Pathfinders - review by Rosemary Kenny
'To sleep, perchance to dream...' only in the case of Pathfinders, it's turned out to be a nightmare, that affects the lives of everyone connected to mentally ill, Saul Breagan. He has mysteriously vanished, in Aidan J Reid's incredibly imaginative novel, where the travellers seeking the path to find Saul are travelling through a landscape like no other, after years of torment and physical outbursts caused by dreadful nightmares.
When Norman Byrd suffers strange nightmare after being sacked from his job, then finds a dream diary, (hidden within a library book, that seems to detail some of the same nightmares), he's at a loss to explain - until he talks to Steven, the librarian, who reveals the book's source - his missing brother Saul.
Later, when Norman has a serious car crash and lies comatose in hospital, he retreats to a dreamscape like Saul's. Norman's close friend Victor meets Steven at Norman's bedside and works with him to try and he and Steven infiltrate the dreamworld, using Saul's diary and a drug Steven has, to try and rescue Saul and Norman, whom Steven believes are in different parts of that same world.
Can a miracle happen, or will Steven have to accept his brother is gone forever? Will Victor lose his ex-colleague and friend and have to live with the guilt of failure? How they change the outcomes of the past and battles the many dangers of the unconscious mind will amaze and stay in your own mind for a long time to come. Aiden J Reid's fantastic imagination and literary talents are a rare gem in a new genre; part sci-fi, part fantasy - and all possible in the sleeping mind.
Don't miss Pathfinders - it's an adventure like no other. Buy your copy today and look out for Aiden J Reid's other great novels - you'll love them all!