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sheyri's review against another edition
5.0
Update
While this review accurately represents my experience at the time, after a reread of Dreams it no longer holds true. I liked it a lot better the second time, so the hardcover review got 5 stars!
I blame the differences on three things: I read it on my phone, it took me almost 2 months (because it was a secondary read), and I was reading Brandon Sanderson at the same time (that's just unfair competition for a debut author).
Review for the Kindle edition
I debated for some time what rating to give Dreams of the Dying.
I love Enderal and admire the work the team at SureAI did there. I especially love Jespar Dal'Varek. Getting more of his backstory, in a book, is obviously something I couldn't resist, and I like the work it did on Jespar.
On the other hand, there were parts of the plot that, though interesting, just weren't written that well. The climax of the mission felt too fast, too rushed, and most of it felt like a filler anyway. It didn't get me as invested as it potentially could have.
In the end, I settled for a solid four stars.
Now, the characters:
Jespar is quite a bit different from how I remember him from the game. Still philosophical and pragmatic, but in the game he seemed more at peace with himself. There was one glance at a troubled past, but I wouldn't have thought it's that troubled. (Or I just forgot about that. I haven't played the game in ages, shame on me.) Either way, it was great getting to know him better.
The other characters lack a bit of depth, with the exception of Jaaros Oonai, possibly (but considering Jespar and Oonai are the only viewpoint characters, that's understandable). That doesn't mean they're two dimensional (no pun intended). They each have their unique personality and are nice to travel with, but experiencing them from only Jespar's perspective doesn't allow us to dive that deep into their characters. (Though that may change in future books, at least for Lysia)
I don't like Lysia that much, though it might play into it that I know a bit of what's happening between this book and the game.
Kawu is nice, a wholesome person and a gentle soul. I sometimes pictured him as slightly younger than he is, solely due to his apparent inexperience in relationships. Don't get me wrong, he is an adult and everything in his relationship with Jespar is consensual.
As for the plot:
I already said it, the whole mission around the mystery that is Oonai's coma felt more like a side plot, when the real focus should have been on the characters and their relationships. Written as it is, it takes away from both. The riot, revolution and recovery happened too fast. Sure, in-world it built up for years, but for the reader, it was only a few days. At the same time, the romance between Jespar and Lysia starts and ends within what feels like a day at best, and barely anything happens between Jespar and Kawu. That only changes once their mission is done, but at that point.
That aside, the build-up to Oonai's story was fantastic and shows how power can corrupt in a great way.
The riot, with the in-world build-up, is completely understandable (damn, I would be angry too! I am from only reading it!), and even without what's going on behind the scenes, they had it coming for a long time.
The idea of the dream-eater is absolutely terrifying, and I'm very glad they don't exist in our world.
To the writing itself:
The dialogue was pretty much as expected. Some scenes felt awkward, but those were exactly the ones you'd expect to be awkward (love and some such nonsense ;) ).
The lore and background information were excellent, just as I know it from Enderal. The way they were delivered left room for improvement, however. Several parts just didn't read smoothly.
The plot dragged on for quite a while. While a lot was happening, it didn't feel like there was much progress. Things just ... happened.
At the same time, the amount of days the mission took felt a bit too short, maybe even unbelievable. I also had the impression there were some small inconsistencies with the travel times. For example, it felt like the journey to Kaiawaika Manor took far longer than the journey back to the Alabaster City. I'm not quite sure, but I think they skipped a day there.
When the mission was done and the plot turned back to Jespar, his mental state, and the relationships with Lysia and Kawu, the writing, and with it my interest and enjoyment, got a lot better.
I'd say the writing has its strengths in exploring what's going on with Jespar, but less so then it comes to action.
All together this is a well-done book, not only for fans of Enderal, but for all Fantasy readers. Great work! Especially for self-published debut novel.
While this review accurately represents my experience at the time, after a reread of Dreams it no longer holds true. I liked it a lot better the second time, so the hardcover review got 5 stars!
I blame the differences on three things: I read it on my phone, it took me almost 2 months (because it was a secondary read), and I was reading Brandon Sanderson at the same time (that's just unfair competition for a debut author).
Review for the Kindle edition
I debated for some time what rating to give Dreams of the Dying.
I love Enderal and admire the work the team at SureAI did there. I especially love Jespar Dal'Varek. Getting more of his backstory, in a book, is obviously something I couldn't resist, and I like the work it did on Jespar.
On the other hand, there were parts of the plot that, though interesting, just weren't written that well. The climax of the mission felt too fast, too rushed, and most of it felt like a filler anyway. It didn't get me as invested as it potentially could have.
In the end, I settled for a solid four stars.
Now, the characters:
Jespar is quite a bit different from how I remember him from the game. Still philosophical and pragmatic, but in the game he seemed more at peace with himself. There was one glance at a troubled past, but I wouldn't have thought it's that troubled. (Or I just forgot about that. I haven't played the game in ages, shame on me.) Either way, it was great getting to know him better.
The other characters lack a bit of depth, with the exception of Jaaros Oonai, possibly (but considering Jespar and Oonai are the only viewpoint characters, that's understandable). That doesn't mean they're two dimensional (no pun intended). They each have their unique personality and are nice to travel with, but experiencing them from only Jespar's perspective doesn't allow us to dive that deep into their characters. (Though that may change in future books, at least for Lysia)
I don't like Lysia that much, though it might play into it that I know a bit of what's happening between this book and the game.
Kawu is nice, a wholesome person and a gentle soul. I sometimes pictured him as slightly younger than he is, solely due to his apparent inexperience in relationships. Don't get me wrong, he is an adult and everything in his relationship with Jespar is consensual.
