Oraine Johnson's Lucid was a book that I had on my TBR for a while. The concept of it is one that's incredibly interesting so I am so appreciative that I've been able to read this early.

The first half, or less, of the book was pretty confusing. There were language choices that I wasn't too sure of and things that didn't make sense as part of the story. Stylistically, I'm unsure if I was missing something however this did not take me away from what turned into an incredibly strong back half of a story that I hope to see through to the end. The setting itself was unfamiliar, being set in Birmingham, but it turns into it's own setting the more you read. I was wondering if I'd have to know the area but not at all.

I enjoyed the characters here. Each with their own personality and motives. You could really tell that these characters were unique and a lot of thought went into them. I particularly enjoyed the switch of POVs between mother and son which really expanded the story, meaning we got to see things from different angles. I love the concept of dreams being a massive part of the world.

The magic system was incredible. A tad confusing at first but once it got going it did not stop. I was reminded a little of Marvel's Moon Knight and that's only a good thing.

Oraine Johnson has produced a brilliant superhero-esque novel which is riddled with mystery and intrigue. I can't wait for the sequel.

What are dreams? Alternate realities, glimpses into ‘another place’, where our minds go free, or our brains trying to make sense of the previous wakened hours?

Whatever they are, they have been a science fiction and fantasy staple for decades, from Roger Zelazny’s Amber series to Elric’s Moonbeam Roads connecting the Multiverse, to Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and lately Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series and Richard Swan’s Empire of the Wolf books.

Perhaps I should also mention the ubiquitous Stephen King’s book and film Dreamcatcher or the movie Inception.

I’m sure that there are hundreds of other examples, both in and out of genre. Dreams are clearly something which fascinate us – a connection between the real and unreal, as they hold possibilities somewhere between hope and despair. They may seem real, but are just our imagination. As Roy Orbison once sang,

“In dreams I walk with you.
In dreams I talk to you.
In dreams you’re mine, all of the time.
We’re together in dreams, in dreams.”

The relevance of this? Well, here we have Lucid, the debut novel from young author Oraine Johnson. It’s a story set in a near-future Birmingham (in the UK), a tale of urban fantasy with a touch of an action-adventure thrown in. But most of all, it’s a detective mystery combined with these somnambulistic archetypes.

Joe Jacobs is a typical teenager living in a near-future Birmingham. (For non-UK readers, that’s the second-biggest city in England.) He lives with his adopted Mum, detective Elizabeth Jacobs, but is also at present going to University, attending lectures by Professor Grey.

In his leisure time he hangs out with his lifelong friend Sam West, who, like his other friend Aleyah is a geeky outsider. Bonded by their common interests, the three of them deal with all of the interests and tribulations of life put upon teenagers – skateboarding, coursework, fashion, films, computer games, music, not to mention racism, sexism, bullies, gangs and possible romantic relationships. It made me rather think of Spiderman’s Peter Parker to some extent – or perhaps more Miles Morales, as Joe is a person of colour, but with a Birmingham (Brummie) accent.

Joe has his own personal issues as well. He is an orphan, which has caused him trauma from childhood and for which he has been until recently having counselling. He also takes medication for panic attacks.

All of these challenges mean that when he starts having blackouts and experiencing hallucinogenic visions it is initially unclear whether this is a new challenge or just something that is a consequence of this. Is Joe is having episodes created by stress and struggling with being a teenager, or could they just be him badly reacting to his medication?

When Joe’s mum (ex-detective but still involved with the police force) becomes involved in a murder case near to where they live, this creates more tension, not just because she has to reluctantly work with ex-colleague Detective Kukadia, but because Joe sees things in his dreams.

It may be connected to a strange gift arrives on Joe’s birthday: a dreamcatcher that hums with otherworldly energy. There’s no sender, and no explanation, just an eerie inscription: ‘We Are Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On’.

As things progress Joe, his friends and family become not only dragged into events, but are also put in danger – something that perhaps only Joe can sort out.

It might be worth pointing out that there are issues in the novel that may be triggering for younger readers – the book deals with mental health, hospitals and institutions, not to mention neurological disorders which may be problematic for some readers.

