Reviews for THE BOOK OF LUCE:
The Book of Luce isn’t so much a novel as it is a life-experience. The less you know going in, the more you will enjoy this twisted, enigmatic, psychedelic mind-f(insert rude word here) of a book that is truly a slice of magic and a work of imaginative genius. (Starburst Magazine)
Equal parts hippy travelogue and pulp existential thriller . . . a witty and weird tale with shades of both Philip K Dick, and Kieron Gillen/Jamie McKelvie’s comic The Wicked + The Divine. (SFX)
A clever and impressive novel, a drug-infused meta story that never wants to reveal too much or make definitive judgements. (Fiendfully Reading Blog)
Somehow this story puts into words the life grail we are all seeking. (Bookphace)
Such is the nature of the cult of L.R. Frederick’s ‘Time and Light’ series, and if it doesn’t expand you mind to new possibilities, you’ll at least find it an enjoyable romp though some old ones. (The Digital Fix)
This is a beautifully written, fascinating and interesting book. (Let Them Read Books)
Herman Hesse meets Salman Rushdie: the acceptance and presentation of what’s beyond the veil as part of everyday life coupled with a scholarly grasp of the subject matter. (Van is Reading)
and a small selection from the great readers at Amazon:
Luce Forever
I’ve always been a big fan of Philip K Dick’s sci-fi offerings and really loved the very trippy and quite surreal mind melt that was A Scanner Darkly. It was whilst discussing that book and the fact they making a part-live part-animated film about it that someone recommended to me this Book of Luce and of course to first read the first of the three books in this ‘Time and Light’ series from L R Fredericks which they had read some years prior. It was a book called Farundell and I fell in love with it – the name, the cover and the unfoldings of Alice and the rest of the Damory household. I loved in the background its dark sentimentality and it’s Gothic edges and found the authors style an absolute delight to get lost in – entirely poetic throughout and incredibly evocative and visual. Most of all though I loved the esoterical side of the way it framed its questions, both spoken and unspoken, and reflected it’s answers into more questions about the nature of existence and reality and where magic sat within that, and all whilst unwinding a perfectly enjoyable story about a man looking for answers. It was an adventure of it’s own with a beginning and an end so there was no immediate rush to find out ‘what happened next’ as such in the second book, but still it was an adventure I remembered and eventually last year happily followed into the second loosely connected book in the series, Fate, and once again delighted in immersing myself in the very rich landscapes of Fredericks psyche and a familiar name travelling on a quest through the 18th century.
Once again, book 2 is encapsulated in it’s own little universe and there was no immediate rush to find the third book to read as quickly as possible but one year later and and reminded quite by chance here we have the third sequel of sorts in this third entry into the series, The Book of Luce, which is much closer to the here and now and in a very different setting and asking us very different but not unfamiliar questions. With that in mind, The Book of Luce is a book which can in fact be read completely alone on its own merit without having read the previous two books in this series, or as the starting point of those books, or indeed as the conclusion – any which way you choose it will work, which is very neat in the bigger scheme of things and in light of some of what the Time and Light series and its inhabitants is about. It makes perfect poetic sense, as does some, but not all of the book of Luce.
It’s very creative, very luxurious in its language and very evocative and intoxicating in its scope and settings – the kind of book you might not want to recommend to someone with an addictive personality who is easily led astray. There are elements of suspicion and paranoia, hints of something bigger beyond us, shadows of the occult but ultimately once again the narrative and drive of a quest for answers. I loved it, even though it was perhaps running ever so slightly behind the first book, it was still a great adventure and one I whizzed through. It sometimes reminded me of a wonderful book I read many years ago called Moonchild by Alistair Crowley which is one of my top 5 favoutie books in the world, so I have to give this book 5 stars even though it’s not the best in the series!
