Hodder & Staughton, 536 pp.
Published March 27, 2017
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 to 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?
In this sweeping and breathtaking new 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.
Those in search of non-stop, heart-pounding action: turn back now! Strange the Dreamer is a lush, indulgent stroll through a richly realized fantasy world with two nuanced characters as guides. The moderate pace and careful world-building provide ample opportunities to get lost in not just the story, but the phantasmagorical atmosphere that permeates it. Woven throughout the mystery of fallen gods and the intangible romance of a pair who can only meet in their dreams are larger themes of discrimination and socio-economic class, the power of stories, and the fallibility of perfect justice when executed by imperfect men and women.
Lazlo Strange does not know his real name; a foundling who spent his childhood among monks, he bears the family name of all orphans in Zosma and the first name of a monk's tongueless uncle, earned during his oddly quiet years as a baby. Without a family history to cling to, he instead anchors himself in fairy tales and myths, especially those surrounding the lost city of Weep. Lazlo is an ode to dreamers and introverts, his passion for reading and research uncovers long-hidden secrets. Far from delicate, though, he never shies away from the difficult labor required when traveling to Weep, nor does he refuse calls for heroism or sacrifice. He proves that the quiet can possess strength as well, and that not all power derives from the sword.
Paralleling his journey is the mysterious teenage girl Sarai, who lives with her brother and sisters far above the forgotten city. Theirs is a heritage of violence and a life of constant fear. Sarai has grown out of the hatred that consumes some of her siblings, temporarily escaping from their confinement through her ability to enter and influence the dreams of those slumbering nearby. It's in this dreamscape that she first sees—and meets—Lazlo. Together they come to learn more about their history, their place in the world, and the magnitude of the "problem" shadowing Weep.
Both Sarai and Lazlo possess a strange mixture of innocence and experience. Their worldly knowledge comes mostly from others; for Lazlo, it derives from books, while Sarai has traveled on the wings of dreams. Experiencing them both testing and exercising this knowledge in their lives is a delight, although kind intentions do not allow them to always escape failure. A growing affection between them charms, as they discover the pleasure of companionship long denied to each of them.
Taylor does not ease her readers into this mythical world. Names, creatures, and strange words abound to the point that it make take a chapter (or two, or three...) to take this imaginative universe fully in hand. These new surroundings are tempered by familiar characters, though, and readers should greet them easily as old friends...or enemies, in some cases. With a leisurely pace, Taylor has plenty of room to explore the grand themes introduced by Weep and its singular "problem". Like many great authors she offers up several difficult questions and few easy answers. With the aid of complex characters and a rich world, however, she possesses the perfect stage to spin them out into what is sure to be an emotionally-wrenching conclusion in this October's forthcoming Muse of Nightmares.
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