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Palace of Dreams
Shared Dreams: Three Palace of Dreams Stories
Before they even met. Mikael Lee and Shironne Anjir were tangled together in their need to solve murders.
Mikael Lee, an aide to the king's brother, dreams his way into others deaths, and then follows the clues within back to the killer. Shironne Anjir, a young girl so sensitive to the stimuli around her that she cannot shut it out, has been sharing those dreams with him, and when a death falls closer to her doorstep, she's the one who takes up the task of finding a killer...a path that might give her a direction for the rest of her life.
Includes three short A Mention of Death, Touching the Dead, and Endings. plus an excerpt from Dreaming Death, the case where they finally meet.
Mikael Lee, an aide to the king's brother, dreams his way into others deaths, and then follows the clues within back to the killer. Shironne Anjir, a young girl so sensitive to the stimuli around her that she cannot shut it out, has been sharing those dreams with him, and when a death falls closer to her doorstep, she's the one who takes up the task of finding a killer...a path that might give her a direction for the rest of her life.
Includes three short A Mention of Death, Touching the Dead, and Endings. plus an excerpt from Dreaming Death, the case where they finally meet.
- GenresFantasyShort Stories
172 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 14, 2017
3 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
J. Kathleen Cheney
46 books252 followersJ. Kathleen Cheney is nothing if not versatile in her story telling. But, weaving through her work is a common thread, that of the improbable heroine. From worlds set in humanity’s distant post-apocalyptic future to alternate worlds of today or of the near past, Kathleen’s heroines include a siren who with help from a gentleman of the city must stop a regicidal plot, the neglected daughter of an absent king coming to terms with her shapeshifting ancestors, a blind teenager who dreams of others’ deaths and who uses her gift of touch to find their killers, and the widow of a trainer who with a most unusual horse must save her farm and way of life. All use their unusual gifts and talents to overcome obstacles and find their place in the world.
In 2005 Kathleen decided to pursue writing as a full-time endeavor and has since enjoyed seeing her stories published in Shimmer, The Sword Review, and Baen’s Universe. Her novella “Iron Shoes” was a 2011 Nebula nominee. Kathleen twice attended the summer Writer’s Workshop at the Center for the Study of Science Fiction under the tutelage of James Gunn. She lists C. J. Cherryh, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Georgette Heyer among the writers who influenced her most–as well as Ansen Dibell, whose ghostly fingerprints can be seen all over her work.
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Kathleen’s parents actually were rocket scientists (they worked at White Sands Missile Range), which made for interesting dinner-time conversations. After graduating with degrees in English and Marketing she worked as a menswear buyer for retail department store chains before changing careers to become a teacher, where she taught mathematics ranging from 7th Grade Arithmetic up to Calculus. Kathleen also served a brief stint as a Gifted and Talented Specialist. She coached the Academic Team and the Robotics Team and was the Chess Club sponsor.
When not writing, Kathleen likes to don a mask and get sweaty fencing, both foil and saber. Quieter hobbies include putting on her Wellingtons and getting her hands dirty in the garden. She also enjoys traveling and taking care of her dogs. Two large, hairy, dogs.
Her first novel, "The Golden City" came out from Ace Books, November 2013.
In 2005 Kathleen decided to pursue writing as a full-time endeavor and has since enjoyed seeing her stories published in Shimmer, The Sword Review, and Baen’s Universe. Her novella “Iron Shoes” was a 2011 Nebula nominee. Kathleen twice attended the summer Writer’s Workshop at the Center for the Study of Science Fiction under the tutelage of James Gunn. She lists C. J. Cherryh, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Georgette Heyer among the writers who influenced her most–as well as Ansen Dibell, whose ghostly fingerprints can be seen all over her work.
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Kathleen’s parents actually were rocket scientists (they worked at White Sands Missile Range), which made for interesting dinner-time conversations. After graduating with degrees in English and Marketing she worked as a menswear buyer for retail department store chains before changing careers to become a teacher, where she taught mathematics ranging from 7th Grade Arithmetic up to Calculus. Kathleen also served a brief stint as a Gifted and Talented Specialist. She coached the Academic Team and the Robotics Team and was the Chess Club sponsor.
When not writing, Kathleen likes to don a mask and get sweaty fencing, both foil and saber. Quieter hobbies include putting on her Wellingtons and getting her hands dirty in the garden. She also enjoys traveling and taking care of her dogs. Two large, hairy, dogs.
Her first novel, "The Golden City" came out from Ace Books, November 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 6, 2019
3.5 stars for this collection of 3 short stories set in the author's 'Palace of Dreams' world. All three stories take place before the action in 'Dreaming Death' and feature the main characters from the novel.
I really enjoyed the stories; it was nice to get a glimpse of everyone 'before' I met them in 'Dreaming Death'. The mysteries were nicely done, too.
However, reading this collection did make me realize that we fans are still waiting for the next book (In Dreaming Bound). Waiting, waiting... (author now says April 2019, sigh...)
I really enjoyed the stories; it was nice to get a glimpse of everyone 'before' I met them in 'Dreaming Death'. The mysteries were nicely done, too.
However, reading this collection did make me realize that we fans are still waiting for the next book (In Dreaming Bound). Waiting, waiting... (author now says April 2019, sigh...)
June 5, 2018
Three short stories involving characters from Dreaming Death. I like this world very much and I know there are some future stories coming, for which I'm glad. Cheney's prose is very easy to read, and her characters are interesting without being overdone. I always enjoy reading one of Jeannette's books.
