Great historical fiction read! Highly recommend it to fans of the genre and those looking to expand their reading circle. Purchasing for library.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book. I found it to be a very interesting read and one that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in history

It was a fine read but unfortunately it did not leave a lasting impression.

I really wish that books came with “nutrition facts” labels that gave accurate, somewhat numerical indications of their contents in terms of incidences involving violence, sex, profanity, etc. This would be far easier than any kind of ranking system, and remove any possibility for bias or accusations thereof. It would enable consumers to be more informed about what they take into their minds, which I think is at least as important than what they take into their bodies. Such labels, I think, would also enable authors and publishers to more appropriately market their books.

I got a free copy of Dangerous Dreams: A Story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke through NetGalley, where I was provided with the book’s genre (adult historical fiction) and a description, but not much more. I’m not generally the best reviewer of historical fiction, although I do occasionally enjoy books in that genre, but this book’s description indicated that it involved really interesting dreams. That piqued my curiousity, in part because the book I recently wrote also involves similar kinds of dreams. But I should’ve known that it would have been a more difficult read than my usual fare because of its adult genre, but went into it somewhat blindly given its lack of my desired label. So I have to qualify my rating of this book with this caveat: for its genre, it’s a really good read. But I didn’t enjoy it.

Why Dangerous Dreams is a Good Read
What I mean by that is that, as an adult historical fiction, it’s a fascinating fictional “filling out” of the real mystery surrounding the second group of European settlers to try and establish a colony on American shores in the late 1500s. It follows 117 colonists who landed on Roanoke Island, off the coast of what would become North Carolina. For a variety of reasons, their circumstances, which were tenuous to begin with, rapidly deteriorated. Their governor sailed back to England for additional supplies and colonists, but his return was delayed until 1590, when he discovered the colony had vanished. The book’s plot development–slow, complex, and based on the turning emotions and actions of various characters–is spot on for the type of book that it is. I would say it’s an R-rated version of Dances With Wolves, with a significant added plot facet being that everything that happens to the colonists is seen in vivid dreams by a girl 400 years later who embarks on a quest to understand them.

The fact that that girl’s experience reflects a similar, real-life experience of the author’s is also pretty interesting. He says, in the preface:

On several occasions in my adult life, I have experienced dreams so real…that I awoke believing I had actually participated in a true American historical event: the battle of the Alamo. I spoke [with the other Alamo defenders], laughed with them, feared with them, and ultimately died with them.

Why I Didn’t Like It
So why didn’t I enjoy it, and what does that have to do with my desire to have seen a nutrition-facts label on the book before I read it? Because it has a fair amount of brutality and murder, references to rape, actual rape, and some profanity. While perhaps true to life, it was not true to my moral code or my usual reasons for reading. One of those reasons is to acquaint myself with the better realities and possibilities of the human race.

By my ten-star rating system, which measures books on their artistic and technical merit and doesn’t take into account my personal tastes, I’d have to give Dangerous Dreams a 7. Its premise was great (2 stars), its plot and pacing were genre-appropriate but a bit slow (3 stars), its characterization was solid (2 stars), but its style, which was generally elegant, was occasionally disturbed by stiff dialogue. If I were to factor in my personal tastes, though, I would rate it closer to a 3 or 4.

Would I recommend this book to others? Yes, if this kind of book is your cup of tea. No, if not.

I usually try to make my reviews have depth and give potential readers an understanding of what they may be getting into. Unfortunately, I have very little to say when it comes to this book. I was very excited to start reading it. It is not often you come across a book that includes the lost Roanoke colony which is a very fascinating part of American history. However, I couldn't finish this book. I tried. The story was bogged down by seemingly pointless dialogue and drawn out details of things (like felling trees) that had no discernible purpose to the story. I couldn't force myself to finish this one. Very disappointing.

The book is full of history and how the settlers and the native Americans lived at that time. The information on the dream gift (what I call it) was also interesting. The author did do his research. The story in itself was exciting. There was not one chapter in this book that was dull and uninformative.. all in all an excellent read and insight into what could of happened to the mysterious real life disappearance of the settlers of Roanoke.
Energizing can't put the book down, exciting historical fiction.

Found this really hard to get into, and in the end didn't finish it. It didn't grip me.

