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The Acid Diary
Secluded on a Ko Pha Ngan beach and its loose hippy community, with no inland route in or out of the enclave, 25yr old English traveler "Monkey Man" seeks answers to the mysteries of existence, encountering hope and happiness, hypocrisy and hostility, love and loss, peace and discord, the quixotic, neurotic and psychotic alike along the way - aided and abetted by LSD, LSA, mescaline, MDMA, 25i-NBOMe, 2C-B, psilocybin mushrooms, cannabis, alcohol, tobacco and a whole host of the weird and wonderful, wacky and willing accomplices that gravitate to such places in Thailand and the tropics.
A third novel by Daniel S. Fletcher, author of the well-received "Jackboot Britain".
A third novel by Daniel S. Fletcher, author of the well-received "Jackboot Britain".
- GenresDrugsFictionLiterature
428 pages, Paperback
First published December 14, 2014
5 people are currently reading
1013 people want to read
About the author
Daniel S. William Fletcher
14 books16 followers🎖Ukrainian Purple Heart Medal 🇺🇦
🎖Honour and Glory Cross 🇺🇦
Poetwarrior; Legionnaire; Disaster Relief Worker; Volunteer; Poet; Author; Novelist; Charity Kickboxer; Recreational Psychonaut; Flawed Mammal, Cautionary Tale…
'Chest i Slava' Voltse Krest / Honour & Glory Cross and 'Medal for the Sacrifice of Blood in the Battles for the Freedom of Ukraine' recipient; Ukrainian army soldier; humanitarian volunteer, disaster relief worker; dreamer of dreams; flawed mammal and cautionary tale… whose sole redeeming quality is shameless honesty as a memorialist.
Spent 2011-22 (aged 22-33) living in Spain, Thailand and Bali, with stints in Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Santa Cruz Cali: covered in 'Surreal Dreamscapes: The Fletch Anthology '11-22 (22-33).
After a pandemic in the palm-shade of paradise, Fletch moved to Ukraine in 2022, volunteering in food relief and, from September '23, as a legionnaire in the ZSU (Ukrainian Army) with the International Legion, fighting for 2nd Battalion Alpha Company in Luhansk region, the Lyman front.
At 22 Fletch left England for Spain in 2011, writing 'Jackboot Britain', relocating to Thailand in January 2012 as an amateur freelance reporter. Moved to Indonesia in August 2014; 'The Acid Diary' followed in December; four more books thereafter… after disaster relief, torture, betrayal and mayhem: a pandemic in the palm-shade of Phangan paradise; Ukraine in 2022; a year helping World Central Kitchen and others, then joining the Ukrainian army, finding a home in the Foreign Legion.
Santa, Legion 2nd Battalion commander awarded Fletch the 'Slava Voltse Cross' for distinguished conduct in combat, March 2024.
"Surreal Dreamscapes: Mind-Bending Mayhem in Absurdistan, The Fletch Anthology 22-33: 2011-22"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5N97GLJ/
"Wolves Eat Lambs: The Pornography of Power"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BM3WCKDW/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BM3WCKDW/
Buy my book, and feel comfortable and witty at parties, smell fresh, sweat fragrantly and taste sweet, as doors open, ropes part, champagne supernovas form in the cosmoi and the moist magic of warm wet flesh envelopes your loins, while sexually charismatic nymphomaniacs chase you down the street like Hard Day’s fookin Night.
<>
“This is the ‘Slava Voltse’ Cross… for distinguished conduct in combat. This is not for civilians, it is a military decoration for those defending Ukraine on the battlefield from enemies who have attacked and tried to destroy our culture and civilisation. You have been with us for a relatively short time, but we decided to award this to you anyway. I have no doubt—you are A Man of Courage.”
~Santa, Legion 2nd Battalion commander
<>
"Brother Fletcher. I want to say a lot of positive things about you as a brother and as a person, but I will keep it short. When you were on duty at the position I was always calm because you are a responsible and disciplined fighter. Thank you for your help in the fight against the enemy. You are in thoughts and memories. You stay with us."
~Cygan, Legion 2nd Battalion Alpha Company commander
<>
Powerful and how profound
Flying high through golden air
Till in shadow I was drowned
Powerless in my despair
Now my cold sun scorns to shine
Bitter soul, infernal fear
Her roses hold more thorns than mine
Winter is eternal here
Shattered by the endless night
Battered, friendless, in affright
Dreams of love are shades of grey
That fray while colours fade away
Blood and nerve and bounding heart
Heavy words you lightly throw
How can spirit come apart
Like tears in rain or the melting snow
Yet the sun still shines divine
Phoenix rising—wings unfurled!
