Monday, April 1, 2013

Sweet Dreams Are Made Of Teeth, Richard Roberts

Sweet Dreams Are Made of Teeth
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Rating: 4.5 Stars

In the world of dreams, there are two sides: the side where the happy dreams are made and then there is the side where the nightmares are made.  Fang is a nightmare.  He is the large, scary thing that's right behind you, jaws snapping at your heels, just a second away from catching you.  It's not that he's mean or evil or anything, he just really likes chasing, and since he's a nightmare, he's able to.  Fang's best friend is an amazing nightmare, probably the best there is, but he has high aspirations, and they are dangerous.  And they are going to get everyone into trouble.

This is such an interesting take on dreams and nightmares.  Fang is a likeable nightmare.  He knows he's not going to catch you, but he wants to scare you while he's chasing you, just like someone who is waiting behind a corner to jump out at you means no harm.  He enjoys that thrill and he tries to make his nightmares as beautiful as they can be.  His friends are varied and unusual.  There's his muse/girlfriend. She lives in a house (you know the house, where every hallway is never ending and any door you open is never the one that lets you out?) in the nightmare world and she cries constantly.  Fang talks to her, but she never hears him, never stops crying.  But he's in love with her.  Then there's the others: Anna, the girl who wandered into the nightmares from a dream and stayed and her evil counterpart, Lucy; the fallen angel, Lily; the fish shaped dream turned nightmare, Coy; the demiUrge Self Loathing (or sometimes Masochism).  And then there's his best friend, Jeffrey.  Jeffrey is so interesting.  He's so focused on achieving his goal that he's willing to use Fang.  He doesn't care about the wrath that his goal will bring down on them, he only wants to do it.

I really enjoyed the book.  It was odd but sweet.  Who would think that nightmares were sweet, yet Richards has humanized them so they aren't the unidentifiable evil thing lurking behind you.  He's given them fallacies and insecurities and consciences (though not about scaring you). Richards created a whole other world, very detailed, that is fascinating as it is scary.  I don't know if there will be a second book after this, but the epilogue left me to think that there would be.  I hope so - I'm dying to find out how things end up with Jeffrey!

Also, totally unrelated to the book, but does anyone else have the Eurythmics stuck in their heads? Well, if you didn't before, you do now!

7 comments:

  1. This concept sounds SO cool. I love it. This definitely sounds like something I'm going to check out!! Thanks for the review, I hadn't heard of this one before.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was very different and very good. I think it's not out yet, tho. The publisher's website says April 17th.

      http://curiosityquills.com/published-authors/richard-roberts/sweet-dreams-are-made-of-teeth/

      Delete
  2. I just found your review while filling out paperwork for my publisher. Thank you! The book is now out on Amazon in both ebook and paperback versions.

    I don't like writing sequels, and I only want to if I think it will add rather than just continue the story - but I admit, there is more story. Fang's trip into the Light is not peaceful. Nobody trusts a nightmare there, no matter how good Fang is at pulling bad dreams out of the Dark and making them good dreams again. It doesn't help that he's aggressively unashamed that he loved and was loved by someone they refer to as the Personification of Knowing and Deliberate Evil over there. Oh, and they feel he's corrupting Ephemeral, the fantasy of soap bubbles. That's quite aside from him coping with his heartache and supporting Coy as she grows up and becomes independent.

    Sorry, I'm a bit of a tease. I have SO MUCH to write, maybe I'll get to that one day. I would like to say I'm tickled you like Jeffrey. I never thought he would have fans!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Such a tease! Thanks for that. :) I uploaded my review to amazon, so thanks for letting me know it was out.

      I really enjoyed your book, so thanks for writing it! Such creativity is always appreciated. I look forward to reading more from you.

      Delete
  3. Looks like it's out now, too! http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Dreams-Are-Made-Teeth/dp/1620070812/

    ReplyDelete
  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It can be a challenge to find something to fill all your days once you start retirement, and getting new knowledge is something that can help you to feel like you're spending your time play bazaar

    satta king

    satta king well. Did you ever have a new activity? Retirement is the time to start learning.

    ReplyDelete