| DREAMSTONE MOON by Paul Leonard |
| Story 11 Synopsis: Sam is rescued from the Kusk ship, and finds herself on Dreamstone Moon, where the local Mining Corporation harvest dreamstones, which people use to create dreams. She soon allies herself to the local protesters, but wonders whether they have ulterior motives. The Doctor finds the Kusk ship, and then follows a trace to the Moon, where he thinks that the dreamstones are the serious issue. Both the protestors and the miners suffers the effects of moonquakes, and people start to die in the chaos. The Doctor is suspected by a senior officer, Cleomides, when she finds out he is alien. Sam is rescued by Anton La Serre, an artist who creates dreams and has been put out of business by dreamstones. He seems deeply affected by them, and they journey underground. The Doctor eventually realises that the moon and the nearby planet are organisms which the dreamstones are part of. The threats to the miners have come from misunderstanding, the planet reacting to its loss of dreamstone. Anton has also been responsible. The Doctor communicates with the planet, negotiating a way for DMMC to leave it alone safely in future. Though Sam and the Doctor cross paths, she ends up on a ship heading to Ha'olam, whilst he is left to tidy up. |
| Review:- The Doctor's quest for Sam brings him, after a fashion, to the so-called Dreamstone Moon, where mining has once again proven to be a bad thing... (was it ever thus?) Sam's rescue from the Kusk ship introduces her neatly to two people on either side of the situation - Daniel, who represents the miners who just want to earn a living, and the Krakenite, Aloisse, who backs the protestors, who feel the miners are doing more harm than good. Whilst both are clearly well meaning, it doesn't take Sam long to decide which side to join. By the time the Doctor arrives, he realises there are big problems afoot, which neither side really appreciate. In this instance, the mining has brought forth the dreamstones, fabulous lumps of rocks with a commercial value. Sadly, the cost is high, environmentally. Somehow, the dreamstones are causing the awake to see things that aren't there. This has a crude side-effect in reinforcing the latent xenophobia of the humans, which is a bum steer for those like Aloisse. That also spells trouble for the Doctor, who is considered an enemy by Cleomides, the officer in charge of cleaning up the mess on Dreamstone Moon. Though she sort of manages to overcome this through the book, her ulterior motives mean she cannot be considered to be one of the goodies. Sam is slightly luckier in that she is saved from death by Anton, the dream expert whose ulterior motive is to stop the dreamstone production which is doing him out of a job, but who also feels that the dreamstones aren't the great wonder people seem to think. The connection he finds to the dreamstones helps Sam toward the heart of the problem, but at high cost. Ultimately, it comes down to the Doctor finding a way to communicate with the dreamstones, which Anton is unable to do. He prevents further disaster, but at the cost of losing track of Sam once more. But at least he is able to rescue Aloisse and help her recover from the brutality she undergoes at the hands of the humans. The treatment of her and the other non-humans has a clear parallel with the way invading aggressive armies tend to treat those it does not recognise as friends, with a brutal and sadistic disdain. Sadly, in the modern world, this is still all too common. The book ends with the dreamstone problem solved (probably) and Sam finding herself growing more confident in surviving on her own. The Doctor's quest concludes in Seeing I... Thankfully, the great merit of this book is its brevity, and its pace. As well as dealing with weighty issues about exploitation, it colours its world with credible and interesting descriptions of life in the future. Though hardly essential, it repays reading. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of the book. |