Laini Taylor’s Strange the Dreamer unfolds carefully, thoughtfully, methodically. You have to be patient to take it all in. Taylor’s writing is beautiful, and each character is so clearly defined.
A synopsis:
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was 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 person 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? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?
The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?
Not only is each character in Strange the Dreamer fully and clearly written, but the world Taylor builds is clear, too – or I should say worlds since the reader is transported at more than one turn here.
I was totally enchanted by this book and felt it was about as close to perfection as I’ve read in a long time. I have great hopes for the second book, which will tell the closing act of this great story!
BOOK:30 