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Cruel Imagination #1
Cruel Imagination
An average family man is cursed with the power of realized imagination. Everything he imagines comes to pass. He may lose his job, his family and his life. At the root of it all is an old bearded man with no name. It is the first book in a trilogy. This book is available for purchase at http://thundernetworks.info/TrevorAut...
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 13, 2010
About the author
Trevor Couturier
4 books52 followershttp://www.facebook.com/Trevor.Coutur... you can find me on facebook
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 15, 2013
excellent story starting second book
May 24, 2013
Cruel Imagination 1- The Beginning is the first book in a series by Trevor Couturier.
Set in Ontario, William Balder lives in a farm house with his wife of 18 years, Mona, and their two teenage daughters, Amie and Elizabeth. Bills, the mortgage and refurbishments take a lot out of their budget. Mona is an accountant, but to keep up with all the costs, Will has two jobs, neither of which offer a lot of work. His main income comes from the 10 weeks out of the year he works for a demolition company and his second job pays very little, for one day's work helping his old nanny with her stall at the farmer's market.
In between all the time he spends working and with his family, Will tries to make time for his passion. What Will really wants is to be a writer. The problem is he doesn't know what to write. He's tried poetry, short stories, "How-To" books and a cook book, none of which were published. Now he struggles to write at all.
One night, Will has a dream. In his dream, he meets an old man with a long, white beard and hair, both streaked with grey. He wears a floppy hat, an old, leather jacket with a Led Zeppelin shirt beneath and biker boots- complete with steel toe caps. The old man offers him power. The power to imagine anything into existence.
The next day, Will tells his wife about it. They don't think too much about at first. Why would you? But Will starts to wonder about whether the power of creation through imagination is more of a curse than a gift. He could imagine anything, including bad things. Things he never wants to happen. Was it all a dream? Nothing he's imagined since waking up has occurred? If it wasn't a dream, does he really have the power? What should he do with it? How could he control it? And just who is the old man, with the long, white beard?
An odd story. Somehow disjointed, but still coherent. Starting off as an almost slice-of-life like story, but with an air of uncertainty and an unsettling quality to seemingly normal events. What genre I would classify this book as, I'm not sure. The first half of the story is just everyday events, bar the dream. This changes at the second half, to what I won't say.
An interesting short book, that provides no real answers. Who the characters are, what is real and even what the plot is about are all up to the interpretation of the reader, including (especially) the ending. What actually happened at the end, I'm unsure of. There are many possibilities and I'm almost disappointed that there's a second book because it will create a more definite ending to this one, rather than the ambiguous one we're left with.
The concept was a very intriguing one. As someone with an occasionally annoyingly, overactive imagination, the 'what-if' scenarios spring to mind. What if everything you imagined came to be? The nature of the human psyche is such that we focus more on what we fear, imagine things that could go wrong and the worse case scenarios, more than we focus on our dreams, aspirations and our happiness. This is especially true when we are under stress or threat. Having to keep a check on your every thought and keep your mind blank is hard enough, without fear breathing down your neck.
I'm interested to see where the story will go in the next book. How Will's story will continue and whether I want it to. Will the next book be more of the same and basically just a re-write of this story, or is there somewhere else it can go? There aren't many answers in this book, but I prefer it that way. Solving the puzzles and questions would somehow make the story more mundane.
There are a few moments that feel out of place or didn't need to be a part of the story, but since when did necessity dictate creativity. For the most part there's no problem, but there were a few plot points and seemingly important information or clues that go nowhere. Whether they are bread crumbs that will trail through the series until the epiphany at the end is uncertain. They may simply be random comments that don't mean a thing.
One aspect of the book (not the story) that ruins it a little are the continuous spelling and grammar errors. Luckily, I'm someone who always finishes a book once I've started it and this book was no exception. I wouldn't mention it if they were scarce, but it's more than the odd mistake. However, books should be read for their stories. Grammar and spelling are luxuries, that are nice to have and definitely preferable, but not necessary. Grammar and spelling are not indicative of a story-teller's skill, though good spelling and grammar are important. Basically, if the story's good (or in my case regardless) these mistakes can be put to the side and pushed through.
On an unrelated, largely irrelevant side note, there is a parallel between Will's life and the author's. Both have a wife and two daughters. Both have two sisters and a brother- all of which are older. And both write. It may be that the author wanted to dedicate his book to them through the addition of their personas into his story, but I'd be interested to know what similarities his characters have to the people in his life, including himself. Is Will his own persona? As I stated earlier, this has absolutely nothing to do with the story, but is more of an area of intrigue.