Golden-glowing smile and shine
There is beauty in the world
There is hope and joy and love
Ride the Dark Nights of the Soul
You can rise—transcend above
The sense that you’re no longer whole
In the darkness of the night
I
🎖Honour and Glory Cross 🇺🇦
Poetwarrior; Legionnaire; Disaster Relief Worker; Volunteer; Poet; Author; Novelist; Charity Kickboxer; Recreational Psychonaut; Flawed Mammal, Cautionary Tale…
'Chest i Slava' Voltse Krest / Honour & Glory Cross and 'Medal for the Sacrifice of Blood in the Battles for the Freedom of Ukraine' recipient; Ukrainian army soldier; humanitarian volunteer, disaster relief worker; dreamer of dreams; flawed mammal and cautionary tale… whose sole redeeming quality is shameless honesty as a memorialist.
Spent 2011-22 (aged 22-33) living in Spain, Thailand and Bali, with stints in Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Santa Cruz Cali: covered in 'Surreal Dreamscapes: The Fletch Anthology '11-22 (22-33).
After a pandemic in the palm-shade of paradise, Fletch moved to Ukraine in 2022, volunteering in food relief and, from September '23, as a legionnaire in the ZSU (Ukrainian Army) with the International Legion, fighting for 2nd Battalion Alpha Company in Luhansk region, the Lyman front.
At 22 Fletch left England for Spain in 2011, writing 'Jackboot Britain', relocating to Thailand in January 2012 as an amateur freelance reporter. Moved to Indonesia in August 2014; 'The Acid Diary' followed in December; four more books thereafter… after disaster relief, torture, betrayal and mayhem: a pandemic in the palm-shade of Phangan paradise; Ukraine in 2022; a year helping World Central Kitchen and others, then joining the Ukrainian army, finding a home in the Foreign Legion.
Santa, Legion 2nd Battalion commander awarded Fletch the 'Slava Voltse Cross' for distinguished conduct in combat, March 2024.
"Surreal Dreamscapes: Mind-Bending Mayhem in Absurdistan, The Fletch Anthology 22-33: 2011-22"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5N97GLJ/
"Wolves Eat Lambs: The Pornography of Power"
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BM3WCKDW/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BM3WCKDW/
Buy my book, and feel comfortable and witty at parties, smell fresh, sweat fragrantly and taste sweet, as doors open, ropes part, champagne supernovas form in the cosmoi and the moist magic of warm wet flesh envelopes your loins, while sexually charismatic nymphomaniacs chase you down the street like Hard Day’s fookin Night.
<>
“This is the ‘Slava Voltse’ Cross… for distinguished conduct in combat. This is not for civilians, it is a military decoration for those defending Ukraine on the battlefield from enemies who have attacked and tried to destroy our culture and civilisation. You have been with us for a relatively short time, but we decided to award this to you anyway. I have no doubt—you are A Man of Courage.”
~Santa, Legion 2nd Battalion commander
<>
"Brother Fletcher. I want to say a lot of positive things about you as a brother and as a person, but I will keep it short. When you were on duty at the position I was always calm because you are a responsible and disciplined fighter. Thank you for your help in the fight against the enemy. You are in thoughts and memories. You stay with us."
~Cygan, Legion 2nd Battalion Alpha Company commander
<>
Powerful and how profound
Flying high through golden air
Till in shadow I was drowned
Powerless in my despair
Now my cold sun scorns to shine
Bitter soul, infernal fear
Her roses hold more thorns than mine
Winter is eternal here
Shattered by the endless night
Battered, friendless, in affright
Dreams of love are shades of grey
That fray while colours fade away
Blood and nerve and bounding heart
Heavy words you lightly throw
How can spirit come apart
Like tears in rain or the melting snow
Yet the sun still shines divine
Phoenix rising—wings unfurled!
Golden-glowing smile and shine
There is beauty in the world
There is hope and joy and love
Ride the Dark Nights of the Soul
You can rise—transcend above
The sense that you’re no longer whole
In the darkness of the night
I
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 17, 2019
I struggled through a chapter or two... unfortunately I found this rather enervating.
The narrator is an English traveller living on and around the tropical beaches of Ko Pha-ngan in Thailand. The area is a tourist ghetto swarming with European backpackers, and it's not clear what the protagonist finds interesting about it. He comes across as introverted and judgemental, and generally wanders around the beaches without leaving his own head.
