The Daemon in Our Dreams [Paperback]

John (Author), F. Rooney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007

Three strangers in different parts of the world have three nightmares in which a young Indian man stares menacingly at them. The dreams invoke funeral pyres, flaring skulls, and feral beasts. On a land and sea tour from Singapore to the Taj Mahal, the three separately begin to see their threatening daemon in real time. They give him a name-Ramesh-but cannot find a reason for his pursuit of them. The suspense builds as their interloper becomes more intimidating with each successive sighting. In London the three people feel that they are free of their daemon pursuer, but that is where tragedy strikes. Why did all this happen? The reader cannot help being drawn into this labyrinth of excitement and suspense.

Product Details

• Paperback: 292 pages
• Publisher: Senneff House Publishers (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975275674
• ISBN-13: 978-0975275672
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #808,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reviewed by Sabrina Williams, April 3, 2007

By 

Front Street Reviews www.frontstreetreviews.com - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Daemon in Our Dreams (Paperback)

On the Global Quest, a cruise ship bound for India, three strangers have discovered they have something in common. Fran Carr, Paul Rowan, and Dr. Lee Ably were the recipients of some very ominous nightmares before they embarked on their journey. In their dreams, they were all visited by the same dark man. He looks at them disapprovingly as they experience horrific skeletal visions of the man they have come to know as Ramesh.

During their travels, Ramesh begins to make appearances at different locations to each of the three passengers, every visit more menacing than the last. Fran and Paul are perhaps the most disturbed by their experiences. Much to the chagrin of their significant others, they team up and exchange notes in their frantic attempt to uncover the intentions of their mutual "daemon." Dr. Ably, the ship's lecturer, is more resigned to the fact that there is nothing he can do to control what he does not understand. He is determined to let events unfold as they will.

The fate of Fran, Paul, and Lee is revealed in the first chapter of The Daemon in Our Dreams by John F. Rooney. The rest of the story is spent sequentially reliving the details of their hauntings, ultimately arriving at the destiny foretold at the beginning.

The book serves as an introduction to Eastern culture, with lengthy explanations of local economies and historical events at each place the tour group visits. The reader learns a great deal from the tour guides along with the characters as they travel. There are frequent references to the travelers being afforded the "luck of the draw" in their privileged lives while the people of the lands they visit toil away in poverty. Sharp distinctions are drawn between the two clashing cultures in the tour group's fear and disdain for many of the natives they encounter.

Perhaps most interesting, however, is how the author has created a mixed group of incredibly unlikable characters. Secondary characters are pretentious rich retirees, obsessed with vanity and youth. Fran is a self-absorbed meddler, Lee is a crotchety recluse, and Paul is perhaps the most amiable of the trio as an internally troubled playwright.

Disappointingly, there are no surprises. The author adds some interrelations that don't serve to explain the plot any further, but perhaps elude to some underlying message about happenstance or fate. The book's intention is not very clear.

Rooney exhibits excellent writing skills and can effectively tell a story. The characters are multidimensional and realistic, despite their disagreeable personalities. The mechanics of the plot could use some improvement, however, to make the undertone of the story more evident to the audience. This is Rooney's second novel, as previous releases have been predominately nonfiction, and future releases should reveal unyielding literary potential.

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting But Not His Best, July 29, 2009

By 

Edie Dykeman - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Daemon in Our Dreams (Paperback)

The Daemon in our Dreams opens with an assassination that is methodically carried out in a London hotel bar by a dark Indian man who is recognized by the victims.

Basically, the story is about three strangers who are preparing for a cruise bound for India. Each has experienced frightening dreams prior to leaving on their trip. Unsure of what the dreams mean, they find common ground once they are on the cruise.

As they travel throughout the various regions and cities of India, the apparition appears to grow stronger and more frightening. All three have a sense of dread and doom about the future.

Before they began their journey, they enjoyed life, traveled much, and had a good relationship with their partners and friends. During the trip they each began to take on the fatalistic views of those who live in India.

The three began to realize their own growing fatalistic views because of their recent experiences with the daemon they now call Ramesh. The fate of the three is not a surprise due to the opening scene. The real surprise comes in the last few pages of the novel, after the assassination.

There is a great deal to learn about Eastern culture and how that affects what ultimately happens to the three travelers. Why these three were chosen may become clear to discerning readers during the course of their travels.

As a fan of Last Passage to Santiago, I was a little disappointed in this book. It will be interesting to some readers due to the spiritual overtones that appear more strongly as the novel progresses. The author does provide his best writing as he makes the scenes of inner India come alive with atmosphere.

All-in-all, an interesting story but not Rooney's best, in my opinion.

5.0 out of 5 stars Darkness and threats thicken into a shocking climax, in this haunting read., July 10, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Daemon in Our Dreams (Paperback)

The Daemon in Our Dreams is a grim suspense novel about ominous, impending doom. Three strangers in different parts of the world endure terrible nightmares in which a young Indian man glares menacingly at them. Ill omens of funeral pyres, skulls, and feral beasts stalk their nighttime sleep. Then during the course of a land and sea tour from Singapore to the Taj Mahal, each person begins to see the daemon threatening their dreams in real life and real time. His name is understood as Ramesh, but why does he pursue them so implacably? And how does he travel from place to place to materialize before them? Darkness and threats thicken into a shocking climax, in this haunting read.