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celtic67's review against another edition
4.0
A dual timeline book. A mixture if SciFi and certain amount of crime and human drama. More on the blog tour.
paulataua's review
1.0
I really have to stop being lured into books on Goodreads that have a very high rating from a small number of raters, or at least I need to stop reading a novel when I realize that I am not enjoying it at all, and when that rating is in no way near to reflecting what I am reading. ‘ Life and other Dreams: Sci-Fi and Psychological Thriller’ is delivered by a narrator who is trialing a drug for his amnesia and sometimes wakes up on Earth and sometimes on the planet Ecias. Sounds promising, but the earth part is little more than a not very interesting infidelity argument, and the Ecias part is no more than an insipid adventure yarn. While I believe we should support authors and appreciate their achievement, I gave it one star to effect some balance in the ratings.
wolfshine's review
5.0
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.
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.
ljwrites85's review against another edition
3.0
In life and other dreams, we follow Rick in his seemingly ordinary life on Earth. When he sleeps he had vivid dreams of a paradise like planet called Ecais and a couple named Dan and Vanessa. Their life is full of adventure and spontaneity but that all ends when a group of plant hunters come to the planet and Dan is accused of a crime he didn’t commit.
The lines between dreams and reality blur and Rick finds his life is falling apart. What is real and what’s not?
I always enjoy when an author combines two genres I enjoy, in this case sci-fi and thrillers, to make a really original and intriguing novel. I won’t lie, it is a bit of head trip but in a good way.
There’s some fantastic world building too, Richard Dee takes the normal and the not so normal, to create the planet Ecais, it was so vivid I could almost picture it in my head.
I have to be honest, the pacing in this novel was a little up and down. Sometimes I was on the edge of my seat, only to be distracted by a lot of information or a change in perspective, which slowed the pace down but of course that’s just my opinion.
Life and other dreams is an original and out of the box sci-fi thriller for anyone who is looking for something a bit different.
The lines between dreams and reality blur and Rick finds his life is falling apart. What is real and what’s not?
I always enjoy when an author combines two genres I enjoy, in this case sci-fi and thrillers, to make a really original and intriguing novel. I won’t lie, it is a bit of head trip but in a good way.
There’s some fantastic world building too, Richard Dee takes the normal and the not so normal, to create the planet Ecais, it was so vivid I could almost picture it in my head.
I have to be honest, the pacing in this novel was a little up and down. Sometimes I was on the edge of my seat, only to be distracted by a lot of information or a change in perspective, which slowed the pace down but of course that’s just my opinion.
Life and other dreams is an original and out of the box sci-fi thriller for anyone who is looking for something a bit different.
maitaylor01's review against another edition
4.0
I should probably start by saying that I don’t read an awful lot of out and out science-fiction, but the blurb for this book really grabbed me, perhaps because one of the side effects of my own medication is extremely vivid dreams.
The two points of view, Rick on Earth and Dan on Ecias, were well developed, and I found I was equally invested in both their stories. Much as Rick was, I found I was desperate for him to dream of Ecias, and to discover what was going to happen next with Dan and Vanessa. As the story unfolded I found that I was looking to links between people and names from Rick’s life popping up in some form in Dan’s, and I was trying to make connections between the two and work out what was going on. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering the world of Ecias with it’s strange flora and fauna.
Some parts of the book were brain explodingly complicated (well, for my poor brain anyway), but I kept thinking that everything will make sense by the end of the book. However, as I got closer and closer to the end of the book and no closer at all to answers, I started to get a bit worried that everything was going to be really quickly wrapped up in the last couple of pages. But never fear – what I hadn’t realised was there is a sequel coming, so there is still plenty of time to get to the bottom of everything satisfactorily. I will be keeping an eye out for its release date, because I need answers!
The two points of view, Rick on Earth and Dan on Ecias, were well developed, and I found I was equally invested in both their stories. Much as Rick was, I found I was desperate for him to dream of Ecias, and to discover what was going to happen next with Dan and Vanessa. As the story unfolded I found that I was looking to links between people and names from Rick’s life popping up in some form in Dan’s, and I was trying to make connections between the two and work out what was going on. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering the world of Ecias with it’s strange flora and fauna.
