Venera Dreams is a mosaic novel, a surreal history of a fictional and fantastical European city-state, inspired in part by Venice, The Arabian Nights, and the architecture of Antoni Gaudí. It is divided in three sections. The first, The Lure of Vermilion, describes the impact of Venera's lure on various characters. The second section, Adventures in Times Past, ranges from the Roman Empire's invasion of Venera and an intrigue involving a Veneran spy at the court of the Chinese Zhengde Emperor during the Renaissance to a tale of Salvador Dalí's ties to Venera and a metafictional exploration of Scheherazade's relationship to Venera. The final section, The Secret Histories of Magus Amore, returns to the present to resolve the mysteries of Venera.

Claude Lalumière (claudepages.info) is the author of three previous books: Objects of Worship (CZP 2009), The Door to Lost Pages (CZP 2011), and Nocturnes and Other Nocturnes (Infinity Plus 2013). He has edited or co-edited fourteen anthologies in various genres, including Island Dreams: Montreal Writers of the Fantastic (Vehicule Press 2003), Lust for Life: Tales of Sex & Love (Vehicule Press 2006), Masked Mosaic: Canadian Super Stories (Tyche 2013), and The Exile Book of New Canadian Noir (Exile Editions 2015). Originally from Montreal, where he was a bookseller in the 1990s, he’s also lived in Québec City, Portland, Austin, and Vancouver. He’s currently headquartered in Ottawa.

Claude Lalumière's profile page

Insanely brilliant ... wildly entertaining - Barnes & Noble Book Club Filled with blunt, carnal imagery and a moist, pulsing energy ... with unique characters - Tangent Online Bizarre, fascinating, hilarious - The Portal / The World SF Blog