Reviews for FATE:
“This is very special. It’s a family history of a character introduced to us in Farundell, but this completely works as a standalone. An epic historical novel with magic undertones as a man searches across Europe for the elixir of life. It’s 18th-century drama full of science, adventure and mystery on a grand scale. Wonderful stuff, highly recommended.” (The Bookseller, Ones to Watch)
“A sensationally engrossing read … elegant characters in an eloquently told tale of mystery, magic and timelessness … a sublimely enjoyable book that will leave you filled with wonder and thinking about it long after you have closed the cover.” (Book Club Forum)
“Fate is an intricate, Gothic novel in elegant style. Fredericks brilliantly absorbs the detail of 18th-century cities, country, clothes, food, theatre, music and architecture. … This fast-paced fiction transcends the genre. … Read Fate; discover its secrets; meet its characters; experience Damory’s quest, above all enjoy a deeper sense of what it is to be human.” (Historical Novel Society, Editor’s Choice August 2012)
“Brings to life a vivid, exciting portrait of the eighteenth century world. … Though undoubtedly an adventure story, Fate unfolds as an intricate, dark treatise on the costs of attaining knowledge and the double-edged sword of eternal life on earth. … This beautifully written book presents the question of whether a man is truly in charge of his own destiny or whether his fate – and the fate of those around him – is determined by forces beyond his control.” (We Love This Book)
“Lord Francis Damory, bit player in Farundell, deserved a volume of his own, and this is it. … A funny, enthralling, prequel … It’s an action packed story as many events (and people) happen to him but one accepts they wouldn’t be as entertaining recounted by anyone else. This Lord Damory is a kind, generous scientist and polymath, but most of all, Ms Fredericks has blessed him with an excellent sardonic, sarcastic wit and sense of irony.” 4.5 – 5 stars. (The Bookbag)
“…a story with a whole host of elements that blend together to create a great whole. If you want a love story, you have it, you want adventure, yep that too and if you like something that pushes boundaries bringing historical fiction and fantasy together then you’re in for a treat. Add to this some solid prose with a huge cast and all in it’s a standalone that works very well. Back that up with an author who loves to tell a story that brings their own identifiable style and you’ve got something a little bit special. Great.” (Falcata Times)
“Fredericks writes absolutely beautifully. … You can get completely, wonderfully lost in Fredericks’ impeccably imagined lazily unfolding world. This novel is a genuine thing of beauty. … Science, Magic and History all combine seamlessly to make this a novel that really stands out from the crowd. I’ve not read anything that I could really compare it to, it’s utterly unique. Add to this Fredericks’ impressive elegance of narrative, and you’ve got a real winner. A beautiful, beautiful read. Can’t recommend it highly enough.” (FantasyBytes)
Reviews for Farundell
“Farundell is a marvellously dark and intricate literary gothic novel. The style is elegant and engaging and the storyline compelling. This is an author to watch.” Joanne Harris, best-selling author of Chocolat
‘Is it possible to know the mind of God? L R Fredericks, in this richly ambitious debut novel, explores this question. Fredericks is adroit at changing moods, able to conjure up the horror of a battlefield, the calm of a garden, or the farce of a party….one cannot help but be swept away by Fredericks’ bold intentions.’ (Financial Times)
Descriptively, conceptually and emotionally captivating.’ (Easy Living )
‘Beautifully written . . . I am sure it will appeal to many people.’ (Daily Mail )
‘Fredericks has written an epic novel that will no doubt have a cult following and become a best seller once its brilliance is understood by the wider reading society.’ (The Fringe Magazine)
‘In a work reminiscent of John Fowles’ The Magus and The Chymical Wedding by Lindsay Clarke, with their metaphysical overtones and secluded settings, first time author LR Fredericks strikes a bold note with this unusual and accomplished novel. …The story is intriguing, and the acute realisation of this lost Brideshead Revisited world will transport readers into a place of both glamour and squalor.’ (The Big Reader)
At the great Medium.com, reviewed by Claire Meadows
This past summer saw me absorbed in some great books, one of which captivated more than many I’ve read in a long time.
Farundell by LR Fredericks offers a mystical twist on the classic British vintage country house party novel.
Set in the golden summer of 1924, the story follows soldier Paul Asher — traumatised by his experiences of the Western Front — taking up an invitation to help write the memoirs of explorer Lord Perceval Damory.
Damory’s home — Farundell — is a captivating country house accommodated by some extraordinary characters. Right from the start, the author sets up a rich and varied supporting cast. There’s precocious Alice, the hermit Daniel, and gorgeous Sylvie, pulsing with sexuality, and leaping off the page as she weaves her web around a helpless Asher.
