Click here to buy this book! Kindle Edition Amazon Lulu Science fiction in its lightest form lulu.com Category:  Science Fiction Publisher: C.M. Donaldson ISBN-10:  B00CIG49QA Type: Fiction Pages: 192 Copyright: March 21, 2013 ISBN-13: 9781291346824 The AL-EX Project (ALternative EXistence) is my first foray into light science fiction, written under the name of C M Donaldson (my real name) with a tale that tells of what happens when our main character aims to explore the dream state and manipulate his dreams and control them. Unethical and extremely dangerous, pushing the boundaries, Alex is unstoppable when his explorations become an obsession. Who wouldn't like to go back into their dreams at will and speak to the type of characters you wouldn't normally encounter in real life. For that matter, what is real and what is fantasy? Talk about blurred lines! It was a huge amount of fun writing this novel and I want it noted that the dreams described in the story-telling are dreams I've actually had, so it made it easier all round to use real authentic dreams that weren't made up for the book although I may have modified them slightly (obviously describing some of the details from a male perspective). So if they seem weird and quirky, well, dreams usually are, aren't they? Also available in paperback! See below what one reader says about this trip into unknown territory  Reviewed 18/3/15 Dreams. Just what are dreams? Why do we have them? What do they mean? Are they simply a method through which the subconscious processes the events of that day? Or are they something more? These are the questions that Alex and his friend The Scientist seek to answer. But how far are they willing to go with their unethical experiments? With the aid of drug-induced sleep, Alex subjects himself to experiments to try and understand the recurring dreams he has; all monitored by his trusted friend The Scientist. Why does that white lion keep appearing? The duo remarkably manage to record the images of Alex’s dreams as they happen. Seeing that we forget most of our dreams when we awaken, this is a massive breakthrough! How great it would be if we could watch our dreams back as easily as watching a movie! Their ambitions for what can be achieved in the dream state continue to grow, until tragedy strikes. Of late, Alex has been neglecting his wife Kay-Johanna in the pursuit of scientific success. Then a horrible event befalls Kay-Johanna, and the couple lose touch with each other. Alex’s guilt pushes him into the supposed comfort of alcohol, and the experiments stop. But with time, Alex and The Scientist rebuild the bridge between them, and together they overcome the obstacles to get back to work. However – unknown to Alex – The Scientist has already enlisted someone else to replace Alex as the guinea pig in the experiment; someone that Alex knows extremely well indeed! The author has demonstrated great knowledge of the research into dreams, which adds great depth to the story and is a feature that I enjoyed. The passion she has for the mystery of dreams is evident throughout the novel. Moreover, she has built a powerful foundation from a solid background for each of the main characters; I learned and understood where the undying enthusiasm for their research has come from. The characters felt like real people, and I empathized with the pain and suffering they endured in this novel. Their blindness to the damage that can be caused by the increasingly dangerous combinations of drugs used in their search for knowledge is a gamble I’m sure many scientists have contemplated, and serves as a stark warning to the dangers of experimentation with the unknown. Excerpt Chapter Four It had been five years, well six actually, since Alex first started investigating the dream state in earnest. He had always experienced vivid dreams, some whimsical and nonsensical, some related to what was directly going on in his life and also many bad dreams, but had taken them for granted. He wasn’t sure if they were triggered by the memories of a sad period in his younger life when his parents had been killed, from what he’d been told as they apparently walked home from a local pub after celebrating the New Year. A drunk driver had mounted the kerb and ploughed into his mother. His father at that point unharmed had run to her rescue and the driver, scared and evidently cowardly, had reversed in his attempt to get away and had run over Alex’s father too in his haste. It was basically a hit ‘n’ run and the culprit wasn’t caught until some days later when, frightened and guilt-ridden, he turned himself in. His parents had both been left fatally injured and Alex was sat down by his grandmother, aged 11, and told his parents had gone to heaven. It tore his world apart and left him a very bereft and lonely little boy. His grandmother willingly took over his care and did the best she could with regard to his basic needs and encouraged him in his education and his ambitions, despite her age. Many a night after the death of her daughter and son-in-law, she climbed into bed beside Alex, sponging down his brow with a damp face flannel and cooing him back to restful sleep as he experienced nightmare after nightmare, night after night, for months, as he bravely battled through his grief. He had always shown signs of developing into quite a boffin, building a science lab in the garden shed mixing things and blowing up things, then at college first sociology, then psychology grabbed his interest. He then took and passed advanced maths and all the sciences, wishing to specialise in biochemistry, so after leaving college he went straight to university to study a subject he knew best, as well as quantum physics to assuage his curiosity in the field and taking additional courses in calculus, computer languages, physical chemistry, organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, genetics, physiology and molecular biology. With a combination of all of these and a chance meeting with The Scientist who lectured there periodically, and for whom he became a part-time research assistant, a firm friendship developed, and along with Kay-Johanna, who would become his wife, the future looked, if not rosy, then adventurous at the very least. One thing was for sure, and that was that nothing in Alex’s life could ever be described as ordinary. His ambitious was to put his education to good use, become a more senior researcher and the Nobel Peace Prize didn’t seem so much of a pipedream as a possible reality, if he played his cards right! He met Kay-Johanna at university. The saying is that opposites attract. He felt himself quite the geek although modestly confident, and she, although not classically beautiful, was attractive, bubbly and outgoing, with a serious side, and with a mind-set similar to his own in terms of ambition. They became good friends, studying together mostly at first, before mutual attraction become obvious, and before the second term were very definitely an