Katalepsis: Volume 1

Katalepsis

By: Hazel Young

Narrated by: Marisa Calin

Heather Morell is haunted. Otherworldly nightmares and monstrous hallucinations lurk around every corner, relics of childhood bereavement and schizophrenia.

Until she meets Evelyn and Raine—a bad-tempered mage and her self-proclaimed bodyguard—and learns that she’s not insane after all.

The monsters she sees are all too real, the god-thing in her nightmares is teaching her the secrets of creation, and her twin sister—the lost girl who supposedly never existed—might still be clinging on, a dwindling soul somewhere beyond the walls of reality, Outside.

Heather plunges into a world of eldritch magic and fanatic cultists, trying to stay alive, stay sane, and deal with her own blossoming attraction to dangerous women. But being ‘In The Know’ isn’t all terror and madness. Sometimes the monsters wear fancy dresses and stick around for afternoon tea. Sometimes she finds more in common with them than she expects. Perhaps this new world is Heather’s chance to be more than a defeated husk of human wreckage.

And perhaps, out there on the far-flung rim of reality, she can find a way to bring her twin sister back from the dead.

©2022 Hazel Young (P)2022 Podium Audio

One of the best cosmic horror

One of the best cosmic horror story I read/listen.
Performance is good too. English is not my native language and I understood everything perfectly.

One of the most unique books I've ever read

I truly love the concept and plot of this story. Young explores several genres of horror all wrapped into one character driven tale. After listening to the audiobook, I did start reading further on the author's website, and I truly believe the story actually get even better.

My biggest critique of the audiobook is the narrator. While she absolutely nails dialogue and character voices, I find her general narration a little odd and sing-songy, which I think is a strange choice for a horror novel.

The overall book also has a slight issue with pacing, which I think is a result of it's original incarnation as a web serial. This was most obvious at the end of the book when the tale seems to stop a little abruptly.

The fact that this book is so character driven is my absolutely favorite piece of this creepy tale. The viewpoint character, Heather, always makes decisions informed my her own experiences which ensures a truly organic feel to the plot.

Of course, my two favorite things about the story in general are Heather's character growth and the romance! I think it's rare to have such well written horror and romance in one book.

Overall, I recommend the book! I think some people like me might find the narrator ti be an odd choice, but the plot is such a delight that it's easy to overlook.

Fantastic!

I loved the book and the narrator is phenomenal! The length was perfect and I can’t wait to continue the series.

Absolutely fantastically made!

For anyone who enjoys Fantasy, horror, LGBTQIA this book will take you on an absolute thrill ride from the first moment and makes you want more every moment. The plot twists and character development of all the characters really makes me enjoy and worry for them themselves. I can’t wait to get the next book when it comes out.

Really fun characters and story!

If you enjoy the more Lovecraftian style of fantasy, a few disaster lesbians, and a protagonist who hiccups a bit when she gets flustered, then this is for you!

loved it!

Wonderful characters, great story, and excellent writing!

I really enjoy eldredge horror, so when this series was recommended to me I was excited, and itwas everything I hoped it would be!

Meh

The premise of the story is great. I'm not sure why I didn't like the book more.

The main character is so WHINY. I can't do this, I can't do that. And she is really strong (mentally).

Intriguing story

Story and characters are great, narration might be a little fast I preferred listening at 0.9x speed.

Exactly what I was hoping for

fantastic, narrator really captures the voices for each of the characters, highly recommend for anyone who likes queer women, cosmic horror, or both.

Some Characters More Likeable Than Others

This book has a fascinating premise and I was super satisfied with the story as a whole. The world, the magic, everything was great, but as the story went on I found myself disliking a couple of the characters. Unfortunately they are the main character and the love interest.

The love interest is a psychopath who thinks nothing of casual, brutal violence. Most of it is directed toward deserving people, but it still put me off. My issue with the main character is that she gets super turned on by the love interest's violence. I think its meant to be like she is into how capable the love interest is, but it mostly just comes of as her getting off on them hurting people. It isn't a problem per say, just something I personally find hard to look past.

Other wise this book was nearly perfect. I really like the other main characters and I look forward to the next book.