Overall, an interesting story, though the concept may hold more that the deliverance. I enjoyed this short book, but as I said earlier, I'm not sure whether I'll check out the next in the series. Leaving the ending ambiguously dependent on my own imagination is almost too much to pass up.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. This is not a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% my own.
Set in Ontario, William Balder lives in a farm house with his wife of 18 years, Mona, and their two teenage daughters, Amie and Elizabeth. Bills, the mortgage and refurbishments take a lot out of their budget. Mona is an accountant, but to keep up with all the costs, Will has two jobs, neither of which offer a lot of work. His main income comes from the 10 weeks out of the year he works for a demolition company and his second job pays very little, for one day's work helping his old nanny with her stall at the farmer's market.
In between all the time he spends working and with his family, Will tries to make time for his passion. What Will really wants is to be a writer. The problem is he doesn't know what to write. He's tried poetry, short stories, "How-To" books and a cook book, none of which were published. Now he struggles to write at all.
One night, Will has a dream. In his dream, he meets an old man with a long, white beard and hair, both streaked with grey. He wears a floppy hat, an old, leather jacket with a Led Zeppelin shirt beneath and biker boots- complete with steel toe caps. The old man offers him power. The power to imagine anything into existence.
The next day, Will tells his wife about it. They don't think too much about at first. Why would you? But Will starts to wonder about whether the power of creation through imagination is more of a curse than a gift. He could imagine anything, including bad things. Things he never wants to happen. Was it all a dream? Nothing he's imagined since waking up has occurred? If it wasn't a dream, does he really have the power? What should he do with it? How could he control it? And just who is the old man, with the long, white beard?
An odd story. Somehow disjointed, but still coherent. Starting off as an almost slice-of-life like story, but with an air of uncertainty and an unsettling quality to seemingly normal events. What genre I would classify this book as, I'm not sure. The first half of the story is just everyday events, bar the dream. This changes at the second half, to what I won't say.
An interesting short book, that provides no real answers. Who the characters are, what is real and even what the plot is about are all up to the interpretation of the reader, including (especially) the ending. What actually happened at the end, I'm unsure of. There are many possibilities and I'm almost disappointed that there's a second book because it will create a more definite ending to this one, rather than the ambiguous one we're left with.
The concept was a very intriguing one. As someone with an occasionally annoyingly, overactive imagination, the 'what-if' scenarios spring to mind. What if everything you imagined came to be? The nature of the human psyche is such that we focus more on what we fear, imagine things that could go wrong and the worse case scenarios, more than we focus on our dreams, aspirations and our happiness. This is especially true when we are under stress or threat. Having to keep a check on your every thought and keep your mind blank is hard enough, without fear breathing down your neck.
I'm interested to see where the story will go in the next book. How Will's story will continue and whether I want it to. Will the next book be more of the same and basically just a re-write of this story, or is there somewhere else it can go? There aren't many answers in this book, but I prefer it that way. Solving the puzzles and questions would somehow make the story more mundane.
There are a few moments that feel out of place or didn't need to be a part of the story, but since when did necessity dictate creativity. For the most part there's no problem, but there were a few plot points and seemingly important information or clues that go nowhere. Whether they are bread crumbs that will trail through the series until the epiphany at the end is uncertain. They may simply be random comments that don't mean a thing.
One aspect of the book (not the story) that ruins it a little are the continuous spelling and grammar errors. Luckily, I'm someone who always finishes a book once I've started it and this book was no exception. I wouldn't mention it if they were scarce, but it's more than the odd mistake. However, books should be read for their stories. Grammar and spelling are luxuries, that are nice to have and definitely preferable, but not necessary. Grammar and spelling are not indicative of a story-teller's skill, though good spelling and grammar are important. Basically, if the story's good (or in my case regardless) these mistakes can be put to the side and pushed through.
On an unrelated, largely irrelevant side note, there is a parallel between Will's life and the author's. Both have a wife and two daughters. Both have two sisters and a brother- all of which are older. And both write. It may be that the author wanted to dedicate his book to them through the addition of their personas into his story, but I'd be interested to know what similarities his characters have to the people in his life, including himself. Is Will his own persona? As I stated earlier, this has absolutely nothing to do with the story, but is more of an area of intrigue.
Overall, an interesting story, though the concept may hold more that the deliverance. I enjoyed this short book, but as I said earlier, I'm not sure whether I'll check out the next in the series. Leaving the ending ambiguously dependent on my own imagination is almost too much to pass up.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. This is not a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% my own.
