Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor is #67 on the Top Books by Women Authors in
r/fantasy. I'm still trying to make my way through that list and this was a book I'd never even heard of before, so I was excited to dive in.
Lazlo Strange is a low-level librarian. Orphaned at birth, he was raised by monks and he studies fairy tales about the lost city of Weep. When a party comes through seeking people who might be useful for a mission to Weep, Lazlo gets on that mission to discover the mysteries of what cut Weep off from the rest of the world hundreds of years ago.
Meanwhile, in the floating citadel above Weep, five children of gods, derogatorily called godspawn, are scratching a meager existence cut off from the rest of the world. Each has a Gift and it's not until one of them enters Lazlo's dreams that they realize that the rest of the world doesn't even know they exist.
You know what? This story is amazing. I liked Lazlo and his weird little obsession with fiction and stories. I like how he stood up for himself and how he has hard conversations, even though he blushes a lot. I like the setting of Weep. I like how the magic exists, but it is not the main topic of conversation all the time.
But, man, I did not care for this author's writing style. Hey, why not have a metaphor every paragraph? And write in an oblique way that makes it impossible to actually understand what is actually going on? Why bother writing with any clarity whatsoever? I saw some reviews that called this writing "poetic" and that's probably true. But that poetry was lost on me.
Mixed bag. I'm glad I read this, but I won't be reading anything else in the series. 3/5 stars
Lines of note:
If the dream chose the dreamer, then his had chosen poorly. (page 53)
...mirth worked its mundane magic, leaching the tension from Sarai’s spine and relieving the cold dread that had been pressing on her all evening. (page 131)
Every mind is its own world. Most occupy a vast middle ground of ordinary, while others are more distinct: pleasant, even beautiful, or sometimes slippery and unaccountably wrong-feeling. (page 211)
“And why was that?” Nero demanded.
“Why did you, Strange?”
Lazlo stared at him for a moment. The answer really couldn’t be simpler, but he didn’t think Thyon was equipped to believe it.
“Because you needed it,” he said, and his words pulled a silence over them both. Here was the radical notion that you might help someone simply because they needed it. (page 283)
All the anger was sucked away in her wake, and it left a void. What else was there, when you took away the anger, the hate? (page 337)
"...you must see that there’s a difference between being alive and having a life.” (page 367)
“Good people do all the things bad people do, Lazlo. It’s just that when they do them, they call it justice.” (page 368)
Thing I looked up:
dexter (page 82) - on the right side (as in the opposite of sinister) - looking this up actually clarified some things about the television show Dexter for me
That's interesting- so you liked the story but not the writing style. It sounds interesting but I'm not sure I'd have the energy to make it through something this "poetic."
ReplyDeleteThe worldbuilding was so cool, but the language was too over-the-top for me. I'm glad I read it, though, because I'm going to be thinking about Weep for a long time.
DeleteI love Laini Taylor - her other trilogy and both of the Strange the Dreamer books. Although at one point I did tire of her comparing women's lips to fruit.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought about that Dexter connection - really cool. Talking of writing style, the Dexter books (which came first) are much different in style from the tv show. One of the few instances where I preferred the show.
I had never even heard of this author before the reddit list! I'm vaguely interested in reading a different series, but maybe not until I've exhausted all the rest of the list.
DeleteI know of this author, never read any of her books, but kind of wonder if she had a blog early on that I used to read. Adore this: Hey why not have a metaphor every paragraph? Your way with snark is a delight.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is that I didn't realize it was quite so snarky until you pointed it out. LOL. I was just typing my inner monologue. Maybe I should censor more.
DeleteI am sorry you didnt much enjoy this. I loved it. I actually found the second one to be better. But we all only have so many hours in the day so we better pick book that speak to us, right?
ReplyDeleteI really liked the story here. I thought it was so creative and fresh. But the writing was really distracting. Too bad. I will not be picking up the next book. I am glad the book has an audience, though, because the ideas are so interesting.
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