As for the plot:
I already said it, the whole mission around the mystery that is Oonai's coma felt more like a side plot, when the real focus should have been on the characters and their relationships. Written as it is, it takes away from both. The riot, revolution and recovery happened too fast. Sure, in-world it built up for years, but for the reader, it was only a few days. At the same time, the romance between Jespar and Lysia starts and ends within what feels like a day at best, and barely anything happens between Jespar and Kawu. That only changes once their mission is done, but at that point
Spoiler
Jespar is a mess and Kawu is in a comaThat aside, the build-up to Oonai's story was fantastic and shows how power can corrupt in a great way.
The riot, with the in-world build-up, is completely understandable (damn, I would be angry too! I am from only reading it!), and even without what's going on behind the scenes, they had it coming for a long time.
The idea of the dream-eater is absolutely terrifying, and I'm very glad they don't exist in our world.
Spoiler
And then Jespar getting infected adds a whole new level of horror. Though, if you played Enderal, you already know Jespar is fine, or, at least, alive. That takes away some of the suspense again. Still, his declining sanity wasn't fun to read.To the writing itself:
The dialogue was pretty much as expected. Some scenes felt awkward, but those were exactly the ones you'd expect to be awkward (love and some such nonsense ;) ).
The lore and background information were excellent, just as I know it from Enderal. The way they were delivered left room for improvement, however. Several parts just didn't read smoothly.
The plot dragged on for quite a while. While a lot was happening, it didn't feel like there was much progress. Things just ... happened.
At the same time, the amount of days the mission took felt a bit too short, maybe even unbelievable. I also had the impression there were some small inconsistencies with the travel times. For example, it felt like the journey to Kaiawaika Manor took far longer than the journey back to the Alabaster City. I'm not quite sure, but I think they skipped a day there.
When the mission was done and the plot turned back to Jespar, his mental state, and the relationships with Lysia and Kawu, the writing, and with it my interest and enjoyment, got a lot better.
I'd say the writing has its strengths in exploring what's going on with Jespar, but less so then it comes to action.
All together this is a well-done book, not only for fans of Enderal, but for all Fantasy readers. Great work! Especially for self-published debut novel.
sheyri's review against another edition
5.0
CW:
LGBTQ Rep:
Vorgeschichte zu meiner Beziehung mit dem Buch
(semi relevant für die Review, könnt ihr gerne überspringen, darum im Spoiler)
Als Fan des Spiels "Enderal" war es für mich nie eine Frage, ob ich das Buch lesen möchte oder nicht. Die Story und die Charaktere lassen mich bis heute, 6 Jahre nachdem ich es das erste Mal gespielt habe, nicht los, und ich kehre immer wieder gerne zurück (auch wenn es mir regelmäßig das Herz rausreißt, aber wer braucht schon ein Herz). Als Nico dann also angekündigt hat, er schreibt einen Roman, der in der Welt spielt, musste ich den natürlich lesen. Mehr Enderal Content? Und dann auch noch über die Vorgeschichte von meinem Lieblingscharakter im Spiel (heute teilt er sich den ersten Platz)? Her damit!
Angefangen hat der Spaß dann mit der Web Novel Version, die ich auch bis Kapitel 7 oder so gelesen habe. Dann hab ich mich aber entschieden, lieber auf die fertige Veröffentlichung zu warten, weil angenehmeres Lesen (PDF auf dem Handy ist ätzend). Als es dann endlich soweit war, zog zunächst das englische eBook ein, und, als sämtliche Startschwierigkeiten überwunden waren, schließlich auch das englische Hardcover. Im Frühjahr 2022 hab ich mir dann auch noch die alte Version heruntergeladen und zum Vergleich gelesen. Ja, manche Stellen haben vom Umschreiben sehr profitiert. Mein Respekt, Nico!
Und jetzt liegt auch das deutsche Hardcover neben mir.
Kurze Info zum Spiel
Ja, es gibt ein Spiel. Es nennt sich "Enderal - Forgotten Stories" und ist ein Total Conversion Mod für "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim". Nicolas Lietzau war Projektleiter und hat fast das gesamte Spiel geschrieben.
Ihr müsst das Spiel nicht kennen, um "Träume der Todgeweihten" zu lesen. Ein paar Kleinigkeiten sind sowieso abgeändert. Allerdings kann ich das Spiel nur empfehlen. Also, wenn euch das Buch gefällt, gefällt euch das Spiel wahrscheinlich auch. (Und wenn euch das Buch nicht gefällt, spielt es trotzdem. Es ist kostenlos, wenn ihr Skyrim habt.)
Jetzt aber zum Buch!
Die Handlung klingt erst mal nach nichts Besonderem. Ein reicher Kerl mit einer mysteriösen Krankheit, deren Ursache es zu finden gilt. Und nebenbei zivile Unruhen, die in einen Bürgerkrieg auszuarten drohen.
Unser Protagonist, Jespar Dal'Varek, wird angeheuert, um die Hintergründe der Krankheit herauszufinden und somit den reichen Kerl zu heilen, damit dieser dann die Unruhen aufhalten kann. Blöd nur, dass sich die Situation sehr schnell sehr stark zuspitzt, und Jespar in alles mehr verwickelt wird, als ihm lieb ist. Dazu noch eine Prise Gefühlschaos auf allen Ebenen (nicht nur Liebe, aber auch).
