Customer Reviews

A Psychonaut's Guide to the Invisible Landscape: The Topography of the Psychedelic Experience

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I would like it to be known to two other reviewers who stated in effect that Dan Carpenter's title to his book was inappropiate, that Dan did not give his book the title "A Psychonaut's Guide to the Invisible Landscape". He had chosen either "Psychedelic Passageways" or "The Psychedelic Explorer". The publisher chose the title after Dan's death and shortly before the book went to print. I feel that this should be told to those two reviewers and to anyone who reads the reviews. It's only fair to let that fact be known since Dan is not here to say that himself.

I loved this book! For people who enjoy reading about heroic psychedelic adventures--and the mapping of uncharted hallucinogenic territory--this is a must read! Dan Carpenter follows bravely in the tradition of courageous mind explorers, like John Lilly, Terence McKenna, Zoe 7, and D.M. Turner. I couldn't put this book down. It's simply overflowing with fascinating ideas and mind-blowing firsthand accounts of amazing encounters with intelligent other-dimensional beings. Sadly, Dan has left this world (perhaps to enter the "Hive Mind" that he writes about), but thank the stars that he left us this extraordinary account of his travels and insights. Dan Carpenter will be honored by future generations for his brave explorations and excellent writing.

The title of this book is misleading. It should have been titled "My DXM Experience" or some such. The word "guide" suggest that there would be recommendations. Given the extremely subjective nature of the psychedelic experience, any attempt to "guide" another psychonaut is pretty futile IMHO. I give the book three stars because the author does posit some interesting theories about consciousness. I would recommend buying the book used, or try finding it in your local library like I did.

I got this book and do not agree with any of the following statements that Daniel Pinchbeck made about it;
"offer a serious contribution to contemporary psychedelic thought", "His work follows in the tradition of inner-space investigators such as..." & "This will be a `must-read' for every serious psychonaut.". I would love to hear how Daniel managed to reach those conclusions.
I think the title is misleading as well, this book is not a companion work of the "Invisible Landscape" by T&D McKenna.
So if the content of this book is not on par with the classics what is it? Basically each chapter is the recollection of 13 separate trips on DXM (cough syrup?).
These recollections were not satisfactory in my mind, I did not experience the passion that might have resulted in the author having written this book.
So far my experience of books that people have penned on this subject has been good, perhaps because they took the effort to make their experiences relevant in some greater context, or because the experiencing was incidental and the emphasis of the effort was on the greater context?
I hope future attempts at similar efforts are a bit more inspiring.

I found this book compelling in the author's details of his diary - lighter moments into dark and very unsettling moments. There is sincerity in his ability to convey the depth of the psychedelic experiences that he encountered. All in all, he did a great job of explaining what he saw, felt and ultimately in his own mind - knew.

I found the book to be quite interesting although scary at times to realize that the author was willing to leave his ego behind in search of the spiritual world and the inner workings of the mind. It was fascinating to read of his journey. DXM is found it cough syrups but the author used it in a powdered form which makes it seem a more logical way to use it if a person is so inclined to do it for exploration. The previous sentence is in response to the last person's review.

This is a guide which tells you what happens when you take too much cough syrup.

An the writer is dead too?

Sounds like a warning to me...