Ren: The Man Behind the Monster

A Paranomal/Psychological Thriller (A Dream Traveler Series: Ren, Book 1)

By: Sarah Noffke

Narrated by: Tim Campbell

Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

He is the most powerful man to ever live, and therefore doomed to misery.
Sherlock Holmes meets House for a combination that makes for a brilliant anti-hero.

Ren Lewis was born with the power to control minds, hypnotize others, and read thoughts. Therefore he is certain of one thing.

God made a mistake. No one should be born with so much power.

A monster awoke in Ren the same year he received his gifts. At 10 years old. A prepubescent boy with the ability to control others might merely abuse this power, but Ren allowed it to corrupt him. And since he can have and do anything he wants, Ren should be happy. However, his journey teaches him that harboring so much power doesn't bring happiness, it steals it. Once this realization sets in, Ren makes up his mind to do the one thing that can bring his tortured soul some peace.

He must kill the monster.

Ren is an addictive story of an anti-villain. This spellbinding supernatural fantasy is a must-listen for anyone looking for the untraditional hero. Scroll up and grab a copy today.

©2017, 2019 Sarah Noffke (P)2019 Sarah Noffke

I'd be forced to really live without walls.

"I'd be forced to really live without walls. I'd be forced to live on an edge where things might actually be good, and every day I'd risk having it ripped away. Nothing lasts forever. Everything is fleeting, and yet that's the very reason that life has meaning. When things cost effort to gain, and are finite, they have value."

Ren is a dream traveler, a secret race of people with the power to travel out-of-body to anywhere. Some dream travelers have other powers. Ren was born with the unique ability to both read and influence minds. He has far too much power for any mortal.

But even a monster can develop a conscience. And with the people who love him, will he be able to turn his curse to good? Or will he truly become the monster he's always believed he is?

Are you in to morally ambiguous characters? I AM. Give me a Victor over an Eli any day. I don't want a hero, I want a broken man who chooses good over everything in his life pushing him to do bad. I want a redeemed man. A deeply troubled smartass of a redeemed man. And this quote endeared him to me forever:

"I ignored the first knock. A minute later it came again.

'Go away!' I said from my armchair. My feet were propped on the mahogany coffee table, Brave New World opened and nestled in my lap. I detested being disturbed when reading. Hell, I detested being disturbed period. Some people have a preference for being alone most of the time. For me, it's an absolute necessity."

I mean, relatable AF amiright?!!

But first he needs to be very, very bad. Ren fits this bill excellently. After a few chapters, his personality seemed very much like Lucifer from the hit Netflix series. He loves to be bad, but deep down, somewhere in the dark pits of the heart he doesn't believe he has, there is a place where all he wants is to be normal, to be loved.

Luckily for our Ren, he is loved. But loss makes him run from love, and the people he runs to have the potential to make him the biggest villain the world has yet seen. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out if he could overcome his demons, or whether he would embrace them instead.

4 Stars, I loved it and will keep on reading the series!

Great listen

Tim did a great job with the narration. I enjoyed the story. It gave a great background to Ren and why he acts and does the things he does.

"I'm the bad guy"

By Sarah Noffke
Narrated by Tim Cambell

This was an interesting listen for me. It is marketed as an anti-hero story. The main character goes through a journey where he toggles between self loathing and over confidence. The story spans about 30 years of his life in about five and a half hours of listeing. It's short for 30 years because the other grazing over a few chunks here and there. I thought doing that was a bold move on her part. There are times when I was happy to find out what happens quickly but there were times when I was very interested in the details of a story line but it gets the glaze at the end. So it went both ways for me. I can only assume she is writing those parts of the story separately or has done so already.

Side note: When bad guys love their mommy... oh gosh... it's always so cute. Mommy love is so powerful 😍😍😍 In this case "Mum" love is so powerful.

There isn't much world building or background story in this one. It doesn't hinder you from understanding the story but I would have liked some more details on Dreamwalkers, their usual powers, and their usual limitations. Why are there dream walkers?

Dont worry, despite the summary, this isn't a dark story. Ren, introduces himself as the "Bad Guy" and attempts to substantiate his claim by telling you the terrible things he has done in his life. However, he is more similar to Batman: The Dark Knight rather than The Joker. Ren can read minds and assert his will on others. Yet, he doesnt do anything so terrible that I would call him soulless. He lies to women so they will sleep with him... but guys do that anyway. He tricks people into giving him money... but investors and scammers do that too. He plays tricks on his sister, he is selfish, and likes to spend money. I'm not saying this guy is a saint, but the majority of what he was doing was everyday stuff in this day and age. Is he really evil... so far just seems like a jerk.

