Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, 1)
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around--and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared his dream chose poorly. Since he was just five years old, he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the form of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.
What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? And who is the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams?
In this sweeping and breathtaking novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.
The answers await in Weep.
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Community Reviews
I was very excited about starting this book. It holds something special: it's a book about dreamers. And as a dreamer myself, the concept of it seemed fabulous.
It was slow to start. I almost didn't have the mind to continue, but I did, and I was left surprised and awed. This author's whimsical writing... her metaphors and the like put all the other authors' attempt at including poetry into their books (e.g. Leigh Bardugo) to shame. Hers is natural and beautiful. I couldn't stop reading. I admire her for being able to write like this.
And my goodness, the fantasy aspect of this book constantly left me speechless. It is all very original and just... plain awesome. There are surprises at every turn, leaving me eager for more. Gods? Blue skin? Learning what gift Sarai possessed made my jaw drop. Literally.
Okay, so why the 3.5 stars? Why not 5? Because while there were surprises until the very end of this book, it lost me along the way. I don't like the ending either, because I can't help but think it would all be oh-so-predictable in the next book, but who knows? Maybe the author will give me surprises again. Even so, it is either going that way, or the other, and I don't like either of those very much, leaving me to wonder if I'll even consider picking up the next book.
Ironically, it was also the romance that made me skip quite a bit of pages (and I am a fan of romance). It was, so very obviously, love at first sight, a concept I do not quite like. Not to mention they were going too fast. For goodness' sake, the girl is only seventeen and they almost had sex. Call me close-minded, but this had potential to become cute, and the author ruined it. There was A LOT of kissing. TOO MUCH. And this author, with her capability of writing such beautiful things, was able to drag it out for so very long. It is one reason why I got tired of her writing a little bit towards the end.
So there's that! :)
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