Dreamer
Dreamer | |
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by Howard Lyon
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Setting | New York City, Earth |
Released | April 1, 2014 |
Publisher | Ace Books |
ISBN | 978-0425256879 |
Dreamer is a non-cosmere, horror short story that first appeared in the Games Creatures Play anthology, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni Kelner. It is set on Earth and told from the perspective of the eponymous character, who is part of a group of dead gamers, poltergeists that can possess the bodies of living people. They use their abilities to play extreme, real-life versions of games like "capture the flag" and "cops and robbers," showing little regard for collateral damage among the living.
Summary
Dave, better known by his gaming handle "Dreamer," is engaged in a game of cops and robbers in Manhattan with his fellow gamer poltergeists. In the game, Dreamer and his team of four other players are trying to protect Longshot from being captured by Phi, who is playing as the criminal. Each player is allowed to possess only a limited amount bodies and to use whatever means necessary, including deadly force, to win.
During the game, Dreamer is pursuing Phi, who manages to kill the person Dreamer had possessed, using a body with a gun. In the ensuing panic among the living, Dreamer possesses the body of an old woman, alerts his teammates, and then Bolts into the body of a responding police officer.
Characters
Publication History
- Games Creatures Play
- April 1, 2014 - Ace Books
- The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror 2015
- June 23, 2015 - Prime Books[1]
- Con-Exclusive Hardcover Edition (bundled with Snapshot)
- 2017 - Dragonsteel Entertainment
Notes
- ↑ ToC for Year's Best Dark Horror and Fantasy
— Paula Guran's blog - 2015-03-18#