In middle school, I remember reading and really liking Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. That, and a friend's recommendation, inspired me to pick up Strange the Dreamer, and I'm so glad I did.
What is this book about? It's so creative and wonderful that it's hard to describe, but in short: Lazlo is an orphan obsessed with the lost city of Weep. Sarai is a half-goddess who lives in a giant floating citadel above the city. Lazlo accompanies other experts to Weep in order to help discover the secret of the citadel, and discovers the twisted history of the old murdered gods of Weep.
If that summary doesn't sound enticing, don't worry, because it doesn't do the book justice at all. On a more fundamental level, Strange the Dreamer is about love, both the power it gives us and has over us. It's about prejudice. It's about judging people for their parents' mistakes, and it's about what makes a hero or a villain.. (Let me just say, the themes in this book were presented excellently.)
So, as always, I will start with the things I liked.
High on the list is characterization, because holy smokes, Taylor knows how to write a protagonist. The scene where Lazlo first came to the library almost made me cry because it reminded me so much of why I fell in love with stories in the first place. He's a very genuine character, and something that really struck me was what a good person he is. I mean, lots of books have "good person" main characters, but we were never told that Lazlo is good. It's shown through his actions, and that makes all the difference. He's always willing to lend a helping hand, but he also knows when to back off, and understands that people have to star in their own stories.
And our other protagonist, Sarai, was also great. Her gift of entering and altering other people's dreams is explored deeply, and so is her relationship with Minya, who manipulated her into using her powers to bring nightmares to the citizens of Weep. A lot of Sarai's perspective dwells on her guilt and turmoil and longing to be considered a normal girl, but it never feels repetitive or annoying. When Sarai is sad, so is the reader, and when she's happy the reader rejoices.
Speaking of which, the romance also deserves a shout out. I'm not usually a fan of lovey-dovey books, but Sarai and Lazlo were so sweet together that I couldn't help but enjoy this one. They tell each other their deepest secrets and support each other's most difficult decisions. Maybe it's just me, but I also loved how slow they took their relationship. And, I think my favorite part was that, even though Sarai was raised to despise humans and Lazlo was told horrendous stories about the blue gods of Weep, they came to understand each other's people as well as love each other. And the ending completely broke my heart, but anyway
However, as wonderful as the characterization is, it pales in comparison to my favorite aspect of Strange the Dreamer, which is the sheer creativity. I think Laini Taylor must be a genius or something. I don't want to spoil the story, but let's just say the dilemma Weep is facing, the creatures that used to live there, the fact that everyone in the book has two hearts (one that pumps blood and one that pumps spirit), the tattoos the women of Weep receive, and of course the writing style... Reading this book really does feel like stepping into a dream.
To anyone who loves fantasy, I completely recommend Strange the Dreamer. I can't wait to read the sequel!
kaledo-art
prguitarman
tangentwithtanner
jbbartram-illu
vaporwave
ellievsbear
blakekathryn
annaxmalina
