Dream Science - Hardcover

Rocker Poole is an ordinary young bank executive in Stamford, Conn., with a young suburban family. Until, that is, he finds himself trapped in a windowless office surrounded by an exitless hallway, where he is joined daily by a taciturn, vaguely threatening computer operator named Mac. When the latter finally reveals the "line" through which he comes and goes from the office, which is, he says, a "locale"--one of the many that make up a universe called Panalog--Rocker, upon penetrating the line, steps back into his former life with his family. Or does he? Moving through other lines to other existences in other locales gives breadth and depth to Rocker's existential dilemma: where is the Real World? For as long as lines and locales remain symbolic, Palmer ( The Transfer ) maintains a double grip on his readers. Though well written and inventively conceived, however, the story loses its metaphysical underpinnings when a line in downtown Stamford begins to glow, becoming visible to all, leading to the dramatic, if irresolute, conclusion of this frequently convincing but ultimately disappointing tale.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Kafka's Gregor Samsa woke up one morning to discover he had been transformed into a giant cockroach. Yuppie banker Rocker Poole wakes up to discover that great holes have been torn in the fabric of reality, and he has fallen through into another dimension where familiar rules don't apply. "Holes" are all around him; any movement may push him further into the unknown--or possibly send him back. But what will happen to the real world if such a traveler returns? Palmer has constructed a tantalizing puzzle of a novel which pulls the reader into Poole's agonizing quest for meaning in the face of chaos. The novel ultimately promises more than it delivers; a muddled ending not only fails to answer questions but obscures them. Not the stuff of which best sellers are made, but rewarding for those who find the search more satisfying than a predictable happy ending.
- Beth Ann Mills, New Rochelle P.L., N.Y.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.