Dreamstone Moon

In Dreamstone Moon, Sam and the Doctor, via different routes because they are still apart, find themselves on a satellite called the Dreamstone Moon. It has come by this name because it is where dreamstone, a substance that allows the dreams of sleepers to be recorded and then played back (or something), is mined. But an artist named Anton finds that the dreamstones only give him nightmares and so determines to go to the moon to find out why.

Readers are unlikely to be impressed with any of the characters here. It is easy to mistakenly believe that the soldier Cleomides is an android since it is the only way to explain her wooden, stilted dialogue and strange actions. The only well-developed character besides Sam is an alien Krakenite named Aloisse (a totally inhuman, cephalopodic sort of creature).

An excellent subplot is the idea that some of the humans cannot see aliens as rational and dependable beings in their own right. This leads to Aloisse being systematically tortured, blinded, and seriously wounded, since the humans simply can't think of her as a sentient being. This, of course, echoes man's inhumanity to man--especially where race and color are concerned--and is nicely understated here. The Doctor is probably the only hope they have, but because he is an alien, those in charge cannot see how he can help them.

Sam spends her time moving from one disaster area to another and encountering a series of hostile environments: it's amazing that she survives at all. It's also slightly annoying that she and the Doctor never actually get to meet in the novel--they spend the whole time just missing each other and only actually see each other twice. (I think it was twice--I wasn't counting!)

The biggest problem with Dreamstone Moon, however, is that the action (and there is lots of it) is simply not very well handled. Whereas John Peel can write action so that you feel you are watching it on screen, Leonard's events seem diluted and distant, as if it's someone telling you about something that happened to a friend some years before. Dreamstone Moon is a little bland in parts. Or it could be that Leonard's writing simply doesn't appeal to this reviewer and that others will understand and enjoy the work more. --David J. Howe, Amazon.co.uk

Dreamstone allows people to record and play back their dreams; it can only be found on a certain moon. The Doctor and Sam travel there to prevent its destruction whilst Anton La Serre wants to know why his pleasant dreams have turned into nightmares.