My first thought on finishing this book is that it is surprisingly visual. Johnson spends a lot of time relating in prose things that would work well on a television or cinema screen or graphic novel – emojis, transcripts of speech and phone/text-speak, the language of teenagers today. As you might expect! This grounds the book in a degree of reality, necessary for what happens next.

Oraine also adds in noises and sound effects in prose to the text, to visualise this further –‘boof’, ‘bzzzggggrrrrr’ and ’bang-bang’, amongst others.

I guess in a world where much is communicated through visual means, from videos on Tik Tok and YouTube to programmes streamed on Netflix and the like, that it shouldn’t be that much of a surprise, but it might be to some readers. I have seen this before – L E Modesitt Jr’s Recluse novels do the same.

Interestingly, it was so filmic that as I read I found I was allocating main characters to specific actors – I saw Professor Grey as Morgan Freeman and Detective Kukadia as Luther, a character played by Edris Elba, for example.

We also get, in the finest traditions of Netflix and the like, a cliffhanger ending.

This visuality also meant that there was a fluidity to the prose. The pace of the book is fast, which means that you don’t have to think about things too much, as they move along swiftly. The downside of this is that some of the minor characters are skimpy in their details as we focus on the actions of Joe, his friends and his mother. Most crime books do this, I think – you need to worry less about the background details as they are recognisable from any police procedural you may have seen or read.

It was pleasing to read an urban fantasy not set in a major American city or even London, like Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series; This has some nicely developed local colour, which makes places recognisable and yet slightly different. Think of it as a modern-day Peaky Blinders but more genre elements.

This works up to a point here; gunfights in the hospitals of Birmingham and fights in Birmingham across the gangland city centre pushed credulity a little, although again I am aware that there are even weirder things also going on in the book at the time!

In short, Lucid is a good debut novel – a fast-paced and likable debut, with enough to make it different from many similar novels. Its readable prose, agreeable characters and rapid delivery will keep those pages turning, particularly for younger readers who I think will find this very appealing.

Well, perhaps this title was not for me. A dystopian, future Birmingham is the setting for this wildly sci-fi tale. Society is shattered; the police forces are corrupted and several gangs strive against each other for ultimate power over the city and inhabitants. The central character is Joe, an adopted teenager who had believed himself to be a normal guy - however he is anything but. Powerful forces are gathering and Joe is central to their plans. With his adoptive mother, his professor from school and his friends, his future path is already set and all he can do is right for what he hopes is the right side. Action packed, surreal and forceful this is a gripping young adult read.

‘Lucid’ by Oraine Johnson is wonderfully unique, delicately interwoven web of mystery, murder, thrill and interestingly, the supernatural.
On paper, the plot premise sounds like it should be too complicated to work but genuinely, the journey you are taken on in this book is unlike anything I have experienced before. Each chapter leaves you desperate to get more information, more answers on the ever expanding mystery. You are drawn in at every point, further and further down the ever deepening wormhole that is this distinctively white-knuckled thrill ride. The constant change in (and dare say, plentiful) povs add further intrigue and depth to the slowly interlacing web of character arcs, driving you towards the dramatic precipice of the tale.
Now what I will say, is if you do struggle with multiple pov’s, there is a chance you ‘may’ struggle in parts. There are >many< views we are granted in this novel, and yes at times it is not immediately clear whose perspective we are following chapter by chapter. I personally do love switching pov’s in novels, I think it adds intrigue and tension to a novel, when done well, and even I struggled at times to work out the character in hand. Conversely, this didn’t affect the pacing for me (as it usually does), so I would genuinely prompt you to bare with it.
My only other critique is that I did struggle at times with the language used, I am a midlander (uk) and even I struggled at times with the ‘brummy roadman’ language used. That being said, the use of phonetic spelling and onomatopoeia really helped to immerse the reader even further into intrigue and danger of the novel.
I truly believe this series has an incredible amount of potential, it is so refreshing to read story that is so wonderfully unique. Really enjoyed it! Big congrats to Oraine on his debut, I honestly cannot wait to see how you progress as an author and further to see how this series develops and matures.
A special thank you also to Orion Publishing for granting me the opportunity to read this as an arc 🫶🏻

Set in what could be the near future(?) this story follows Joe, a young man whose dreams seem to be coming true. Except they are more akin to nightmares and the monsters of the night are coming to get him...

