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Arc One #2
The Dream Catcher
In a future world whose people are clustered in domed cities, fifteen-year-old Ruth, who possesses great extrasensory powers and who has received troubling messages in her dreams from another center of civilization, accompanies a group to search for the source of the messages.
171 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
1 person is currently reading
138 people want to read
About the author
Monica Hughes
580 books117 followersMonica Hughes was a very popular writer for young people, and has won numerous prizes. Her books have been published in the United States, Poland, Spain, Japan, France, Scandinavia, England, and Germany. She has twice received the Canada Council Prize for Children's Literature, and was runner-up for the Guardian Award.
She is the author of Keeper of the Isis Light, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, which also received a Certificate of Honor from the International Board on Books for Young People; Hunter in the Dark, also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and Sandwriter, among many other titles.
She is the author of Keeper of the Isis Light, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, which also received a Certificate of Honor from the International Board on Books for Young People; Hunter in the Dark, also an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; and Sandwriter, among many other titles.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 28, 2010
The sequel to my beloved Devil On My Back. Another of the "arks" is revealed: Ark Three, which has dedicated itself to mental and spiritual harmony. But even in this gentle and loving society, Ruth is an outcast because she cannot stand being linked to everyone else's mind. During her journey of discovery- of herself, of their world- she meets up with the rebel slaves from ArcOne and even Tomi Bent, now a grown man. Okay, I seriously was IN LOVE with Tomi when I was a kid, and he frankly did not get enough screen time in this sequel! I could have read a hundred books about ArcOne and this vision of the future. More. More! MORE!
February 12, 2023
The Dream Catcher by Monica Hughes
This sequel to Devil on My Back (1984) was published in 1986. The story meshes well with the first book by describing the experiences of people living in another one of the domed cities, this time Ark Three. A fifteen-year-old girl named Ruth is having trouble fitting into the harmonious and egalitarian society, and begins to have dreams which seem to originate from a source on the other side of the mountains outside the Ark. Old records from during the era of chaos and confusion when the domed were built indicate that Ark One is located in that region, so the people of Ark Three select an expeditionary team to venture outside their protective dome in order to make contact with its inhabitants. They are totally unprepared for what awaits them at Ark One.
On the whole, there is seamless continuity between Devil on My Back and The Dream Catcher, although there was one detail which was different and which I cannot account for:
“The muscled man was Treefeller, and she guessed from the conversation that he was Arbor's father, and that Swift and Healhand were the parents of Rowan and a mischievous boy called Groundsel.”
In Devil on My Back, Arbor is Rowan's younger brother, and Groundsel is the son of Treefeller. At first I just concluded that Ruth must have guessed wrongly, but the relationships are described several times by the author in the second book as they appear above. Did the author have a specific reason for making these changes, or did she simply inadvertently mix up the details? I really do not know.
Many readers prefer the first book, and consider the second weak by comparison, but I did not find that to be the case. The books show how two communities given the same start in almost identical environments could develop very differently depending on the individuals involved. The first book is more action-oriented, whereas the second contains more introspective content, which I appreciated. My only slight grumble with both books is that the interpersonal dynamics and ways in which people react to situations are a little too predictable and cliched. Other than that, The Dream Catcher is another pretty solid and enjoyable work of juvenile dystopian science fiction from the 1980s.
Below are some representative quotations from the book:
There weren't many places where a person could be alone. Being together in a group was what Ark Three was all about, what the Web was about. And she had to be alone. That was one of the things that made her so different.
Nobody had ever left the Ark, not since it had been built at the beginning of the Age of Confusion that followed the last of the oil, a hundred and forty years before. That was the purpose of the Ark, to protect the people and their knowledge from the madness that lay outside.
THERE was nothing to stop a person leaving the Ark, any more than there is anything to stop a person jumping off a ship into a raging sea. It was understood: no one in her right mind would leave the warm togetherness of the Web for the cold empty loneliness of Outside.
What was there beyond the eastern mountains that drew her as iron filings are drawn to a magnet? That was where her dream had come from, and somewhere beyond that range of hills was something without which she would never be whole.
The Protector had carried out his threat and put her in the Black Hole. The ultimate punishment on Ark Three.
Above all there was a hunger for beauty. After a time Ruth began to associate this feeling with the red- haired girl, the girl with the dimple. The girl with the hoe.
….a society that does nothing more than hold onto what it believes is bound for self-destruction. To survive one must grow. To grow one must reach out. To reach out one must risk.