Die Umsetzung ist klasse. Eine Mischung aus Humor, brutaler Realität, philosophischen Unterhaltungen, Horror, schöner Landschaft, Trauma, frischer Liebe und Selbstmordgedanken. Je weiter die Handlung fortschreitet, desto schmerzhafter wird es.
Deswegen hier auch eine Warnung: Nehmt die Triggerwarnung ernst! Es wird grafisch.
Der Anfang zieht sich meiner Empfindung nach ein bisschen, aber ab einem gewissen Punkt (nach circa einem Viertel) lässt es mich dann nicht mehr los. Bis dahin ist es keinesfalls langweilig oder uninteressant, es ist einfach nicht mein Lieblingsteil. Vielleicht, weil das in etwa die Kapitel sind, die ich schon aus dem Web Novel kannte.
Was man mögen muss, sind die philosophischen und sozialkritischen Unterhaltungen, denn die liebt Jespar. Ich auch, aber das ist nichts für jeden. Ich kann durchaus verstehen, wenn sich das für manche wie Lückenfüller liest.
Die Charaktere... Naja, was soll ich sagen. Bei Jespar bin ich sowieso voreingenommen, den hab ich schon im Spiel geliebt, dann kann er im Buch nichts falsch machen. Lysia dagegen, nicht so mein Fall, sie ist mir zu naiv. Kawu ist einfach nur zum Knuddeln. Oonai ist ein Arsch.
Eins haben sie aber alle gemeinsam: sie sind gut geschrieben und fühlen sich echt an.
Fazit
Ich kanns nur empfehlen.
Wenn ihr Enderal gespielt und gemocht habt sowieso. Wenn ihr das Spiel nicht kennt, lest die Beschreibung, lest die Trigger und wenn es euch dann zusagt, gebt dem Buch eine Chance.
Eine Sache jedoch, nennt es Warnung, Bitte oder was auch immer:
Mir sind ein ganzer Haufen Fehler aufgefallen, gefühlt einer alle vier Seiten. Die Art, die im Lektorat auffallen und ausgebessert werden sollten. Jeder einzelne hat einfach nur weh getan, weil ich weiß, dass das nicht Nicos Standard ist. Er ist schon recht perfektionistisch, und im englischen Original ist das auch um Längen besser. Er würde sich wahrscheinlich selbst in den Hintern beißen wollen, wenn er das hier sieht.
Darum: bitte, bitte, versucht darüber hinwegzusehen und konzentriert euch auf die Geschichte. Das Buch hat es verdient!
Vielleicht ist es auch nur meine Ausgabe. Unwahrscheinlich, aber man weiß ja nie. Jedenfalls würde ich sagen, wenn ihr Englisch flüssig lesen könnt, lest es lieber auf Englisch.
Die Frage nach dem Format
Hardcover mit Anhang oder Taschenbuch/eBook ohne Anhang?
Inhaltlich macht es keinen Unterschied. Wen ausschließlich nur die Handlung interessiert verpasst mit der Wahl zum Taschenbuch/eBook nichts.
Allerdings ist der Anhang echt klasse. Wunderschöne Illustrationen, extra Infos zur Geschichte und Kultur Kilays, Charaktersteckbriefe, eine zusammengefasste Erklärung zum Traumwandeln, und natürlich die Einführung in die Sprache der Makehu.
Ich hab mich sowohl beim englischen als auch beim deutschen Buch für das Hardcover entschieden und bereue es kein bisschen. Mein Geldbeutel mag da anderer Meinung sein, aber der hat da nicht mitzureden.
Meine Empfehlung:
Für Hardcore Enderal Fans und Leser, die Wert auf extra World Building legen, definitiv das Hardcover.
Allen anderen entgeht auch mit dem Taschenbuch nichts. Alternativ dann die günstigere Variante mit dem eBook (leider nur Kindle).
Spoiler
Gewalt, Mord, Depression, PTSD, Selbstmord und deutliche Selbstmordgedanken, Vergewaltigung, HorrorelementeLGBTQ Rep:
Spoiler
bisexueller Protagonist, schwul, lesbischVorgeschichte zu meiner Beziehung mit dem Buch
(semi relevant für die Review, könnt ihr gerne überspringen, darum im Spoiler)
Spoiler
Ich hatte mich schon wahnsinnig auf die deutsche Übersetzung gefreut, sodass ich es natürlich sofort bestellen musste, als Nico es auf Discord still und heimlich angekündigt hat. Deshalb hatte ich es auch schon lange vor der offiziellen Ankündigung in der Hand. Leute, das ist wie Weihnachten, nur besser.Als Fan des Spiels "Enderal" war es für mich nie eine Frage, ob ich das Buch lesen möchte oder nicht. Die Story und die Charaktere lassen mich bis heute, 6 Jahre nachdem ich es das erste Mal gespielt habe, nicht los, und ich kehre immer wieder gerne zurück (auch wenn es mir regelmäßig das Herz rausreißt, aber wer braucht schon ein Herz). Als Nico dann also angekündigt hat, er schreibt einen Roman, der in der Welt spielt, musste ich den natürlich lesen. Mehr Enderal Content? Und dann auch noch über die Vorgeschichte von meinem Lieblingscharakter im Spiel (heute teilt er sich den ersten Platz)? Her damit!
Angefangen hat der Spaß dann mit der Web Novel Version, die ich auch bis Kapitel 7 oder so gelesen habe. Dann hab ich mich aber entschieden, lieber auf die fertige Veröffentlichung zu warten, weil angenehmeres Lesen (PDF auf dem Handy ist ätzend). Als es dann endlich soweit war, zog zunächst das englische eBook ein, und, als sämtliche Startschwierigkeiten überwunden waren, schließlich auch das englische Hardcover. Im Frühjahr 2022 hab ich mir dann auch noch die alte Version heruntergeladen und zum Vergleich gelesen. Ja, manche Stellen haben vom Umschreiben sehr profitiert. Mein Respekt, Nico!
