Rating: 
Summary: Deserved to be read!!
Review: This book is published by a small press, and I might not have found it except by pure chance. It was in a local independent bookstore, and I just happened to pick it up. Boy am I glad I did!Zac and Cecile are very real characters, both deeply flawed but extremely likable. Barlow delves into the deep recesses of the subconscious. Just how far will we really go under stress? What lurks beneath our civilized exteriors? What will it take to make even the kindest, meekest person snap? Both main characters must struggle down the road to self-knowledge, battling a very real evil as they do so. Beautifully written, with vivid and fascinating settings, this novel deserves to be read by a wider audience. Buy it now!!!
Rating:
Summary: Dreams sometimes come true
Review: This is a chilling, unsettling tale of a man whose dreams are out of control. Hamlet Dreams explores the boundaries between sanity and insanity; between reality and fantasy; between good and evil. Intelligently told, it nonetheless manages to deliver chills and thrills. Don't read the ending on a dark and stormy night.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent dark fantasy!
Review: Zac has always been too dreamy by far, escaping to The Other Place, where instead of staying a common, boring, nerdish young man, he becomes an adventurer. He has been Hamlet, he has explored Avalon and Lilliput. At all times he has been master of this realm, in control of where and when he goes. Since meeting his beloved Cecile, he has had less need of the place, and instead of escaping to the Other Place when times are hard, he escapes to her. Unfortunately, the true master of this realm does not want to let him go, and will stop at nothing to keep him. No longer able to come and go when ever he wishes, the Other Place almost comes to him, and he blacks out into sleep when ever Carcajou, the real ruler of Zac's dreams, decides. He turns to Cecile for help, but she shies away. She has her own problems. She loves Zac terribly, but a trauma from her past keeps her from being able to become intimate with him. She also thinks that the man who hurt her years ago might be coming back to extract his revenge. The story is very strong and compelling. The places that Zac visits on his quest to face Carcajou are often frightening and surreal, and some of them are definitely flavoured with Greek myth. Sometimes it is fun to go, "That's Charon!", for example, just before Barlow tells you who it is. The idea of being captured and held prisoner by your own dreams is a very interesting idea. Unfortunately, Zac is a very weak character, and if it wasn't for the prodding of the mysterious Ariadne, you sincerely doubt he would have found the courage to make the journey by himself. Cecile is not much better, allowing herself to be manipulated a bit too easily. They seem to truly love each other, and I would have liked to see them both fight a bit more for each other. The main focus of this book is definitely sexual. There are no really graphic scenes, but the tension and moral questions are laced throughout. Do you save yourself for love? How do you tear down the walls around you to allow someone else that kind of power over you? The almost bestial nature inherent in sex is also looked at, asking the readers if all men are aren't simply predators, deep inside, even the kindest and gentlest. The conclusions she comes to at the end are not comfortable. Otherwise, the book is very well done. Barlow manages to write in 218 pages what would take most writers 418. Her structure and pacing are very tight, showing that she is a very capable and talented writer. The story flows very nicely, and I had a hard time putting it down. I look forward to reading more of her books.
Rating: 
Summary: A Prison of Dreams
Review: Zac has always been too dreamy by far, escaping to The Other Place, where instead of staying a common, boring, nerdish young man, he becomes an adventurer. He has been Hamlet, he has explored Avalon and Lilliput. At all times he has been master of this realm, in control of where and when he goes. Since meeting his beloved Cecile, he has had less need of the place, and instead of escaping to the Other Place when times are hard, he escapes to her. Unfortunately, the true master of this realm does not want to let him go, and will stop at nothing to keep him. No longer able to come and go when ever he wishes, the Other Place almost comes to him, and he blacks out into sleep when ever Carcajou, the real ruler of Zac's dreams, decides. He turns to Cecile for help, but she shies away. She has her own problems. She loves Zac terribly, but a trauma from her past keeps her from being able to become intimate with him. She also thinks that the man who hurt her years ago might be coming back to extract his revenge. The story is very strong and compelling. The places that Zac visits on his quest to face Carcajou are often frightening and surreal, and some of them are definitely flavoured with Greek myth. Sometimes it is fun to go, "That's Charon!", for example, just before Barlow tells you who it is. The idea of being captured and held prisoner by your own dreams is a very interesting idea. Unfortunately, Zac is a very weak character, and if it wasn't for the prodding of the mysterious Ariadne, you sincerely doubt he would have found the courage to make the journey by himself. Cecile is not much better, allowing herself to be manipulated a bit too easily. They seem to truly love each other, and I would have liked to see them both fight a bit more for each other. The main focus of this book is definitely sexual. There are no really graphic scenes, but the tension and moral questions are laced throughout. Do you save yourself for love? How do you tear down the walls around you to allow someone else that kind of power over you? The almost bestial nature inherent in sex is also looked at, asking the readers if all men are aren't simply predators, deep inside, even the kindest and gentlest. The conclusions she comes to at the end are not comfortable. Otherwise, the book is very well done. Barlow manages to write in 218 pages what would take most writers 418. Her structure and pacing are very tight, showing that she is a very capable and talented writer. The story flows very nicely, and I had a hard time putting it down. I look forward to reading more of her books.
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