"Lucid Dreamer" by Delta (delta@bc.sympatico.ca). Robert is a guy with a physical disability, and his limp has impaired his capacity to hit it off with interesting women. Other than that, he is a normal guy who likes to hang out with his friends at a bar. He also has a crush on a woman whom he observes from a bus. And most important (for this story, that is), he has been trying to take control of his dreams. He wants to have "lucid dreams"; that is, he wants to become conscious of when he is dreaming and deliberately let the dreams go where he wants them to go. He has read a book about it, and by darn it should work! In fact, he has his eye on a lady whom he has never met. All he knows is that she's beautiful and wears a wedding ring. But if he ever became lucid in a dream, he had plans for that lady.

But then he meets Trudi, the girl of his dreams - literally. And then the story gets complicated. I'm not going to try to summarize it. Let's just say that it's a nice story that blends romance with the paranormal - sort of like the movie "Ghost." If you're at all familiar with Delta's other stories, you can easily suspect that this one might be good.

A technical note: Delta is a wonderful writer - Delta's worst stories are better than I could ever write myself; and so the following "advice" needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Delta posted this story in serial format - one chapter at a time. I reviewed the first chapter (and I am repeating part of that review here) and then I waited until the whole thing was finished before I read and reviewed the whole story. In a cover letter Delta pointed out that the characters had changed as the plot developed - and, indeed, that the basic plot had changed in several ways. If this is the case, then it seems to me that it would have been sensible to CHANGE some of the earlier parts in view of these alterations; but since the earlier chapters had already "gone to press," this was impossible.

A large number of authors employ this serial format. I suppose a major reason is that they want to get reactions and feedback from readers. Some authors get started and then simply quit after one or two chapters; but it seems to me that even those who continue may be hurting their cause. Wouldn't it be better to wait until the author him/herself knows EXACTLY how the story will end before considering the earlier chapters to be finished? It seems to me that authors limit themselves by locking themselves into characterizations or plot elements that either prevent development or make development awkward in view of earlier statements that could easily be changed if they were not already etched in stone.

Back to the present story - and to my original review! I have some theories of my own about dreams. First, I have discovered that my own dreams aren't all that interesting. These stories, for example, are usually a lot more interesting than my dreams. I used to think my dreams were interesting, and once I decided (like Robert in this story) to write down my really good ones. For this purpose I kept a notepad by my bed. I had a really great dream one night, and I jotted down some notes. Since it was a sexy dream, I cut the notes short and cuddled up against my husband's ass, hoping to get back into the dream. I drifted orgasmically back to sleep. The next morning at breakfast I remembered my dream. Knowing that I could write a best-selling novel based on that dream, I rushed back to the bedroom and retrieved the notepad. The notes easily enabled me to recall the entire dream. It was one of the stupidest stories I had ever heard of - even worse than some of the ones my sister-in-law has described at the dinner table. Within a week I discovered that MOST of my dreams became inane under close scrutiny. The dreams were often really fun to have, but that must have because in my sleepy stupor I focused on key details and ignored fairly obvious inconsistencies. My dreams simply did not have complete and coherent plots; they fell apart under even superficial analysis. In addition, they reeked of plagiarism. Since the critical examinations were ruining my dream-sex-life, I threw the notepad away.

Second, I believe that the psychological "importance" of dreams is overrated. Freud may have been a bright guy, but most dreams are not worth "interpreting." I find that my dreams are just as likely to be influenced by what's on television while I sleep, by noises outside my window, and by what I read as by "subconscious feelings" that can give any meaning to my life. My dreams are especially likely to be influenced by a pair of lips or a tongue on the right part of my anatomy during the hour or so before I am scheduled to wake up; but it doesn't require psychoanalysis to figure out why this is so.

Third, I have tried something similar to what Robert does in this story. I have this personality flaw called a conscience that prohibits me from doing some really neat things - like making love to my husband's best friend, eating the pussy of one of the women I teach with, and engaging in a gangbang with some attractive and athletic people. I don't object to having this conscience rule my life; I honestly believe that bad things would happen in real life if I just threw aside my moral code of conduct. But what pisses me off is that this conscience runs not only my real life, but also my dream-life.

A while ago, for example, I was out jogging in the early morning with my husband, when we came upon a blue-eyed blond in a really sexy body suit. She was lying by the side of a beautiful lake, masturbating. When she noticed us, she moaned, gave a come-hither look that brought my husband's cock to attention, and invited us to join her. Then I found myself saying, "No, we shouldn't do this." My husband replied, "Why not?". My cunt got this really warm feeling, and I said to myself, "I think I'm dreaming." Then I continued, "If this is a dream, I can go ahead...." But then the mere fact that I was thinking that it might be a dream caused me to awaken from the dream.

Fortunately, my husband is great about things like this. He has given me permission to cuddle up to him and bang away whenever I feel the urge. He doesn't even care whether I awaken him or not, and I can include anyone I want in my fantasies. Just once I'd like to go ahead with the original dream; but the first time I do that, I'm certain I'll discover that it wasn't a dream after all.

See what I mean? The analysis of my dreams can get really boring. Delta has now finished this story, and I still haven't resolved my dilemma. But I can dream, can't I?