Agents of Dreamland

Tinfoil Dossier, Book 1

De: Caitlin R. Kiernan

Narrado por: Danny Campbell, Chelsea Stephens

A government special agent known only as the Signalman gets off a train on a stunningly hot morning in Winslow, Arizona. Later that day he meets a woman in a diner to exchange information about an event that happened a week earlier for which neither has an explanation but which haunts the Signalman.

In a ranch house near the shore of the Salton Sea, a cult leader gathers up the weak and susceptible - the Children of the Next Level - and offers them something to believe in and a chance for transcendence. The future is coming, and they will help to usher it in.

A day after the events at the ranch house, which disturbed the Signalman so deeply that he and his government sought out help from "other" sources, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory abruptly loses contact with NASA's interplanetary probe New Horizons. Something out beyond the orbit of Pluto has made contact.

And a woman floating outside of time looks to the future and the past for answers to what can save humanity.

©2017 Caitlín R. Kiernan (P)2020 Tantor

felt incomplete…

it felt like the first 1/3 of a book… i started getting into it / things started happening in the last hour and then it ended!

i really liked chelsea stevens narration, but i hated danny campbell’s delivery and it was grating getting through his sections. he sounded like a radio host! audiobooks are usually my preferred reading method but i might have liked this one better in text.

Men in Black only different.

I have a hard time writing a review for the first book in the Tinfoil Dossier series, Agents of Dreamland, not because it is horrible or something like that. I listened to the third book in the Tinfoil Dossier series before ever reading or listening to the first two books, so I felt obligated to listening to Agents of Dreamland since I had it in my audible library. This is one of the weirdest series of books I have ever read or listened to simply because of the way the stories are written. But based on the content of this series the way the story is presented makes sense. If you start reading or listening to this series, hang in there, your perseverance will be rewarded with some complex characters, interesting ideas, and plenty of action. Danny Campbell and Chelsea Stephens do an excellent job narrating this book. They give a distinct voice to each of the characters and bring the story to life.

Well written - too brief

In an odd review: this story is a lot of fun, but feels like it's only the first 3rd or half of a full book. Still worth it!

a great start

i’m looking forward to the next novella. interesting mix of music, mushrooms and cults
i love the not quite purple prose. it’s beautifully written

I Really Enjoyed It

This was a good quick listen, and I think worth the credit I spent on it.

Stellar

My only complaint is it’s too short! I wanted more but what a story! Must listen!

Beautiful Prose

I've never heard of the author before. I asked ChatGPT to recommend me some books based on certain criteria and Agents of Dreamland was one of the recommendations. It was on Plus so I gave it a try.

Wow.

I wish it was longer! Caitlin writes so well. It's beautiful prose that's easy to follow on a topic that I really enjoy.

Loved it!

it just ends

I didn't notice the length of the book when I purchased it. While waiting for the story to take shape, the credits started to roll. I honestly don't know what the point of this book was and I'm very disappointed.

A First Act Passed Off As A Whole Novel

The narration is well done and I appreciate the authors style. The plot gets good about an hour and a half in, and I was eager to see where it would go. It's too bad that the story just....ends. It feels like someone took the first act of a three act play and decided that the second and third weren't necessary. The end result is unfulfilling and I wonder if this is the authors attempt at getting a multi-book deal without actually bothering to write multiple books worth of content. All in all, I recommend finding a different audiobook to pass your time

Pass on this

This story is told mainly from two points of view: a cult member with substance use issues and a neuro-fungal infection; and a clandestine government agent so grizzled and cliché that you can smell the alcohol and loneliness through the narration. This book is essential two hours and change of the former's ramblings and the latter's lamentations, with a couple Lovecraftian staples name dropped for flavor. There are no real stakes, and what could have been a decent build up of suspense is ultimately let down by an unsatisfying conclusion.

If you want quality fiction in the Lovecraftian genre, I would suggest "14" and "The Fold", both by Peter Clines.