He takes a lot of hallucinogens and encounters various people that he doesn't respect. For example in the first scene he runs into a Jewish war vet that he evidently holds in utmost contempt. A couple of pages are then devoted to a very cynical and dispiriting conversation... it struck me as a strange and unpleasant way to begin a novel.
When he's not engaged in some condescending exchange, the narrator mostly waffles on about his half-formed opinions. He doesn't particularly have anything new to say, and peppers his thoughts with cliches and lyrics from the 1960s. I wanted to reach into the book and give the guy a couple of hard slaps in the face. Come on dude... you're listening to the music of your grandparents for f@#k's sake. It's time to get off the beach and go somewhere worth writing about.
The narrator is an English traveller living on and around the tropical beaches of Ko Pha-ngan in Thailand. The area is a tourist ghetto swarming with European backpackers, and it's not clear what the protagonist finds interesting about it. He comes across as introverted and judgemental, and generally wanders around the beaches without leaving his own head.
He takes a lot of hallucinogens and encounters various people that he doesn't respect. For example in the first scene he runs into a Jewish war vet that he evidently holds in utmost contempt. A couple of pages are then devoted to a very cynical and dispiriting conversation... it struck me as a strange and unpleasant way to begin a novel.
When he's not engaged in some condescending exchange, the narrator mostly waffles on about his half-formed opinions. He doesn't particularly have anything new to say, and peppers his thoughts with cliches and lyrics from the 1960s. I wanted to reach into the book and give the guy a couple of hard slaps in the face. Come on dude... you're listening to the music of your grandparents for f@#k's sake. It's time to get off the beach and go somewhere worth writing about.
June 24, 2024
'I was never anything at home. I’m something, someone, out here, or so it feels.'
--Daniel
An analogy occurred to me while reading this book, as it joyfully meandered along it's drug-fueled situations and reflections. For me, reading this book is probably similar to a gen X-er reading Speedboat . Completely impenetrable to the layperson, but if you exist in just the right niche and had just the right experiences, it feels more personal than anything out there.
Reading Daniel's memoirs was kind of like reading my own in a parallel universe. While I had just dipped my toes into the lifestyle and escape of the 'Right Kind of Drugs' (a phrase that'll stick with me), Daniel was wading out into the ocean and discovering dolphins the size of German U-Boats.
The common ideas of all psychedelic veterans are here. Impermanence, curious hedonism, a brutal honesty. From reading the title, the immediate expectation I had going in was that this was Hunter S. Thompson teleported to the 21st century. However Daniel had a quality that Thompson lacked: being a decent human being. Daniel even referenced Thompson in passing, drawing attention to what the reader might be thinking in true postmodern style. He seemed to concur with my judgement.
Give it a try, see if it's your poison. Don't expect plot, just vibes. Plus a ton of tequila sunrises. (I made a few myself while reading)
February 4, 2018
Love this book!!!
November 23, 2018
An excellent book, it is very attractive, it illustrates too many experiences.
January 15, 2015
Loved this one! Made me laugh and wince with nostalgia in equal part even with its misanthropic nature at times. Somewhere between a novel and a memoir and full of drug trip anecdotes from Thailand. The first time Ive ever seen 25I-NBOME featured in a book and full of acid and mescaline trips in the week long narrative of the story.
Makes me want to go back to Koh Phangan sooner rather than later even though the parties described in this book are closed. Found it from the Eden page. It is not The Beach or Fear and Loathing but a nice pseudo-autobio that lays somewhere in the middle. Look forward to more though hopefully more in a 'novel' style!
Makes me want to go back to Koh Phangan sooner rather than later even though the parties described in this book are closed. Found it from the Eden page. It is not The Beach or Fear and Loathing but a nice pseudo-autobio that lays somewhere in the middle. Look forward to more though hopefully more in a 'novel' style!
March 25, 2015
This was a really enjoyable read. A semi(if not more than semi!)-autobiographical account of a chemical-fueled time within a secluded hippy enclave on the Thai island of Koh Phagnan, where the main character searches his soul for the philosophical answers to the universe. The style is whimsical and at times stream of consciousness, very much in keeping with the protagonists state of mind. Very enjoyable and at times thought-provoking - the vivid descriptions of the landscape will also bring back fond memories for anyone who has headed over to Asia to take time out from western life. Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews