Project Dreamscape

by Hero Jenkins

Martin Mathews has everything, but that one terrible night that r in Memphis changed it all

213 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 2011

Reviews

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A Storm in Memphis” is Hero Jenkins second novel and a great science fiction/thriller. Will Compton lives in the 25th century and a completely different world then the one we know. After a devastating nuclear war that almost destroyed humankind, humanity decided to build their society around the teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. Mankind is peaceful and happy, quite possibly for the first time ever. The only problem is that time travel is possible, and there is always a small minority of people who want the world different. Some want power, or money, or to right a wrong, or they are just plain crazy. No matter the reasoning, it is Will Compton’s job is to stop them before they change the past and destroy the present.

He ends up in a fight not only against is ideals, but for the existence of humanity. Compton faces betrayal, love, grief, terror, and bouts of humor. He is a deep and completely realistic character. This novel can be dark, and the humor helped to lighten the mood many times. I enjoyed his diabolical scheming on many occasions.

This novel brings to the forefront many real issues, including prejudice, equality, and whether doing a small amount of bad for the greater good is acceptable or moral. Compton faces many injustices and mysteries as he works to bring the world back as he knows it. How far would you be willing to go to save your world? Would you kill your idol, your hero, or your best friend? Could you?

This novel is full of suspense and thrills, but also delves deeply into the theories of time travel. If you are looking for a fantastic science fiction full of suspense and action, you can’t go wrong with “A Storm in Memphis.”


I received this book through Goodreads First Reads. This in no way influenced my review. I did not receive compensation for, nor was required to, write a review.

[Myka Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I normally wouldn't read, ended up enjoying a lot, and couldn't wait to find out what happened next with.

I'm normally more of a paranormal, fantasy, horror girl...rather than a reader of sci-fi but being the daughter of an avid Trekkie, I do have a soft spot for sci-fi.

I was most drawn in by the concept of a future shaped by the words of Dr. King. Apocalyptic end of the world type movies and books are a dime a dozen in my opinion but I've never read/watched a story shaped quite this way.

The characters are likeable and there is plenty of history to keep history buffs engaged.

Of course, there is a ton of high tech futuristic fun for the rest of us geeks. If you already enjoy sci-fi, give this a read. If you're on the fence and want something new, give this a read. You'll be glad you did.

[Yolanda Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing near-future science fiction/thriller--sure to enthrall all readers! It is just on the horizon of today's medical science like Justin Cronin's "The Passage." It should grasp the same audience and even more with its great characterization (I felt like I really knew the characters and cared about them!!), real and realistic setting (Watts Towers, mansion in Malibu, Sierras), and the disturbing and mysterious Project: Dreamscape itself. The details of this kafkaesque project unfold slowly throughout the book until its full horror is revealed in a climactic battle. Fans of the tv series "24" will love this part especially! Jack Bauer has nothing on Jackson Hawkins!!!! I'm glad to read that a sequel is on the horizon! This is a must read!

[Russell Fischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book right from the start and found it hard to put down. I loved Hero Jenkins' style of writing- his characters, his descriptions, and the mystery he builds. When I was finished reading it, I was already wanting to read more. Project Dreamscape is definitely high on my list of books to recommend!

[Russell Fischer]

I read the excerpt. I thought the way the author dealt with the issue of time travel was quite imaginative. I liked what I read so far, I look forward to reading the entire book.

[Frederick Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

AAAAAAAAAAAH, I was totally concluding my first ARC review, and what I felt was, like, actually something worth reading as a review, and BOOM, something happens and my last 45 minutes is all gone! So, this may be a better or inferior version, :( but here I go again.

Okay, so, as you see above, this is an Advanced Reader Copy or Hero Jenkins' Number Five that I read, and I'm, you know, like, obligated to same something along the lines of: I received this copy of the book Number Five by Hero Jenkins through Goodreads and I am not affiliated with any person, individuals, or company that is trying to promote this book, etc. etc. etc. In addition, the views expressed below are my own, and I have not been paid to say anything - and even when an author, who is a personal friend, gives me a copy of their book I have no problems tearing it apart. Plus, if Goodreads, Hero Jenkins, or his publisher wish to use my review in promoting this book, or any form of advertisement, they are allowed to. So, now having, more thank likely, botched the legal stuff (again - though the last didn't get saved), I can now move onto my opinions of the novel.

Before I begin actually talking about the book, I think it is important to understand a little of both my excitement and worry of receiving this particular novel. Recently, I rediscovered Goodreads - I had been a member for a while, but then I forgot, and now I'm back - and when I saw that they did ARC drawings, and that I could write reviews about the books I read, I jumped on it. However, the first book that I was informed I was going to get was Number Five. I had never heard of Hero Jenkins, so I looked at the reviews and plots of his other novels, and was happy to see that they had overall good words. This was great for me because I enjoy reading independent books published by Indie Publishers, but I have found that many times the theme of the publisher outweighs the quality of the prose (see Roses of Red on Barbed Wire Vines if you want an example - although I don't actually recommend that book to read - of good concept, good publishing house, terrible prose from the editor himself no less). In addition, although I read tons of zombie novels, they are things I read when I pull myself away from the more challenging reads (Hard SciFi, Epic Fantasy and Horror, Poli-Sci, and Philosophy) and the plot of this novel reminded me of Patient Zero by Joe Ledger which I was massively disappointed with - Keep your Politics out of my Pulp Zombie Novels! - because they are the same genre: Secret Government Organization battling the Zombie Menace. With that being said, I jumped into Number Five.

From the first chapter I started to enjoy the novel. Mr. Jenkins has a dark humor that permeates his work and I appreciated that. However, I knew that the novel was, overall, headed in the right direction when the character Kade immediately jumps to the concept of Zombie when she's confronted in her first chapter with zombies. It's so nice that an author who writes in the Zombie novel category doesn't fall into the trope of not calling what are clearly zombies, zombies, in the novel. Yay! Sure, Mr. Jenkins uses the word Freak when his characters are talking many times, but he also has them say zombie almost as much. It is a refreshing breath when an author writing pulp zombie novels in 'our' world has characters who say zombie. I mean who in the Western World wouldn't know what a zombie is? You'd have to be living in a bunker in the mountains alone not to have seen a zombie movie, tv show, novel...or people participating in walks/marathons/games (bring 2.8 hours later to the US!!) but I digress. But, Thank You Mr. Jenkins for not falling into that pointless trope. Now onto the plot - I will attempt as best as possible to avoid spoilers.

The plot of Number Five basically follows two people, Kade and Trey, with a few chapters focusing on some other characters. Their job is to hunt down some individuals who seem to be causing/covering-up/fleeing zombie outbreaks around the world. These two are integral in exposing the evil megalomaniac corporate boss who has created the virus and mutations (Number Five) because he is trying to solve his own genetic failure that keeps him from living a normal life with the rest of the world. Consequently, we get a action packed quasi-conspiracy global romp that is actually well paced and quite fun to read. In addition, there a few subplots, such as the romance between the two main characters that keeps a bit of realism and emotion in the novel, and keeps the story moving. However, the is another subplot that is what kept me from giving this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

The second subplot in the Number Five revolves around the background of the main character. I actually liked this subplot for most of the novel. It ties together the entirety of the book, be it in a strange manner, but what seems to be an interesting social commentary revolving around the main characters childhood trauma which could and should lead to introspection, outer problems, and the author's opinion on the matter (though hopefully within the context of the story because zombie novels are nothing if not social commentary veiled under the guise of horror - and isn't that what horror is?) becomes an excuse for a bot of a Deus Ex finale. Now, the way the book finishes there is definitely room for a sequel, and should one occur I would hope that Hero Jenkins deals with the issue in its full, since it is what makes the character who he is.

All in all, I'd totally recommend this book for people who like zombie novels, enjoy some dark whit, and don't expect any sort of deep meaning in their books - although you can always deconstruct something to find meaning behind it. It was fun, and I am actually interested in reading Mr. Jenkins other novels, even though, they have nothing to do with the living dead,...I mean zombies ;).


NOTE: My original review was way more funny and exciting than this one :(...ah well, ah well.

[Cate's Book Nut Hut · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the Author’s second novel and is a science fiction/thriller full of suspense and time travel back to a period in US history that was, to say the least, not one of its finest hours.

