The Architect of Sleep [Mass Market Paperback]

Steven R. Boyett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1986

Jim Bentley's plans for the evening were simple: a movie and the graveyard shift at the 7-Eleven. That was before he stumbled into another world. Evolution has taken a very different direction on this parallel Earth, but some things are constant. Jim Bentley has falled straight from his ordinary life inot the most constant thing of all: war. Even as he struggles to learn the ways of a strange culture, to make a place for himself in what seems likely to be his home for the rest of his life, the tides of revolution are rising around him. Jim Bentley has a part in play in this war- for his coming has been foretold by True Dreamers. His feet already set on a path that leads to the heart of the crisis. Like it or not, he is vital to the war efforts of the Architect of Sleep...

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: Ace (July 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441029051
• ISBN-13: 978-0441029051
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,386,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best book ever to be screwed over by a publisher, December 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Architect of Sleep (Mass Market Paperback)

I first read _The Architect of Sleep_ in the mid-80s, when it first came out, and I was a college underclassman. I was also a serious sci-fi/fantasy addict. Even back then, I knew Boyett's style -- not to mention his originality -- was something special (the same thing applies to his first novel, _Ariel_, which, even though it has a few flaws, is an extremely well-narrated book that has obviously had a deep impact on many of Boyett's fans).

Now that I'm getting close to my mid-30s, I've lost interest in most fantasy literature, because most of it is pulp. Ninety percent of it is franchised, soap-opera tripe. The David Eddings, Robert Jordans, and Dragonlance authors of the world (not to mention a whole lot of others I won't bother to list) have destroyed the field. True originality of the Tolkien or C.S. Lewis type got choked out of the field a long time ago.

Except for rare deviations from the norm like Boyett. Probably everyone reading this review knows about Boyett's quarrel with his publishers. As a published author myself (in a totally different field), I can attest to the frustration that any author feels when he/she has to bow to the almighty dollar. To revive fantasy/sci-fi literature, buy back copies of Boyett, see what _real_ writing is like, then send letters to the corporate stooges who run the publishing houses to tell them that we'd like to see some _real_ authors on the bookshelves for a change. And if you're reading this, Mr. Boyett, don't give up hope -- and do your best to provide a sequel to a book that many people love and admire!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Architect of Sleep, February 24, 2004

By 

Kate Ozbirn (Orange, Ca., USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Architect of Sleep (Mass Market Paperback)

This book has haunted me since the day I finished it. I am compelled to read it every 3 years or so and long for the day when a sequel appears. Boyett's characters are proper human and their trials are realistic and they suffer and triumph (sometimes)like real people. In supernatural situations they react not with super powers and spells, but with the fortitude and ethos that we wish we had in real life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic alternate universe, November 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Architect of Sleep (Mass Market Paperback)

I first read this wonderful piece over 10 years ago. I have since read it several times over. Recently I have read it to my children who enjoyed it greatly. I have waited for the sequel, checking book stores web sites to no avail.