Und jetzt liegt auch das deutsche Hardcover neben mir.
Kurze Info zum Spiel
Ja, es gibt ein Spiel. Es nennt sich "Enderal - Forgotten Stories" und ist ein Total Conversion Mod für "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim". Nicolas Lietzau war Projektleiter und hat fast das gesamte Spiel geschrieben.
Ihr müsst das Spiel nicht kennen, um "Träume der Todgeweihten" zu lesen. Ein paar Kleinigkeiten sind sowieso abgeändert. Allerdings kann ich das Spiel nur empfehlen. Also, wenn euch das Buch gefällt, gefällt euch das Spiel wahrscheinlich auch. (Und wenn euch das Buch nicht gefällt, spielt es trotzdem. Es ist kostenlos, wenn ihr Skyrim habt.)
Jetzt aber zum Buch!
Die Handlung klingt erst mal nach nichts Besonderem. Ein reicher Kerl mit einer mysteriösen Krankheit, deren Ursache es zu finden gilt. Und nebenbei zivile Unruhen, die in einen Bürgerkrieg auszuarten drohen.
Unser Protagonist, Jespar Dal'Varek, wird angeheuert, um die Hintergründe der Krankheit herauszufinden und somit den reichen Kerl zu heilen, damit dieser dann die Unruhen aufhalten kann. Blöd nur, dass sich die Situation sehr schnell sehr stark zuspitzt, und Jespar in alles mehr verwickelt wird, als ihm lieb ist. Dazu noch eine Prise Gefühlschaos auf allen Ebenen (nicht nur Liebe, aber auch).
Die Umsetzung ist klasse. Eine Mischung aus Humor, brutaler Realität, philosophischen Unterhaltungen, Horror, schöner Landschaft, Trauma, frischer Liebe und Selbstmordgedanken. Je weiter die Handlung fortschreitet, desto schmerzhafter wird es.
Deswegen hier auch eine Warnung: Nehmt die Triggerwarnung ernst! Es wird grafisch.
Der Anfang zieht sich meiner Empfindung nach ein bisschen, aber ab einem gewissen Punkt (nach circa einem Viertel) lässt es mich dann nicht mehr los. Bis dahin ist es keinesfalls langweilig oder uninteressant, es ist einfach nicht mein Lieblingsteil. Vielleicht, weil das in etwa die Kapitel sind, die ich schon aus dem Web Novel kannte.
Was man mögen muss, sind die philosophischen und sozialkritischen Unterhaltungen, denn die liebt Jespar. Ich auch, aber das ist nichts für jeden. Ich kann durchaus verstehen, wenn sich das für manche wie Lückenfüller liest.
Die Charaktere... Naja, was soll ich sagen. Bei Jespar bin ich sowieso voreingenommen, den hab ich schon im Spiel geliebt, dann kann er im Buch nichts falsch machen. Lysia dagegen, nicht so mein Fall, sie ist mir zu naiv. Kawu ist einfach nur zum Knuddeln. Oonai ist ein Arsch.
Eins haben sie aber alle gemeinsam: sie sind gut geschrieben und fühlen sich echt an.
Fazit
Ich kanns nur empfehlen.
Wenn ihr Enderal gespielt und gemocht habt sowieso. Wenn ihr das Spiel nicht kennt, lest die Beschreibung, lest die Trigger und wenn es euch dann zusagt, gebt dem Buch eine Chance.
Eine Sache jedoch, nennt es Warnung, Bitte oder was auch immer:
Mir sind ein ganzer Haufen Fehler aufgefallen, gefühlt einer alle vier Seiten. Die Art, die im Lektorat auffallen und ausgebessert werden sollten. Jeder einzelne hat einfach nur weh getan, weil ich weiß, dass das nicht Nicos Standard ist. Er ist schon recht perfektionistisch, und im englischen Original ist das auch um Längen besser. Er würde sich wahrscheinlich selbst in den Hintern beißen wollen, wenn er das hier sieht.
Darum: bitte, bitte, versucht darüber hinwegzusehen und konzentriert euch auf die Geschichte. Das Buch hat es verdient!
Vielleicht ist es auch nur meine Ausgabe. Unwahrscheinlich, aber man weiß ja nie. Jedenfalls würde ich sagen, wenn ihr Englisch flüssig lesen könnt, lest es lieber auf Englisch.
Die Frage nach dem Format
Hardcover mit Anhang oder Taschenbuch/eBook ohne Anhang?
Inhaltlich macht es keinen Unterschied. Wen ausschließlich nur die Handlung interessiert verpasst mit der Wahl zum Taschenbuch/eBook nichts.
Allerdings ist der Anhang echt klasse. Wunderschöne Illustrationen, extra Infos zur Geschichte und Kultur Kilays, Charaktersteckbriefe, eine zusammengefasste Erklärung zum Traumwandeln, und natürlich die Einführung in die Sprache der Makehu.
Ich hab mich sowohl beim englischen als auch beim deutschen Buch für das Hardcover entschieden und bereue es kein bisschen. Mein Geldbeutel mag da anderer Meinung sein, aber der hat da nicht mitzureden.
Meine Empfehlung:
Für Hardcore Enderal Fans und Leser, die Wert auf extra World Building legen, definitiv das Hardcover.
