Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made of

About the Book

Part 1. Dream Girl

Danny is preparing lunch on a Saturday morning. There is a knock at the door – the caller is a girl he vaguely recognizes, who seems to think he’s invited her for lunch. He is puzzled, but lets her in. They talk. He can’t remember meeting her, but he realizes he has seen her in his dreams, and begins to tell her of such a dream. She admits that they have only met there.

Explanations follow: about dreams and dreaming, about parallel worlds or shadows and shadow shifting. Nalini then presents Danny with a golden torc inscribed with silver scrollwork and some runes. The left end has a red gem, the right end has a green gem.

Nalini attunes Danny to his torc, then teaches him how to walk through shadow. He already knows the basics from dreaming, but now needs to practice.

They encounter a few dangers on their journeys through shadow, and make discoveries about each other. They also find they are falling in love with each other.

Part 2. The Dreaming

Meeting Nalini's mentor Imladril and exploring the dreaming. They visit assorted dream scapes, including rescuing a 10 yo girl (Gwen) from a nightmare, the Elysium fields with they meet with a deceased roman soldier named Flavius who follows them on their journeys. They also visit the realms of each of the four elements, and the guides’ home realm.

On one occasion some of the denizens of the dreaming make a foray into the world of waking for the purpose of attacking Danny and Nalini.

A later dreaming visit with Imladril shows them the cosmic mandala and some of the lesser gods - the lords of order and chaos.

Part 3. ShadowScapes

Arthur’s Legacy - a shadow where Arthur had children who kept things going, and kept Britannica from the dark ages. Nalini has a home there, though she has to use a false identity.  A seer gives them a message about the use of their powers to help others.

On they way home they cross a city war zone, where a sniper is murdering passers by. He tries to kill Danny and then Nalini. Rather than simply walk away, they decide to do something about him.

Later still on the way home, they meet a Leprechaun like creature called Fin mac Morn, who gives each of them a gift. Pressed to accept, they wonder what he wants in return, and what the real purpose of his artifacts is.

Their mentors Imladril, Iskandor and Durathror claim the gifts are power objects, with links to many power sources off in distant shadows. It seems that in the struggle of good against evil, personified as the Eagle and the Serpent, they have been picked to play a part.

About the Author

David Noakes is a computer systems analyst living in Brisbane Australia. His hobbies include horse riding, roller-blading, self defense, cooking, keeping fit, gardening, reading, learning languages and sometimes painting. He writes novels and short stories in his spare time. He hopes that they sell well enough to enable him to write for a living. His stories cannot be assigned to one genre, but combine a blend of adventure, sword and sorcery, science fiction, mystery and romance. He feels that writing is probably the most fun you can have on your own, and not as messy as painting.