Into The Dreamlands (the short review)

Thanks to the wonderful Louise Bohmer, I was given the opportunity to preview Into The Dreamlands (Simian Publishing) edited by Jason Andrew and Michael Dyer, and featuring Louise Bohmer, Caitlin R Kiernan, Bev Vincent, Gill Ainsworth, Christa Faust, and many more.

Into The Dreamlands sports a stellar cast and although the book is about dreams, none of these stories will put you to sleep. They're not bedtime stories--their waking dreams and nightmares that keep the reader entranced by each author's style. In my lengthier review, I'll spend more time on each author. In this abbreviated article I want to focus on Louise Bohmer and Gill Ainsworth for two reasons. 1) Louise Bohmer's story impressed me and I learned that I still have a lot to learn from her. 2) This was the first story that I read by Gill Ainsworth--it deeply impressed me and was one of the most impressive contributions of the anthology.

In her story "The Book of Dreams", Louise Bohmer weaves morbid reality and surreal dreamscapes into a story that never misses a step.

Gill Ainsworth's story, Lala Salama, brings the African setting to life. She mixes a potent combination of lore, fantastical dreaminess, and well-defined characters into a molotov cocktail of a story.

I'll write more about this wonderful anthology later, covering all of the authors and spending more time on both Bohmer's and Ainsworth's marvelous additions.