Allen anderen entgeht auch mit dem Taschenbuch nichts. Alternativ dann die günstigere Variante mit dem eBook (leider nur Kindle).
tlxy's review against another edition
5.0
it's hard to put into words how good this book actually is
kevinscorner's review
4.0
“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘭.”
Dreams of the Dying by Nicolas Lietzau is a thick (and hefty) book and starts off with a lot of set up. I am not familiar with the Enderal games it is based on, so I went in completely uninitiated. It introduces us to Jespar and a small cast of characters. It also sets up Kilay, a powder keg of an empire on the brink of war between the poor & disenfranchised and the rich & powerful few, reflecting real life problems. The book serves up some commentary without actually firmly standing on one side, leaving readers to make their own judgement.
Jespar is an ex-mercenary struggling with PTSD and a loosening grip on reality. He accepts a job from the merchant king of Kilay and becomes embroiled in a sociopolitical conspiracy that could lead to civil war.
Jespar is a charming protagonist that is prone to having random philosophical discussions (with modern concepts). He is brilliant and strong, but trauma from his mysterious past and painful memories and nightmares are plaguing even his wakeful hours, leading to impaired judgement and rash decisions that make him an unreliable and unstable narrator.
My favorite part of the book is right as it approaches part two onwards. This second part really ramps up the action and delivers a wholly satisfying climax to the mystery that was set up. The built-up tension and its eventual release kept me at the edge of my seat. As the plot unraveled, we see the brilliance of the scheme, the machinations behind the conspiracy, and the dramatic conclusion as things come to a head. It was spectacular actually. The ending though felt like it undermined much of the progress the characters made in service of setting up a sequel.
I received a copy of this book as part of a book tour.
Dreams of the Dying by Nicolas Lietzau is a thick (and hefty) book and starts off with a lot of set up. I am not familiar with the Enderal games it is based on, so I went in completely uninitiated. It introduces us to Jespar and a small cast of characters. It also sets up Kilay, a powder keg of an empire on the brink of war between the poor & disenfranchised and the rich & powerful few, reflecting real life problems. The book serves up some commentary without actually firmly standing on one side, leaving readers to make their own judgement.
Jespar is an ex-mercenary struggling with PTSD and a loosening grip on reality. He accepts a job from the merchant king of Kilay and becomes embroiled in a sociopolitical conspiracy that could lead to civil war.
Jespar is a charming protagonist that is prone to having random philosophical discussions (with modern concepts). He is brilliant and strong, but trauma from his mysterious past and painful memories and nightmares are plaguing even his wakeful hours, leading to impaired judgement and rash decisions that make him an unreliable and unstable narrator.
My favorite part of the book is right as it approaches part two onwards. This second part really ramps up the action and delivers a wholly satisfying climax to the mystery that was set up. The built-up tension and its eventual release kept me at the edge of my seat. As the plot unraveled, we see the brilliance of the scheme, the machinations behind the conspiracy, and the dramatic conclusion as things come to a head. It was spectacular actually. The ending though felt like it undermined much of the progress the characters made in service of setting up a sequel.
I received a copy of this book as part of a book tour.
montescrito's review against another edition
5.0
i loved everything about this book, but man those last 100 pages were truly something else i got this lump in my throat i wanted to hug and punch jespar at the same time so bad like why why why yeah i loved it.
gubz's review against another edition
2.0
No build up, no foreshadowing, no writing style that makes it immersive, and the plot was all over the place. Boo
charlotekerstenauthor's review against another edition
So What’s It About?
Years after a harrowing war experience, ex-mercenary Jespar Dal'Varek has taken to drifting. It's a lonely existence, but, barring the occasional bout of melancholia, he has found the closest thing to peace a man like him deserves. Life is "all right."
Or so he believes. Hoping to turn the page, Jespar accepts a mysterious invitation into the beautiful but dangerous archipelago of Kilay-and everything changes.
Plagued by explosive social tensions and terrorism, the tropical empire is edging ever closer to civil war. Kilay's merchant king is the only person able to prevent this catastrophe, but he has fallen into a preternatural coma-and it's Jespar's task to figure out what or who caused it. As the investigation takes him across the archipelago and into the king's nightmares, unexpected events not only tie Jespar's own life to the mystery but also unearth inner demons he believed to be long exorcised.
Battling old trauma while fighting for his life, his sanity, and the fate of Kilay, the line between dream and reality blurs until only one question remains: If your mind is the enemy, where do you run?
What I Thought
Like many others, my first exposure to Lietzau’s work was the full-conversion Skyrim mod Enderal: Forgotten Stories. I played about two hours and really enjoyed myself, but I ended up wandering in the wrong direction and facing an enemy I couldn’t defeat. Demoralized, I haven’t picked up the game again - but I do fully intend to return to it (she says while physically restraining herself from replaying Dragon Age). My understanding is that this book was originally set in the Enderal world but then had to be modified so that it wasn’t connected with Enderal anymore. If I’d played more, I’d be able to say more about this; as it stands, the world of Dreams of the Dying is definitely well-realized on its own.
I was fully absorbed while I read this book and I think Lietzau is a very intelligent person and a strong writer in many ways. I thoroughly enjoyed what I felt was an engaging plot, grisly horror elements, very cool magic in the forms of dreamwalking and shifting, and some powerful character development in the “Great Dreamer” Oonai. That being said, there were also a lot of things that did not work for me here and I decided that I wanted to spend some time talking about them here.
