Land of Dreams

by James P. Blaylock

Overview

When a boat-sized shoe and giant spectacles wash up on the shore, three of the town's orphans - Jack, Skeezix, and Helen - know there's something fishy going on, and the old ghost in the orphanage attic is inclined to agree. An evil carnival comes to town, run by a sinister gentleman who can turn himself into a crow. A mouse-sized man hiding in the woodwork leaves Jack an elixir that might, just might, allow him to cross during Solstice to another world, a mysterious land of dreams that holds the key to Jack's past and all their adventures.

Land Of Dreams is a phantasmagorical adventure reminiscent of Charles Finney's The Circus of Dr. Lao and Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes.

REVIEWS:
"... a singular American fabulist." -- William Gibson

"Land Of Dreams is Blaylock's best yet - powerful, magical, suspenseful and funny, this novel sails us through the supernatural backwaters of the northern California coast, and none of its readers will ever quite be able to leave its landscape of rotting waterfront towns, and strange songs echoing in from the sea, and vast, unknown cities visible on dubious horizons. Blaylock is the best of contemporary writers, and Land Of Dreams is destined to be one of the field's classics." -- Tim Powers

"Striking, beautifully turned surreal fantasy... Weird, complex, wise, original, delightful: pounce!" -- Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936535606
Publisher:	JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.
Publication date:	06/18/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	264
File size:	411 KB

About the Author

James P. Blaylock was mentored by Philip K. Dick, along with K.W. Jeter and Tim Powers, and is regarded as one of the founding fathers of modern steampunk. Winner of two World Fantasy Awards and a Philip K. Dick Award, he is director of the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County School of the Arts and a professor at Chapman University, where he has taught for 20 years.

Editorial Reviews

Every 12 years, at the time known as Solstice, the fabric of reality unravels and travel to strange lands becomes a possibility. When Skeezix and his friend Jack find a boat-sized shoe on the California beach, they become part of a series of events that involve an unsolved murder, a dark carnival, a benevolent attic ghost, and a trip via The Flying Toad to the ``land of dreams.'' The author of Homunculus weaves bits and pieces of surreal images into a fascinating tale; for adult and YA fantasy collections. JC

Library Journal