July 6, 2020
A set of short stories that helps flesh out the Dreaming series! A must read if you love those books (and you should!). Technically, they are chronologically before the books, so you can read them before the books if you want as well!
July 21, 2021
I was happy to have a little bit more of S&M’s beginning. I will say that I think there were some inconsistencies with the book series starting with Dreaming Death which these stories predate. Worth reading if you enjoyed the other books.
May 8, 2019
A very enjoyable set of stories in an interesting world. It is a good introduction and connects to her first first book in the series. A solid four star that I will remember or read again.
January 25, 2020
A nice little set of stories - 2 of which are about events referenced briefly in Dreaming Death. I admit, I got a little pang from seeing *spoiler* again.
April 7, 2017
Giving details to Dreaming Death
These three short stories add insight and background to Dreaming Death. very enjoyable back stories for Shironne and Mikail prior to their meeting. as always, Cheney is a master of detail. Looking forward to more in this series.
These three short stories add insight and background to Dreaming Death. very enjoyable back stories for Shironne and Mikail prior to their meeting. as always, Cheney is a master of detail. Looking forward to more in this series.
April 17, 2017
VG psychic murder mystery short stories in a fantasy city; I'm eager to read Dreaming Death
I've read this author's first alt-Portugal fantasy, The Golden City, and really enjoyed it, so I knew she wrote well. This is a different setting and tone, but definitely as good, especially since fantasy + mystery is one of my favorite genre-crossovers. In these three shorts, the "fantasy" is actually just in the world-building, while the plot is what I'd call "true paranormal", i.e., revolving around human psychic mental abilities that don't require much suspension of disbelief. (I gather the first full-length tale *will* involves dark-magic spell-casting, though.) The characters are believable, and sympathetic.
Shironne's blindness, hyper-sensitivity (she's a walking forensic lab, hampered only by her ignorance of things like the term for "gunshot residue" and the scents of illegal drugs), and in-some-ways-naive,-in-other-ways-too-knowing youth are skillfully presented. There were a few moments where a *visual* description of current surroundings briefly confused me, before realizing/ recalling that the scene was among those where the limited-third-person PoV was Colonel Carradine's, not hers. Shironne's complicated family situation is all-too-believable: an abusive and domineering father with political clout and narrow ideas re. a suitable future for a well-bred girl, and a mother (with complicated and secret illegitimate family connections of her own) who tries to help, while fearfully avoiding scandal. However, the father never appears, remaining an off-stage boogeyman, and his role in their lives changes during the time-jumps between Shironne's two stories, and between the second and the teaser excerpt from "Dreaming Death".
Mikael, the death-dreamer himself, was less unique to me, but I still look forward to getting to know him better. He does present another example of "magical gifts" being more like a curse: not only does he experience violent deaths as if they were his own, his unpredictable physical debilitation in the aftermath forced him to stop participating in a sport he enjoyed. There's more masculine teasing and such in his story, but his ambiguous position makes him an outsider in any group he's with.
The city's organization involves royalty, their highly-trained guard, priests, military, and police, with varying agendas and authority. I expect that, too, will become clearer in "DD"'s greater length. Several officers have important secondary roles in these three stories.
I've got to get at reading more from this author, and soon! She's definitely earned a place on my to-be-recommended list. And it doesn't hurt that her TPBs' covers are beautiful, though they're naturally not cheap.
I've read this author's first alt-Portugal fantasy, The Golden City, and really enjoyed it, so I knew she wrote well. This is a different setting and tone, but definitely as good, especially since fantasy + mystery is one of my favorite genre-crossovers. In these three shorts, the "fantasy" is actually just in the world-building, while the plot is what I'd call "true paranormal", i.e., revolving around human psychic mental abilities that don't require much suspension of disbelief. (I gather the first full-length tale *will* involves dark-magic spell-casting, though.) The characters are believable, and sympathetic.
Shironne's blindness, hyper-sensitivity (she's a walking forensic lab, hampered only by her ignorance of things like the term for "gunshot residue" and the scents of illegal drugs), and in-some-ways-naive,-in-other-ways-too-knowing youth are skillfully presented. There were a few moments where a *visual* description of current surroundings briefly confused me, before realizing/ recalling that the scene was among those where the limited-third-person PoV was Colonel Carradine's, not hers. Shironne's complicated family situation is all-too-believable: an abusive and domineering father with political clout and narrow ideas re. a suitable future for a well-bred girl, and a mother (with complicated and secret illegitimate family connections of her own) who tries to help, while fearfully avoiding scandal. However, the father never appears, remaining an off-stage boogeyman, and his role in their lives changes during the time-jumps between Shironne's two stories, and between the second and the teaser excerpt from "Dreaming Death".
Mikael, the death-dreamer himself, was less unique to me, but I still look forward to getting to know him better. He does present another example of "magical gifts" being more like a curse: not only does he experience violent deaths as if they were his own, his unpredictable physical debilitation in the aftermath forced him to stop participating in a sport he enjoyed. There's more masculine teasing and such in his story, but his ambiguous position makes him an outsider in any group he's with.
The city's organization involves royalty, their highly-trained guard, priests, military, and police, with varying agendas and authority. I expect that, too, will become clearer in "DD"'s greater length. Several officers have important secondary roles in these three stories.
I've got to get at reading more from this author, and soon! She's definitely earned a place on my to-be-recommended list. And it doesn't hurt that her TPBs' covers are beautiful, though they're naturally not cheap.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews