Dreamer

by Peter James

When waking from your dream means living your nightmare...

The last time the dream came, Sam was seven years old; and that was the night her parents were to die.

Twenty-five years later, Sam's nightmares are starting to come true once more...

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Suspense, British Literature

357 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Peter James is a global bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. With a total of 21 Sunday Times No. 1s under his belt, he has achieved global book sales of over 23 million copies to date and has been translated into 38 languages.

Synonymous with plot-twisting page-turners, Peter has garnered an army of loyal fans throughout his storytelling career – which also included stints writing for TV and producing films. He has won over 40 awards for his work, including the WHSmith Best Crime Author of All Time Award, Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger and a BAFTA nomination for The Merchant of Venice starring Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons for which he was an Executive Producer. Many of Peter’s novels have been adapted for film, TV and stage.

Reviews

[Shona · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was ridiculously weird with so many plot lines that just did not seem to be necessary. It was almost as if parts of the book were only included to fill space and fill up the pages. It jumped from one thing to another leaving you annoyed that you never found out the relvance of one plot line before moving on to the next one. The ending was somewhat if a let down and incredibly odd. It would have been better to jut leave the ending unwritten that using the ending that it did.

Basically the boom follows Sam who keeps having dreams or nightmares that keep coming true leaving her a barrel of nerves always expecting the worst. She tries to find put what her nightmares mean without coming to many conclusions.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter James has done it again.

I started this book filled with hope... and some dread (last time the end was so blah)...
To start, the premise of this book is kind of meeeeh, nothing is ever fully explained and the story sounds kind of retarded and is underdeveloped - this doesn't lead to "this is intriguing" moments so much as "could Sam be any more annoying?", "when will this be explained" and generally "What the hell is going on now" moments.
The story have who has to be the worse less engaging lead character ever.
The story is dull... whatever is hinted at never does comes to be, whatever feels like moronic choices...yeah, of course those come to pass... a lot of dreaming and being depressed and generally annoying later... the end makes me want to throw the book to the ground and jump on it with frustration... it's such a lame ending!!

I'm not giving up on Peter James... somewhere a book of his has to exist where the ending lives up to the initial narrative... no?

[MollieVX · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very confused weather to rate 3 or 4. I have definitely read better thrillers, but some of the elements in this story are definitely very good, although the writing isn't always the best. It gets a bit repetitive and the ending might leave you a bit confused at first. But at times it gets your heart racing and you are almost scared to know what the next line is going to say. And that's why it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and if anyone comes across this book I'd say pick it up.
3 is a bit low, 4 a bit high. I really wish I could rate 3.5.

[Mark Janson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite entertaining but ultimately unsatisfying. The story goes from one horrific event to the next, some of which are virtual repeats of dream sequences, so much of the text seems like a copy & paste job. I was expecting all to become clear towards the end of the book, but it didn't really, e.g. there is a coded message which keeps appearing - it would have been nice if this was decoded!

[Win · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd like to start fresh by reading a genuinely "good-read" book after 2024 has started. And I'm making an effort to pick up reading again after years of not being interested in it. Every night, I've been attempting to read five to ten pages of this book. Although I believe I have high hopes for this book, I did attempt to give it a chance, but I don't think I can finish it.

The subplots, do not match well with the main narrative. It's unnecessary, and I also find it to be confusing. Each time I read this book, I patiently wait for the moment when the plot really catches my attention, and it didn't.

Though the writing was good, but I supposed I will just go on with other Peter James novels.

[spruitjes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say, it took me time to warm up to this book. The paranormal normally isn't really my thing.
But I had started the book, so I thought I'd continue and see if it was any good.

And it was good. As Sam gets more and more dreams, it got scarier and scarier and ... more exciting to read.

Although I still end up puzzled at the end: Ken, Sam's boss, takes her to the "flat" where her former colleague lives.
Claire tells her "My mother is gravely ill. You have taken away her too sons. Isn't that enough?"

That's what I don't understand. Two sons?

[Karen Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird, not as good as his other books.

[Tawbaaaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing...not even close to the worst Stephen King. Dont you ever dare compare.

[Keith Curran · Rating 5 out of 5]

WILD RIDE!

