A desperate boy escapes his abusive home by joining a carnival and is drawn into a dark conspiracy in this tale by "a master storyteller" (Kurt Vonnegut).
Though only eight years old, little Horton "Horty" Bluett has known a lifetime of sadness. Tormented and abused by his adoptive family, he's had enough—and with a beloved broken toy he calls "Junky" as his sole companion, the desperate little boy runs away to join a carnival. There, among the fortune tellers, fire-eaters, sideshow freaks, and assorted "strange people," Horty hopes to find acceptance and, at long last, a real home. But disgraced doctor Pierre "Maneater" Monetre's traveling show is no ordinary entertainment, and its performers are not what they appear to be. The Maneater has sinister plans for the world that go far beyond fleecing unsuspecting rubes and other easy marks—a dark and terrible scheme that requires unleashing the extraterrestrial power of the dreaming jewels, and the unwitting assistance of a young boy who may be far more remarkable than he's ever imagined.
The full-length debut by Theodore Sturgeon, a legendary writer who won Nebula and Hugo Awards and authored such classics as More Than Human, this journey into a circus of shadows is "an intensely written and very moving novel of love and retribution" (The Washington Star).
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"I've reread The Dreaming Jewels a few times since 1992. I still quite like it. In particular, I enjoy the Americana of the WWII era setting and the use of the carnie world as as a relief against which the perversion of the mainstream world is cast. Great early sci-fi. "
— Luis (5 out of 5 stars)
" Un finale veramente triste, e una storia non entusiasmante. Mi aspettavo molto quando ho incontrato la figura del musicista che aiuta la ragazza, e sono rimasto deluso. Niente di speciale. "
— Roberto, 11/16/2010" i wish i could morph / become a woman "
— Cody, 4/30/2010" Very good read, highly recommended. "
— Ryan, 2/19/2010" Disappointing. More fantasy than SciFi. Not the best of Sturgeon. "
— Kernos, 7/16/2009" I hadn't thought about this book for ages, until the other day when I read Jessica Treat's fine short story <em>Ants</em>. They both start in pretty much the same way. Coincidence? <br/> "
— Manny, 1/23/2009Theodore Sturgeon (1918–1985) is one of the great figures of the golden age of science fiction. He wrote over two hundred stories, several novels, scripts for film and television (including two of the most famous episodes of the original Star Trek), plays, and dozens of nonfiction reviews and essays. His many literary awards include the Hugo, the Nebula, and the International Fantasy Award. His most famous novel, More Than Human, won serious academic recognition as literature, a rarity amongst science fiction works of the 1950s.
Peter Berkrot, winner of Audie and Earphones Awards for narration, is a stage, screen, and television actor and acting coach. He has narrated over 450 works that span a range of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, thriller, and children’s titles. His audiobook credits include works of Alan Glynn, Eric Van Lustbader, Nora Roberts and Dean Koontz. In film and television, he appeared in Caddyshack, America’s Most Wanted, and Unsolved Mysteries. He performs in regional and New York theaters and directs the New Voices acting school.