To the Dark Tower.

TO THE DARK TOWER. Victor Kelleher. 1992/2001. Read by Francis Greenslade. 5 tapes. 6.5 hrs. Bolinda Audio (www.Bolinda.com). 0-7366-7253-2. $34.95. Vinyl; plot, reader notes. SA

This Australian audiobook takes place in a foreign world, where a young person's choice of occupation lies in three areas: climbing, the mines or the mill. All are fraught with danger. Since his father's death, Tom has dreamt of becoming a climber, an occupation as dangerous as the others, but with a certain kind of freedom as one reaches the heights. Just as he begins his job of climbing the cliffs of Tower Rock, he is seized by a deep sleep that rakes him into a dream world where he literally carries the responsibility of releasing the world from the bleak reality it has fallen into. Others are also taken by this strange sleep and soon his waking and sleeping lives become so intertwined he cannot tell which is real and which is not, but he knows that his future, and perhaps everyone's future, depends on him.

Greenslade captures young Tom's voice, and his Australian accent lends a touch of remoteness to the different worlds described in this story. His reading is impeccable and never misses a step, just as the hero, Tom, must also tread carefully to fulfill his destiny. The steadiness of his voice is what carries the reader through the uncertainty of the story and the blurring of reality and dreams.

Nola Theiss, Sanibel, FL