Connal, a warrior chieftain of his clan, found himself waiting in the futuristic waiting room of an alien witch. It was the last place he wanted to be, but he came only to locate his missing clansman, Garris. He promised Garris' woman, Flanna, he would do everything possible to find her man including jetting off to a planet that specialized in dream weavers. These aliens somehow had power to enter the unconscious world and communicate with the missing person. Connal had his doubts about the whole procedure and they were not soothed by the appearance of Counselor Liandra Tavor.

She was more like a temptress than a witch with her slender body, leaf green hair, and sapphire eyes. Connal was both repulsed and strangely attracted to her. He covered his attraction with boorish behavior, claiming that her kind may have stolen Garris away. Liandra, mystified by the muscle-bound oaf, agreed to search for Garris, if only to get Connal to leave so she could rest. Connal entered the dream world with Liandra, only to find another darker force at work against them. Connal woke up only to find Liandra, limp and unresponsive beside him. Frightened by her death-like appearance, he decided to take her back to his ship and head for home.

Connal's people were upset with the introduction of the sleeping Liandra into their world. Like their leader, they were fearful of anything off-world and different. Liandra awoke and found herself in the world of Caledonian which frightened and repulsed her. Connal continued to fight a losing battle with attraction to Liandra while together they searched the dream world for Garris. Every dream encounter, Liandra risked the possibility of being trapped as she was before, possibly forever.

CRYSTAL DREAMS proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that opposites do attract. Liandra and Connal are well-fleshed out characters that experience a range of emotion. The dialogue is especially good with a rapid-fire pace and a realistic quality. There was a seamless transition between the waking world and the dream world--still you always knew where you were.

CRYSTAL DREAMS is a magical tour of other worlds where the people are well worth meeting. This book was great fun to read. I even liked the artwork by Martine Jardin which let you know you would be reading an interesting e-book. The use of Gaelic words as a basis for the Caledonian language was another deft touch. Good reading all around; don't miss this book.

Reviewed by Morgan Wyatt
© August 2, 2004