Why am I passionate about this?

Everyone dreams, even if you don’t remember them, you dream. I have researched dreams and stories concerning dreams for decades. There are more than a handful of dream fiction books I admire and would recommend, but here are five that I think should be singled out. I am a member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams to try to keep my finger on the pulse of peer-reviewed papers concerning the ‘yet-to-be-explained’ purpose of dreaming. I wrote this story because I can see a future where dreams become mainstream entertainment, it is just a matter of time and technology.


I wrote

Dream Phaze - Germination

By Matt Watters,

Book cover of Dream Phaze - Germination

What is my book about?

Everyone dreams. All Saxon Zynn wanted to do was dream, not for himself, but for everyone. Back in 2037, Saxon…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Mirrormaze: A Dreampunk Anthology

Matt Watters Why did I love this book?

Cliff Jones Jr. has threaded together an impressive anthology with Mirrormaze: A Dreampunk Anthology. I think the structure of the book with prompts to guide you through the maze makes this anthology distinctive. The stories cover a variety of genres but are always tied to that central topic, dreams.

There are many outstanding stories that I found interesting in their structure and content, but I won’t give anything away to influence your choices, you have to determine your own gems. The stories are well written, enjoyable, they make you reflect and with almost 30 stories, there are many viewpoints of what constitutes a ‘dream’.

It took me several weeks to meander my way through the maze, I’d jump in every time I had free time. I love short story anthologies, you can read a couple, be carried away to an imagined time and place, fall back to reality, until it’s time to ‘dream with eyes wide open’ again when you open the book or device.

I strongly recommend Mirrormaze: A Dreampunk Anthology to all readers because everyone can relate to the fascinating journeys dreams take us on.

By Cliff Jones,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mirrormaze as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We find ourselves in a very strange place.Technology is embedded so deeply in our lives that it no longer feels separate. It's taken for granted, like breathing. Whatever can be imagined can be experienced, if not in the "real" world then somewhere else. Somewhere better. This is our new reality. We live inside our heads, in our dreams. Come navigate a labyrinth of visions, illusions, nightmares, and fantasies. Explore the nascent genre of dreampunk with 22 of its finest authors as they examine and transform the dreamscapes that we call our lives. Get lost among the twists and turns, ascending…


Book cover of The Dream Master

Matt Watters Why did I love this book?

The Dream Master was originally published in Amazing (Jan/Feb 1965) titled, He Who Shapes. The novella won Roger Zelazny a Nebula Award in 1966. I have re-read this novel several times over the years, and subconsciously I think it influenced the premise for Dream Phaze. Some of the tech is a little outdated by today’s terms, but the overall idea is still fresh.

By Roger Zelazny,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dream Master as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

His name is Charles Render, and he is a psychoanalyst, and a mechanic of dreams. A Shaper. In a warm womb of metal, his patients dream their neuroses, while Render, intricately connected to their brains, dreams with them, makes delicate adjustments, and ultimately explains and heals. Her name is Eileen Shallot, a resident in psychiatry. She wants desperately to become a Shaper, though she has been blind from birth. Together, they will explore the depths of the human mind -- and the terrors that lurk therein


Book cover of The Lathe of Heaven

Matt Watters Why did I love this book?

This is a novel I have read several times. George Orr, the protagonist, has the power to alter the past and his present reality via his dreams, which gives him an unwelcome God-like advantage. The skillfully descriptive narrative explores psychological and philosophical threads of what George does with this power compelling the reader to think about the moral dilemmas and consequences. I think this is one of my favourite novels because it analyses the morality of how George and others use his “gift”. Ursula K. Le Guin is one of my favourite sci-fi authors and this novel was nominated for several awards and won the 1972 Locus Award for Best Novel.

By Ursula K. Le Guin,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked The Lathe of Heaven as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Her worlds have a magic sheen . . . She moulds them into dimensions we can only just sense. She is unique. She is legend' THE TIMES

'Le Guin is a writer of phenomenal power' OBSERVER

George Orr is a mild and unremarkable man who finds the world a less than pleasant place to live: seven billion people jostle for living space and food. But George dreams dreams which do in fact change reality - and he has no means of controlling this extraordinary power.

Psychiatrist Dr William Haber offers to help. At first sceptical of George's powers, he comes…


Book cover of The Handmaid's Tale

Matt Watters Why did I love this book?