Many reviews have described this book as deeply philosophical, and that is definitely true. It is rife with discussions of capitalism, morality, oppression, and determinism vs. choice. The main character, Jespar, largely believes that people act however they do because it preserves their sense of self-identity and cognitive dissonance keeps them from examining alternatives. For example, Oonai needed to believe in the capitalist, individualist bootstraps narrative. Jespar’s fatalism itself is another example of this because of how mired he feels in his own issues. The character Lissja argues against his determinism at first, but her ultimate conclusion at the end of the book is an extension of Jespar’s theory: we don’t really have a choice in what we do, but we have to believe that we do because the alternative is so incredibly difficult to live with.
One of the things I wish Lietzau had explored more is the relationship between determinism and a sense of fatalism about suffering and oppression. Given that a large part of the book is about a revolution of the masses, I’m still not quite sure how this fits in with a philosophy of determinism. Doesn’t the idea that we have no real control over our lives and choices fit somewhat strangely with the ways that we see the colonized proletariat in this book successfully resist the status quo and fight back? Or, perhaps, is the idea that oppression and resistance follow each other in a predetermined cycle? This is touched on a bit when Lissa argues back against Jespar’s determinism, but I would have liked to have seen more of it.
I don’t know how true this is of philosophy in general, but some of Jespar’s arguments just feel so out of touch and needlessly granular to me - for example, he says that unless you have no money or spend it all on charity, everyone puts people’s needs above their own to some extent. Therefore a merchant who buys his wife a dress could be considered no more evil than a capitalist “Great Dreamer” who ruthlessly exploits and kills people to attain his power and wealth. Call me dumb, but to me they clearly are not the same????
I am also unsure how this fits with another statement of his, which is that only the net results of good and bad we achieve in our lives matter and the argument against violent resistance that “answering injustice with injustice will never be right.” If the achievement of the revolution is a society that moves forward free of its previous oppression, wouldn’t that be considered a positive net result, or is it canceled out by the bloodshed that accomplished it? It seems that Jespar’s argument is that the good would not cancel out the bad - but then wouldn’t the Great Dreamer’s net result of living a rich, happy life while killing and exploiting people for his own gain make his actions morally worse than the merchant buying his wife a dress?
Again, I only brushed up against these kinds of conversations the slightest bit in some undergrad seminars, so maybe the problem is me failing to truly understand the arguments at play here. As it stands though, the philosophy in this book largely left me feeling annoyed and frustrated, both because of the arguments as I understood them and the ways that they seemed to be incongruous even coming from the same character. I think another big problem is that these topics are largely explored via characters having long debates with each other, often at strange times such as while they are lost in an alley. (I probably only noticed this because it’s a flaw that is definitely also present in my own writing).
The other major part of this book is Jespar’s struggle with trauma, depression and suicidality. The author’s note makes it clear that this exploration comes from his personal journey and I have a great deal of respect for that experience and intention. The execution, however, feels somewhat unsuccessful to me. Jespar’s cycles of spiraling and nightmares got extremely tedious and I say that as someone who is currently doing this Trauma in SFF reading project. My basic argument is one that I see come up often when people discuss the depiction of mental health in Sanderson’s Stormlight Archives: yes, the experience of having mental illness is repetitive and frustrating and painful, but that doesn’t mean that the experience of reading about it has to be too.
It was to me here, particularly because Jespar has the same dream about the Corpse in the swamp over and over again. I do think it’s excellent thinking on Lietzau’s part to have his nosedive and rock bottom moment come at the end of the book after the intense trials of the plot are over - this makes a ton of sense because Jespar just had to push on in crisis mode until finally getting a chance for everything to hit him all at once. I think this is something that other authors could incorporate to great effect. But the problem is that the reader ticks through the final percentages of the book watching the character drink and wallow and make terrible decisions, wondering if there is going to be any kind of resolution. For me, at least, the resolution that does happen is not satisfying because it is so sudden. Jespar has a sudden breakthrough at the very end of the book and then sails off into the sunset with Lissja, who randomly happens to be on the same boat as him. Again, I do like that Lietzau did something unconventional with the main character’s arc but I think less repetition and more space for resolution would have made it more impactful. I've seen plenty of reviews talking about how impactful this book was for readers with mental health issues, so of course YMMV!
There’s also a lot of rape in this book, handled somewhat strangely to me. On more than one occasion Jespar just walks past women while they are being assaulted, and when he walked in on his soldier friend raping a girl in his backstory, he attacked his friend and then left the house with his friend and the girl still inside. I don’t think it requires a lot of insight to extrapolate what would happen after he left the house. I would actually be fine reading a story about a man who wasn’t able to intervene effectively in these assaults, and I feel like that could even be incorporated in the general morass of his regret and self-loathing. But the strange thing is that Lietzau just doesn’t really do that?? Jespar is traumatized by what happens with his friend, but the general message he beats himself up with is that he brings bad luck and suffering wherever he goes. There are no thoughts about what happens to any of these women after Jespar leaves, no moments of him truly being conflicted by his lack of effective intervention in a meaningful way or anything like that. It felt strange and fridge-y to me, and an extremely tasteless rape joke hinging on Jespar’s alcoholism further soured my feelings about how the topic was handled and how prominent it was in the story.
A couple of random scattered thoughts about other things that didn’t work for me - many characters speak in a hackneyed lower-class accent that is spelled out in vernacular, which I never really like. Also, there are a surprising and (to me) excessive number of references to scaphism or threats to have characters killed with scaphism. By the end I wasn’t grossed out by the descriptions anymore, just puzzled as to why there were so many of them.
