Starts well, Scalzi's intelligent and funny style on display, but loses the plot about halfway through. [Spoilers]
The suicide of a depressed woman, the ongoing romance of the main characters around her brain-dead body, the non-consensual use of her body by our friendly aliens, and how nobody on earth seems to have a problem with that, or any concerns for the victim for the rest of the story. Weak.
The suicide of a depressed woman, the ongoing romance of the main characters around her brain-dead body, the non-consensual use of her body by our friendly aliens, and how nobody on earth seems to have a problem with that, or any concerns for the victim for the rest of the story. Weak.
As our brains process recent events during REM sleep the dreams can vary from direct reenactments of life's events to thinly disguised metaphors for situations that we are dealing with (for example anxiety dreams about being late). Sometimes though they seem so much more, deeply laden with symbols, it feels like our unconscious minds are trying to tell us something, if only we could decipher it. This is where dream dictionaries offer to help, but assuming the symbols mean something, are they unique to each individual dependent on one's experiences growing up, or is there truly a common language?
Personally I suspect that people sharing similar cultures do form a common base language of dream symbols which is then adapted by one's conscious experiences, and therefore a good dream dictionary can sometimes shed some light on a dream that appears to be particularly rich in symbols, as long as you take each definition as a mere possibility, to be considered within the context of your dream and your personal situation.
With all these caveats, I found the symbols in this dictionary generally plausible, with an accessible, and enjoyable writing style. One of the better ones.
Personally I suspect that people sharing similar cultures do form a common base language of dream symbols which is then adapted by one's conscious experiences, and therefore a good dream dictionary can sometimes shed some light on a dream that appears to be particularly rich in symbols, as long as you take each definition as a mere possibility, to be considered within the context of your dream and your personal situation.
With all these caveats, I found the symbols in this dictionary generally plausible, with an accessible, and enjoyable writing style. One of the better ones.
Gordon Stewart was a wealthy Englishman who made his fortune selling cars in the early 20th century. He set about building the world's best Great Dane kennel in the grounds of a mansion in the village of Send in Surrey, and also invested in properties in London including the famous Strand Theatre.
This book succeeds in bringing to life an eccentric gentleman who though famous and influential in his day appears almost lost to history in the decades since his death. If anywhere his legacy remains in the lineage of some of the Great Danes bred at his kennels.
The author Robert Heal takes an affectionate look at the character, tracks down some of the survivors of the era, and speculates on his fading from the limelight. The book includes an appendix containing some of the Send Great Dane Pedigrees - and ultimately it will probably have most appeal to people interested in Great Danes, though being local to the area I did enjoy learning more about the history of a house I know well, and its mysterious occupant Mr Stewart.
This book succeeds in bringing to life an eccentric gentleman who though famous and influential in his day appears almost lost to history in the decades since his death. If anywhere his legacy remains in the lineage of some of the Great Danes bred at his kennels.
The author Robert Heal takes an affectionate look at the character, tracks down some of the survivors of the era, and speculates on his fading from the limelight. The book includes an appendix containing some of the Send Great Dane Pedigrees - and ultimately it will probably have most appeal to people interested in Great Danes, though being local to the area I did enjoy learning more about the history of a house I know well, and its mysterious occupant Mr Stewart.