I'd never heard of this story or the author. Just popped up as a similar book to another story I rated. I'm glad I listened and I plan to finish the series.

The narrated did a nice job. I'm satisfied with his performance.

3 Stars 🌟🌟🌟- Good Book. I like the overall concept and it was delivered well. Most common ranking for a book I enjoyed and look forward to the next.

Suspenseful

Really keeps your interest. Story is surprising with the different twist turns that it takes

Great to listen!

Well, Ren is a monster all right. He is a character that you will hate. He has a very twisted mind. His background is not so pretty. I was glued from start to finish. The emotions are incredible. Love the story line. Can not wait to read more. Not only did I read this book but, I also heard it in audiobook while I cleaned and cooked. It was amazing. Loved it!

Great Listen!!

REN is character that you love to hate. I love his snarky remarks. He is an arrogant ass but he is hilarious at times. REN is complicated but from the very beginning you see that he is capable of love by the way he is with his mother and best friend. This was a very interesting, well written story and Sarah Noffke did an awesome job at creating this unique world. Narration was fantastic. Tim Campbell did an awesome job with this story. He really brought life to these characters and this world. This is a great book to listen to!

Slow going but interesting

I liked the story, but at the same time I felt like it moved too slow for me too. I understand why, as the author did a lot of character building so that you really understood Ren and his motives for how he acts. Still kept me interested throughout and I look forward to the next one.

Loved Ren

I want to start by saying the narrator was a perfect fit for Ren. He captured every side of Ren perfectly.
Ren is a Dream Traveler. A special race of people who can travel the world in their dreams. He also has the power to control others with his mind and read minds. Ren doesn’t actually enjoy his powers but he uses them to the best of his benefit.
My fascination with Ren started in the very first chapter. On one side he is a complicated, bitter, shallow, and arrogant man. But he is not without love in his life. His other side loves his childhood friend, mother and the only woman he can’t control with his mind. And they all just happen to be people without powers. I think his love for this “lower class” of people is the most interesting thing about him. Side note, I hated his sister. She was the more evil person in my opinion.
There is no huge story arc, the book isn’t full of action or romance. It is not an edge of your seat thriller. It is a look into the devious mind and broken heart of one of the most powerful people on earth. I love him because he isn’t completely good or bad. He experiences moments of both throughout his telling of his story and the listener has the inside look into his mind while he is battles with his identity.
This is the first read from Sarah for me but I get the idea that Ren is just a small part of another story. Which was perfectly okay for me. I felt for him during his pain and struggles and enjoyed his few wins even missing some of the overall story. I plan to continue Sarah’s stories and I just hope his sister gets what should be coming to her.

Great!

This book was great to listen to. The narrator really does a great job portraying the characters. The MC Ren is very interesting. He truly is a monster, but in such a good way. I enjoyed the fast pace of this book.

never seen so much growth

Dream Travelers I love the complete concept and have no clue how I could of missed this series.(going to have to back track) but as for Ren I want more. Ren is my perfect kind of narrator. Why do I say that, I think the biggest reason is he is so flawed. He has such a huge weight at such a young age, an extra long life, and although he has his parents he does not have much outside of that. His relationships dissolve with one thing or another. So where he acts like nothing bothers him and brags about being the best you see also the depression behind it. Very few books especially in a first book is a series show extreme growth and Ren wow I feel like I have aged with him. His weights become my weights and his self realizations are mine as well. I am trying to avoid to many spoilers because that will give away to much of what growth occurs. Should he become bad or should he become good? Be prepared it is not a simple answer and you especially at the beginning will hate him and think he is horrible. There is so much more to the story. I will be honest the first half of the book if I couldn't feel the growth was starting I would of laid this down. I wasn't to keen on him at first. I think the narrator kind of kept me going (I am after all American and British accents make me swoon a little. I am not going to lie) But after reaching the first huge milestone, the first dosage of the "Real" Ren I was goner. I had to keep listening.
I will be honest if you want someone you will see all good this is not for you. Ren is something else. He has a hugely dark past and there is no way to look around it. But the growth is what amazes me fighting to figure things out. Honestly if I was in my 20s if you had great powers what would you do. He is one of the most powerful dream travelers, there is no stopping him. His youth though is what shapes him. Overall I would rate this a 4.75 great don't get me wrong but a couple of the things Ren did I cannot give a 5 for but going in he tells you he is a villain so this is a villain story. Villain as he is the story behind it is what makes this story complete. I cannot wait to hear the rest of his story. I truly cannot wait to see if more growth happens or if he goes down the rabbit hole again