Dreamwalk

Roswell (Simon Spotlight Entertainment) #3

by Paul Ruditis

You can run, but you can't hide.

Night after night Kyle is haunted by nightmares of Alex's death. He begs Isabel to help by dreamwalking him and removing the images from his mind. Isabel knows that's not how her powers work, but Kyle is relentless and she fi nally agrees. The disturbing images she encounters in Kyle's subconscious are almost too much to bear, but when she tries to exit his mind, she finds herself trapped in a maze of guilt -- while back in the conscious world, Kyle is unable to wake her.

Meanwhile Liz invites Max to babysit with her. She wants to give him a chance to train for the day when he finds his own son. But watching this troubled child turns out to be not just another day in the park, and before they know it, Liz and Max are in way over their heads....

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Media Tie In, Fantasy

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Paul Ruditis also writes under the name P.J. Ruditis.

I was born and raised in Philadelphia where I lived a typical childhood with a far more interesting fantasy life. I mean, how many other eight year olds were sticking their Star Wars action figures in Ziploc bags filled with water and putting them in the freezer to recreate the ice planet of Hoth? (Really? That many? Never mind.)

After college, I moved to Los Angeles and was very lucky to get a job as a page at Paramount Pictures only months after I got into town. I worked as a tour guide and usher, and I performed temp office work around the lot.
Eventually, I took a position working in the studio's licensing department where I quickly worked my way up to middle management.

After a while, one of my friends in the publishing industry offered me the opportunity to write a Buffy, The Vampire Slayer short story for a collection she was editing. Well, when I heard how little money I could make as a writer, I immediately quit my job to try it full time. (Stupid, I know, but it kind of worked for me.)

I started out by writing books based on such wonderful TV shows as Star Trek, Roswell, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. I have since written over 30 books based some of the best shows on TV, adding The West Wing, Alias, and Prison Break to that ever growing list.

While I continue to work on these media tie-ins, I have also been focused more on my own original fiction, including my teen series DRAMA! and the Simon Pulse Romantic Comedy Love, Hollywood Style.

- Abridged Bio - Official Website.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a tie-in novel based on the original television show Roswell. It's somewhat slower paced than the previous action-packed books in the series. The main focus is an interesting look at how Kyle and Isabel try to cope with their grief after Alex's death. Liz (and Michael and Maria, come to dwell on it) has little to do (again!) in this one, and Max learns the basics of childcare in a story that doesn't mesh well with the main one. Kyle's father is shown sympathetically as mentor for the whole group, which is pleasant, and we get more of his back-story. I'd recommend it to readers already familiar with the show who want a little more depth and expansion, but it's not a good starting place for the series.

[C.L. Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting years to get my hands on a copy of this book! I am so glad I did. I loved going back to Roswell to visit my old friends. Kyle is one of my favorite characters, and I am so glad that more about his past was explored. Alex's death caused every member of the group pain, but I think some of Kyle's pain got glossed over on the show. Isabel is the perfect person for Kyle to connect with on this issue. I really enjoyed this story.

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first Roswell tie in novel that made me cry. Not once, but twice. Even more astounding is that it's a book with Kyle as the central character. Don't get me wrong, I've always adored Kyle, but he was always a background character to me. Y'know, very much a comedic character that was integral to balancing out the characters, but not someone I worried about overly much.

If this book had been an episode though...this story was the Kyle centered episode the fans deserved to see on screen, but sadly never got. So much background on who Kyle is and the Valenti family dynamic. (Also as much as I love Jim Valenti and was interested to find out how the Kit Schickers got together, I did want to slap him for not noticing his son almost falling apart.)

Also, the growing Isabel and Kyle friendship that grew into the genuine solid brotp we were blessed with seeing in s03 was shown in its grassroots here. And it was beautiful. I loved every single second of Roswell town scenes we got in this novel.

And that end scene with Isabel talking to Alex's ghost at the end just set the waterworks off all over again.

My only complaint about the book (and it is a common one for me with the Roswell tie ins) is that Liz had almost nothing to do. She introduced Max to her younger friend Jason and then basically was used as a Barney Fife to make Max's parenting skills develop. As a character, she deserves better. *sigh*

[Kathryn Houghton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was I close to crying from a continuation book for Roswell? Yes. Yes I was. Kyle Valenti is my favorite character from the show for many reasons, and finally getting to see more of his backstory and emotional makeup was a treat. This story also helped us see more of the close connection him and Isabel share. Season three had many episodes with these two, but we were left wondering when they became best friends.

The show unfortunately glossed over a lot of the trauma Kyle had gone under. First with his mother leaving, and then Tess mindwarping him. This book delved into the kind of heartbreak that went with that and it was truly amazing. The descriptions of Kyle going through meltdowns and sobbing uncontrollably made me want to get on the floor with him crying.

Also I loved the fact that Isabel recognizes that Jim had become their surrogate father! Yes, they’re a big family! Although I could’ve done without the Max and Liz POV, it was a nice insight to see Max trying to prepare himself for being a father.

BUT THAT CLIFFHANGER. I would’ve loved for them to explore that more and now I may have to scour the internet for fics.

[Clare Moseley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is mostly a pretty rote media tie-in novel, but there were two things that bothered me:

Max’s obsession with being a good dad feels like it should come AFTER trying to find him, which was handled in the third season. It feels like a very thin premise

But most importantly… The casual treatment of child abuse. That’s a subject that needs a very deft hand and this was not it. It’s buried so deep in the babysitting plot and doesn’t get proper weight put on it (most likely in an effort to not bring things down even more, with the murder of a teenager being a major plotline). They just should’ve stayed away from it.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kyle is haunted by the memories of Tess mind-warping him into carrying Alex's dead body. He can't sleep and if something doesn't change soon, he fears he's going to end up locked away like his grandfather. Isabel Evans refuses at first to use her own 'gift' to help him...fearing that she might further complicate the situation, but later does enter is mind and gets stuck there by Kyle's inner child.

Her friends find her in a comatose state and do everything they can to free her, while Isabel works within to get the younger Kyle to let her go. In the end, Isabel manages to free herself much to the relief of her friends.

Another wonderful story filled with my favorite Roswell characters.

[Lizzie the Book Hoarder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that let me visit with Max, Liz, Maria and Michael, I am there. I always loved these characters on Roswell and even though the books are never as good as the television show I just love visiting with these old friends again.