I loved every minute of it... but the last. I adore all of Peter Jame's books, and this was no exception. The ONLY part I'm confused about are the, maybe, last ten pages. I'll have to read them again. Up until the book ended, I was all over it, having my usual, tantalizing time. HIGHLY recommended, of course. But, the last few pages threw me. SPOILER: (Does Sam have a "new monster" now? Clare? WAS her last dream really just a nightmare and not a premonition like the dreams that had been plaguing her? And, was "Mother Wolf" Slider's mother? And, Slider wasn't Slider, but Slider's brother, who had the same deformity and was out for revenge, believing that Sam killed his brother, Slider? With Clair being both brother's SISTER? Who'd taken the job at Sam's company to monitor her? And, the mother, at the "reading", realized who she was? Hmmm... Gonna have to read the last few pages again. What's NOT in doubt is Jame's brilliance!

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A woman starts to be haunted by dreams / premonitions of deadly events – is this related to the demise of her parents and the death of a psychopath twenty-five years before?

The book is well written and the plot is good. The characters are well drawn and the more I read of the book the deeper I was sucked into the drama. The reasons it didn’t get a five star rating were the first half of the book was a bit slow and some of the family scenes / plot points didn’t ring true

If you enjoy horror / supernatural books which have a degree of plausibility then this book is worth reading.

[Ian Stabler · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the worst books I have ever read. Almost a DNF.
The characters were barely two dimensional, and every one was a cliche.
The plot was implausible and remained unexplained. The final thirty or so pages were dreadful, and the ending predictably vague.
The book, written in the late 1980s was also terribly dated with its references, attitudes and behaviour.

A no from me.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

J'ai pris plus de temps pour la lecture pendant un break.

De manière générale, c'est le roman "terreur" que j'aime le moins de cet auteur.

Les personnages sont tous antipathiques et inintéressants à mort.

Ce roman m'a tellement soulée que je ne suis même pas certaine d'avoir compris la fin ...

Je dois commencer "Vérité" de cet auteur ... J'espère que le niveau sera meilleur.

[Mary Snaddon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It isn't often I don't like Peter James' book, but this one was just......weird!

[Karolina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, that took me actual years to get through. What a waste of time.

[Soho_Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having stumbled across some of Peter James's pre-Grace work, I hadn't been overly impressed with the first one I read, "Possession". It was a standard horror-style novel, with little to suggest that he had much of a future as a horror writer and even less to suggest he would go on to write a long series of hugely successful crime novels.

Whilst there wasn't a lot of promise there, as a horror fan I've read some really bad novels over the years and "Possession" wasn't bad enough to put me off, it was just a touch cliched. So I moved on to the next Peter James novel we had, "Dreamer". The dreamer of the title is Sam, who one night has a nasty dream and wakes to find her parents have been killed. She doesn't dream for many years, but when she does start dreaming again, her dreams seem to have a prophetic edge to them, and they generally prophecy bad news for someone.

Having had an unpleasant experience as a child, the figure from her past features heavily in her dreams and the horror he inspired in a young child hasn't faded. In her attempts to make sense of what is happening, Sam tries clairvoyants, dream therapists, psychiatrists, researchers and self-help groups. Not only do none of these prove beneficial to Sam, but her dealings with them often prove fatal and the deaths increase, but the answers do not.

I found "Dreamer" to be a little better than "Possession", as whilst it did fall into some of the genre cliches that had littered that novel, the avenues she attempts to solve the mystery of her dreams offers something a little different. There are enough variations in the ways her dreams permeate into reality that it doesn't become as repetitive as the previous novel did and whilst there are some moments where certain events repeat in both dreams and real life, it isn't too often this occurs.

"Dreamer" has more of an urban horror feel than the more traditional horror that made up "Possession" and I feel it's better for it. It doesn't have the realistic edge of the likes of Christopher Fowler, nor the novelty of Stephen King, but it is an improvement. James isn't yet good enough in this novel to be considered a decent horror writer, but there's enough here to suggest he might be on the way.

[Artemissia G · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://songedunenuitdete.com/2022/03...
Indéniablement, j’aime la plume de cet auteur qui arrive à me plonger dans ses histoires, quelles qu’elles soient. Rêves Mortels n’échappe pas à cette règle, mais je vais être franche avec vous, je suis ressortie de ma lecture super mitigée !

Pourtant, la trame, l’héroïne, le contexte… tout semblait bien parti pour que ce soit une superbe lecture, mais… la sauce n’a pas pris. Déjà, parce que j’ai trouvé énormément de longueurs dans le roman et l’héroïne plutôt brouillonne dans sa manière d’être et de raisonner. Le style quant à lui m’a paru désuet, d’un autre temps, et pour cause, le roman commence à dater.