item. She became his Kay-jo, which he cut down to ‘Kayj’ pronounced ‘cage’ and that became his nickname for her. It was as simple as that. Geek or not, Alex was a personable young man, well liked, easy-going with a laidback attitude, and attractive, but he kept himself to himself. He didn’t date much, not because he wasn’t propositioned, especially by other pretty students whose ploy was to seduce when they feigned interest in the subjects he was studying, often asking to spend studying time with him, with ulterior motives written all over their faces. The ones with the most sense cast their line at those male students they thought most likely to fulfill their full potential, that is, the ones most likely to get the best qualifications, get the best career and command the best and highest salaries. Potential doctors and lawyers were two-a-penny compared with anyone with an ‘ology’ seen as, by far, the safer bet, and Alex could see right through them and wasn’t so insecure as to accept every fluttered eyelash at face value. Kay-Johanna, like Alex, questioned everything, and very similarly wasn’t in the least bit impressed by the students who had chosen the easiest option and the road most traveled when considering a mate. She wanted and needed someone on her intellectual level, and seemed drawn to Alex, maybe by destiny, although neither of them questioned that aspect of things when they fell into each other’s lives as though it were previously ordained. She was fully supportive when Alex first posed his idea about researching the dream state and experimenting so far as to record dreams and somehow manipulate them. At first his ideas were only thoughts thrown into the air with no real direction, but for the sake of it and with the additional wealth of The Scientist’s extensive knowledge, with whom they had started to liaise on a regular basis, they all ploughed into something tempting, possibly unethical, intriguing, exciting, and for which they had no idea where it would lead. For Kay-Johanna The Scientist had a soft spot. She was like the daughter he never had. He marveled at the inquisitiveness of younger people when, if you read the papers, one would think the youth of today were all feral and feckless. So these two willing students with great ideas of their own came into The Scientist’s (George’s) life like a breath of fresh air. “Call me Kayj like Alex does” Kay-Johanna encouraged upon first making his acquaintance, and he’d regarded her with fondness ever since. Having never married, George moved from his birth town in Scotland and concentrated on his career for the best part of 40 years, his lectures, his students and writing his books, and he practically adopted the young couple. They all met regularly in bars, in coffee shops, for evening meals, or on university premises, in the labs, to brainstorm and compare notes regarding their ongoing research. He’d be coming up for retirement in the next few years and wanted one last feather in his cap. Besides which, George was thankful for acquaintances other than his stuffy old university colleagues and peers. It was unfortunate and completely and shockingly tragic when Kay-Johanna and Alex, married just a year and only recently having informed their close friends and family and, in fact, anyone who would listen, that they were pregnant with their first child imminent in six months time, were torn apart by events completely out of their control. Alex had already lost his grandmother the year before that. Thankfully she’d known Kay-Johanna but she hadn’t lived to attend the wedding, passing away a couple of months before because of complications after an operation on a tumour. Alex was heart-broken but decided after a short period of mourning to move forward, looking forward to his future life with a brand new wife and a planned family. He felt like an orphan twice times over, and with no siblings he was the last in line now. The number of nightmares increased around that time, with the odd night terror, but he had no idea what the future held. He had no idea that they would increase in intensity and scare him rigid. He also had no idea that the nightmares would spur him on into more intensive investigations and a need to know, not just what caused them or the reason for them, but with regards to the dream state, delving into the psychology of dreams and wondering how far one could access the dream state and control it, and where he could possibly could go from there.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
By Matthew Keith on February 12, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition *****
Absolutely loved this book, amazing premise and good pacing throughout. Characters were well developed and continued developing throughout. Would definitely recommend.

WELCOME TO A DREAM WORLD
By KINDLE BOOK REVIEW ***** on September 21 2013
Format: Kindle Edition
This is a very interesting novel. The reader enters a dream world for the story of Alex and The Scientist. They are looking at the possibility of manipulating dreams and nightmares. I was intrigued by the storyline, felt it was unusual and thought the mix of romance and science fiction was well handled. The two different relationships, between Alex and The Scientist and Alex and Kayj his wife were very well written.
It has been well researched and entwined with a vivid imagination and excellent storytelling it is a page turning novel with a surprise ending. In the alternative world of dreams and nightmares the descriptions in the novel took me right into the laboratory. Donaldson creates a scientific sense of time and place. The dialogue is believable and we get to know the characters well in their search for answers.

LOVED IT!
By Misscsolo ***** on April 2 2014
Alex is a brilliant scientist with a brilliant mind full of curiosity. When the opportunity presented itself to work with The Scientist George, Alex jumped at the chance. Along came Kay-Johanna, the woman which would become Alex's wife and life was now just grand. The project that Alex was working on with The Scientist hit home because Alex had been having bad dream or night terrors since he was a small child after the death of his parents and then again later in life so to see dream analysis was totally fascinating to them both. But how would they do it and would it work? And if it worked what would they do with the information they obtained from the research? Would this be ground-breaking or detrimental to the test subjects life? Only time would tell. The AL-EX Project is sci-fi fantasy but who knows what the future holds, it could very well become reality. It is a very interesting book with the cast of characters that are interwoven in the story because you have characters from the dreams involved in the story and some of them play a reoccurring role in the lives of the characters. CM Donaldson writes a very captivating story that doesn't even feel like sci-fi. This is my first encounter with Donaldson but it is NOT my last.