"Dream Parlor" by Christopher Andrews, Based on a Screenplay by Christopher Andrews & Jonathan Lawrence

Liked the movie, LOVED the book! -- 5 Stars (Originally written January 9, 2006)

I read "Pandora's Game" a couple of months ago, and so when I was ready for more books, I was sure to include Christopher Andrews on my must read list. And unlike my disappointment in Gary Brandner's follow up to "The Howling," I am pleased to have quite the opposite experience with Andrews' "Dream Parlor."

The used copy I bought off of Ebay is pretty well read. It's a little beat up and many of the pages have been dog eared (all of the movie photo pages). All I can say is that I hope the previous reader enjoyed it as much as I did.

"Dream Parlor" is the novelization of a movie by the same name, which was co-written by Andrews. I looked it up at Blockbuster, but they don't have it for rent yet. I am SERIOUSLY considering buying it, because I absolutely LOVED this book!

(Update: I later did buy the movie, and enjoyed it very much, though it did not stand as well as the book. I gave it 4 stars at Amazon, and 7 stars at IMDB.)

The character of Elija Barrett is completely identifiable. He is a hero in the most HUMAN sense of the word. He stumbles, he falls, he's too hard on himself, and he doesn't seem to realize just how much good he accomplishes or how much it means to those around him (the lesson of a parent setting the bar too high for their child might not have been intentional, but it struck a deep chord with me). Dr. Corbit is an equally human villain. In fact, most of the supporting characters are given their moments in the spot light, which made them more than just regular plot pieces.

The movie stills are effective. They are not just random publicity shots clumped all together in the center of the book, but are sprinkled throughout the story, giving the reader a solid visual to go along with that particular passage of the book.

Not that extra visuals were needed. Andrews' writing is up another notch here. In "Pandora's Game," he used switching POV as an interesting technique. Here, the frequent interplay between the dreams and the waking world is equally involving.

For the first time since returning to reading and writing these reviews, I cannot think of a single drawback or flaw in this book. When push comes to shove, I think I'm still probably a bigger Dean R. Koontz fan, but standing on its own merits, I am pleased to give "Dream Parlor" my first 5 stars! And I am looking forward to "Paranormals" next.