Discussion of a Decent Dream

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. E. Curtis will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. 

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In the fall of 1789, on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales, a dense, persistent fog enshrouds the village of Ingleton. Shadowed spirits hide in the mist and bedevil the townsfolk, heralding a tragedy that has befallen one of their own.

Edmond continues to search for Alexandra, his fiancée, who disappeared the same night that the mist set upon their town. Presumed dead by all others, he visits Alexandra's empty grave, desperate for any hint of what has become of her. Weary from the sleepless nights on his quest, no longer able to stay awake, Edmond falls into a dream before her headstone and there obtains clues from Alexandra as to her whereabouts.

Haunted all the while by a malevolent spirit, Edmond follows the trail that Alexandra left for him and enters the underworld, only to learn that he has been there before, and in fact, quite often. But more, he discovers how he is to blame for Alexandra's disappearance.

A dark literary novel rich in imagery, Discussion of a Decent Dream unearths the consequences of a child's decision to surrender his heart in exchange for unholy power and transcendent knowledge.

Discussion of a Decent Dream is a Finalist in Britain's Wishing Self Book Awards in the Adult category.

My Review

This is very beautiful writing. It flows like a river of soothing prose and the descriptive writing gives you a picture as if being inside a dream. That being said, I had some trouble getting started and concentrating in the first part of the book. Maybe it was a little too dream-like. I have finally learned that it is ok to put a book down and not finish it, but I did not do that with this book. This will sound like a vicious circle but what I think kept me moving forward until I finally found a rhythm in my reading was Curtis’ skillful use of words. I was rather fascinated with each choice. Sometimes, even using my Kindle to look up a word to see if it meant what I really thought it did.  On the other hand, all of the descriptive flourishing language that I enjoyed so much might have been what made it seem slow at first.  

When I say that it was the story line that seemed to be a bit slow, you must remember that this story has “dream” in its title. I think what I might have found a little sluggish at first, was probably a very good picture of a dream-like setting. This was to me a somewhat sad and yet alluring story.  Decent’s journey seems to weave throughout the story as a picture being drawn. A way of defining a character I am not used to but one I did enjoy.   

While this is not my normal genre, it was as I have said, beautifully written and definitely worth taking the time to read. Kudos to E. Curtis on a first book.

Read an excerpt...

I had seen in dream that which appeared before me, a gloriously lined whirlwind of black. It exhibited itself as odd, twitchy, yet with cohesion, both beautiful and horrible at once, as if the core of this being eclipsed an otherwise unseen dawn. The vapor then solidified and took the form of a man, though its feet made no impression in the sand.

It warmed to me, expressing in that charred face such familiarity and delight. Even for my instinctive recoil, I made no real retreat, for I again wanted to hear it speak.


READ AN INTERVIEW WITH E. CURTIS  HERE

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

E. Curtis draws on personal experiences of the otherworldly for his writing. Through dreams, visions, and waking encounters, his exposure to darkness has motivated him to detail what he has come to know of the preternatural. While a few short pieces have been published on an online literary magazine, Discussion of a Decent Dream is his first novel.

Website:http://discussthedream.com/

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The book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour.

Buy link: www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07BTHW1SY/

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