The book has much in common with the best country-house novels — Brideshead Revisited being one of the most famous — but the mystical twist gives it an added layer of complexity and life. It’s beautifully written and becomes a page-turner of the first degree.
This was the U.S-born author’s debut novel, and stood on my shelf for a while before the season inspired me to pick it up, and I’m glad I did. I’ll be seeking out more from her. This one comes highly recommended.
So, what about this volume. I was reminded of the Beats and the Electric Cool-Aid Acid Test but with a gnostic delivery, featuring preternatural powers and a touch of the supernatural. The book is written from one character’s point of view, and his reports on the views of others, as he investigated the mysterious singer Luce, from Luce and the Photons – an underground psychedelic rock band. The book is replete with references and bibliography from the story’s universe.
One cannot help but get a feel of David Bowie, with Luce able to shed personae and offer an androgynous (or, more accurately, gender fluid) appearance. Of course the addition of Bowie’s name on the sleeve and Fredericks offering an author’s acknowledgement to Bowie’s inspiration certainly also adds to this. The difference, of course, was Bowie was not the embodiment of the avatar of the age blessed with Messiah like miraculous powers and pursued by the State. Or as the protagonist sees ‘them’, demon-simulcara, unreal, plastic looking agents with blank eyes. Then perhaps our protagonist is not the best judge… obsessed with a rock star he has apparently imbued with Messianic properties, a regular user of drugs, including LSD, a convicted murderer and believed to be entirely mentally unstable and thus (when finally released back into society) prescribed the antidepressant Seroxat?
The book is a tour de force, the characters imbued with strong voices and follows a fascinating trail of breadcrumbs across the psychedelic art scene and onwards into the 21st Century.
4.0 out of 5 stars Far out!
The Book of Luce is very different in style however from the 18th century gothic adventures of Fate and the post-Great War coming-of-age eroticism and spiritual awakening of Farundell, but what all three books have in common is their interest in mystical forces and occult practices that explore and allude to mysteries of time and immortality . Set in more modern times, Fredericks’ third book explores the idea of the expansion of human consciousness through the medium of LSD-enhanced revelations in the late 1960s and early 70s.
In 1967, a series of obscure clues direct a certain select few to witness the mind-expanding, conscious-altering experience of Luce and the Photons playing a secret gig in an underground venue in Camden. Thereafter, the narrator – a journalist who writes under the pseudonym of Chimera Obscura – becomes obsessed with finding out the messianic gospel that Luce seems to be delivering in various guises through coded messages, mystical appearances and extraordinary artworks. Luce and Chimera however find themselves pursued by strange demonic figures who seek to obstruct them and prevent Luce’s message reaching a wider public.
Being more accessible and closer to the present day however has its drawbacks as well as advantages. There’s a sense also that where Farundell and Fate were content to retain an intriguing air of ambiguity in their esoteric world views, The Book of Luce perhaps explains too much. And, rather than exist as part of a non-linear series, Luce does feel more like an ending. It has to be said though that The Book of Luce is never less than a wonderfully entertaining read and that the deeply moving ending is worthy of what has been an ambitious series. Whether you start here or with one of the other books, prepare to be one of the select few to have your eyes open to a fine literary experience, if not even a mystical one.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful and Mysterious Novel…
The experience and rare appearance of ‘Luce’ in the band [and the trip effect] causes The Narrator to have ‘his mind kissed by Luce’, the result being that he decides to find out who or what she is and the book follows the journalist’s introduction into a world that, the Narrator reveals, is not what he originally thought it was.
This is a very, very, beautiful and hugely enlightening piece of work. The story is made of 533 stunning and deeply fascinating pages, which encompass journeys to San Francisco, Paris, The Himalyas and Japan as The Narrator attempts to find out who and where ‘Luce’ is, in all her or his various incarnations.
What essentially is a fairly simple premise, the writing of L.R. Fredericks is so poetic and so very beautiful that the story is comparable to a Sherlock Holmes story with altered states of consciousness used sparingly to help describe the importance and mystery of Luce. Who is she? Where does she come from? etc.
