unique, but flawed story

this is an interesting story, that tracks one character in two different stories. they are pretty specifically separate except for one person that looks the same and a lot of coincidences (never really explained). the best part was the climax of the book and the future timeline in general, as the earth story just never made sense. why does literally nobody believe the main premise of the character's side of the story (the affair)? to me, that was frustratingly unrealistic.

also, I never really understood the main character's mind set on earth, especially in the final chapters. the wife had been in the wrong the whole time, and yet he still makes concessions to the very end, even when she tricks him. I feel that it would have been more believable if he had questioned getting back together with her AT ALL, rather than being so submissive.

the narration was good overall, but it was hard to tell the difference between characters at times due to the natural higher tone

free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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Felt like something was missing

Rick has a normal life as a copywriter for a marketing agency, and husband to Cath, a nurse often working night shifts. Due to his wife’s working schedule, Richard has had trouble sleeping for a while, and when he does, very vivid dreams fill his nights. Richard always dreams about the same. His name is Dan, and he temporarily lives with his wife Vanessa on the planet Ecias, on a new colony, doing some research about the terrain and minerals. Dan’s dreams are less vivid than Rick’s, and they are usually about a life in the past on Earth, having a job as a copywriter.

I found the premises of this book very appealing, and after reading great reviews, I was looking forward to it. The characters were likable, and the situation is shown quite from the beginning. The important question we have throughout the book is which part of the story is real, and which one is a dream.

Now, there were some things that did not quite work for me. The characters are not very developed, and they blend into each other, especially in Ecias. Somehow I found that there were too many characters in that story and they were not properly presented. I was not able to connect to any of them, not even to Rick/Dan. Somehow their motivations and actions did not make a lot of sense. I also did not understand Rick and Cath’s relationship. The jealousy, the lies, and the general lack of trust did not make sense in a healthy, grown-up relationship. Most of the conflicts and events in Ricks’s story derive from this situation so this is why I was not fully invested. Regarding the events in Ecias, I think I did not care because the story felt far fetched and I was not able to relate to any of the characters. I think it would have helped were the world-building more elaborate and complex. It felt simplistic, naive, it reminded me somehow of some of the nineteenth-century science-fiction. I also found the pacing off in general. It felt right from time to time, and I got mildly hooked to the story; others, it was terribly slow, and I just wanted to jump ahead and see if it would become more interesting.

There were some elements that seemed to be left in the air. I would have expected something more from the lost pills, the twin bruises on Rick’s arms, or the metallic particles found by the police. By the way, I wonder about the techniques used by the police to be able to identify metallic particles from a picture. Some people may be disappointed by the ending. I found it okay, although it is open to interpretations.

Gareth Richards’ narration was okay. I found some odd pauses at the beginning of the audiobook, but soon I got used to his narration style. He delivered good character interpretations, but his female voices need some more work, they sound a bit strident. Generally, it was an enjoyable narration and the audio production was clean.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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Very interesting, a compelling read.

I received a free review copy of this audio book, at my request, and am voluntarily leaving this unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this book and was pleasantly surprised by this. Usually, about the only thing more boring than hearing about someone else's dream is heading about their commute. But this book does a really good job of having a compelling story. The concept of this book seems, on the surface, to be gimmicky. However, the author doesn't really resort to using cliches and tropes. I was worried, going into this, that it would be like bad 80's sci fi, and nothing could be further from the truth.

This book has varied characters, not particularly deep and complex characters, but believable and realistic characters. However the lack of depth does create an hole in the world building, as characters don't seem to have any complex interaction with the wider world. Rick has no friends or family in the story. Work colleagues and his wife are his only social network. I don't recall him even mentioning parents or siblings, though he may have. But while a lot of married guys don't have loads of friends they hand out with, usually a few that they text or talk to occasionally would be the norm. But there is none of that in this book. Similarly, the other characters seem to basically keep entirely to themselves. While this isn't important to the plot, it would be nice to have a more developed character base.

However, the characters themselves are believable and fit well into the story. The settings, particularly the other planet one, is well developed and vividly brought to life. The tech is limited but prevalent through out and it is all done very well.

The narrator, Gareth Richards, was... OK. The sound quality wasn't super, with kind of a white noise in the background, but it was good enough. Gareth's voice is a little high pitched, but once I got used to it, it was fine and flowed well with the story. The only real issue is his lack of other voices, he does some differentiating between characters, but not much. He also missed the mark a few times, shouting things that should have been whispered, etc. Nothing too bad, and done well enough.

All in all a good, compelling listen, with OK narration, set in a very interesting set of worlds, and has characters that are sparsely developed but interesting. There are some plot holes, which I will address below. I may check out this authors other work and see if he has other stories that appeal to me.



***spoilers***

There are little things that make this a 4 star book, rather than 5, like the only OK narration and the limitedly developed characters, but honestly if the ending had been different and the plot holes addressed, I would have likely overlooked those.

So a couple issues arise from the ending of the book. The book ends with Rick in a coma and dreaming of his other life. It is left as just a dream and all in his head. This is disappointing, from a narrative sense as after this whole book unfolded, I was hoping for something more elaborate. The "just a dream" ending, means that half of the book is meaningless and the stakes don't matter. It's fine, good enough, but I was hoping for more.

However, this brings into question several pieces of evidence, namely the twin pinch marks, pieces of metal in his skin, and knowing what Ester looked like undressed. The psychiatrist was quick to point out that Rick probably glanced Ester somewhere, subconsciously and inserted her in his dream, fair enough, very plausible. But the fact he saw her naked, leaves doubt as to that explanation. Similarly, the twin bruises, one being embedded with metal debris.

This is all hinted at, throughout the story to reinforce Rick's belief that something is going on, but in the end, none of it is addressed and we are supposed to move on. The it was disappointing to have all this evidence just dropped and go nowhere. It did ruin some of the enjoyment I got from reading this book.

And I just want to add, that while Cath says she will be by Rick's bedside everyday, for a nice happy ending, I bet she'd give up after a week and tell the doctors to Unplug him, for choosing Vanessa over her.

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Fantastic

Rick is just a boring run of the mill guy. Until he goes to sleep. Then he’s Dan living in another century and galaxy. For a while, he manages both existences until some overlaps between both lives cause each world to come crashing down around him. Now, he has to figure out who he really is, which world is real, before they’re both destroyed.

The characters were relatable. They were all flawed, and in the case of Cathy, they were unlikeable. They had realistic motives and thoughts though, and that’s what kept me listening. I really felt for Rick, especially when things started to spiral.

The worldbuilding was interesting for both of the places that visited. In one world, we get the typical urban vibe, but the other is a sci-fi world full of action and suspense.

This book was a trip. So many genres all blended into one, it was the perfect read for just about any occasion. The author did a fantastic job of blending both worlds, and toward the end, the explanation of how they were connected was the perfect twist.

Narration was well done.

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

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Really cool

The whole book is unique. I liked the way the characters developed. (Even if one did go a bit crazy). There was plenty of action. The alternating of worlds was well done. This book is going into my relisten next year pile!

The narrator really suits the character and has great pacing.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for a review. (But this is the first 5 star review I’ve given in a long time!)

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Life and other dreams

Wow!This was amazing!It was a bit twisty turney and confusing,but I loved it.A man is put on a trial medicine to help him sleep.He has lucid dreams and can't tell which is life and which isn't. Gareth Richards was an excellent narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'

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Is It Just a Dream?

Richard Dee gives you two stories in one in this intriguing novel that mixes an excellent sf tale with a contemporary psychological drama. Rick dreams when he goes to sleep—that sounds pretty ordinary until you realize he’s dreaming another man’s life in extraordinary detail. That man happens to live six hundred years in the future on another planet and beginning to end of the novel, you’ll never be certain if that future is real or not—because the evidence clearly points both ways.

What is clear is that Rick’s jealous wife can’t handle her husband’s dreams and invents a wild fantasy that they are proof that he is being unfaithful to her. She’s a complex and highly manipulative woman who happily takes their marriage off the deep end and as she does, so does Rick’s life on that strange planet six hundred years in the future.

But are the two sets of events connected? And if they are, can Rick save both the women he loves on both planets. I think this one will continue to trouble you after you finish reading it.

I received this book free from Audiobook Boom in exchange for an honest review.

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Good!

Kept me listening for quite sometime! The concept of dreams and desire are so fascinating.

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