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Alien Dream Machine: Third in the Phane Series
Gunnar is a young Las Vegas PI who struggles with narcolepsy, falling asleep at unpredictable moments. He tracks down a man who cheats at casino dice, only to learn that the guy is an extraterrestrial. Phane, the gambler, begs Gunnar to help him. He and his family are hunted by gangsters who want his dice secret. Gunnar is charmed by the stranger and wants to help, but Phane becomes seriously wounded. Gunnar and his sleep doctor try a desperate plan to bypass biology to revive the dying alien using focused dreams. But do aliens dream or is that just a human thing?
Cygnus Book Award Finalist for best sci-fi of 2021
Cygnus Book Award Finalist for best sci-fi of 2021
333 pages, Paperback
Published March 26, 2021
1 person is currently reading
About the author
William X. Adams
12 books22 followersI am a cognitive psychologist who left the university classroom for the information technology industry to find out if the mind is like a computer. I write psychological science fiction ("psi-fi") to dramatize what I learned. Contact me at www.psifibooks.com.
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December 6, 2021
“Alien Dream Machine,” is third in the Phane series by author William X. Adams, following “Alien Body,” and “Alien Panic.” Having first read “Alien Panic,” I was excited to get back into Phane’s story and see how his life had evolved on earth.
The main protagonist in this SciFi story is Gunnar, who originally hails from Norway but is now living in Las Vegas while working as a security guard at a casino. Phane, the extraterrestrial alien, attracts Gunnar’s attention because, in addition to his odd looks, he is also extremely successful at gambling. Gunnar notices that Phane continuously beats the odds every time he comes into his casino, but he wins in the thousands of dollars, not huge jackpots. Clearly this is happening to draw less attention. But Gunnar is intrigued and when he gets laid off, he decides to dust off his PI badge and find out how Phane is doing this. Boy is he surprised when he learns the truth!
I was so happy to be able to jump back into the Phane Series. Once again, William Adams created a fantastic tale in this third book. I enjoyed the creative idea of having the alien use his special abilities to help support his life in Las Vegas. His mate and their offspring made him seem more vulnerable in this story because they have to protect each other from us. Despite having traveled from another galaxy, they still maintain some naivety in how our world functions. Dealing with evil mobsters necessitates the skill of humans in order to help them survive. There is also a drug addiction crisis that is destroying his alien race. It is interesting to see this common human issue being used with aliens from another world. Incorporating sleep disorder aspects into this story made it more unique, especially when we find out if aliens can actually dream.
The whole Phane series is distinctive because series is named after a character, who does not play the lead role. He is involved in each book. We are following him and focusing on him, while we watch him through the eyes of the main characters. In this third book, the investigator Gunnar plays a bigger role than Phane. It is his interactions with him that allow us to learn more about the alien. I like how the author does this little twist because it makes the stories more unique.
I highly recommend reading “Alien Dream Machine,” and the other two books in this series and I look forward to reading other books by William X Adams!
The main protagonist in this SciFi story is Gunnar, who originally hails from Norway but is now living in Las Vegas while working as a security guard at a casino. Phane, the extraterrestrial alien, attracts Gunnar’s attention because, in addition to his odd looks, he is also extremely successful at gambling. Gunnar notices that Phane continuously beats the odds every time he comes into his casino, but he wins in the thousands of dollars, not huge jackpots. Clearly this is happening to draw less attention. But Gunnar is intrigued and when he gets laid off, he decides to dust off his PI badge and find out how Phane is doing this. Boy is he surprised when he learns the truth!
I was so happy to be able to jump back into the Phane Series. Once again, William Adams created a fantastic tale in this third book. I enjoyed the creative idea of having the alien use his special abilities to help support his life in Las Vegas. His mate and their offspring made him seem more vulnerable in this story because they have to protect each other from us. Despite having traveled from another galaxy, they still maintain some naivety in how our world functions. Dealing with evil mobsters necessitates the skill of humans in order to help them survive. There is also a drug addiction crisis that is destroying his alien race. It is interesting to see this common human issue being used with aliens from another world. Incorporating sleep disorder aspects into this story made it more unique, especially when we find out if aliens can actually dream.
The whole Phane series is distinctive because series is named after a character, who does not play the lead role. He is involved in each book. We are following him and focusing on him, while we watch him through the eyes of the main characters. In this third book, the investigator Gunnar plays a bigger role than Phane. It is his interactions with him that allow us to learn more about the alien. I like how the author does this little twist because it makes the stories more unique.
I highly recommend reading “Alien Dream Machine,” and the other two books in this series and I look forward to reading other books by William X Adams!
Displaying 1 of 1 review