Graham Joyce Resident Scholar Profiles TOP SCHOLAR: Jody T. Bixby SCHOLARS: Scott D.
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Review Summaries
"The story begins in a contemporary setting (the 1980's) and follows Lee, an advertising executive with a dark past that has come back to haunt him. An old lover from his student days, Ella Innes, returns to his life and tells him they must solve the problems created by a lucid dreaming experiment they ran at university.
A long flashback to the 1980s covers Lee's involvement with the dreaming group, along with Brad, an obnoxious medical student, and Honora, a repressed artist. The group progresses under their charismatic leader, Professor LP Burns. There is a sense of wonder but also underlying threat in their fantastic dream world. The well defined characters form relationships or reject them within this group, always under the disciplined leadership of Burns. Then the Professor dies, and four of them continue the lucid dreaming on their own, finding it an addictive experience. Brad's sexual jealousy results in an attack on Honora, and the group shatters apart.
Back in the 1980s, Lee and Ella make contact with the group again and face the dangers that Brad unleashed. The dream world is dangerously impinging on their real one, and they tackle this with tragic results."
Scott D., Resident Graham Joyce Scholar
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Plot
Composition of Book planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 35% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40% Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 20%
Tone of book
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- fantasy story on current Earth
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story
Yes
Plotlets:
- exploring the dreamscape
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Horror story?
Yes
Horror plotlets
- bad dreams
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Has magical/special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character:
- mind control
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
- magical being
Age:
- a kid
Profession/status:
- killer
Has magical powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist:
- can cast all sorts of spells
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- physically sick
Setting
Terrain
- Forests
Earth setting:
- 20th century
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body:
- unfriendly aliens
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Planet outside solar system?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 1st
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- a moderate amount of scientific explanation
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- descript of kissing
- descript of touching personal anatomy
- licking
- impregnation/reproduction
- main character impregnated against her will
- society controls main character's sexing
- actual description of sex
- descript. of private male anat.
- descript. of non-breast female anat.
- rape/molest (yeech!)
How much dialogue?
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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