Realm Of Dreams

By James Updike
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Paperback, 123 pages
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 (6 Ratings)
Realm Of Dreams
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Within these pages you will discover fifteen thought-provoking short stories by award winning author James Patrick Updike. Each story transports you to an exciting new realm of Fantasy, Horror, Science-Fiction, and even strange new twists on the here and now! Stories that range from the Philosophical exploration of life, death, and the hereafter to humorous forays into silliness, each with its own twists and turns. All of the stories are woven together with an over-arching true life tale of one man's quest to make his own dream come true! The GUIDE TO FICTION ON THE WEB says that James Patrick Updike's writing is among those with "...the best overall content..." and that James Patrick Updike's story is a "Standout"!
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Sep. 30, 2009 By David W. Hoffman
James Patrick Updike's
Realm of Dreams is a collection of short stories spanning from his humble beginnings to his first successful published short story. But the author goes further than just providing a collection of shorts as each story is introduced with a narrative that helps to get the reader into the mind of an aspiring author.
The stories vary from the macabre to tales suitable for a child. And all are written well, though as the book progresses it's obvious that Mr. Updike's skill in crafting a story increases. This book is not only entertaining but also a worthy guide to any author seeking to get published, but don't think the journey is easy for the stories... More > contained in this book span over a decade of Mr. Updike's life. A testament to all aspiring writers that finding success is not something that will happen overnight.
As to the stories themselves I found some rather disturbing, a few less than appealing, but most entertaining and highly recommendable. In addition to this there are two moral based stories contained in this book that are suitable for young children. All in all, Realm of Dreams has something for just about everyone.
The only problem I found with this book is some of the formatting is not up to industry standard for a work of fiction. But these problems are minor and certainly do not distract from reading the book.
I highly recommend
Realm of Dreams to anyone climbing the publishing ladder or anyone interested in what it takes to reach that pedestal of being a traditionally published author. < Less
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Apr. 1, 2007 By DJ
"Witty, Intellegent, Thought Provoking, and at times, Disturbing"
5 STARS!
Realm of Dreams by James Patrick Updike is a collection of short stories that span from the authors first attempt at getting published to the one golden story that boosted him from the ranks of “wannabe” to “paid published author.”



Before each story Mr. Updike shares a little tidbit of where he is in his creative career with us. I found his tale of the ups and downs of the writers life to be as entertaining as the stories themselves. The stories vary in both theme and quality. You can see the progression of Mr. Updike’s talent and confidence in his writing from the first story to the last.... More > 


As a whole, “Realm of Dreams” is a book not to be missed. Individually, there two stories that I did not care for. Not because they were not creative and well written, but because they seemed forced and didn’t have the same passion as the others. This, in my opinion, was because at times Mr. Updike was “trying” to write a story that would “sell” instead of speaking from his heart.



Most of the stories in “Realm of Dreams” explore religion and myth in a unique and fresh way. This seems to be Mr. Updike’s strong point and where his creative passions lie. His stories are witty and intelligent, and told with a bit of a tongue in cheek attitude. I love the way he delves into the mystery of life and creation and puts his own spin on it.



My two favorite stories in this collection were the first and last. “Suicidal Soul” is the first story in the book and the authors first attempt at publication. While in writing quality it is not the author’s best work, the premise of the story grabbed me and still won’t let go. It is the story of a young man who was dumped by his “true love” and has decided existing is too painful. While most of the time I wanted to reach in and smack the heck out of the guy and tell him to wake up and smell the other fish in the sea, I knew that this character was more true to life than any of us may want to admit. This story is, all at once, thought provoking, funny, sad, and disturbing to the extreme.



The shining star of this collection of short stories is “Reunited”. It is also the authors first paid and published work. There is not a lot I can say about this unique exploration into the world of the After-Life, except that it was beautiful and brought me to tears. You really must read this one!



In closing I will say that all in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book. At the end the author says he is now going to focus more time on his writing and has a few things in the works. I’m glad! I can’t wait to read more from James Patrick Updike. I hope his future works have the same passion and fire I saw glimpses of in his short stories.



Dayton Jones

Dayton Jones—A BBW with a Brain

www.daytonjones.blogspot.com

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Nov. 16, 2007 By James Updike
"Re: " Thank you very much for your review and for the obvious time and effort you put into it. ANd thank you for featuring it on your site gloomwing.com

I have taken your advice and updated much of the formatting to bring it closer to industry standards.
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Oct. 10, 2009 By Rene Davids
"thought provoking indeed!!" I love this book - it seems as though it was somewhat "divinely inspired" One reads the story and later realises that this is not just a story....there is a message to be taken from it....there is an underlying belief coming through in it and it makes one look deeper beneath the surface. The "soul" of this book is very much aware....very much in touch with things and has given this work quite a bit of thought.
very enjoyable read and very thought provoking indeed.
well done !!


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Product Details

ISBN 978-1-4116-5903-2
Copyright Standard Copyright License
Published January 3, 2006
Language English
Pages 123
 
Binding Perfect-bound Paperback
Interior Ink Black & white
Dimensions (inches) 6.0 wide × 9.0 tall

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