Dust jacket and interior illustrations by J. K. Potter

Perchance to dream...

To dream is to enter inner worlds of terror and revelation, to look the collective unconscious in the face. In this ground-breaking anthology, five modern masters of the fantastic conjure especially potent encounters with the stuff of the sleeping mind, unveiling dark hints about who (or what) we truly are, about our uncertain relationships with the waking world. The stories in The Book of Dreams are bold ventures into the kingdom of Morpheus, upon which individual destinies crucially depend--or perhaps the destiny of the entire human species.

In “The Prisoner,” Grand Master Robert Silverberg, long an explorer of visionary realms, indicates just how dangerous it can be to respond to a cry for help--especially when you are unconscious at the time.

In “Dream Burgers At The Mouth of Hell,” the commanding prose of Lucius Shepard explores the secret dream factories of Hollywood, tracing where the inspiration of scriptwriters really originates.

In “Testaments,” Jay Lake brilliantly employs the language of prophecy to consider the totality of human history, and where its contradictory trends may lead us as new kings dream of glory.

In “Rex Nemorensis,” Kage Baker incisively considers the violent dream landscape of Vietnam veterans, and fuses it with the territory of ancient myth and ritual.

And in “86 Deathdick Road,” Jeffrey Ford, dreamer of dreamers, plunges into an oneiric domain in which fateful symbols are everywhere, but truth is forever elusive.

The Book of Dreams is a cornucopia of strange enlightenment, a quintet of voyages to wonderful yet disturbing worlds within.

Trade: Fully cloth bound hardcover edition
Limited: 200 numbered copies, signed by all contributors, except Kage Baker

From Publishers Weekly:
“Silverberg's ‘The Prisoner’ is an effective exploration of Twilight Zone themes... Kage Baker...demonstrates her skills with ‘Rex Nemorensis,’ in which a burned-out Vietnam veteran carves out an unusual home for himself in his grandfather’s undeveloped property. Finally, ‘86 Deathdick Road,’ by Jeffrey Ford, is an offbeat, creepy horror yarn in which attending a suburban dinner party featuring The Smartest Man in the World turns into a surreal nightmare.”

From Booklist:
“Editor Gevers is fairly new to the theme anthology, but this slim, high-quality compilation reinforces the impression given by his and Jay Lake’s Other Earths (2009) that any more coming from his direction will be don’t-miss items.”

From San Francisco Book Review:
“Readers will dive right into The Book of Dreams and not want to set it down, though some readers may feel (and it is recommended) that there should be a pause in reading between tales, as these will make reader feel as if they, too, have been dreaming.”