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 braver 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 …
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 braver 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.
It reads like a power fantasy for readers. It also reads as a teen novel with all the raging hormones and instantly falling in love that it entails. Regardless it is very well written and all of these things feel real and fleshed out. I love that the main conflict in the book has nuance in the sense that the "good guys" have done some dark shit. The world kind of has very villainous villains, but we don't know the whole story and there's a sense that maybe there was a reason they were such villains that we don't know yet. Overall the world is very intriguing. And the ending, though technically a cliffhanger and a start to the second book, doesn't feel all that bad. That said, I don't know how I feel about reading the second book, as all that lovey-dovey stuff is too sweet for my taste.
Extremely vivid imagery. Really really great story and engaging from start to finish, I already ordered the second one because I need to read it like NOW. It should be here tomorrow!!! Really one of the best books I have read in a long time, and I've read some really good ones lately
Review of 'Strange the Dreamer: The enchanting international bestseller' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Strange the Dreamer introduces a new, richly imagined fantasy world from Laini Taylor, something a lot of us have been waiting for since the end of her DoSaB trilogy. This beautiful blue book does not disappoint!
As the book opens, a blue-skinned girl falls from the sky in the city of Weep. This remains a mystery for some time, with the story turning towards an orphaned boy, named Lazlo Strange by the monks who took him in. Lazlo becomes obsessed with the lost city known only to him as Weep, for its true name has been erased from memory. Fate sent him to the Great Library of Zosma City, a place which granted him access to thousands of tomes where he could research the Unseen City. There he remains, content as a librarian until the day his books are taken.
Thyon Nero is the golden boy of Zosma, he has …
Strange the Dreamer introduces a new, richly imagined fantasy world from Laini Taylor, something a lot of us have been waiting for since the end of her DoSaB trilogy. This beautiful blue book does not disappoint!
As the book opens, a blue-skinned girl falls from the sky in the city of Weep. This remains a mystery for some time, with the story turning towards an orphaned boy, named Lazlo Strange by the monks who took him in. Lazlo becomes obsessed with the lost city known only to him as Weep, for its true name has been erased from memory. Fate sent him to the Great Library of Zosma City, a place which granted him access to thousands of tomes where he could research the Unseen City. There he remains, content as a librarian until the day his books are taken.
Thyon Nero is the golden boy of Zosma, he has the queen’s favour and is a renowned alchemist. But his and Lazlo’s fates are intertwined, the two sharing knowledge which the nobleman would never admit to, and he treats the orphan with disdain. Thyon wants to be the best at everything, a legend in the making, so when the opportunity to travel to the Unseen City arises, he does what he must to get chosen.
But Lazlo’s life has been dedicated to learning about Weep. The inequality is clear but Lazlo possesses a humble and honest nature which leaves him in good stead with the people he must impress the most. It turns out the noblemen and tradesmen selected may be good at what they do but they are not good people. It's impossible not to like Lazlo Strange.
Meanwhile, back in Weep, the gods are still alive, well at least their offspring. Trapped in a metal citadel in the sky, the children stick to the Rule; do not be discovered. Sarai is the only one who can leave, and she can only do that through her moths. Each night they emerge, taking her consciousness down into the streets below. As the moths find their targets, Sarai is transported into the dreams of humans. Or are they nightmares?
For there is an injustice that can never be redeemed. Just like Laini’s previous books there’s no obvious black and white morality. Both sides have committed horrors against the other. Is each new generation destined to bear the burdens of what their parents did? Two wrongs do not make a right, and the complexity of characters makes the story so much more compelling.
The world-building is fantastic, I love this new world. Sarai sees the world through her moths and through dreamscapes. Not everyone sees Weep the same in their dreams, and when she meets Lazlo she is entranced by the beauty he sees.
I think I saw the ending coming once I'd connected the prologue to everything else but I was willing for a different path to emerge. An impossible choice, both for the characters, and the reader, to choose. I think what happens will make the second book more uncomfortable reading, but we will see. Of course, I shall be reading it and I can only hope it won't be too long a wait.
