Format: Hardcover, 546 pages
Release Date: March 28th 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / Epic
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?
Welcome to Weep.
Strange the Dreamer is the first installment in author Laini Taylor's Strange the Dreamer series. Protagonist Lazlo Strange is a junior librarian at the Great Library of Zosma. He has spent his whole life dreaming about the mythical, lost city of Weep. Weep isn't really the name of the city. The real name was mysteriously snatched away from the world and nobody can remember its real name. Then one day, out of the blue, Lazlo see's the impossible. Tizerkane warriors, those from the mysterious city of Weep who he has searched and searched and even put a dossier together about the city, shows up looking for specialist to travel to Weep with them.
How can Lazlo give up his fondest wishes of travel to the city he has spent years researching, writing about, and dreaming about? He can't. Since Lazlo has spent a majority of his life researching the language, customs, and the dangers of even traveling to the city, he jumps at the opportunity.
Opportunity that manages to link him to the second most curious character in the book, Sarai. Sarai is a really cool character, if I say so. She has blue skin, she is the daughter of a God (Isagol) and a human (Eril Fane), and she has the ability to enter the dreams of the people living in Weep and create nightmares.
As the author dives into the story, and the incredible world building that she is known for, we learn a whole lot about our characters Lazlo and Sarai. As we learn about these characters, they are also learning about each other. They become connected in ways that are both curious and emotion. The author also starts to unravel the question behind why Lazlo was abandoned as a child, and why he seems to know so much and is able to create really stunning places in his dreamscapes.
If you are looking for the villain of the story, look no further than Minya. Minya is crazier than a cat sticking its tongue in an electric shock, but even more dangerous because of her abilities to collect ghosts. Ghosts she uses in so many different ways, that you have to ask yourself if anyone can survive Minya's plots and machinations. Strange the Dreamer is a story about gods, goddesses, ghosts, magic, secrets, and yes, even romance that keeps you entranced. The ending has left me curious as to where Taylor goes from here.
Great review! I saw that you finished this on Goodreads so I looked it up and they have it at my library. I might have to give it a whirl!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Toni!
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