“In the beginning of the Age of Confusion that followed the End of Oil, the Arks were built by different faculties of the University in an attempt to protect the knowledge and wisdom of humankind, which was in danger, as in times before, of being totally lost. “We in the Humanities were charged with guarding and developing our skills in communication and understanding
It was decided that each Ark should be entirely independent, with no communication between them. So, if one failed or was overcome by the forces of the rabble, the others might still survive intact.
“I mentioned two dreams, Warden. In the second kind I get no clear pictures. They are distorted and scary, and I seem to be inside this person - Tomi.”
Ruth found it hard to cope with the prickliness that was growing inside her. She needed so badly to reach out to this unknown person - no, these two people - the one in whom she dreamed, Tomi, and the other, the girl with red hair.
WHAT WERE the people of Ark One really like? They seemed to be a mass of contradictions, living in a domed city, and yet in wooden houses in the forest, culturing yeast proteins and yet killing for food.
He looked around the familiar room. Here in this place was the accumulated know- ledge of the world. In one small room. But then the genius of Michelangelo, or of Einstein or Madame Curie were contained in braincases far far smaller. Perhaps after all the computer was not so great a miracle as the mind of the person who first thought of it.
This sequel to Devil on My Back (1984) was published in 1986. The story meshes well with the first book by describing the experiences of people living in another one of the domed cities, this time Ark Three. A fifteen-year-old girl named Ruth is having trouble fitting into the harmonious and egalitarian society, and begins to have dreams which seem to originate from a source on the other side of the mountains outside the Ark. Old records from during the era of chaos and confusion when the domed were built indicate that Ark One is located in that region, so the people of Ark Three select an expeditionary team to venture outside their protective dome in order to make contact with its inhabitants. They are totally unprepared for what awaits them at Ark One.
On the whole, there is seamless continuity between Devil on My Back and The Dream Catcher, although there was one detail which was different and which I cannot account for:
“The muscled man was Treefeller, and she guessed from the conversation that he was Arbor's father, and that Swift and Healhand were the parents of Rowan and a mischievous boy called Groundsel.”
In Devil on My Back, Arbor is Rowan's younger brother, and Groundsel is the son of Treefeller. At first I just concluded that Ruth must have guessed wrongly, but the relationships are described several times by the author in the second book as they appear above. Did the author have a specific reason for making these changes, or did she simply inadvertently mix up the details? I really do not know.
Many readers prefer the first book, and consider the second weak by comparison, but I did not find that to be the case. The books show how two communities given the same start in almost identical environments could develop very differently depending on the individuals involved. The first book is more action-oriented, whereas the second contains more introspective content, which I appreciated. My only slight grumble with both books is that the interpersonal dynamics and ways in which people react to situations are a little too predictable and cliched. Other than that, The Dream Catcher is another pretty solid and enjoyable work of juvenile dystopian science fiction from the 1980s.
Below are some representative quotations from the book:
There weren't many places where a person could be alone. Being together in a group was what Ark Three was all about, what the Web was about. And she had to be alone. That was one of the things that made her so different.
Nobody had ever left the Ark, not since it had been built at the beginning of the Age of Confusion that followed the last of the oil, a hundred and forty years before. That was the purpose of the Ark, to protect the people and their knowledge from the madness that lay outside.
THERE was nothing to stop a person leaving the Ark, any more than there is anything to stop a person jumping off a ship into a raging sea. It was understood: no one in her right mind would leave the warm togetherness of the Web for the cold empty loneliness of Outside.
What was there beyond the eastern mountains that drew her as iron filings are drawn to a magnet? That was where her dream had come from, and somewhere beyond that range of hills was something without which she would never be whole.
The Protector had carried out his threat and put her in the Black Hole. The ultimate punishment on Ark Three.
Above all there was a hunger for beauty. After a time Ruth began to associate this feeling with the red- haired girl, the girl with the dimple. The girl with the hoe.
….a society that does nothing more than hold onto what it believes is bound for self-destruction. To survive one must grow. To grow one must reach out. To reach out one must risk.
“In the beginning of the Age of Confusion that followed the End of Oil, the Arks were built by different faculties of the University in an attempt to protect the knowledge and wisdom of humankind, which was in danger, as in times before, of being totally lost. “We in the Humanities were charged with guarding and developing our skills in communication and understanding
It was decided that each Ark should be entirely independent, with no communication between them. So, if one failed or was overcome by the forces of the rabble, the others might still survive intact.
