I know this book will not be everyone's cuppa tea ☕☕
This book is about a man called Galen who is a writer who is struggling with his writing. He is handing in a new manuscript, and he's very doubtful his publisher is going to like it. After his mum's passing, he's being struggling. His publisher Glen and also a good friend decide to try and help his friend to get some inspiration whilst still having some fun as well. They decide to go on a camping trip to the Wisconsin wilderness which is at the Devil's Lake State Park, which is massively isolated, what could go wrong I hear you say, grab this book to find out!!!
Will Galen find the inspiration he is looking for or will be uncovered more than he was expecting. Will he be able to survive his anxiety and his dark thoughts and also a homicidal sociopath. This book went where I really didn't expect it to be quite shocking and really surprised me.
It's filled with horrors of the mind and also horrific scenes that will still linger long after in my own mind too, it will take a while to move on from this book. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author. I absolutely loved it !!!!
August 29, 2025
💊 heavy drug use & TWs
📈 massive character growth
🤯 immersive reading XP
"Stories, for me, often only need two things: a beginning and an end..."
What. A. Trip. 🥁 (pun intended) as we go on a psychedelic adventure with Galen, our MC, and his publicist Glen into the woods to reset Galen's headspace and spice up his writing game—especially after we hear about the success of Glen's other client, R. Nold 👀 We are surely not prepared for what's about to happen within those woods...
While I'm still processing the kaleidoscope of events that occurred within such a short timeframe, how AJ stylized this book to really immerse the readers into Galen's LSD trip is so commendable. It truly gives you that mind-bending and anxiety-inducing XP that gets your own adrenaline pumping, as you are taken along for the reality-warping ride 🙃
I enjoyed the chapter breaks and the POV of our MC, but did find that the pacing was a bit slow to really get to the climax of the story. Definitely check your triggers warnings before diving is as some heavy topics are discussed and mentioned (⚠️ Self Harm/Explicit Violence) but that being said, you get hooked into the story very quickly and you will want to stick around for that ending 👀
Thank you Dark Journeys Press & NetGalley for allowing me access to this book in exchange for my honest review 🫂
📈 massive character growth
🤯 immersive reading XP
"Stories, for me, often only need two things: a beginning and an end..."
What. A. Trip. 🥁 (pun intended) as we go on a psychedelic adventure with Galen, our MC, and his publicist Glen into the woods to reset Galen's headspace and spice up his writing game—especially after we hear about the success of Glen's other client, R. Nold 👀 We are surely not prepared for what's about to happen within those woods...
While I'm still processing the kaleidoscope of events that occurred within such a short timeframe, how AJ stylized this book to really immerse the readers into Galen's LSD trip is so commendable. It truly gives you that mind-bending and anxiety-inducing XP that gets your own adrenaline pumping, as you are taken along for the reality-warping ride 🙃
I enjoyed the chapter breaks and the POV of our MC, but did find that the pacing was a bit slow to really get to the climax of the story. Definitely check your triggers warnings before diving is as some heavy topics are discussed and mentioned (⚠️ Self Harm/Explicit Violence) but that being said, you get hooked into the story very quickly and you will want to stick around for that ending 👀
Thank you Dark Journeys Press & NetGalley for allowing me access to this book in exchange for my honest review 🫂
September 17, 2025
I will say that this was a very interesting book and very different than one that I would usually read. Since this was a local author to where my college was and I am getting into "spooky time" with Halloween next week, I thought I would take the plunge. While this author is clearly very talented and can certainly write a great passage, I felt a little confused by this book. I find it a little thrilling, but I have no clue what I ended up reading as the ending didn't make too much sense. It was like we were coming to a climax that simply did not show up. I am not sure I can recommend this book because it never got to a point.
February 9, 2025
'Trip' by AJ Humphreys is (believe it or not) a trip! Humphreys brilliantly and accurately writes about depression, jealousy and being off your face. There's a fine line when writing a character like Galen, they can be easy to dislike, however the reader is compelled to feel for him and encourage him to keep going. The moments of humour throughout are genuine and help to contrast the dark situation Galen has found himself in. Loved every moment.
May 7, 2025
Fast paced and simmering tension that builds and builds to a satisfying conclusion. Characters are interesting and easy to invest in. Read this one straight through in one setting which is a sure sign of a great read! I received an advance review copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 10, 2025
Honestly, this was my favorite book of AJ’s so far. It was crazy in the best way and kept me on my toes!!! AJ made me feel like I was the one tripping as I read the book making this experience feel so immersive. I definitely recommend this book to anyone that wants a fast paced, but also thought provoking read!
March 17, 2025
3.5 stars rounded to 4. RTC
December 29, 2025
Trip
A.J. Humpherys
4 Stars
Ok, so....
EXCELLENT writing, but a very slow book. I struggle calling it a slow burn, because - for me - a slow burn has to have more payoff than this novel ultimately had. But I still really enjoyed the book.
Maybe "enjoy" is the wrong word here...
If you are triggered by depression, anxiety, negative self speak, intrusive thoughts, suicide, ECT .... avoid this one.
If it sounds intriguing to you, and you don't mind a book that really stretches and moves at it's own pace - almost glacially at times - then I'd recommend.
A.J. Humpherys
4 Stars
Ok, so....
EXCELLENT writing, but a very slow book. I struggle calling it a slow burn, because - for me - a slow burn has to have more payoff than this novel ultimately had. But I still really enjoyed the book.
Maybe "enjoy" is the wrong word here...
If you are triggered by depression, anxiety, negative self speak, intrusive thoughts, suicide, ECT .... avoid this one.
If it sounds intriguing to you, and you don't mind a book that really stretches and moves at it's own pace - almost glacially at times - then I'd recommend.
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