Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Dreamer by Peter James .
This book gets off to a good start, Samantha is only 7 years old and just on page 4 you read...
She felt his hand grab her sweater, pulling, and she wriggled, trying to tear free, then tripped again and fell.
As she tried to get up, his hand gripped her shoulder and spun her over, then he was lying on top of her, knees either side, pinioning her body down, and she felt the stench of his breath, the raw onions like a warm foul wind.
'Like to be fucked, would you, little one?' He laughed, and she stared up at his black hood, lit clearly by the bulb above it, seeing the glint of his eyes and his rotten broken teeth through the slits. He leaned back tugging open his belt.
...Well, 25 years later Samantha is having nightmares again, she dreams of Slider wearing his black hood and her life is in danger again. But it is not just her life that is in danger and her dreams begin with the crash of a Boeing 747. The next morning an aeroplane crash is making headlines. Are her dreams premonitions or is she remembering her dreams to fit the facts?
This book was written in 1989 and it has 386 pages. Now, friends and family know that I am an Atheist, so what am I doing reading a book about the paranormal? Ah, it is because of the author, Peter James, who also writes crime thrillers. I really like the writing style that Peter has, he is very good with words. Reading any of his books is like wearing a pair of your favourite carpet slippers. His writing is very British and very polished, it is a joy to read any of his books. I get a glow from reading his books and Dreamer gives me the same glow I got from his other 2 novels I have read so far.
Dreamer is a spooky story, the plot develops at a steady pace and you never know if what is happening on the page you are currently reading is real life or another of Samantha's dreams. This novel explores in great detail the nature of dreams and how people interpret them. It is left to the reader to decide whether Samantha's dreams are premonitions, coincidences, her natural warning instincts or if she is wrongly interpreting her dreams.
This book was written over 20 years ago and it is good to remember London in the 1980's. Peter describes the Yuppie lifestyle really well and this is a good story of that era in our history. What comes as a nasty reminder is the amount of passive smoking Samantha has to suffer in the workplace. There are constant references to the smoking of cigarettes in the workplace and sadly when Samantha gets home, she has to suffer yet more passive smoking from her husband Richard. Thankfully our society has moved on from then.
I enjoy all my dreams and this book was very easy to relate to. It is wonderful how we all dream and this novel gives you something else to think about as you do an audit of your own dreams and ask the questions why. This story comes to a tidy ending, with all the pieces coming together. Now, how many stars will I give this novel on book army ? I will give Dreamer 3 stars because this book is Okay, it passes my quality threshold, the story is not wonderful but the quality of Peter's writing is very good indeed. I give it a thumbs up but do not suggest you rush out and buy a copy. Peter's crime thriller novels are better than Dreamer but this is still a classy read.
This book gets off to a good start, Samantha is only 7 years old and just on page 4 you read...
She felt his hand grab her sweater, pulling, and she wriggled, trying to tear free, then tripped again and fell.
As she tried to get up, his hand gripped her shoulder and spun her over, then he was lying on top of her, knees either side, pinioning her body down, and she felt the stench of his breath, the raw onions like a warm foul wind.
'Like to be fucked, would you, little one?' He laughed, and she stared up at his black hood, lit clearly by the bulb above it, seeing the glint of his eyes and his rotten broken teeth through the slits. He leaned back tugging open his belt.
...Well, 25 years later Samantha is having nightmares again, she dreams of Slider wearing his black hood and her life is in danger again. But it is not just her life that is in danger and her dreams begin with the crash of a Boeing 747. The next morning an aeroplane crash is making headlines. Are her dreams premonitions or is she remembering her dreams to fit the facts?
This book was written in 1989 and it has 386 pages. Now, friends and family know that I am an Atheist, so what am I doing reading a book about the paranormal? Ah, it is because of the author, Peter James, who also writes crime thrillers. I really like the writing style that Peter has, he is very good with words. Reading any of his books is like wearing a pair of your favourite carpet slippers. His writing is very British and very polished, it is a joy to read any of his books. I get a glow from reading his books and Dreamer gives me the same glow I got from his other 2 novels I have read so far.
Dreamer is a spooky story, the plot develops at a steady pace and you never know if what is happening on the page you are currently reading is real life or another of Samantha's dreams. This novel explores in great detail the nature of dreams and how people interpret them. It is left to the reader to decide whether Samantha's dreams are premonitions, coincidences, her natural warning instincts or if she is wrongly interpreting her dreams.
This book was written over 20 years ago and it is good to remember London in the 1980's. Peter describes the Yuppie lifestyle really well and this is a good story of that era in our history. What comes as a nasty reminder is the amount of passive smoking Samantha has to suffer in the workplace. There are constant references to the smoking of cigarettes in the workplace and sadly when Samantha gets home, she has to suffer yet more passive smoking from her husband Richard. Thankfully our society has moved on from then.
I enjoy all my dreams and this book was very easy to relate to. It is wonderful how we all dream and this novel gives you something else to think about as you do an audit of your own dreams and ask the questions why. This story comes to a tidy ending, with all the pieces coming together. Now, how many stars will I give this novel on book army ? I will give Dreamer 3 stars because this book is Okay, it passes my quality threshold, the story is not wonderful but the quality of Peter's writing is very good indeed. I give it a thumbs up but do not suggest you rush out and buy a copy. Peter's crime thriller novels are better than Dreamer but this is still a classy read.
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Actually I am enjoying Digital Fortress more than Dreamer. Peter James is by far the better author but Dan Brown has written a more entertaining read with Digital Fortress.
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