"Burr Oak at Twilight" - photo © Peter Haigh - may not be reproduced - used by permission
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"Burr Oak at Twilight" - photo © Peter Haigh - may not be reproduced - used by permission |
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by James T. Downey | |
| Welcome to Communion of Dreams, set about 50 years from now
in an "alternative future history." The world I have envisioned in this book
is recognizable, in the same way that the 1950's are recognizable, but with a
comparable amount of unpredictable change as between that era and the present.
Most authors will avoid writing about the near-term future, because it is easy for
a work to become dated. I'm not that smart. Or perhaps I'm just more
willing to jump in and explore what could be just over the horizon, if things work
out a certain way. Nah, scratch that - let's just go with 'I'm not that
smart.' You'll probably find that Communion is closest in flavor to the works of Arthur C. Clarke and the late Carl Sagan, two authors from whom I draw inspiration. Others have compared it to the work of David Brin or Kim Stanley Robinson. At its surface level it is classic science fiction, in that a new discovery leads to a reevaluation of what it means to be human. Beyond that are levels of human psychological development and religious allegory, giving the text a depth which will appeal to a wide range of readers. Or so I hope. Here's what the back of the book, or the dust jacket blurb, might say: Communion of Dreams is an "alternative future history" set in 2052 where the human race is still struggling to recover from a massive pandemic flu some 40 years previously. Much of the population is infertile. National borders and alliances have shifted. Regional nuclear wars have prompted some countries to turn to establishing settlements in space, and there's a major effort to detect Earth-like planets in nearby star systems for future colonization. Fringe eco-religious groups threaten to thwart the further advancement of science and technology, and resist any effort to spread humanity to the stars.I am again in the process of seeking an agent and publisher for the book, after having been preoccupied with something else for the past year. But for now, I have decided to put the entirety of the novel on this website. You can download the text version of the book chapter by chapter, or as a single .pdf file. You may now also download audio (MP3) files of the unabridged book, professionally produced by Scot Wilcox of Own Made Audio Books. Either way, it is a total of 132,200 words, or about what you would find in a paperback of 300 or so pages, and runs a total of about 16 hours in the audio version. The experience of other science fiction authors has been that offering a book online this way doesn't hurt actual sales, and can help to generate buzz. More than 11,000 people have downloaded the novel text since January 2007. I have established a blog relating to this book, wherein I talk about life, news items pertinent to the 'future history' of the novel, and aspects of writing and seeking a publisher. I invite you to come over and take a look, see what others have to say, and share your own thoughts if you wish. But regardless, I hope you enjoy Communion of Dreams. Jim Downey |
PRINT (PDF) |
AUDIO (MP3) |
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CAUTION! Very large files! Each chapter has several parts. Click on each of the numbers below the chapter heading for each part. |
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Chapter 1 |
Chapter 11 |
Chapter 1 1 2 3 4 |
Chapter 11 1 2 3 4 |
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Chapter 2 |
Chapter 12 |
Chapter 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 |
Chapter 12 1 2 3 4 5 |
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Chapter 3 |
Chapter 13 |
Chapter 3 1 2 3 4 5 |
Chapter 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 |
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Chapter 4 |
Chapter 14 |
Chapter 4 1 2 3 4 |
Chapter 14 1 2 3 4 |
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Chapter 5 |
Chapter 15 |
Chapter 5 1 2 3 |
Chapter 15 1 2 3 4 5 |
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Chapter 6 |
Chapter 16 |
Chapter 6 1 2 3 4 5 |
Chapter 16 1 2 3 4 5 |
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Chapter 7 |
Chapter 17 |
Chapter 7 1 2 3 |
Chapter 17 1 2 3 4 5 |
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Chapter 8 |
Chapter 18 |
Chapter 8 1 2 3 |
Chapter 18 1 2 3 4 5 |
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Chapter 9 |
Chapter 19 |
Chapter 9 1 2 3 |
Chapter 19 1 2 3 4 5 |
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Chapter 10 |
Chapter 10 1 2 3 4 5 |
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| Audio adaptation graciously provided by Scot Wilcox of Own Made Audio Books. |
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Weblog for Communion of Dreams |
More of my creative life: a fine line . . . |
My professional site: Legacy Bookbindery |
I also blog at: UTI |
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contact me: jim@communionofdreams.com |
all work © James T. Downey, 2007 |
site designed and maintained by: Coeurbois Graphic Design |