Rave Reviews
“J.D. Townsend has written an Orwellian science fiction thriller that is impossible to put down until finished.”
— Harriet Klausner, TheBestReviews.com
“Obviously, the elevation keeps Colorado authors closer to outer space than those in other places. The number of significant science fiction authors who live in Colorado has long been out of proportion to the state’s population. Dan Simmons, Connie Willis, Kevin J. Anderson, John Stith, Sarah Hoyt, John Barnes, Ed Bryant and Wil McCarthy are just a few notable names. With his first novel, Boulder author J. D. Townsend shows that he has the potential to join the list…In the tradition of “1984” and “Brave New World “The Assassin’s Dream” presents a near-future dystopian world…scenario is intriguing…an impressive debut, another sign that that rarefied Colorado air is good for the imagination.”
— Mark Graham, Rocky Mountain News
“…THE ASSASSIN’S DREAM is an intriguing glimpse of what the world could be like in another 100 plus years. While the story is very much set in the world of science, with genetic engineering and the like, there is almost a religious undertone to the whole book … In addition to the mystery and danger surrounding the protagonists Kay Black and Parker Potemkin, there is political intrigue and mysticism blended throughout the story … the writing is eloquent, the narrative descriptive, and the character development outstanding. The undertones of religion or an omniscient power that seems to be moving the players about in a macabre dance of fate are especially compelling. THE ASSASSIN’S DREAM is a novel filled with conflict, danger, hope and despair, and will appeal to those who enjoy a well-written and engrossing read.”
— Terrie Figueroa, Romance Reviews Today
“J.D. Townsend has written a gripping novel that took me the entire week to read because it has so much in the way of plot that you need to take it slow and soak it all in. “The Assassin’s Dream” is science fiction set in our future, where two-thirds of the male population has been killed, putting the ladies in charge. It follows the story of an assassin, Kay Black, on her adventures and into her problems she faces about her job and her self. Released by Five Star (an imprint of Gale), it is packed with enough science fiction for the diehards but enough character development or the rest of us.”
— Armand Rosamilla, EpicSFF.com
“The Assassin’s Dream is an ambitious novel, and I hope to see more from Townsend.”
— Fred Carlton, The Denver Post
“The Assassin’s Dream” is a wonderful first novel for Mr. J. D. Townsend. It is engaging, full of excitement, and an unending suspense that makes it difficult to stop reading.
The story takes place in a far distant future, in a world ruled by women and a culture dedicated to genetic engineering. Mr. Townsend’s plot, and our heroine – the assassin, challenge the dictates of the closely ruled society only to leave us uncomfortably questioning until the end both the wisdom of genetic engineering and its 22nd century opposite.
Mr. Townsend has crafted a tale that is hopefully not prescient of our future civilization as we begin to toy with our DNA, yet it seems poignantly suggestive of a Pandora’s Box from which there is no retreat left in a world that has lost all touch with nature. Both those who engineer, and those who do not, may know too much to recover the natural order of things.”
— L. Moore (Boulder, Colorado)
“J.D. Townsend has done a magnificent job of weaving a futuristic, mystical and riviting story line. The character development is superb. I genuinely cared what happened to Kay, Parker, Aria and the range of people woven about their process of bringing the evolution of the species to a fruitful “next stage”. We have had Big Brother from Orwell, we now have Big Mother from Townsend. Prophecy or fiction???? Don’t know, just know once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down…waiting for the sequel.”
— Kathleen Bowman
“J.D. Townsend is a master of the written word. This novel is a must-read for everyone. His compelling description of a future world and the possibilities of genetic engineering is both terrifying and enthralling.
I am eagerly awaiting a sequel.”
— Gayle Booth Neyman (Colorado, USA)