There was a lot here that did not work for me, but I mentioned earlier that a number of the books main elements did feel stronger to me. The sticking points that bothered me might not be as consequential to other readers, and there is a lot that makes this book a unique and powerful read. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next book while hoping that some of those rough edges get smoothed down…and maybe I’ll go back to Enderal and try not to die again.
Years after a harrowing war experience, ex-mercenary Jespar Dal'Varek has taken to drifting. It's a lonely existence, but, barring the occasional bout of melancholia, he has found the closest thing to peace a man like him deserves. Life is "all right."
Or so he believes. Hoping to turn the page, Jespar accepts a mysterious invitation into the beautiful but dangerous archipelago of Kilay-and everything changes.
Plagued by explosive social tensions and terrorism, the tropical empire is edging ever closer to civil war. Kilay's merchant king is the only person able to prevent this catastrophe, but he has fallen into a preternatural coma-and it's Jespar's task to figure out what or who caused it. As the investigation takes him across the archipelago and into the king's nightmares, unexpected events not only tie Jespar's own life to the mystery but also unearth inner demons he believed to be long exorcised.
Battling old trauma while fighting for his life, his sanity, and the fate of Kilay, the line between dream and reality blurs until only one question remains: If your mind is the enemy, where do you run?
What I Thought
Like many others, my first exposure to Lietzau’s work was the full-conversion Skyrim mod Enderal: Forgotten Stories. I played about two hours and really enjoyed myself, but I ended up wandering in the wrong direction and facing an enemy I couldn’t defeat. Demoralized, I haven’t picked up the game again - but I do fully intend to return to it (she says while physically restraining herself from replaying Dragon Age). My understanding is that this book was originally set in the Enderal world but then had to be modified so that it wasn’t connected with Enderal anymore. If I’d played more, I’d be able to say more about this; as it stands, the world of Dreams of the Dying is definitely well-realized on its own.
I was fully absorbed while I read this book and I think Lietzau is a very intelligent person and a strong writer in many ways. I thoroughly enjoyed what I felt was an engaging plot, grisly horror elements, very cool magic in the forms of dreamwalking and shifting, and some powerful character development in the “Great Dreamer” Oonai. That being said, there were also a lot of things that did not work for me here and I decided that I wanted to spend some time talking about them here.
Many reviews have described this book as deeply philosophical, and that is definitely true. It is rife with discussions of capitalism, morality, oppression, and determinism vs. choice. The main character, Jespar, largely believes that people act however they do because it preserves their sense of self-identity and cognitive dissonance keeps them from examining alternatives. For example, Oonai needed to believe in the capitalist, individualist bootstraps narrative. Jespar’s fatalism itself is another example of this because of how mired he feels in his own issues. The character Lissja argues against his determinism at first, but her ultimate conclusion at the end of the book is an extension of Jespar’s theory: we don’t really have a choice in what we do, but we have to believe that we do because the alternative is so incredibly difficult to live with.
One of the things I wish Lietzau had explored more is the relationship between determinism and a sense of fatalism about suffering and oppression. Given that a large part of the book is about a revolution of the masses, I’m still not quite sure how this fits in with a philosophy of determinism. Doesn’t the idea that we have no real control over our lives and choices fit somewhat strangely with the ways that we see the colonized proletariat in this book successfully resist the status quo and fight back? Or, perhaps, is the idea that oppression and resistance follow each other in a predetermined cycle? This is touched on a bit when Lissa argues back against Jespar’s determinism, but I would have liked to have seen more of it.
I don’t know how true this is of philosophy in general, but some of Jespar’s arguments just feel so out of touch and needlessly granular to me - for example, he says that unless you have no money or spend it all on charity, everyone puts people’s needs above their own to some extent. Therefore a merchant who buys his wife a dress could be considered no more evil than a capitalist “Great Dreamer” who ruthlessly exploits and kills people to attain his power and wealth. Call me dumb, but to me they clearly are not the same????
I am also unsure how this fits with another statement of his, which is that only the net results of good and bad we achieve in our lives matter and the argument against violent resistance that “answering injustice with injustice will never be right.” If the achievement of the revolution is a society that moves forward free of its previous oppression, wouldn’t that be considered a positive net result, or is it canceled out by the bloodshed that accomplished it? It seems that Jespar’s argument is that the good would not cancel out the bad - but then wouldn’t the Great Dreamer’s net result of living a rich, happy life while killing and exploiting people for his own gain make his actions morally worse than the merchant buying his wife a dress?
Again, I only brushed up against these kinds of conversations the slightest bit in some undergrad seminars, so maybe the problem is me failing to truly understand the arguments at play here. As it stands though, the philosophy in this book largely left me feeling annoyed and frustrated, both because of the arguments as I understood them and the ways that they seemed to be incongruous even coming from the same character. I think another big problem is that these topics are largely explored via characters having long debates with each other, often at strange times such as while they are lost in an alley. (I probably only noticed this because it’s a flaw that is definitely also present in my own writing).
The other major part of this book is Jespar’s struggle with trauma, depression and suicidality. The author’s note makes it clear that this exploration comes from his personal journey and I have a great deal of respect for that experience and intention. The execution, however, feels somewhat unsuccessful to me. Jespar’s cycles of spiraling and nightmares got extremely tedious and I say that as someone who is currently doing this Trauma in SFF reading project. My basic argument is one that I see come up often when people discuss the depiction of mental health in Sanderson’s Stormlight Archives: yes, the experience of having mental illness is repetitive and frustrating and painful, but that doesn’t mean that the experience of reading about it has to be too.
