In Your Dreams

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Reads like counting sheep? - Rated
Tom Holt has been writing fantasy fiction for many years now and fans know what to expect from his work. Unfortunately, this means that they are aware that the quality has taken a nose dive. However, the recent `Portable Door' shuck things up a bit and was his best novel in several years. `In Your Dreams' continues the story of Paul and his job at magical firm J W Wells. Sophie has left him and to make things worse his next internship is in the hero sector where he must kill dragons without dying himself.

`In Your Dreams' is a good book let down by its length. I felt that Holt took a great concept and stretched it over 200 pages too long. The writing is good and the characters well developed. However, I grew bored with the over explanation of `interesting' facts and Holt's insistence of deviating from the central story every few pages and too much internal mutterings. I really like the character of Paul as he is a bit wet and feels realistic. For this reason I will read the next book `Earth, Fire and Custard' in the hope that Holt edits a bit better.

Good read - Rated
Follow on from Portable Door. Not a bad book. You do starting thinking "but it's obvious you fool". A little to much focus on the character's internal dialog rather than what's happening in the work place round him. Certainly doesn't seem to get over the reluctant hero complex early enough in the story, although that seems to stem from the characters lazyness. Still you start liking him is spite of that. Interesting world but not explored enough really. Good but had potential to be better.

Better than the portable door - Rated
Slowish start to get new readers upto speed, but a more complex and exciting read than its predessor The Portable Door.

Actually having read 75% of Holts books - I'd say this was his best, couldn't put it down.

Now how do you follow that?

Reasonable - Rated
This follow up from Tom's hilarious book 'the portable door' was a bit of a let down for me. I enjoyed, as i always do, his style of writting and the way his books are easy to read. But i was expecting splitting humour rather than an easy read. It is a good follow up however and i would recommend reading on.

In the context of the series, it is a 4, on its own, a 3 - Rated
Well firstly, this book is a follow up to The Portable Door and before you go on any further I would stress that to aid overall understanding and enjoyment of the series, I would read that one first. Also that one is a funnier book and it's always good to get you in the right frame of mind.

Now that's out of the way... In Your Dreams picks up directly where The Portable Door finishes, Paul is still working for the highly unusual city firm J.W. Wells & Co but at least is now slightly more informed as to what the firm actually does. Now if your thinking that's typical of all new starters at city firms and that eventually everyone learns how they make money out of derivatives, you are a little of the mark. Paul is developing his magical powers in the highly competitive and not to say lucrative world of, erm, well actually... What do they do again?

As you may have gathered, things are far from black and white in the world Paul and his girlfriend Sophie inhabit. So much so that the addition of Paul's company car - Monika - causes him not to feel amazement, as one might expect when you drive a sentient car, but annoyance at its - sorry her - down right obstinance. Paul is going to have to overcome far more pressing issues though, if he is going to succeed in the cut throat corporate world, and unfortunately for him when Sophie leaves him to go to the Hollywood office, he is going to have to do it alone...

In Your Dreams explores more of the magic infested world that was created in The Portable Door and also gives us more of an insight into the Senior partners, most notable Judy di Castel'Bianco and the dashing Ricky Wurmtoter, as well as his assistant Benny Shumway. These are excellent characters to explore and are really well done. The advantage of a fantasy novel is that the characters can be anything you want them to be, but add this scope into some quirky observations of real city life and you have a really interesting set of people. Thankfully we see more of Rosie - Mr Tanner's Mum who is at times down right hilarious.

As others have mentioned this book is darker than the first, and doesn't have the same level of funny moments but I would challenge people not to find large swaths of it worthy of its predecessor. Unfortunately the comedy moments in the book weren't enough to lift this book to the heights of enjoyment I derived from the first book but I do not see that as a major issue. The scenes in the Bank of the Dead and the circumstances in which Paul visits them can at times be way out of keeping with the spirit of the rest of the book but does show a certain amount of flexibility in the writing and skill to keep the subject matter varied.

To me this book is clearly the 2nd in a trilogy and should be treated as such. There is a journey Tom Holt is trying to take us on, this instalment just felt a little like the Little Chef on the motorway; necessary but not exactly why you took the journey. I just hope the Earth, Air, Fire & Custard manages to pull it all together.