May 18, 2013
I was captivated by the story line. The author Trevor Couturier Is an amazing writer who keeps you in suspense through out the book. His writing takes you into an imaginary world that seems realistic. It makes you wonder how life would be if everything you thought became real. To be cursed with this ability would be unbearable .This book is most definitely a must read. I cant wait to read the sequel. I recommend that everyone reads this book.
September 22, 2013
I absolutely loved this book. It's an exciting page turner. The imagination is a wonderful thing-or is it?? Watch out for the white bearded man in the Zeppelin shirt. Poor Will met him and met with "hell to pay. " excited to read book 2 in this series!
September 2, 2012
I am as happy as I can be with this book though I'd like to make more changes. As the author, I always see more I'd like to update as I read it.
July 27, 2013
Outstanding and very interesting. could not put it down
June 19, 2013
Cruel Imagination by Trevor Couturier is one of the most fascinating books I have read. It starts out with a very average guy with a vivid imagination describing his average, ordinary life with an average, ordinary family as he goes through his very mundane life. That is, until he has a very strange dream about a bearded man. When the bearded man follows him into his average, ordinary world, things are suddenly anything BUT mundane. A stray thought could kill. The writing style echoes his fears as he is forced to rein in his creative imagination and concentrate on keeping everything the way it should be. He must concentrate on every step of even the simplest tasks. Letting his mind wander, even for a moment, could have deadly repercussions. The contrast between the ordinary and the extraordinary start to blur. This book left me breathless. Since I couldn’t put it down, I finished in the middle of the night. And was afraid to go to sleep.
The edition I read had a couple of insignificant issues, spelling, punctuation and the like. Those are being address and a new edition will be released soon. Watch for it. This reminded me a lot of some of the early Vonnegut works and is great novella for fans of the unusual and surreal. I give this 4 stars.
If you can’t wait for the second edition, you can buy a first edition from the author directly here: http://www.trevorcouturier.ca/
On second thought, his website is so much fun, you should just go check it out anyway.
The edition I read had a couple of insignificant issues, spelling, punctuation and the like. Those are being address and a new edition will be released soon. Watch for it. This reminded me a lot of some of the early Vonnegut works and is great novella for fans of the unusual and surreal. I give this 4 stars.
If you can’t wait for the second edition, you can buy a first edition from the author directly here: http://www.trevorcouturier.ca/
On second thought, his website is so much fun, you should just go check it out anyway.
March 26, 2013
What a novel storyline. William is married with two children and he wants to be a writer. His works are not met with much fanfare. One night, he gets a visit from a bearded man who "gifts" him the power of having everything he imagines come to pass. It sounds like a cool gift, especially when Will is shown how to do it and told he can undo it also. It is a tumultuous few days and Will's family gets put in danger. William wants to return the gift when he realizes he cannot undo anything. A chess game...Will wins. Wakes up and all is well...or is it? Well written and you are hooked from page one!
April 7, 2013
This was a good premise, and I hoped for a lot of things from it. I liked that William almost immediately recognised that he didn't want this ability, and that it eventually drove a wedge between himself and his family. However, I found William to be a pretty unsympathetic character, who did some fairly nasty things with his gift and had some pretty unsavoury desires.
The writing itself could have been better, with some missing punctuation that made it sometimes hard to read, and an inconsistent narrative point of view.
* I was given a free copy to review
The writing itself could have been better, with some missing punctuation that made it sometimes hard to read, and an inconsistent narrative point of view.
* I was given a free copy to review
April 12, 2013
Cruel Imagination I: The beginning written by Trevor Couturier is a story with a unique and interesting premise - the protagonist receives the ability to manifest his thoughts as reality. Unfortunately, the writer simply used this opportunity to explore base concepts and didn't take the time to build a foundation. Events such as a carved message in a bench and the affects of water on one of the characters are introduced without explanation or relevance. This premise of this story had great potential but deteriorated into an outlet for adolescent fantasies - a very cruel disappointment.
October 19, 2013
I have to say that I really liked this book a lot and it was a very quick read. Why the long time to read it? I lost my kindle...seriously, for over a week.
Trevor's writing in this book reminded me a lot of Dean Koontz style. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. And my mind was constantly going over possible outcomes of what would happen throughout. This story is fast paced, never boring and never predictable. I can't wait to read more! Great job, Trevor!
Trevor's writing in this book reminded me a lot of Dean Koontz style. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. And my mind was constantly going over possible outcomes of what would happen throughout. This story is fast paced, never boring and never predictable. I can't wait to read more! Great job, Trevor!
September 6, 2013
This was by far one of the most thrilling books I have read. Your imagination is powerful beyond belief as this story will show you. If you love a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, wanting more, read it!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews