by John Kessel
First published 1987
Shawn Reed opens his eyes on Freedom Beach, a place that resembles paradise but feels wrong in ways he cannot name. He has no memory of dying, yet here he stands in what might be an afterlife. His recollections have mostly vanished, leaving him grasping for fragments of his former existence. The beach reveals its strangeness quickly. Statues speak to him. Bizarre laws govern this realm. Everyone he encounters seems connected to his forgotten past, faces that trigger recognition without understanding. Reed begins to suspect he might be in hell rather than heaven. Then the dreams start. These are not his dreams but visions forced upon him, scenes he would never choose to experience. Each night brings new torments that feel deliberately chosen by someone else. Reed realizes that Freedom Beach is neither paradise nor damnation but something else entirely. Someone has trapped him here for reasons he cannot fathom. Reed decides he will uncover the truth about his imprisonment. He must discover who controls this place and why they have chosen him for this fate.
Genres: mystery, fantasy, speculative-fiction, psychological-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Freedom Beach
259 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Unwin Hyman