It was to me here, particularly because Jespar has the same dream about the Corpse in the swamp over and over again. I do think it’s excellent thinking on Lietzau’s part to have his nosedive and rock bottom moment come at the end of the book after the intense trials of the plot are over - this makes a ton of sense because Jespar just had to push on in crisis mode until finally getting a chance for everything to hit him all at once. I think this is something that other authors could incorporate to great effect. But the problem is that the reader ticks through the final percentages of the book watching the character drink and wallow and make terrible decisions, wondering if there is going to be any kind of resolution. For me, at least, the resolution that does happen is not satisfying because it is so sudden. Jespar has a sudden breakthrough at the very end of the book and then sails off into the sunset with Lissja, who randomly happens to be on the same boat as him. Again, I do like that Lietzau did something unconventional with the main character’s arc but I think less repetition and more space for resolution would have made it more impactful. I've seen plenty of reviews talking about how impactful this book was for readers with mental health issues, so of course YMMV!
There’s also a lot of rape in this book, handled somewhat strangely to me. On more than one occasion Jespar just walks past women while they are being assaulted, and when he walked in on his soldier friend raping a girl in his backstory, he attacked his friend and then left the house with his friend and the girl still inside. I don’t think it requires a lot of insight to extrapolate what would happen after he left the house. I would actually be fine reading a story about a man who wasn’t able to intervene effectively in these assaults, and I feel like that could even be incorporated in the general morass of his regret and self-loathing. But the strange thing is that Lietzau just doesn’t really do that?? Jespar is traumatized by what happens with his friend, but the general message he beats himself up with is that he brings bad luck and suffering wherever he goes. There are no thoughts about what happens to any of these women after Jespar leaves, no moments of him truly being conflicted by his lack of effective intervention in a meaningful way or anything like that. It felt strange and fridge-y to me, and an extremely tasteless rape joke hinging on Jespar’s alcoholism further soured my feelings about how the topic was handled and how prominent it was in the story.
A couple of random scattered thoughts about other things that didn’t work for me - many characters speak in a hackneyed lower-class accent that is spelled out in vernacular, which I never really like. Also, there are a surprising and (to me) excessive number of references to scaphism or threats to have characters killed with scaphism. By the end I wasn’t grossed out by the descriptions anymore, just puzzled as to why there were so many of them.
There was a lot here that did not work for me, but I mentioned earlier that a number of the books main elements did feel stronger to me. The sticking points that bothered me might not be as consequential to other readers, and there is a lot that makes this book a unique and powerful read. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next book while hoping that some of those rough edges get smoothed down…and maybe I’ll go back to Enderal and try not to die again.
fitzsbeloved's review
5.0
I’m sad. I’m angry. I want the next book but also do I WANT to put myself through more pain?
jolietjane's review against another edition
Not rating this. It was good and I think id like to come back to it, but every time I picked it up, i was searching for something else to do/got distracted. It put me in a huge slump despite being very cool and well written.
elros451's review
2.0
EDIT: this has gone down a lot upon thinking about it more, its probably more around 2-2.5 stars. The initial review is still below though.
3.5/5
The first and second half of this book really are two different things entirely. It made a slow climb from nearly DNF'd 2 stars to the rating it is now because the second half was so good.
The first half is bogged down by an insta-love, love triangle. In the second half that went away until it was actually relevant to the story for it to be there.
The first half had a bunch of navel-gazing discussion that seemed tacked on. In the second half they actually made sense to be there and were, again, relevant to what was happening.
The dialogue in the first half was horrible. I don't know if Lietzau suddenly was a better writer but the second half had much better conversations. (And fewer weird modern phrases was well. The phrase 'true that' does not fit in a fantasy book lmao.)
And after a couple of events the plot really just flew by the for the last 350 pages, with the last 100 being what I can only describe a 'rewarding trudge' through the head of the main character.
The character work with Jespar and 'The Man' really really do shine in this book. Watching both their stories/backstories unfold was really compelling. I couldn't help but wonder if I would have been connected to Jespar sooner if I had been given more of his backstory sooner as well. But that would be such a dramatic shift to the novel that it's impossible to tell. And as it stands, it turned out amazingly anyways.
And its also hard not to give the book mega points for worldbuilding when there are 100ish pages of drawings and extras in the back of the hardcover. The tropical archipelago setting was truly unique and wonderful throughout.
3.5/5
The first and second half of this book really are two different things entirely. It made a slow climb from nearly DNF'd 2 stars to the rating it is now because the second half was so good.
The first half is bogged down by an insta-love, love triangle. In the second half that went away until it was actually relevant to the story for it to be there.
The first half had a bunch of navel-gazing discussion that seemed tacked on. In the second half they actually made sense to be there and were, again, relevant to what was happening.
The dialogue in the first half was horrible. I don't know if Lietzau suddenly was a better writer but the second half had much better conversations. (And fewer weird modern phrases was well. The phrase 'true that' does not fit in a fantasy book lmao.)
And after a couple of events the plot really just flew by the for the last 350 pages, with the last 100 being what I can only describe a 'rewarding trudge' through the head of the main character.
The character work with Jespar and 'The Man' really really do shine in this book. Watching both their stories/backstories unfold was really compelling. I couldn't help but wonder if I would have been connected to Jespar sooner if I had been given more of his backstory sooner as well. But that would be such a dramatic shift to the novel that it's impossible to tell. And as it stands, it turned out amazingly anyways.
And its also hard not to give the book mega points for worldbuilding when there are 100ish pages of drawings and extras in the back of the hardcover. The tropical archipelago setting was truly unique and wonderful throughout.