I was inspired to read this book by meeting its author at this year's International Comics and Games Festival in Łódź. We already had one of his books in our collection, but since we didn't have the next volumes of the trilogy, we are still waiting to read it. “Cas na sen” intrigued me with its subject matter and as soon as I finished the previous book, I reached for this title.
This novel is a thriller that tells the story of Taylor, a young man whose whole life has been uphill. When he was still small, he lost his father, while his mother, unable to recover from her husband's death, drowned her sorrows in alcohol, leaving her sons to fend for themselves. As the older brother, Taylor took care of Max until he began to notice things that others could not. At this point, the mother's new partner also entered the scene, who also shared the love for alcoholic beverages and had no qualms about putting the family under his dictation by force. All this led the teenager undergoing psychiatric treatment to run away from home and leave Max. He hoped that once he was out of the picture, the situation at home would calm down. How wrong he was...
Taylor, as it later turns out, was not having hallucinations, but was unique. As a numerological number 33, he has the gift of seeing and going to the dimensions of the dead during sleep. I admit that the author carefully built this world and the rules of its functioning. I haven't come across too many books on similar topics, although there have been a few films. I used to be interested in similar issues such as astral projections, lucid dreams, etc., so I found my way into this world quite quickly.
The setting of the novel is very dark. Its material side is full of pathology, manipulation, tyranny and sadness. Spiritual, in turn, dangerous, whose inhabitants are just waiting for the arrival of careless travelers or new souls. I admit that such a plot reminds me very much of the atmosphere of Stephen King's novels.
As far as characters go, Taylor is a special character. On the one hand, he means well, but there is also a lot of bitterness and hatred in him, resulting from the way people have always treated him. Max, Taylor's brother, is a smart and lovely child and I hope that the author will develop this character in the next volumes. The protagonist's mother and stepfather are very sad and rather negative characters, embodying examples of reprehensible parenting. I buy the concept of each of the characters and they are never black or white. This gives them credibility.
I liked the narrative. There is a good balance between action, dialogue and descriptions of the world. It still keeps you in suspense and can surprise you more than once. The only drawback for me was that, as I suspect, it was intentional to make the reader feel the shame that still accompanied the hero, which is difficult to deal with in the long run. This meant that I had to "take a break" from this book. Of course, the fact that the author is able to evoke such emotions in the reader is an undoubted advantage.
To sum up, I highly recommend this book. Until I met the author, I didn't know about his existence, much less about his prose. I consider this a big oversight and I hope that my review will help, at least a little, in promoting his work. If you like the subject of ghosts, other dimensions or dreams, are a fan of well-written thrillers or are looking for writers similar to Stephen King and are not afraid of touching on difficult social topics, this is a book for you!