La construction nous plonge dans une vision d’horreur, le rêve de Sam, l’héroïne qui n’est encore qu’une enfant, puis nous faisons un bond dans le temps le chapitre suivant. Sam est adulte, mariée et travaille dans une agence de pub. De fait, régulièrement, la jeune femme pense à des slogans publicitaires qui, j’imagine, sont censés souligner l’ironie de certaines situations réelles. Sam est malheureuse en ménage avec un mari pas du tout présent et un enfant que j’ai trouvé bien capricieux et geignard. Bref, l’auteur prend plaisir à nous dépeindre son héroïne comme une pauvre femme accablée qui semble devenir folle.

Alors, le lecteur, moi en l’occurrence (donc la lectrice) se demande si ses cauchemars ne sont pas le fruit d’un surmenage et d’un mal être grandissant. Et c’est ce que pense son entourage et les professionnels qu’elle consulte.

Si j’ai quand même bien aimé ce côté rétro (ça boit, ça fume, la femme est encore perçue comme un charmant pot de fleur à peine bonne à servir son mari… Rhaaaaaa ! bon, ce sont les années 80’, normal quoi), j’ai été déçue par le dénouement qui reste à l’image même de toute la construction du roman : très brouillon. Je n’ai pas compris le comment du pourquoi ni si la fin était vraiment une fin.

Du coup, dans mon cas, je ne peux pas dire que je ressors satisfaite de ma lecture. Ce n’est à mes yeux pas le meilleur de Peter James qui m’a habituée à mieux. Cela dit, je n’ai pas non plus boudé mon plaisir, mais je reste mitigée !

[Chris R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreamer by Peter James was published by Sphere Books Limited in 1989. I found it in a box of books in the attic. No idea where it came from or who bought it. 1989 was a year when people still were scared of the the occult; a time before Facebook and Twitter, back when writing horror fiction was (dare I say?) easier than it is today. Now we have phones, cameras, satellites. Ghosts cannot escape the constant scrutiny and documentation of every amateur ghost hunter under the sun. And their very lack of coverage is telling. Asking an audience to willingly switch off their sense of disbelief in the 2020s is a big request, when we have real and present horrors such as worldwide pandemics, state sponsored torture and impending climate catastrophe.

And yet that's what Peter James does. And I can safely say, I shat my metaphorical pants on more than one occasion. I thought reading was supposed to be relaxing. I suffer from chest pains. I open a book hoping to slow my heart rate and live a bit longer. Not so with Dreamer. Very well written. Extremely well documented. The pace is hard and constant and does not release you until the very last paragraph. You are gripped. You don't know which way is up. Interestingly it says on the inside cover that both 'Possession' (his first book, which I'll keep an eye out for) and 'Dreamer' are inspired by Peter James' own experiences and research into the supernatural.

Pick it up at your peril.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to this on audiobook. I wasn’t sure about it to begin with; the opening should’ve been exciting and Lacey but the way it was read was a little flat. Without reading the book, I’m not sure if this was down to the narration or the writing. However, once it got going, I found the story compelling and particularly past the half way point I never wanted to turn it off. I enjoyed the characters. They all felt quite distinctive, which was enhanced by the narrator, who did different accents and vocalisations throughout. But... I was disappointed by the ending. It wasn’t really a closure or completion of the story. There weren’t really any answers or conclusions and as a result it feels unresolved. To be clear, there are unresolved threads that don’t really matter, such as the relationship between the main character and her husband, or the financial aspects of the story, but the actual main plot is also unresolved in the sense that it doesn’t really settle any of the “why” questions, and it doesn’t even seem to be very final. All in, although I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, I have been left feeling very disappointed by the novel.

[Izzati · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story about a 32-year-old woman who kept having dreams (nightmares, really) that turned out to be true. She was convinced that the disasters happened because she didn't stop them. She went to a lot of people to help her understand why she was having those dreams and if she could stop having them, but while some people believed her, others thought they were just coincidences. Dreams are tricky after all. But behind every such dream that she had, there was a bogeyman, a man from her past who kept on making an appearance that scared her to bits.

