Hungry for an Enlightening & Entertaining Metaphysical Novel? Try SNOOZE

Sol Luckman

Back in the day, as I was digesting the very few palatable books that make up the anorexic canon of noteworthy new age novels, I remember reading James Redfield’s THE CELESTINE PROPHECY and experiencing completely contradictory emotions.

On the one hand, I was thrilled that someone had written an actually interesting, even epic, tale about ascension and the lightbody—of all bloody unimaginable things in the spiritual wasteland that is mainstream fiction.

To use a contemporary analogy, it was as if, for decades, I’d been traversing the country searching for nutritious road food only to be offered McDonald’s at every stop—and now all of a sudden I had the option to choose Chipotle!

Baby, I was lovin’ it!

On the other hand, while reading Redfield’s mythic tale that changed publishing forever by proving that indie books—even highly alternative ones—can make it big (and even be made into movies), I often winced at his sloppy prose and clunky plot devices proving that the author knew a good deal more about metaphysics than creative writing.

Even a quick glance at Amazon reviews of THE CELESTINE PROPHECY reveals a tremendous divide in how the book can be and has been assessed.

Depending on such factors as the reader’s spiritual appetite, literary pretensions, humility and humanity, reviews of this classic work of speculative fiction range from the cloying praise of purely heartfelt “love and light” to rationally blasting it all the way to Shambhala and back, tact be damned.

Last year, when I set out to write my own spiritual myth in the form of a novel, I gave a lot of consideration to the schizoid quality of most new age fictions, whose form and content often wildly diverge and effectively neutralize each other for most readers.

In other words, while, to my way of thinking, the average metaphysical novel may have its heart in the right place, too often its head seems to go missing.

There are, of course, exceptions to this generalization, such as Jean-Claude Koven’s charmingly intelligent GOING DEEPER: HOW TO MAKE SENSE OF YOUR LIFE WHEN YOUR LIFE MAKES NO SENSE.

But typically, given the questionable quality of the writing, if you’re anything like me, there are probably a lot of things you would rather do—visit the dentist, do hard labor, watch CNN—than read contemporary esoteric novels.

My humble, sincere hope is that SNOOZE: A STORY OF AWAKENING will change that for you.

I’ve written two recent articles that shed light on how SNOOZE, while billing itself as a young adult (YA) sci-fi fantasy novel, is for more than just young readers and constitutes far more than merely a sci-fi fantasy.

In the first article, Exploring Human Potential through Lucid Dreams, Paranormal Abilities, Parallel Universes & … Bigfoot, I map out the general metaphysical territory covered by SNOOZE, with an emphasis on the book’s central motif of lucid dreaming, which is treated both speculatively and scientifically.

Happily, even while conveying so much information of a philosophical nature, SNOOZE—which received an Honorable Mention in the 2014 Beach Book Festival prize competition—has been repeatedly acknowledged to be a darn good work of literature, if I do say so myself.

But I don’t have to say so myself. I’ll let the book’s reviews speak for themselves.

Enjoy—and as always, sweet dreams!

SNOOZE is “a magnificent act of power, a novel brought forth for the Second Renaissance, the Return of Wisdom … [G]et ready for the ride of a lifetime. You won’t want to stop.” —OracleReport.com

“Luckman’s dazzling abilities as a novelist abound with lyrical prose … Although [SNOOZE] chronicles a boy’s transition into manhood, I would not consider it young adult. The provocative subject matter of science and spirituality is very mature … If you enjoy colorful characters, a fast-paced plot and stories that tug at your heart, this novel in eighty-four chapters is anything but a yawn.” —Readers’ Favorite

“A literary treasure. Mr. Luckman has blessed us with an absolutely enlightening, heartwarming story filled with inspiration, adventure, and love. I believe most readers will readily relate to or identify with Max or some of his experiences. SNOOZE is a beautiful and fascinating depiction of the awakening process that will touch your heart. Enjoy Mr. Luckman’s precious gift!” —Liliana Cartagena

“A delightful read—weaving a myriad of altered states of consciousness into a rites-of-passage hero’s journey that is both timeless and present-relevant. Main characters have intelligence, innocence and charm, and point towards the tension of living in our current reality while expressing the seeds of humanity’s leap to our next evolutionary level—which in this story is about integrating and transcending mainstream consciousness with marginalized spiritual potentialities such as out-of-body and time travel, spontaneous healing, life beyond death, and more. A very creative synthesis of cultural edges from around the world that is both entertaining and provocative at the same time. Fun read full of ironies—recommend it to anyone who wants to escape into the possible future!” —Lynn King

“I came across a review of SNOOZE posted on Facebook … and, having nothing else in the queue, bought the e-version and started reading. Three late nights later (sorry kids for being somewhat absent for Labor Day weekend) I am transformed. One of the greatest parts of fiction in my world is when an author seamlessly blends the science and the story together into a new and Amazing world that I would love to enter myself. And for all of us ‘pseudo-scientists’ for whom noetics is old hat, to see our theories brought to life warms the heart and the soul. As a story-teller, I am so glad to meet you Sol Luckman. Your use of character dialog to explain the complexities of time-space succeeds where the academic descriptions lose 99% of the audience.” —Andrew L. Foss

“There is ALICE IN WONDERLAND which takes us on adventures through the Looking-glass and then there is SNOOZE which shows us how to get there. The archetypal hero Max begins with fear and trepidation and ends with certainty and the power of love. He navigates disappointment and finds unexpected blessings in loss … I hope a producer reads this book and makes a movie out of it … Great book. ” —Curiouser

“SNOOZE is a captivating coming-of-age tale about a gifted boy traveling to a fantastical realm to save his father … Thanks to author Sol Luckman’s writing ability, SNOOZE can be enjoyed by readers of all ages, despite being aimed at young adults. Right off the bat, the writing is engaging and captures the attention.” —Indiereader.com

“SNOOZE is without doubt one of the best coming-of-age, awakening books that I have ever read, and it had me entranced from the beginning to the end. Unlike a lot of books in the YA genre, which while perfectly enjoyable, are nonetheless superficial, SNOOZE takes the reader on a magical mystery tour of astral projection, lucid dreaming, out of body experiences, levitation, telepathy … the list goes on, and all of this is interwoven with themes of bullying, isolation, grief, friendship and characters … you cannot fail to love … It would be impossible to do justice to this wonderful book in just one review … [S]uffice to say that I highly recommend it and love the notion that the Loch Ness Monster might really exist.” —Ingrid Hall, Author & Freelance Editor

“This is a book that, when many people read it, will be instrumental in the world being a better place to live. This I feel strongly about. I’ve read all the books Sol Luckman has published and of the fictions, this one is my favorite. I want to share this story with everyone I know young and old. Great for a book club because there is so much to talk about. Refreshing, here is a story whose characters come to recognize and understand their own unique personal gifts that may seem ‘out there’ to people not yet awake. The journey of adventure here is much more than I expected and very unique in that I can feel myself awaken as I read it. I have been hungry for a book like this and feel my own questions about what I am experiencing during this mass awakening are shared and answered. This story took me on a ride like no other. I am visibly changed, moved and in awe of human potential and what’s to come.” —Jennifer Churchill

“SNOOZE was no snooze! I was up until 4 a.m. reading this book … no snoozing for me! Traveling along with Snooze/Maxwell was a wonderful adventure in the supernatural realm, as well as in the ‘real’ world. The continuous connections throughout the story and in his young adult life allowed me to go back in ‘time/space’ (or is it space/time?) to experience their moment of conception, drawing me further into the story. I was happy to see that this novel was more than a young adult book, as older adults will love it too (I am 48 years old). There are layers to this story, allowing each reader to enjoy the same story but take away a different meaning. Sol Luckman’s memorable characters are wise and witty, filled with compassion and ready to change the world. I want to know what happens next! Sequel?” —Kristina Barker

“SNOOZE is a book for readers ready to awaken from our mass cultural illusion before we self-destruct. SNOOZE calls out for readers open to the challenging adventure of opening their minds. It illustrates, in intriguing story form, the possibilities that imagination, dreams, visions, paranormal experiences, respectful relationship to nature, and non-linear thinking may hold the keys to resolving the ecological, economic, social, and political deadlocks we are currently experiencing. If you love a not-so-classic tale of Joseph Campbell’s ‘Hero’s Journey,’ travel along with Max on his very adventurous flight into parts of reality we seldom dare to explore. You will be richly rewarded with hidden treasures that could awaken you to the hero and the mission buried within you. You may, incidentally, also discover a new and paradoxical relationship between science and fiction—normally considered incompatible routes in the quest for truth.” —Merry Hall, Co-Host of ENVISION THIS

