The Book Corner: "The Book Of Dreams"

"The Book Of Dreams" (Edited By Nick Gevers/Subterranean Press).

The recent release of "Inception" has gotten a lot of people talking about dreams and stories about dreams, but as we all know dreams have been the subject of many stories going back a long, long time. In particular, fantasy and horror authors have loved playing with the intersection of fantasy and the real world that dreams allows them. "The Book Of Dreams", a new collection of short stories from Fantasy small press (meaning you probably won't find this in your local Barnes & Noble, but you can order it from Amazon.com or find it in a specialty store like Minneapolis' Dreamhaven Books) takes some very intriguing trips into the land of dreams. If you enjoyed "Inception", you really ought to try this book.

In "The Prisoner", legendary award-winning science fiction writer Robert Silverberg gives us a story that I could easily see "Twilight Zone" having tackled in the Rod Serling golden days. A man dreams each night of someone running from some sinister pursuer and eventually realizes that this is a genuine person crying for help. But he has no idea what's in store when he actually reaches out to assist him. This is a story that seems to have a clear distinction between the realm of dreams and the waking world, but don't be fooled... Silverberg is no simplistic writer, and there's a lot more going on in this story than meets the eye. Rod Serling would have been proud.

"Dream Burgers At The Mouth Of Hell" is a darkly humorous story by Lucius Shepard about a chain of restaurants that might or might not actually be at the mouth of Hell and the unusual specialty of the house. The fact that the restaurant where this tale takes place is located in Hollywood allows Shephard to make some sarcastic and amusing observations about the so-called "Dream Factory" and will probably confirm many of the ideas that people have had about it. This story is a bit of satire, a bit of horror, and a whole lot of fun. And, yes, whether it sounds like it from the description or not, dreams are indeed an integral part of it.

"Testaments" by Jay Lake is, at least in my view, the one weak link in the chain of stories. Mind you, it has a very intriguing concept... prophetic dreams as they allegedly guided the destinies of kings in ancient times, and how the politicians of the present day might well be guided by the same kinds of dreams... but there are a number of problems. For one, this isn't really one single short story, it's split into six parts, each dealing with a separate dream. When your story is short to begin with and you split it into six sections, none of those sections are going to have much opportunity to tell a story of any real depth. Also, Lake has decided to use the same kind of flowery language and overwraught symbolism that some of the ancient prophetic writers used, and... again, just my tastes... this just doesn't cut it. The other stories in the book work so well because they can relate so directly to the modern world and contemporary language. "Testaments" never quite develops its premise, and doesn't quite hit the mark.

Talk about relating to reality and the modern world: "Rex Nemorensis" by Kage Baker is a story with really sharp teeth that grabs hold of a real world situation and doesn't let go. We know that too many Vietnam veterans came back with shattered minds, haunted by nightmares... but none of those nightmares ever bled out of the heads of their dreamers and started effecting the real world. That's exactly what you get in this story. Baker has crafted the most chilling story in the book, all the scarier because of its connection to a problem that many who read it or their loved ones may have gone through (exaggerated though it is for purposes of this story). Want a story that frightens you AND makes you think? Here it is.

The book concludes with "86 Deathdick Road" by Jeffrey Ford, a story that shows the wide range that writers with this much imagination can navigate even when presented with a specific theme they have to work within. It might seem all the way through the story that it doesn't have anything to do with dreams: a husband and wife are having a night out at a gathering at which a noted mentalist known as "The Smartest Man In The World" will answer one question from all the guests, for a reasonable sum, and the husband is getting a little concerned about the attraction his wife feels for the mentalist. How is this connected with dreams? If you pay very close attention you'll know, and if you reach the end of the story still wondering, go over it again and it will become clear. I'm not familiar with Ford's writing apart from this story, but he would appear to be an extremely clever and inventive writer to be able to stray this far from the image of what a "fantasy story about dreams" is and still wind up coloring within the lines... sort of.

All in all, "The Book Of Dreams" is a highly imaginative collection of stories on a fascinating theme that will probably make you eager for a "Book Of Dreams, Volume Two", and in the meantime might send you searching for other dream-related literature. It is a field with tons of potential, and this book (with the possible exception of "Testaments") achieves that potential from first story to last. As I suggested, it might not be possible to find in you local mass-market chain book store (money-saving hint for Twin Cities: The Minneapolis Central Library has it), but it's worth seeking out. If you have to make a little extra effort, it will be worth it. Or maybe you could just dream it. Come to think of it, maybe that's what I did...