“I mentioned two dreams, Warden. In the second kind I get no clear pictures. They are distorted and scary, and I seem to be inside this person - Tomi.”
Ruth found it hard to cope with the prickliness that was growing inside her. She needed so badly to reach out to this unknown person - no, these two people - the one in whom she dreamed, Tomi, and the other, the girl with red hair.
WHAT WERE the people of Ark One really like? They seemed to be a mass of contradictions, living in a domed city, and yet in wooden houses in the forest, culturing yeast proteins and yet killing for food.
He looked around the familiar room. Here in this place was the accumulated know- ledge of the world. In one small room. But then the genius of Michelangelo, or of Einstein or Madame Curie were contained in braincases far far smaller. Perhaps after all the computer was not so great a miracle as the mind of the person who first thought of it.
March 11, 2012
This is not my favorite book. I believe The Dream Catcher has a total of two in the series. The one I read is definiely the first book. I cannot find the first on goodreads. I like the author's writing style. I am looking forward to read other books that are written by Monica Hughes.
January 21, 2023
I’ve read this book, and it’s predecessor Devil On My Back, so many times since I was a teenager, and will probably continue to do so for many years. They are both beautifully written books about humanity’s overwhelming need to be both connected and free. I feel that many young people could identify with Ruth, the girl who feels outcast but desperately wants to belong. Highly recommend this book, for both teenagers and adults alike.
June 11, 2021
I read the first book as a kid, and the story stuck with me through into adulthood. I only just recently discovered a sequel!
The Dream catcher isn’t nearly as satisfying as the original, but it is still a good read. Seeing another ARC, and comparing how the two societies developed from the same origins was interesting.
The Dream catcher isn’t nearly as satisfying as the original, but it is still a good read. Seeing another ARC, and comparing how the two societies developed from the same origins was interesting.
July 14, 2023
The book was fine. I thought the Overlord seemed to agree to Ruth's plan very quickly while it could've ended with people not surviving the computer reprogramming (if I read that correctly, the story gets a bit confusing). I liked the characters. Sometimes Angela got on my nerves though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2022
This was a treat. My only complaint was that it is too short. I have reread the first in the series a number of times, and always wondered what happened next. It's out of print, so I only got to read it now by ordering a second hand copy from Better Books.
Highly recommended if you liked The Chrysalis by John Wyndham.
Highly recommended if you liked The Chrysalis by John Wyndham.
June 2, 2013
I loved "Devil On My Back" in my early teens. I finally located this, the sequel, as a young adult.
Several thoughts come to mind immediately:
1) Two young male characters are reversed between this book and the prequel. That has always nagged at me.
2) This book feels a bit less developed, in certain scenes, than the first.
Nonetheless, this book touches on several themes that continue to be relevant: The role of the outsider, or misfit; bullying; a warning about letting ourselves become too complacent or settled with things as they are.
Worth reading, especially with the prequel.
Several thoughts come to mind immediately:
1) Two young male characters are reversed between this book and the prequel. That has always nagged at me.
2) This book feels a bit less developed, in certain scenes, than the first.
Nonetheless, this book touches on several themes that continue to be relevant: The role of the outsider, or misfit; bullying; a warning about letting ourselves become too complacent or settled with things as they are.
Worth reading, especially with the prequel.
August 22, 2008
Monica Hughes was one of the best s-f writers for kids, bar none. This books was part of her series that began with Devil on my Back. It takes place on a future Earth where most people live under domes. Each dome think they are the only ones left on earth and have evolved in radically different ways.
June 24, 2013
The best book in the whole of my childhood, even today I still pluck it from my groaning bookshelves and read it cover to cover without a break.
Wish there were more but alas there never will be. Give it a go if you ever get the chance.
It's very early mind fiction with a slight science fiction edge.
Wish there were more but alas there never will be. Give it a go if you ever get the chance.
It's very early mind fiction with a slight science fiction edge.
February 29, 2008
Sequel to Devil on My Back.
January 20, 2010
Good story of the meeting of the Arcs; wish there were more in the series.
June 8, 2012
Weird science fiction piece about the Web. Fun and entertaining, and very much like most of Monica Hughes other writings. Had this one from elementary school.
November 20, 2013
Not as good as Devil On My Back but I really enjoyed this one when I was in junior high school.
Read
April 13, 2017I read this book when I was young, and discovered I had forgotten some parts and misremembered others. Short and bittersweet, it both satisfies and leaves me wishing there were stories of the other mentioned Arcs.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews