Down From Ten

by J. Daniel Sawyer

In early January, a group of friends gather for an annual eight artists, scientists, and authors cloistered together in a mansion in California's high country for ten days of games, conversation, exhibition, and hedonism while isolated from the outside world. The biggest Sierra snowstorm in over twenty years, however, is not part of their plans. When the house is buried in an avalanche, leaving our heroes with no way to hike out, they must somehow survive and stay sane while waiting for rescue—which becomes difficult when they all start having the same dream. “Down From Ten is a brilliant, sometimes creepy take on a bohemian cozy with surreal underpinnings and an irrepressibly touching ending.” –Gail Carriger, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Parasol Protectorate series

Genres: Mystery, Science Fiction, Fiction

364 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 2011

About the author

WHILE STAR WARS and STAR TREK seeded J. Daniel Sawyer's passion for the unknown, his childhood in academia gave him a deep love of history and an obsession with how the future emerges from the past.

This obsession led him through adventures in the film industry, the music industry, venture capital firms in the startup culture of Silicon Valley, and a career creating novels and audiobooks exploring the worlds that assemble themselves in his head.

His travels with bohemians, burners, historians, theologians, and inventors led him eventually to a rural exile where he uses the quiet to write, walk on the beach, and manage a production company that brings innovative stories to the ears of audiences across the world.
For stories, contact info, podcasts, and more, visit his home page at http://www.jdsawyer.net

Reviews

[Gail Carriger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps an oddball on my reading list, this creepy sexy story at first appears to be something like a cabin fever mystery (not my thing) but evolves into a superlative sci-fi. It’s very hard to categorize. And to say more woudl be to spoil it completely. You can read it or listen to it, but I prefer to listen. I didn’t expect to cry at the end, but I did: happy gulping blubbers.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to categorize! I listened to the audio drama version and was entranced, I don't know if the book would have kept me as invested? The twist at the end came out of left field, but looking back the author did hint at it.
The characters and their interactions are the best part of the book and I love seeing polyamory portrayed in a positive light.

[A.F. Grappin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What. A. Ride! I couldn’t get enough of Down from Ten. I listened to the fullcast audio version of it. Each episode left me wanting to listen to the next one, and it was almost depressing when I had to turn off the iPod for the day. I had no trouble sorting out the characters, and not just because they all had different voices. Their speech patterns, their personalities, and their actions were so clearly them that it simply couldn’t be someone else doing or saying what they did. I was on edge right up to the end, and the final episode left me wide-eyed with a racing heart. It answered so much but still left some things to my imagination, so that I didn’t feel like I had overeaten on the feast of a story this was.

[Laz the Sailor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story started out with the promise of a hedonistic orgy. Then it leaned toward horror. Then it morphed into a locked-room mystery. And at the end it turned out to be something entirely different.

See what happens when 8 headstrong, independent, opinionated, talented and sexy people all get locked up for 10 days. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

[Davis Emmanuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this at first because I thought all the characters were comepletely inssufferable. Then they started dying and I started celebrating. The book ends with the most hilarious twist I've ever seen in my life. A good mystery is one that the reader could actually have a chance of predicting in the end. There's not a person on the planet that could have predicted the end of this.

[Ryan Kountz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An odd and very intriguing story. I never knew which direction it was going to go. I listened to it every chance I got. I hope there will be a book two. This is defiantly an explicit story and not for the kiddos or easily offended.