Tower of Dreams (Mass Market Paperback)

by Jamil Nasir (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In the near-future SF novel Tower of Dreams, Blaine Ramsey is an Image digger. He can tap the collective unconscious of a people in his dreams, uncovering "Images"--potent archetypes--for the international advertising industry to exploit. Because he is part-Arab, Blaine works and lives in a Middle Eastern village, where he dreams of a beautiful woman's violent fate. As the nightmare recurs, Blaine discovers, against all the laws of neuropsychology and reason, that his dream woman, an Image, is real--a famous Egyptian actress called Aida. He travels to restless, earthquake-shaken Cairo, seeking to escape the nightmare by resolving the mystery, only to find he may be trapped in a disaster more terrible than anything even an Image digger can imagine. --Cynthia Ward

From Library Journal
American Blaine Ramsey works as a dream-digger, discovering cultural icons for use in corporate advertising. When a powerful image of an exotic Egyptian woman captures not only his sleeping but also his waking hours, Ramsey pursues his vision deep into the heart of a dying 21st-century Cairo. Nasir's (Quasar, Spectra, 1995) latest novel combines the heady surrealism of his hero's dreamquest with the stark fatalism of his future version of the Middle East. Suitable for most sf collections.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (January 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553580892
• ISBN-13: 978-0553580891
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,894,733 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating journey into a future Middle Eastern culture, February 18, 1999

By	"bearkeep" (Tulsa, Oklahoma) - See all my reviews

Jamil Nasir takes the reader on a fascinating journey into a future Middle Eastern culture where the images crafted by the master writer are both disturbing and compelling. The protagonist is Blaine Ramsey, an Arab American, on assignment in the Jordan Valley as an "image digger." His job involves immersing himself in the culture of the area, tapping into the collective unconsciousness, and dreaming culturally provocative images for sale to Western advertisers. While there, he dreams of a beautiful and seductive Arab girl who is brutally beaten as the dream turns to nightmare. His obsessive pursuit of this mysterious girl takes him into the dangers of a future Cairo where earthquakes rumble daily, traffic jams dictate travel after midnight, and murderous riots are commonplace.

Nasir has produced a tense drama that keeps the reader immersed in his own gritty, seductive image of a near-future world where computers, religion, and unbridled capitalism clash to form a backdrop for his character's chivalrous pursuit of elusive beauty and romanace.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful journey into the psyche of the dreamer, June 1, 1999

By A Customer

Tower of Dreams is about what makes a dream; or moreaccurately, what happens to the dream-maker when his powers ofconstruction are subsumed by a near-jungian super dream? This is the narrative fate of Blaine Ramsey when he goes to jordan to research and construct atmosphere for his Madison Avenue Ad company, an outfit which packages dreams as so much subliminal sense-data for consumers.

Tower of Dreams is so much more than that, however; ToD represents a daring journey into the Arab culture and the dangers of cross-over when an Egyptian movie star loses her grip on reality and fame at the turn of the millennium. All the forces of anti-Western sentiment come into sharp focus as sterile, rational thought gets challenged by emotional and psychological populist forces like eroticism and faith. All in all, a compelling story, a vibrant profile of a rapidly changing segment of the world, and a good character novel, to boot.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, November 15, 2002

By	Margaret (Pearland, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

We loved this book. The whole concept of the protagonist being a market researcher who could see architypes was so Philip K. Dickian! And as a side, we enjoyed learning more from the perspective of a person of middle-eastern heritage. This was a great read. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves science fiction or urban fantasy.