Through excellent writing skills and great character development of both the main male lead, and his adversaries, the Author manages to handle this era with tact and sensitivity. The male lead is full of humour, cynicism and faced with choices that no one man should be faced with making. He is written with such depth and numerous layers, both good and bad, that you cannot help but feel that this man exists somewhere out there in the future, and this only serves to make him an extremely likable and competent figure.

It is obvious from reading this novel that the Author has done a great deal of research both into the time period covered, and the possibilities and theories of time travel; it seems he has possibly invested a large amount of time into drafting plausible alternative futures for his storyline before deciding to use the one he does.

The descriptive passages are not for those of a sensitive or politically correct nature, as they bring the dark side of the species to the fore in the form of the prejudices and inequalities that was the norm during this period of time. The Author manages to confront the reader with plenty of moral dilemmas, and brings into the light many real issues that were faced then and are still being faced today by some sections of our society. The skill here, and which the Author has shown, is to not let his personal opinions of these issues cloud his writing, as some have a tendency to do. This gives the book and all its happenings a clean and well polished feel and, although it is a fast paced read, nothing is lost in the speed the storyline moves along at. However, despite all these good points, I could not shake the feeling that too many of the ideas behind this book were mirroring a short story by Philip K. Dick - ‘Minority Report’ and this took the edge off this novel for me.

I would highly recommend this book to lovers of the sci-fi/thriller/suspense and history genres, as there are a lot of all these aspects in this book to keep everyone happy.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.wordpress.com/...


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

[Joel Bresler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is 500 years into our future. The denizens of this era are descended from the survivors of a global nuclear war. They are a peaceful lot, thanks largely to sayings found carved into the monument to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in D.C., which was one of the few things left after the bombs fell. Undoubtedly, there are worse ideas to base a society on.
Science and technology have discovered the means for time travel. Unfortunately, someone on the project stupidly believed everyone should have access to this information, and posted the how-to on the internet. The government jumped in quickly, but not before garage-quality time machines started popping up.
Some of the more adventurous citizens took up time travel out of curiosity; but others set out to change the course of history. Either way, this could not be allowed to happen, so the government sent law enforcement-types called Chasers to stop them before they could make a mess of everything.
Will Compton is a Chaser, sent to preserve the history of MLK's assassination. Changing that event would effectively destroy the entire future.
In "A Storm in Memphis", author Hero Jenkins has written a very good novel. Will's mission is intersperced with flashbacks of other missions, many of which help give perspective to the current one. Jenkins' characters talk about technology like people who have to use it but don't particularly know or care how it works, keeping things from becoming too sci-fi; and there are bits of social studies and history in very palatable doses.
Jenkins' prose is light and very readable. ASIM is well worth taking the time to explore.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I received this book for free from a Goodreads giveaway.

Normally when I can't finish a book, it's because I really disliked something about it. That's not the case with this book. There's nothing inherently wrong with it. The short chapters make the action feel choppy, but that's not really an issue. The issue is I just couldn't get interested in what's going on. The story is told in pieces that initially appear to have nothing in common, but then they all come together. More characters are introduced as the story goes on, and at times I had trouble keeping track of who was doing what, since each short chapter shifts perspective to another character. Beyond that was the fact that after a while I just...lost interest in the story because it didn't seem to be going anywhere, or at least anywhere fast. My feelings towards this book are distinctly neutral. Didn't hate it. Just didn't like it, and eventually forgot about it and didn't finish it.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received Project Dreamscape by author Hero Jenkins for free from Goodreads First Reads to review.

I liked this book enough to read it until it's conclusion but not enough to probably read it again. I like the descriptions and mystery building with horror on the horizon. I liked the main characters Angela and Jackson. But I just felt like the plot and mystery were moving way to slow for my taste. It's hard to make mysteries good in larger books and I just felt like there wasn't enough happening to keep me interested and found myself putting this book down and waiting before coming back to it often.

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will was super likable and a likable protagonist makes a likable book. Good read and fantastic concept that was executed well. Not usually a fan of sci fi but Hero Jenkins changed that.

[Jeanette Hornby · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and a half Stars. An interesting tale about time travel and its ramifications.

[Jenny Q]

*revised edition*