There was a lot to like here. Birmingham as a setting is a nice change of pace - look, there are other city's in the UK outside of London! And the hints at this splintering of said UK, of counties becoming little bastions against the horrors of the world was a really cool idea. I wish we could have learnt more about the rest of the country, what was going on.

The flow was very confusing at times, leaping from pov to pov, to dreams, reality and everything in between. The pacing was off as well, moments when so much happened, then so little and it was just plain weird. I did enjoy the choices made with the font, the author is really trying to convey things just with the font size, with some words faded, some words cut, and it created a more interactive element of the book almost.

But I have to be honest, I didn't care about any of the characters. I didn't like them or dislike them, I didn't feel anything for them beyond a mild confusion about some of the very slang heavy speech they kept coming out with. This book is very much of the moment, for better and for worse.

It was a fine book but I couldn't connect with it in the way the author intended, but I'm sure it will be right up some people's alleys.

This is Birmingham like you’ve never known it - rife with drones, dream realms, secret societies and gang wars. In it, we meet teenager Joseph, whose dreams feel a little too real sometimes, and who might just be the bridge between the dream world and the waking one. We follow him (and his hilarious friends) as he tries to escape the clutches of demon-like ‘Knight Mares’ and a science-based organisation trying to harness his powers. We also follow his mother, an ex-detective on the connected case of a serial killer drowning people without water.

I love the way this story blurs genres - there are elements of thriller, sci-fi, murder mystery, urban fantasy, action/adventure and horror, and they work together seamlessly. I can’t help but wish to see it as a TV series - it’s got the kind of propulsive plot that keeps you coming back episode after episode. The cast is diverse and memorable, the setting is vivid and easy to imagine and the horror scenes are expertly-crafted, heart-pounding and well-suited to nightmares.

I also really respect the way sound, rap, slang and references are woven into the story and dialogue. This makes for an immersive and believable reading experience, gives a voice to the underrepresented, and sets the debut novelist up with a unique style I’m sure he’ll soon be known for.

I did finish the book wishing I knew more about both the magic system and the antagonists, but since I believe this is the first in a series, I have high hopes my questions will be answered in book two.

A struggle to read, with several different first person POV that at times made it difficult to follow what character was present in that moment.
A lot of pop-culture references (including a lot of Dragonball Z...is that still popular?) that makes me feel like this book will soon become dated before its time.

Lucid is an urban fantasy set in a near future, post pandemic, dystopian version of Birmingham. It’s a world where the UK has splintered into the old Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and Birmingham is now situated in Mercia. Birmingham has descended into a city riddled with gangs and crime. There are whole sections that are off limits and even the police force is almost entirely under the thumb of the crime lords.

We follow Joseph who is plagued with dreams, both waking and sleeping ones, and his struggle to understand what on earth is going on and whether he is indeed losing his mind like everyone thinks or if there is more going on. Simultaneously some of the horrifying dreams seem to be a reality as he witnesses the death of a young girl that then turns out to have been real. There is seemingly a serial killer on the loose and Joseph’s mum is spearheading the chase to track down the killer.

I found the world building interesting, I would consider myself intrigued for the most part although for some reason I really struggled to feel the UK setting. It came across way more American to me for some reason. Not that that is an issue, just an observation I felt reading it. I enjoyed the world in theory but for some reason I struggled to really connect or become too invested in it.

I was constantly walking the line between enjoying and not enjoying the book. Ultimately it was satisfactory but I don’t think I will find myself picking up the sequel when it comes around. By the end I just felt a bit confused and also like I wasn’t particularly invested in anything that was going on. It is a clever concept, the “dream magic” for lack of a better phrase is interesting, there is something there with the world building, but overall it all just fell a little flat for me and didn’t resonate.

This turned out to be not the sort of book I had expected. I read on the listing that it was for folks who read Ben Aaronovitch, but really it is not anything like that at all. It was an ok read but disappointed that it was not more like the blurb suggested.

I really tried to get into this book but something kept me from really immersing myself in it and I never quite managed to connect to the MC. I might have another go in Audible when it is released there as listening to it might help the connection as it has in the past.
I guess, in print anyway, it's just not one for me, sorry...

I liked the voice of the main protagonist - you don't often find skateboarding slang and rap lyrics in fantasy novels, and it was a refreshing change. If the book had stuck with Joseph's voice, I think I would have liked it. The main issue for me was the regular shifting between different first-person narrators, often with few context clues, so that I spent a lot of the time with no clue what was happening or even whose perspective I was in.

I think the marketing is also rather deceptive. From the book cover and blurb, I was expecting urban fantasy, but the tone of the novel is more a mashup of superhero and horror, neither of which are genres I enjoy.

Lucid is a gritty, near-future urban fantasy set in a post-pandemic Birmingham where reality, dreams, and power blur. It’s layered with corruption, multiple POVs, and an uneasy kind of tension that slowly builds.

There’s a lot I admired in this. The setting felt vivid, the cast was diverse, and the book does a great job of imagining a future shaped by tech and surveillance.

But I did struggle with some elements. The pacing took a while to settle, and I found myself a little lost in the rotating perspectives, especially when voices blurred together or POVs switched without clear transitions. The slang-heavy dialogue kept pulling me out of the story. I could usually grasp the meaning from context, but it made it hard to fully connect with the characters.

Unfortunately, Lucid didn’t fully land for me, but I think readers looking for something fast-paced, inventive, and rooted in a sharply observed future might enjoy it.

I really enjoyed this, this is severely under hyped in all of the books coming out this year. I first saw this book after I was browsing the broken binding and saw a stunning version of this and it’s the first time I’d heard about it. I loved the premise so applied for the arc! I loved the mixed of thriller/crime/who dunnit/fantasy elements. I’ve honestly never read anything like it. Really enjoyed the urban aspect and that it was set in the UK. I did get a bit confused at times with all the switching of POVS but at the same time I was never bored. I wanted to pick it up constantly. Read it in 2 days! Would give it a solid 4.5 stars.

I really enjoyed the main characters and plot of this book, and the idea and potential with the dreams was excellent!
I would have given it 4 stars, but do not often read books in the 1st person pov, and since the chapters did not have the name of the characters to start with, I got quite confused as to who was narrating sometimes, but maybe the final version will be different.
Overall, a very good read!

4 stars ⭐️

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an early copy of this book. I really enjoyed this book! It was definitely I thought I wouldn't enjoy it but I did!

The first ten per cent or so of this book was a little bit confusing. I've been to Birmingham, I recognised some of the places involved but things felt a little disjointed for me. But later explanations of the universe's history made it make more sense, and the plot over all was pretty unique to boot.

I liked the formatting, the way parts that were unclear to the characters were also unclear to the reader; it made it feel as if we were learning along with Joseph and Elizabeth instead of being told in advance, which might work for some premises but this is very much a show don't tell kind of a story.

Very much hoping for a sequel with that ending, though! Sketch is certainly my favourite character. She's so sassy and smart. Hope to hear more on this series (? I hope, please?) in the near future.

4.5 stars - that first ten per cent or so did take a little bit of getting through for me.

3.25 ⭐️

A really intriguing urban fantasy, fast paced, believable characters, but just a bit too much going on for me.

Story: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
Spice: 🫑 (rating chart at bottom for ref)
Pacing: 3/5
Plot twists: 2.5/5
Magic system: 2.5/5

Set in modern day Birmingham (but with a few twists), this book really embraced the culture of the city. The characters are fully realised from all backgrounds, using slang and lexis through out their POVs. There is a undertone of gang violence fueling the city, and Johnson does a great job of interweaving this into the story.

We follow Joseph, who has a murky background and struggles to sleep. His dreams are fraught with vivid images of a burning home. Then one day the city is throw into turmoil when a blood bath occurs in the heart of 'The Loop', the hideout of one of the many criminal gangs, and a video surfaces of a black ghost taking justice into their own hands.
A serial killer on the loose, victims drowned with no source for the water, and strange goings on with humans with white eyes...

This was a fast paced, relentless book. I really enjoyed the intrigue of it, but there was just so much going on.

This book had multiple first person POVs, which I really struggled with. I'm not sure if this is just the eARC copy, but there wasn't any markers on the page explaining which character we are with for the next part of the story. As a result, I often read a bit of text and was confused by who we were with, specifically for two of the female characters who were both involved with law enforcement. It was frustrating to switch between so many characters so frequently

The characters were really well written, and felt completely believable. I did like the broad range of the POVs for the unique insights that they bought to the story.

I'm not sure I fully understood the background behind the magic system, and even when we had a bit more of an explanation I still felt like there was gaps in the intentions behind the antagonists' actions. I couldn't really explain where the magic came from, why the antagonists were opposed to certain people or what intention was for this fantastical element. It felt very much like an urban story with fantasy shoved in.

I almost would have preferred just an urban story steeped in culture and gang conflict, and how that affected the city. That's where I think this story really shined. The fantastical elements just fell a little flat and confused for me.
However, this is book one and there is another to come. So maybe within that story more becomes clear, but as a standalone I wasn't convinced.

The writing however, was really cool. Very imaginative and stimulated a lot of really cool imagery. Johnson definitely knows how to weave language.

Overall, an enjoyable read, I kept wanting to know and understand more and potentially there's where my frustration lay. I wanted more depth to the fantasy that I didnt feel was there, however, I do think I'd read the next book to understand more about the world I was introduced to.

Spice rating:
🫑- low to no spice, just kissing
🌶️ - Low spice foreplay, fade to black/closed door sex
🌶️🌶️ - One or two open door “soft” (not overly explicit) sex scenes and/or spicy foreplay
🌶️🌶️🌶️ - Multiple open door explicit/detailed sex scenes and detailed spicy foreplay
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ - Lots of open door sex scenes and spicy detailed foreplay
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 🌶️- more sex than plot

Did I enjoy this book?
Very much so.

Do I recommend it?
Yes, especially if you like action books!

This is one of those books that grabs you by the lapels and drags you along with it and I loved that. The characters are very well written and so likable. It was nice to see a book with a mother and son narration. I liked the setting and the world building. I also enjoyed the social commentary. The action was impactful and made the book unputdownable. The opening does this particularly well, giving the reader emotional whiplash in the best way. This is an excellent gritty urban fantasy and I can’t wait to read more!


Any criticisms?
I wanted more depth with the magical system. It might be done deliberately but I just wanted to know more.

Will I read it again?
Yes, I think I will.

Will I read the sequel?
I really hope there is going to be a sequel!

For fans of:
Supercell
The Girl who could move sh*t with her mind
The City We Became
Rivers of London

‘Trick or Treat? You decide Force-fed sweets mixed with lies.’

Lucid, the debut novel of Oriane Johnson, is a solid beginning to a writing career. Wonder and awe are sprinkled throughout this book to accompany a subtle murder mystery and coming of age story. Set in a alternate Birmingham the world building enhances that which you already know, or helps you build it from the ground up if you have never been.

Joseph and Elizabeth are the main POV characters in the book, a mother and son duo who I would die for, swapping you between the fantastical eyes of a teenager to the blind eyes of a adult. Such a dichotomy between University student and veteran police office is very interesting. This is enhanced as the characters find a way to change and adapt through the book without ever leaving you questioning the choices or the growth of the characters.

Multiple plot points are woven through the book, following alongside others or veering off into a separate direction altogether, leaving you guessing at what could possibly come next. Honestly my only gripe with the book is that a multiple plot points that had time invested into them didn’t ever come to fruition, they lay now as foundations for future books, but left the ending falling a little behind where I personally thought it could have been.

A solid book on all accounts and an incredible debut. Where do I sign up for the next installment?

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy. I liked this overall, it has an intriguing premise but I found the first half quite slow going in terms of pacing. There were also sections which I found hard to follow. It did improve in the second half and I liked the divergent POV's and how they came together. I would recommend this for fans of urban fantasy.