Some parts of the book were brain explodingly complicated (well, for my poor brain anyway), but I kept thinking that everything will make sense by the end of the book. However, as I got closer and closer to the end of the book and no closer at all to answers, I started to get a bit worried that everything was going to be really quickly wrapped up in the last couple of pages. But never fear – what I hadn’t realised was there is a sequel coming, so there is still plenty of time to get to the bottom of everything satisfactorily. I will be keeping an eye out for its release date, because I need answers!
marjma2014's review
5.0
https://mjmallon.com/2020/07/08/book-review-life-and-other-dreams-richard-dee/
My review:
I loved this, so imaginative, exciting and relatable. Awesome writing Richard Dee. My hubby has action-packed, crazy, dreams all the time, so this really appealed to me. Though, I don’t think my hubby’s dreams have taken him off planet as yet, at least, if they have he hasn’t told me!
Poor Rick, he truly does get into trouble with his dreams which take him off galavanting to planet Ecias away from his married life, ( with Cath on earth,) into the arms of Vanessa. In Ecias, he has a name change too and becomes Dan.
Cath begins to think that Rick is having a real affair… And her jealousy leads her and Rick to disastrous measures.
Oh, can’t say I liked Cath much… But she redeemed herself somewhat… Jealousy can bring out the ugly in people.
Which is real? Life on earth, or life in Ecias?
My recommendation: 5 stars. If you want to read something different – in the Sci Fi/Thriller category give this a go. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audio copy.
I loved the ending by the way!
My review:
I loved this, so imaginative, exciting and relatable. Awesome writing Richard Dee. My hubby has action-packed, crazy, dreams all the time, so this really appealed to me. Though, I don’t think my hubby’s dreams have taken him off planet as yet, at least, if they have he hasn’t told me!
Poor Rick, he truly does get into trouble with his dreams which take him off galavanting to planet Ecias away from his married life, ( with Cath on earth,) into the arms of Vanessa. In Ecias, he has a name change too and becomes Dan.
Cath begins to think that Rick is having a real affair… And her jealousy leads her and Rick to disastrous measures.
Oh, can’t say I liked Cath much… But she redeemed herself somewhat… Jealousy can bring out the ugly in people.
Which is real? Life on earth, or life in Ecias?
My recommendation: 5 stars. If you want to read something different – in the Sci Fi/Thriller category give this a go. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audio copy.
I loved the ending by the way!
jessica42980's review against another edition
4.0
All my reviews can be found at: http://jessicasreadingroom.com
~~~~
I took a chance on Life and Other Dreams when I volunteered to read it for the blog tour as it is not my usual genre. I am very selective with the sci-fi that I read, but taking a chance paid off! I really enjoyed this sci-fi/thriller novel by Richard Dee.
What intrigued me was how the two worlds were connected and I was curious as to which world is actually real. I really enjoyed the thriller aspect to the novel. For me surprisingly, I did not lose interest in either world’s stories. Both worlds felt real and you could picture everything as you read. I did not like Rick’s wife Cath at all; I felt she jumped to her conclusion too quickly. It was as if she did not trust him at all.
Be prepared when you read Life: It is not a complete story. There is going to be a second book, which I need now, but Dee is still writing it. My reaction when I finished Life was hilarious. My husband asked what was wrong. My answer was “The story isn’t over, there’s going to be another book! “ Bravo, Mr. Dee for writing a sci-fi book that was for me and left me needing more!
Life and Other Dreams is recommended.
~~~~
I took a chance on Life and Other Dreams when I volunteered to read it for the blog tour as it is not my usual genre. I am very selective with the sci-fi that I read, but taking a chance paid off! I really enjoyed this sci-fi/thriller novel by Richard Dee.
What intrigued me was how the two worlds were connected and I was curious as to which world is actually real. I really enjoyed the thriller aspect to the novel. For me surprisingly, I did not lose interest in either world’s stories. Both worlds felt real and you could picture everything as you read. I did not like Rick’s wife Cath at all; I felt she jumped to her conclusion too quickly. It was as if she did not trust him at all.
Be prepared when you read Life: It is not a complete story. There is going to be a second book, which I need now, but Dee is still writing it. My reaction when I finished Life was hilarious. My husband asked what was wrong. My answer was “The story isn’t over, there’s going to be another book! “ Bravo, Mr. Dee for writing a sci-fi book that was for me and left me needing more!
Life and Other Dreams is recommended.
mymidnightbooks's review
4.0
This was my first book from this author and my first sci-fi. I really like the story and the way life and dream got entangled was very intriguing. The only downfall was that in some places the descriptions were unnecessarily too long, and it slowed down an otherwise gripping, fast paced story.
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