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Communion of Dreams
by
The year is 2052, and the human race is still struggling to recover from a massive pandemic flu some 40 years previously. When an independent prospector on Saturn’s moon Titan discovers an alien artifact, assumptions that we are alone in the universe are called into question. Knowing that news of such a discovery could prompt chaos on Earth, a small team is sent to investi
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Kindle Edition, 348 pages
Published
January 17th 2012
by Artifact Imprints
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It's rare to find an SF novel that takes on human consciousness and cognition, rarer to find one that nods to both philosophy and biology/evolution, and rarest to find one that can remain engaging and accessible throughout. If Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey leans into the cerebral, then Lem's Solaris and Watts' Blindsight charge headlong into the abstruse; Downey has crafted a motion-filled tale at the human level. CoD serves up puzzle after puzzle, sprinkles hints for the reader to follow, and
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In a post-crisis Earth, a discovery on another planet leads to the formation of a diverse team of people from various specialties to explore it. Membership includes scientists and geniuses of various stripes, an artist, soldiers, and a child prodigy, of diverse genders, ethnic backgrounds, and temperaments.
Communion of Dreams engaged my attention all along, with enough variation in the themes discussed, shifting of emphasis and suspicion among the various characters, and a rapidly developing con ...more
Communion of Dreams engaged my attention all along, with enough variation in the themes discussed, shifting of emphasis and suspicion among the various characters, and a rapidly developing con ...more
Slow-moving sci-fi novel has fresh plot
An alien artifact is discovered on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn. It takes about 30% of the book for our hero to put together his team to go and investigate. That all could and should have been condensed into one chapter. A seemingly endless number of characters are introduced and then quickly discarded. It's confusing to try and track all of that.
After the investigation begins on Titan, things begin to move along a little more quickly.
I've been reading ...more
An alien artifact is discovered on Titan, one of the moons of Saturn. It takes about 30% of the book for our hero to put together his team to go and investigate. That all could and should have been condensed into one chapter. A seemingly endless number of characters are introduced and then quickly discarded. It's confusing to try and track all of that.
After the investigation begins on Titan, things begin to move along a little more quickly.
I've been reading ...more
Interesting sci-fi that isn't a shallow all action space opera. Good characters, interesting plot. I've never read 2012 A Space Odyssey, but from what I've heard and from having seen the moving, I agree with those who have compared it to that work.
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This was a thoroughly enjoyable book, full of intriguing ideas, appealing characters (some of whom really are characters) and a well-crafted plot. That it is also a debut novel surprised me, and I hopefully look forward to more. James Downey can write!
Totally awesome good read. Something for most everyone. Sci- fi. Human nature. Generational relations. Mystery. Conspiracy theory. Comment on spirituality. Alien existence. Xenophobia.
Another exceptional story from the brilliant Mr. Downey! He is great at transporting me to another place. As always the characters are vivid and real. I will remember them like friends. It was a true joy to read this story.
I am not a professional book reviewer, editor, ghost writer nor even a writer. Reading to approximately 1/2, I had to give it up. In my unprofessional opinion the synopsis was far better than the actual and found it reminiscent of Arthur C Clark's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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There is a lot to like in this book. I picked it up because I was intrigued by the synopsis: in the year 2052, explorers find an artifact on the surface of Titan that appears to have been manufactured, and not by human hands.
I'm always a sucker for space exploration, because I have a burning curiosity about what's really out there. Reading fiction about possibilities, no matter how farfetched, is the next best thing. And in addition to that, Communion of Dreams has the makings of a great adventu ...more
I'm always a sucker for space exploration, because I have a burning curiosity about what's really out there. Reading fiction about possibilities, no matter how farfetched, is the next best thing. And in addition to that, Communion of Dreams has the makings of a great adventu ...more
Excellent story with great ending.
Rated 5 stars due to very well done story progression. Unique and versatile use of AI character's. World building, just a bit in our future was a high point. Recommended for SciFi fans. ...more
Rated 5 stars due to very well done story progression. Unique and versatile use of AI character's. World building, just a bit in our future was a high point. Recommended for SciFi fans. ...more
An optimistic read!
This is more of a "dialogue " novel, which I usually don't enjoy as much as "action". Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book. ...more
This is more of a "dialogue " novel, which I usually don't enjoy as much as "action". Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book. ...more
The writing flows along nicely enough. I was quite happy until abut a third of the way through. The story had been developing and was on the lines of '2001 Space Odyssey' (even gets a mention with regard to the monolith) and the team selection and activity of 'Sphere'. But then I felt the story got a shade bogged down with not really enough happening to justify the length. The idea is sound and the technical detail convincing but the desire to know what happened next gradually faded away. Maybe
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This book is why e-publishing isn't all bad. I'm really glad that it was available, and it was a thoroughly enjoyably read. It suffered from some pacing issues, and there was so much going on (thematically and action-wise) that I didn't really sink into getting to know the characters as well as I would have liked, but overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking read. I also really liked the fact that it was set in a dystopian future, but clearly about how dystopias don't have to
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This book mixes hard science with fiction into a believable future. It reminds me of Cyteen and Wheelers. It is well-written (no typos, missing quotes, etc), the characters are fleshed-out and the storyline is gripping. I especially enjoyed the explanation for a lack of radio signals and other communication from extra-terrestrial civilizations. Brilliant work. I look forward to reading more of his stories.
Enough science Science Fiction
Some science fiction works so hard at creating the necessary fictional science that the story becomes unintelligible. This is not one of those books. The story is good. The magic-like science works for my brain. The characters are believable and engaging.
I look forward to reading more of Mr. Downey's fiction. ...more
Some science fiction works so hard at creating the necessary fictional science that the story becomes unintelligible. This is not one of those books. The story is good. The magic-like science works for my brain. The characters are believable and engaging.
I look forward to reading more of Mr. Downey's fiction. ...more
Good read
A slow start and took a bit too long to move Into the meat of the story. I found there to be a few too many characters and they black d drop both. This just added confusion, not the needed depth. Story line and subject matter saved the day. The pace picked up mid story and the book took off nicely.
A slow start and took a bit too long to move Into the meat of the story. I found there to be a few too many characters and they black d drop both. This just added confusion, not the needed depth. Story line and subject matter saved the day. The pace picked up mid story and the book took off nicely.
I dont't read much science fiction (preferring to watch it) but I choses this book to take a break for the serious mysteries I normally read. It turned out to be a mystery afterall.
Characterizations were great, including the cyber character Seth. I want an Expert of my own. ...more
Characterizations were great, including the cyber character Seth. I want an Expert of my own. ...more
I had to stretch a bit to remember how this book ended. Not a good sign.... An interesting take on the evolution of computers. But the story seemed to get bogged down in a lot of meeting(!) dialog, and the main character was no compellingly sympathetic.
This was a good read. Inventive and kept me interested till the end.
Kindle freebie, 12/25/12
Started off with some interesting ideas, but quickly devolved into a lecture on scientific method with characters sketched, rather than fleshed out.
The first 1/3 of this book was intolerably slow. Full of process and theorizing and "what ifs".
I stuck it through to the end and things kicked up. ...more
I stuck it through to the end and things kicked up. ...more
The concept of this book was good but I found myself very confused in many parts of the book. I think that it was missing some descriptive text to explain more what was going on.
Pretty good characters. Plot was not always clear, easy to follow. Like it couldn't decide if it was mystical or sci fi.
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