There is very dry humour used throughout and I found myself becoming enriched by Frederick’s approach to telling an absolutely incredible story – both mesmerising and deeply mysterious throughout – this is a stunning and highly addictive book, which starts with a similar feel to the film ‘Blow-Up’.
‘The Book of Luce’ became one of my favourite books ever after about three chapters. It never gets tedious or dull and instead becomes a hedonistic fuelled fantasy, with a slight detective edge. It’s very lyrical and also incredibly unique. But essentially becomes a highly original take on obsession and love, which the search for ‘Luce’ remains mysterious until the end. In my opinion, it is defintiely worth buying and I enjoyed it immensely from cover to cover.
4.0 out of 5 stars Gender messianic rock star mystery
Fredericks has combined an intricate web of ingredients—rock music, art, mythology, religion, philosophy, LSD, demonology—to create an unusual and strangely intriguing novel, a kind of literary mystery that somehow can be reminiscent of House of Leaves, David Bowie, and Stranger Things amongst other things. The meta-book structure works well to frame the narrator’s quest and to leave many things unexplained, with a notably elusive narrator withholding information despite the claim to be uncovering the truth. It is long, but moves between so many episodes that it doesn’t really drag, and is broken up with short snippets from the narrator in the present day writing the book about Luce, giving further tiny clues as to where the Luce narrative is going.
The story starts in 1967 and there is plenty of Sixties and early Seventies culture infused into the novel, with plenty of acid taking, looking for hallucinogenic meaning, and conspiracy, but really the Sixties rock star element is only one part of this epic novel. It moves around the globe and through different art forms, identities, and philosophies as the narrator tracks different characters, under various names and personas. The mystery at the heart of the novel—who is Luce really—is also its meaning, and readers can take as many interpretations of this question as is said the various characters do. The overall effect is a kind of counterculture metafictional journey with a dangerous, almost thriller-like atmosphere at times, and a fourth-wall-breaking literary puzzle feel at others.
The Book of Luce is a clever and impressive novel, a drug-infused meta story that never wants to reveal too much or make definitive judgements or even descriptions. This style and story will not appeal to everyone (particularly the ambiguity of much of the book may annoy some), but certainly anyone who likes metafictional puzzles or acid trip conspiracy mixed with philosophy will find something interesting about the novel, which questions the need for definites whilst building up a mythology of its own.
5.0 out of 5 stars Part nostalgia trip, part occult quest
Nobody writes quite like L.R. Fredericks. Although she’s often compared to David Mitchell, there are many more factors at play, and although it’s easy to identify various literary influences and references, her novels feel utterly individual.
This one – third in the ‘Time and Light’ trilogy, although there’s no real need to read them in order – is once again linked to the mysterious Damory family of Oxfordshire mansion Farundell, although it’s not immediately obvious how. It’s told by a classic unreliable narrator, a drug-addled journalist who writes under the pseudonym Chimera Obscura. She’s in her 70s now, scarred by experience and living in sheltered accommodation in the suburbs, but half a century ago she was one of the beautiful people of 1960s London, scribe-in-chief of British counterculture.
The book she’s now writing – The Book of Luce – is a nostalgic trip through the acid-fuelled mysteries of that time as she pursued the elusive and androgynous figure who fronted rock band Luce and the Photons. Was Luce a man or a woman? A musician or a messiah? An alien or a figment of imagination? Was their strange connection of real significance, or just a delusion brought on by all the LSD they took?
It’s easy to see elements of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust persona in all this, and he’s namechecked in the book’s acknowledgements as a major influence. But one thing is certain: Luce is more than just a rock star. As the narrator moves further into her quest for Luce’s real identity, she turns up many different personae, many more diverse people whose lives have been changed by contact with him/her. At every stage, the quest is under attack by the unsettling creatures Chimera calls “demons” – unnaturally bland and plastic pursuers who seem as obsessed with finding Luce as she is. And floating beneath the action like an underground river is the singular atmosphere of Farundell and its ghosts – both literally and figuratively.
To say more than this would spoil the story. But If you love mysteries and quests, if you believe in magic or LSD or both, if you were intrigued by Citizen Kane or its bastard glam-rock child Velvet Goldmine, if you can see how the 1960s mirrored the 1920s, you will be enthralled by this book.