I first read The Handmaid’s Tale in 1986 and it had an immediate impact. The dark dystopian world that Atwood creates could be compared with George Orwell’s, 1984. Offred escapes her dismal existence through dreams, as did Winston Smith in 1984. The book conveys powerful messages on society and how quickly things can unravel. There are only a handful of novels since 1980 that I feel are influential in near-future science fiction and The Handmaid’s Tale is definitely one of them in my opinion.

By Margaret Atwood,

Why should I read it?

38 authors picked The Handmaid's Tale as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

** THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER **
**A BBC BETWEEN COVERS BIG JUBILEE READ**

Go back to where it all began with the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series.

'As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it' Guardian

I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light.

Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford -…


Book cover of Number9dream

Matt Watters Why did I love this book?

With similarities to Haruki Murakami’s style of writing, I love the structure of this novel. Told in the first-person narrative via 8 eclectic chapters, Mitchell weaves the captivating story of Eiji. Don’t try and preempt or anticipate what is going on, just go with the words written on the page and you will be swept up into Eiji’s surreal quest. The theme is a common one, boy searches for father, but it is beautifully written and executed.

By David Mitchell,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Number9dream as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As Eiji Miyake's twentieth birthday nears, he sets out for the seething metropolis of Tokyo to find the father he has never met. There, he begins a thrilling, whirlwind journey where dreams, memories and reality collide then diverge as Eiji is caught up in a feverish succession of encounters by turn bizarre, hilarious and shockingly dangerous. But until Eiji has fallen in love and exorcised his childhood demons, the belonging he craves will remain, tantalizingly, just beyond his grasp...


Explore my book 😀

Dream Phaze - Germination

By Matt Watters,

Book cover of Dream Phaze - Germination

What is my book about?

Everyone dreams. All Saxon Zynn wanted to do was dream, not for himself, but for everyone. Back in 2037, Saxon stated, "Dreaming is a reality to be experienced." A decade of research later and his Dream Immersion technology is poised to become the major entertainment medium of the 21st century, but will unforeseen obstacles prevent him from achieving his purpose?

Dream Phaze is about the inception of engineered dreams and the evolution of indulgence. Set at the crossroads of alternative realities in the near future, it plunges into a world where every human desire, no matter how heroic or evil, can be fulfilled. Dream Phaze – Germination is a “Global Ebook Award” winner - Bronze 2021 Sci-fi category.

Book cover of Mirrormaze: A Dreampunk Anthology
Book cover of The Dream Master
Book cover of The Lathe of Heaven

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Bad Blood

By K.B. Thorne,

Book cover of Bad Blood

K.B. Thorne Author Of Bad Blood

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve adored reading a good snarky first-person story since I first read Bloodlist, so long as the snark doesn’t go too far and become total unlikeable jerk… It can be a fine line! I hope I stay on the right side of it, but having read it enough and written in it for years with my Blood Rights Series, I feel qualified to say I’m a…snark connoisseur. (If you ask my family, this is how my own internal/life narrator speaks! My mother says that my character Dakota is me if I “said everything aloud that I think in my head.” She’s probably right, and I’m okay with that.)

K.B.'s book list on if first person snark is your style

What is my book about?

Bad Blood is paranormal suspense in First Person Snark, so if you like sarcastic, strong female characters set in a world where the preternatural is run amok (i.e., legal citizens in the United States), then this book and series are for you.

Follow Sadie Stanton–"poster girl for the preternatural"–as she deals with all sorts of messes and sets up her business while being a vampire in a new day...or night, really.

Bad Blood

By K.B. Thorne,

What is this book about?

VAMPIRES ARE PEOPLE TOO

I’m Sadie Stanton, and I don’t know why everyone makes such a big deal out of me. I’m just like everyone else—I’m trying to start a business, not spending much time on my social life, and dealing with an obnoxious roommate...

Oh, and being a vampire. There’s that. But it’s okay, because we’re all legal now.

But believe me, that doesn’t make life easy. In fact, it might be harder now than ever before, but I did it to myself… And now vampires are attacking people seemingly at random and not even trying to feed. Everyone…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in dreams, romantic love, and Tokyo?

Dreams 57 books
Romantic Love 943 books
Tokyo 92 books