Dangerous Dreams: A Story of the Lost Colony of Roanoke

by Mike Rhynard

CreateSpace



Historical Fiction, General Fiction (Adult)

Pub Date 09 Aug 2016

I am voluntarily reviewing a copy of Dangerous Dreams through the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest reviews which is as follows:

They traveled to the New World to Establish England's first permanent Colony when a ship came back three years later they had all disappeared.

In the 21st century a young woman Dreams a series of lifelike events, dreams of the Missing settlers. The 117 just vanishing with no clues as to what happened.

I give Dangerous Dreams five out of five stars.

Happy Reading.

When Allie O’Shay was working towards a graduate degree in psychology, she began having vivid dreams about the English colonists who sailed to America in the late 1500’s to settle the area around Roanoke Island off the coast of what is now North Carolina.

With each dream, Allie became more and more intrigued with their situation. She knew that the colony and its inhabitants disappeared without a trace, but nothing about any of the details. As Allie discovered, even today historians can only speculate about what happened to the colony. The more Allie dreamed, the more she felt connected to the colonists —especially to one young lady named Emily Colman. Allie was determined to find out more about Emily and what happened to her—but at what cost?

Author Mike Rhynard’s absorbing story is hard to put down. His characters and the environment in which they lived are brought to life with realistic detail. This novel is not for the squeamish as some depictions of brutal events are graphic. At times, the detail included in the story seemed superfluous. Thoughts attributed to Emily at times also became repetitive. Despite these few drawbacks, the novel is definitely worth the read. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this fascinating novel.

Note: Mr. Rhynard’s notes at the end of the book regarding dream science/theory are also quite interesting.

Fascinating read. Interesting concept of dreaming about past true events. The Lost Colony of Roanoke is something that is almost mythical now in all the wonderings of what really happened. It was neat to read an imagined tale of some of the true people who were there. I really connected with the character of Emily (the woman in Roanoke). Allie and her mother (the 21st century woman who was dreaming of Emily) were a bit harder to connect with. There are a couple graphic scenes including sexual assaults. I cannot imagine being a woman coming to this country in the earlier days of when we were still stealing it piece by piece from the Native Americans. I read the revised version that removed approximately 200 pages of detailed dream science and theory from the parallel, contemporary plot of the original story. I am interesting in seeing it on Mike Rhynard's website. I think all of it in the book would have been a bit cumbersome but the introduction to the idea of it was fascinating. I would have purchased this book and would recommend to others!

I received Dangerous Dreams by Mike Rhynard from NetGalley. I have always been interested in the myths & urban legends surrounding the infamous Roanoke colony.
This book exceeded my expectations, I was transcended back in time to the very heart of this lost colony. The author does a great job taking the readers along on a journey with characters whom you genuinely start investing feelings for. From the moment the characters stepped off the boat, his descriptions of the colony & were vivid & precise. The research that was done for this time period is right on "track" with the storyline. I appreciate that the author took the time to get facts not only for the colonists but the Native American tribes & their culture as well. The descriptions were rich & delightfully detailed. I could feel the sense of uncertainty in this "new land" and the danger surrounding them was like a thick fog hovering over.

This book is pretty hefty read, it's a book you can read over a period of time. Not a book to devour in one sitting. It took me about a week to finish the book. It was the kind of book that I thought about long after I closed it & couldn't wait to get back to. I was eager to get back to the colony & find out what would happen next.

I recommend this book to readers that are in for the adventure. It is a long read but you will be pleasantly surprised you made it through. I am certainly glad I did!

Macy Rodriguez

A graduate student - Allie is having very realistic dreams of Emily. Emily was one of the colonist of the lost colony of Roanoke which was a group of English settlers who landed in what is believed to be present day North Carolina in 1587. Tayler is the natural leader. The first cottage is shared by Emily and her father also George and his son. Emily is interested in two men and must choose. George who is kind and gentle and Hugh who is older and more sophisticated who Emily feels a connection with. Emily hears stories about Hugh and pulls away from him. Emily then falls for Isna who is an Indian of this new world.
I couldn’t get into this story. First off Emily is suppose to be a virgin why was she breast feeding a baby. . I had difficulty reading this as it was hard to know what was going on. Ways too many subplots and I became confused. Too much going on about Emily romances and didn’t seem as worried about survival maybe why became a lost colony. I just lost interest before I got halfway through the story.I just didn’t finish this. I didn’t like going back and forth in time either. I very seldom do. I did find the survival aspect interesting when it was brought up but that is really about all. Also was way too long.