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story identification - Living rocks, sailing, goblin caves, a hero lost in time or space


I read a book when I was younger, that started off with a man directing a play. When it was over, he went to a party with his cast and came out of his drunken stupor in the lap of some woman, drunk and missing his wife, so he goes back home to be with her. As the story progresses you find out this man was somehow sucked into this world from Earth, likely in a previous book. I remember the book specifically describing him having cotton mouth. Weird thing to recall. But there it is. I also think his wife is pregnant.


I don't recall much. I remember he has a friend that sort of resembles a monkey. He has an older friend who guides him, I think some sort of mage. He lives in a city that's somewhat/somehow important in this world. His quest in this book is somehow supposed to save this city or the world. He has to sail to wherever he's off to.


In one scene he's in a port city and two ruffians in a bar challenge him. He fights them but gets beat up bad. They congratulate him for standing up for himself and his little monkey-like friend, and buy him drinks.


At some point he meets some living rock creatures and befriends them. I don't recall how it happens exactly, but when those creatures are broken the new shard has an ego all its own while the original part stays as the original ego. I think when you meet them there's just one. Then he gets broken and then has a "brother".



At some point there's a goblin cave... thing. Like a mountain range with a ton of goblins in it. I remember picturing in my head as being a ton of cave mouths densely packed. I don't remember if this was their destination, but I think they had to go into it.


There was magic in this world but I don't think it was overly prominent. I remember the cover sort of making me think of clockwork or Leonardo-type machinations. I don't mean to say it had machines on it. It just made me think of that period and that sort of innovation.


Any help would be appreciated!



Answer



Possibly Moon Dream by Brad Strickland. I'll admit that I never read it myself, but I remember the monkey-like character, Nul, from when my brother read it (specifically, I remember the second book, ''Nul's Quest''). The opening scene involves Jeremy Moon, ad-copy-writer, in a bizarre nightmare involving a stage (albeit as a musical performer) and a recurring motif of baby shoes. Unfortunately, that's as much as I could glean from the free preview on Google Books, but it does match some aspects of what you're looking for.


Cover image


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