The Lucid Dreamer (Dystopian Child Prodigy SciFi)

The Unmaker #1

by Casey Herzog

If you like Ender's Game you will absolutely LOVE my books A world in ruins. A race in turmoil. Every man for himself.Our planet is dying, but humanity stubbornly refuses to give in.After years of total war following an alien invasion which humanity succeeded in pushing away — so to speak — Earth is left ravaged and destroyed. Nations have ceased to exist and small communities hang on by a thread, surviving only by cowering away in the darkness or by allowing themselves to become corrupted shadows of what they once believed in.Within these ashes of a once-great planet, a story unfolds. Dante Castello , a boy gifted with healing abilities and his mentor and ex-soldier, Callum Thorpe, travel side by side through the wastelands after leaving a burning city behind them. Their objective is ‘The University’, a mysterious place where it is said that children and youngsters like Dante can develop their abilities and provide greatness to a world that dearly needs it.Unfortunately, both travelers are beset with the threats of the new world, and they have not left old enemies behind, either, enemies who do not let go of grudges easily…The healer’s story has just begun, but there are many who seek to end it. Pain, loss and suffering stand before and behind them and both man and child are certain of one truth in this post-apocalyptic world of is no such thing as ‘living’ anymore. There is only surviving.

214 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 16, 2017

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lucid Dreamer (Dystopian Child Prodigy SciFi) (The Unmaker Series Book 1) by Casey Herzog has 3 stories in one. One is a sci-fi and two fantasy stories. I liked them all but I liked the first one best, the sci-fi. All worth the read. The first one I would give 4 stars to and the others 3 stars each. I liked some of his other books better.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book from the author. I had the opportunity to review or not.

A world in chaos after warring with aliens and losing. It is the story of Dante, a young boy with incredible powers and Callum, a man with extraordinary combat skills and their journey across this chaotic land. They are trying to get to a better place where survival does not rely on murder. These are some of the inhabitants of The Lucid Dreamers books. Fascinating characters and hard-core descriptions make the stories readable and engrossing. The world has become a violent place to exist with everyone fighting even unto death for the meager supplies available. Gangs of mercenaries, thieves and semi-lawful people prey on each other for nothing more than the thrill of killing. This is the basis of the first tale of the book and the best of three tales told.

Herzog’s first novel is entertaining and frightening. It is conjecture of what would happen to us if aliens attacked and won, treating us as less than human. Things to be destroyed. The humans who became killers in the fight to survive. We are forced to see the base instincts that control our lives under horrific conditions. Who would you become?

[Christinaraven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instead of the usual aliens invade and Earth's people and governments band together to win the war and a new era of peace comes for all, Earth governments implode and lawlessness rules. It was a great read both disturbing and addicting at the same time. While most people end up bad a few good people do exist. Basically it's the story of Dante a 10 year old healer who must survive the craziness the world has become and his quest to learn where he came from and how to control his powers between crazy, insane and mutated people. I loved the fact that I never quite knew what was going to happen most. The imagery and characters were surprising well written and I loved to love and hate everyone out for themselves. Honest review - Worth reading if you like Dystopian stories with lots of twist and never knowing who exactly is good and bad. OK who is the worst of the worse.

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written as 3 books in one. The 1st story about Dante and his friends is very good. Written well, tight structure and a great story line. The next two books about magic however are terrible. The books are wordy, preachy and lack the structure of the 1st story. Conversations are pedantic, confusing, and not clearly delineated between the different speakers. Not worth the paper or the time to digitalize them. Many thoughts written as background, are repeated in the conversations making the read seem plodding and boring.

If you take this book, read the 1st story. skip the rest.

[John Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable Read

When I first started reading your book I wasn't quite sure what to expect. However it soon turned into a very enjoyable read. The storyline kept you unsure of what was going to occur in the next chapter but it kept me entertained throughout. Theme characters were believable and the storyline flowed smoothly. I look forward to reading the next book in the series and would recommend this to other fans of this genre

[BP34 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quite an interesting read and a different take on the usual sci-fi - dystopian book. Full of action and suspense. An amazing story where a healer emerges in the aftermath of an alien invasion where the earth suffered great devastation. A story of survival and existence. Well written with some interesting characters. I voluntarily reviewed an arc copy of this book. Enjoyed this book even though I don't usually read science fiction books.

[Bonnie Dale Keck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kindle Unlimited but had to look it up in my email, got it as an ARC. Uh trying to remember, arc for hopeful review, nothing more than the book, all opinions as always my own, solely based on my opinions and nothing else...well beyond everything else I have ever read in 50 plus years but whatever.

A world in ruins, a dying planet, a race to survive in the turmoil. The Earth was almost conquered but it was definitely laid to waste society. Dante Castello is gifted with healing abilities so along with his mentor ex soldier Callum Thorpe they are travelling the wastelands to get to 'The University' where it is said children such as Dante an develop and help a scarred scary world. They just have to get there, regardless of old enemies with new grudges.

The story more or less made sense, but found it a struggle, the formatting of the book had a full space between sentences and other things including what seemed to be random numbers with the title inserted here and there, although that could very well be in the copy received and not in the kindle version one normally gets, which means normally would would double check with ku version but don't have any room at the moment {but didn't see any comments about any of this in other reviews}. Basically liked it all right but didn't luv it {so matching the amazon 4 stars without figuring out the exact equal on goodreads. The review is based on story line and all, not on the formatting issues. Basically a 4 1/2 so a 5.

Unmaker Tower of Ayia {prequel}
The Lucid Dreamer (Dystopian Child Prodigy SciFi) (The Unmaker Series Book 1)
Fallen Angels (Dystopian Child Prodigy SciFi) (The Unmaker #2)
The Battle For Ironclad (Child Prodigy SciFi) (The Unmaker Series Book 3)

[Mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars, even though only the first story was a 4. The other two stories I'd give a 3 or 3.5 out of 5 stars. The first story is a great sci-fi - full of suspense and action. There are many great characters throughout the book though! Overall, I like the storylines, the descriptions, and the powers of some of the characters.

Some of the stories were cliche, but I enjoyed them still. Even though I said some was cliche, some of the stories were new and interesting. Also, the lines separating some of the paragraphs weren't necessary I think. I can't wait to read the next book - set of stories.

[Ruth Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book as an ARC reader. This is my freely given review.
Well, she's done it again! Casey Herzog has truely captured magic on the page again!
This book is a fast paced, full of action, and keeps you on your toes wondering what will happen next.!
I highly recommend this book to anyone that are Sci-Fi, thrillers, mysteries, and dystopia lovers, as I found that it covered all the bases of all these gente!
I can't wait to read the continuation!!!
Ruth Newton

[Sandy Lipinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A world destroyed by war where the worst and the best survives. A ten year old boy named Dante, can heal himself and others is on a road trip to a university.