While the premise may sound promising, the story actually fell flat for me. The middle part was somewhat interesting but the beginning was slow and the ending was anti-climactic. And maybe it's just me, but I really found James' style of writing annoying. Too many commas, too many random thoughts and happenings just too abrupt. It felt disorganized. Some of the characters were just very unlikable too. Also, what's with all the unnecessary sexual references? It kind of read like all these characters (and possibly the author himself) had sexual frustrations.

So I doubt I'll be reading anything by Peter James anymore. This might be my first and last.

A 2.5⭐ read.

[Gemma · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book tries to do too much with a story which would have been much better if Peter James had picked a point and stuck to it. Instead he seems to have had an idea which when he started to flesh it out could have gone in several directions & rather than pick a thread he has tried to weave them all into one cohesive story which personally I think has failed miserably!! There were points in the book where I could have gotten excited if a particular point had been explored further but instead it quickly went off on another tangent completely, apparently forgetting the original point it was trying to make (a lot like my conversations since I had a baby 🤣) I keep trying with Peter James’ earlier works but I don’t think any of them have been over a 3 star read for me.

[Knit Spirit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam est obsédée par ses rêves qui semblent de plus en plus prémonitoires. Malheureusement pour elle, son entourage ne la croit pas et pour couronner le tout son mariage prend l'eau...
Mon avis sur ce livre est plutôt mitigé. D'un côté, j'ai apprécié le suspens et j'ai eu envie de connaître la suite. De l'autre, je ne suis pas complètement emballée, certains éléments m'ont semblé un peu trop gros, un peu trop prévisibles. Du coup, je suis un peu déçue car j'ai l'habitude de dévorer un peu plus vite les ouvrages de Peter James.
En bref : peu mieux faire.

[Reilly Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall it was an okay book. Did I think it was an amazing read? No not really. I liked the premise, it had some good bones story wise and it wasn’t a difficult or hard read by any means. However the story seemed very rushed toward the end and it seemed like they very rashly tied together all the lose ends. The beginning of the book showed a lot of promise and halfway through I was enjoying reading it I just think the end left some things to be desired as well as a long of random side plots that seemed strange and could’ve been better just left out throughout the book.

[Myreadbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book by this author that I loved. The cover of this book represents the interior of an airplane. The plot is based on the premonitory dreams of Sam, she dreams and they are realized almost as in these. She goes to find out why it happens to her while trying to protect her family. The author makes the suspense last from beginning to end. Looking forward to reading another book from PETER JAMES.

[Roz Radmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrifying , creepy and brilliant !
When Sam was seven years old she had a dream . That was the night her parents died .
Twenty five years later Sam is a successful career woman and mother . Suddenly she is having the dreams again . Her nightmares keep coming true . She sees "experts ", none of whom can help her . The evil premonitions keep coming and worse she is now dreaming of her own death ! Can she do anything to prevent her dreams coming true a final time ?

[Renjay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Strange and meh.

Peter James is said to be compared to Stephen King, the only similarities I can see is at times long winded descriptions of situations. Stephen King is far better.
In Dreamer the main woman Sam has constant premonition dreams stemming back to a frightening childhood incident which begins to impact her life. I found it annoying at times as incidents would happen but after a few pages would turn out to be ANOTHER dream. I was dissatisfied with the ending

[Guy Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read most of Peter James’ books, mainly because I picked up some Grace novels in charity shops and am a bit of a completest, so hunted out the whole series. They are easy reads and entertaining enough. But this was different, it was neither an easy read or entertaining. I guess because it was one of his early works and he was still learning his craft? I don’t known, anyway it was not a particularly good read as I found it poorly written and the story was hard to get into.

[Duncan Murray · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly don’t know why I bother with Peter James’ horror books. They very hit and miss. When they hit they are excellent, but when they miss it’s almost unreadable.

I don’t know if it is because the book has not aged well. But it wasn’t scary. It wasn’t uncomfortable. None of the characters were interesting. It was a complete waste of time.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great supernatural thriller. The storyline was excellent and the characters well defined. I did work out part of the ending about half way through but not quite all of it. This didn’t spoil my enjoyment however hence the 5 stars.

[Courtney Male · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely could not put it down for the first three quarters of the book, I loved it and the plot made complete sense. Until the last 100 pages. If felt rushed, repetitive and I was glad to finish it. However, I've never read a Peter James novel before, so I felt this was a good introduction.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one that I didn’t really engage with if I’m honest. The plot was good enough but I found myself drifting a bit when I read it rather than it absorbing me. There’s a lot going on and you need to remain focused to keep abreast of what is reality and what is dream in it.