The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters (ISBN 0385340354)

Amazon.com Review:
Gordon Dahlquist's debut novel is a big, juicy, epic that will appeal to Diana Gabaldon fans (see her quote below) and lovers of literary fantasy, like Keith Donohue's The Stolen Child. The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters begins with a "Dear Jane" letter in which Celeste Temple learns of the end of her engagement. Curiosity leads her to follow her fiancé to London where she uncovers a secret. Find out more about the origins of this suspenseful literary romance, in Dahlquist's note to readers, below. A Note from the Author In the winter of 2004 I was selected for jury duty (at the very same time Martha Stewart went to trial in the next building over--we all had to walk past the fifteen media vans to get to our courthouse). Since the courts in Manhattan are near Chinatown, I like jury duty, as it means a few days of excellent lunches. Instead, New York was hit with a ferocious, sub-zero ice storm that went on for days, where it was impossible to wander in the way I had hoped, and so, with the grind of the trial itself, we jurors were marooned for close to 4 hours each day in the jury room. The second night of the trial, however, I had a strange dream where a friend of mine appeared in the exact garb of one of The Glass Books' three main characters, Doctor Svenson, and together we faced a mystery in a strange, dark, Victorian building involving prisoners in a creepy upstairs room without a door. While I very rarely remember my dreams, the next morning I found this one percolating in my head quite vividly. But then, for no reason I can recall, I took out a notebook, and began--instead of the Doctor, who I would get to almost off-handedly in another 100 pages or so--writing about a willful young woman from the West Indies whose fiancée has abandoned her without explanation, making it up as I went along. By the end of the trial I had the first chapter. I am by trade a playwright, and had not written prose fiction of any kind for nearly 20 years, but I found myself hooked on the story and the characters--perhaps out of my own desire to know what happened next--and so persisted, putting aside most everything else, writing for the most part in coffee shops and on the subway, until I finished the book almost exactly one year later. --Gordon Dahlquist

Best Book of 2009 - I'm a late bloomer:
I only found out about this book by reading some author's "Books To Read" list in a magazine. What a find!! So, I'm a few years late to the party. I have never touted a book so widely to friends, and strangers alike. I couldn't believe I was going to have to wait until 2009 to read the second book, so I ordered it through Amazon.com.uk! Worth every Euro!

Praise for Glass Books of the Dream Eaters:
This is a fun book. I read with some concern about it being overly long and of convoluted sentence structure, but I have found, must to my delight, a wonderful style and story, never struggling to be told. Dahlquist's dry humour comes through at various points, remember "all weather pencil." A bit naughty, shall we say, but never excessively so, with complex characters and dreamlike scape of towns, trains and rooms with HG Wells' machinery. I could not put it down. Bravo, Gordon Dahlquist!

Hard To Say:
I suppose that my review is going to be a bit different as I am not reading the book but listening to it on 10 CD's (It is abridged) I seemed to do well for the first disc but now I am into the third and am completely lost. I hate to admit it but I have no idea as to what is going on at this point. Perhaps some book are meant to be read only. Let me see what happens as I near the end and repost. The author seems to have great imagination, a wonderful way with language and imagery but so far, I am a bit lost. (To say the least...)

Great concept, not very well-executed:
It would have been so much better if it were shorter. You can tell that Gordon Dahlquist is a playwright because his writing is EXTREMELY detailed, to a fault. It gets very long-winded and a little frustrating. That being said, I did love the three main characters and the story was very original. It took me ages to read it and I had to read something really light after it, but if you're ready for a saga, then I think this is a good place to start.

A Thoroughly Satisfying Adventure:
I was actually surprised that some readers were disappointed by this novel. I couldn't put it down. As I am never daunted by the length of a book, it did not even occur to me that this one was exceptionally long - from the moment I read the first paragraph, I was hooked! Reading this book is like riding a roller-coaster; the action takes place over the course of only a few days, and every moment merits throwing one's arms up into the air and shrieking with a pure mixture of fear and delight. Dahlquist puts his three heroes in such convincing peril, it is never possible to relax and 'assume' all will turn out well. The glass books are fascinating, the villains truly formidable, and every moment a thrill. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi/fantasy adventure. It is definitely one of the best.