Nightmare (The Silent Empire) [Kindle Edition]

Steven Harper (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In the future, dreams keep the universe running. Dreamers, known as "Silent," are able to look into other people's dreams, communicate with other Silent across the galaxy, and speak to aliens. Silent construct dreams for themselves more vivid than reality.

But some dreams have become nightmares...

Kendi Weaver doesn't know he's Silent. Hijacked into slavery, he has resigned himself to a life of servitude. Then the discovery of his innate gift for dream communication changes everything. Suddenly Kendi is a very valuable commodity. He is rescued by the Children of Irfan--a society dedicated to freeing enslaved Silent--and taken to their planet, Bellerophon.

But Bellerophon is hardly a safe refuge. A brutal serial killer is murdering Silent in their telepathic dreams, and Kendi is soon embroiled in a world of madness and murder. To catch the killer, he must enter the victims' dreams...

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 476 KB
• Publisher: Penguin/Putnam (November 1, 2002)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002ECF1R4
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,424 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Steven Harper Piziks was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but he moved around a lot. Currently he lives with his wife and three sons near Ann Arbor, Michigan.

His novels include In the Company of Mind and Corporate Mentality, both science fiction published by Baen Books. Writing as Steven Harper for Roc Books, he has produced The Silent Empire series. He's also written movie novelizations and books based on Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and The Ghost Whisperer.

Mr. Piziks currently teaches English in southeast Michigan. When not writing, he plays the folk harp, dabbles in oral storytelling, and spends more time on-line than is probably good for him. Visit his web page at http://www.sff.net/people/spiziks or find his LiveJournal at http:spiziks.livejournal.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Nightmare, June 24, 2009

By 

Carol G - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nightmare (The Silent Empire) (Kindle Edition)

I downloaded NIGHTMARE for my Kindle after scarfing down DREAMER by the same author, and I read it almost in one sitting.

Kendi, a teenager who just woke up from cryo-sleep, is rescued from slavery by Ara Rymar of the Children of Irfan. Kendi, it turns out, is Silent, a special sort of telepath who can enter a place called the Dream, and the Children of Irfan rescue Silent slaves. (The Dream is a kind of virtual reality where Silent can communicate with each other no matter how far away they are.) Kendi is determined to use the Dream to find his family, but things get complicated. A serial killer is hunting Silent in the Dream and killing them. Kendi accidentally sees one of the murders, and now the killer wants him dead. Kendi also has to learn to use his Silence, deal with his past, and handle falling in love for the first time. Being a Silent teenager isn't easy.

NIGHTMARE is set before DREAMER, even though it was written afterward.

NIGHTMARE is just as absorbing as the first book. The murder/suspense elements make for compelling reading (and aren't too gory), and it's fun to read about Kendi exploring the Dream with his new Silent friends. (What would you do if you could create any sort of world you wanted?) Like DREAMER, the plot is nicely complicated, and the characters are so much fun to read about that I hated coming to the last page. Good job, Mr. Harper!