“The description in [SNOOZE] was astounding … so incredibly detailed you could really very easily picture everything and it was perfect … [T]he author took the reader on a journey with the main character … The story included a lot of today’s issues and presented an outlook on things that we … don’t understand, such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. I rate [SNOOZE] 4 out of 4 stars as it was truly a story of awakening. This was the first novel I had ever read by Sol Luckman but I will certainly be reading more of his work now. I would recommend this to all readers as the story truly holds a lot. It was deep, it was humorous and it left nothing to be desired.” —OnlineBookClub.org

“Sol Luckman’s SNOOZE was exciting and interesting. Vivid characters populate the novel as well as a fast-paced plot. It will keep you on the edge of your seat. I rate this book a five-star read.” —Tracey Lampley, Book Mistress Blog

“Utterly engrossing! This is truly a riveting ‘becoming awake’ adventure. With an undercurrent of Max’s acceptance of who he is, this wonderfully spun tale touches so many topics that benefit us all to have in our consciousnesses. While the story is presented as fiction, there is so much to learn here. Google was my constant companion as I read, discovering so many ideas new to me, presented in this story, that actually have their basis in this reality, as well as learning of intriguing people I’d never heard of before. Discussing this book will be an easy way to begin conversations on many interesting topics that otherwise might be difficult to initiate. Presented as a ‘coming of age’ story; this book is more than sophisticated enough (not to mention well written) to keep even the most discerning ‘adult’ reader highly engaged.” —Sandy Sturner

“I loved this book! It was so interesting that I could hardly put it down! It combined all of my interests, as well as showing the beauty of a Native American path, in which we know that we are all in this together, that everything has consciousness, and that we humans need to find better ways to live or we will destroy our home planet. I would recommend SNOOZE to anyone who enjoys fantasy, science fiction, spirituality, or Native American studies, as it combines all four of these aspects.” —Nancy Crom

“If you have any interest in lucid dreaming, astral travel, or paranormal phenomena, you’ll love reading this book. It’s very well written, and grabs you so much that it’s hard to put down, not just for the action and adventure, but for the questions it raises about some things labelled ‘so far unexplained.’ The story centers on Max as he comes of age at college and university, taking advantage of his gift of lucid dreaming and astral projection to propel him into a quest which also becomes an initiation into a path to enlightenment. There’s pain and loss, but also love, laughter and tears, as he meets amazing people and prehistoric creatures in a parallel world which is seemingly thousands of years behind ours but so advanced in some ways. You don’t need to be young to enjoy this story, just ‘young at heart.’” —Peter M. Johnston

“Heartwarming, satisfying and highly enjoyable read. I am a big fan of Sol Luckman’s work … SNOOZE reveals a new facet of Luckman’s genius and completely exceeded my expectations. I really enjoyed the characters, the plot, the conclusion and all of the ‘radical’ ideas thrown in. It was pure fun sprinkled with inspiration to see references to urban permaculture gardens growing exotic things like white cabbages (for healing poultices), pineal detoxification, vortices, spirit animals, non-petroleum based energy, the ‘good’ side of shamanistic coming-of-age rituals and of course the gentle, possession-shunning ‘bigfoots.’ The thing that stuck with me the most was the simple phrase ‘I see myself in you,’ a simple greeting between old friends and new acquaintances accompanied by meaningful eye contact and each person placing a hand on each others shoulder. If everyone would adopt this mentality, the world would be a completely different place. A much better one. Please read and share.” —Cpt2020

Sol Luckman is a pioneering ink painter whose work has been featured on mainstream book covers and an award-winning author whose books include the international bestselling CONSCIOUS HEALING and its popular sequel, POTENTIATE YOUR DNA. His latest novel, SNOOZE: A STORY OF AWAKENING, winner of the 2015 National Indie Excellence® Award, is the coming-of-age tale of one extraordinary boy’s awakening to the world-changing reality of his dreams. Sol’s forthcoming book of humor and satire is THE ANGEL’S DICTIONARY: A SPIRITED GLOSSARY FOR THE LITTLE DEVIL IN YOU. Sign up to receive Sol’s Devilishly Clever Word of the Day free in your inbox. Follow Sol on Facebook here and learn more about his work at www.CrowRising.com.