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hannahsophialin's review
4.0
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Every time the concept “body invasion” appears in a book, I regard it with absolute awe and creepiness (an odd combination, methinks).
Have I mentioned I feel really disturbed over the idea of someone – a dreamstrider – having the ability to take control of your body and access to your thoughts while unconscious, even for a short period of time?
The concept, however, is uber-cool. Smith brings us to a fantasy world where using dreams in the form of espionage is completely acceptable – as a dreamstrider, Livia works for the ministry, and she inhabits another person’s body while they are asleep.
If I placed Livia in a character category, she would be right next to Alina Starkov from Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy. Over the course of the book, she’s on the downside; on the plus side, it fits so well with Livia’s character and past. Livia lived her entire life as a tunneler, trying to survive day by day until she meets Professor Hesse, where she is introduced to her potential as a dreamstrider and the good she can do for the empire for her citizenship and freedom.
Unlike Alina Starkov (Alina is too mopey over Mal, okay?), Livia’s mope is more realistic. She has big dreams and strives to achieve them, crushes over her best friend (it’s harder for males to be one of my best friends – that circle is elite), secretly sweet, and insecure/cautious about many things.
But enough about Livia and how she’s secretly awesome even though she will never ever admit it. I didn’t feel very into Dreamstrider – the passphrases in the Land of the Iron Winds are written in a very rhythmic style, but I didn’t care too much aside from the fact it sounds poetic. But poetry and I don’t get along, and this is why I will never read Ellen Hopkins. I have nothing against the author, though.
Ellen Hopkins aside, dreaming is a big deal – it plays a part in almost everything in the Barstadt Empire, but it felt more like a cultural thing (like Greek myths are to Greeks). I’m taking it all in, but the whole dreaming thing? It’s just there, and the only big deal seemed to be using dreaming in detective work and finding out information. The whole point of the book is really just Livia becoming more confident in not just herself, but her abilities. By the end of the book, I felt satisfied, but I just wanted more from the book.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
Every time the concept “body invasion” appears in a book, I regard it with absolute awe and creepiness (an odd combination, methinks).
Have I mentioned I feel really disturbed over the idea of someone – a dreamstrider – having the ability to take control of your body and access to your thoughts while unconscious, even for a short period of time?
The concept, however, is uber-cool. Smith brings us to a fantasy world where using dreams in the form of espionage is completely acceptable – as a dreamstrider, Livia works for the ministry, and she inhabits another person’s body while they are asleep.
If I placed Livia in a character category, she would be right next to Alina Starkov from Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha trilogy. Over the course of the book, she’s on the downside; on the plus side, it fits so well with Livia’s character and past. Livia lived her entire life as a tunneler, trying to survive day by day until she meets Professor Hesse, where she is introduced to her potential as a dreamstrider and the good she can do for the empire for her citizenship and freedom.
Unlike Alina Starkov (Alina is too mopey over Mal, okay?), Livia’s mope is more realistic. She has big dreams and strives to achieve them, crushes over her best friend (it’s harder for males to be one of my best friends – that circle is elite), secretly sweet, and insecure/cautious about many things.
But enough about Livia and how she’s secretly awesome even though she will never ever admit it. I didn’t feel very into Dreamstrider – the passphrases in the Land of the Iron Winds are written in a very rhythmic style, but I didn’t care too much aside from the fact it sounds poetic. But poetry and I don’t get along, and this is why I will never read Ellen Hopkins. I have nothing against the author, though.
Ellen Hopkins aside, dreaming is a big deal – it plays a part in almost everything in the Barstadt Empire, but it felt more like a cultural thing (like Greek myths are to Greeks). I’m taking it all in, but the whole dreaming thing? It’s just there, and the only big deal seemed to be using dreaming in detective work and finding out information. The whole point of the book is really just Livia becoming more confident in not just herself, but her abilities. By the end of the book, I felt satisfied, but I just wanted more from the book.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
groundedwanderlust's review against another edition
3.0
Full Review on blogger: http://groundedwanderlust.blogspot.com/2015/10/arc-review-dreamstrider-by-lindsay-smith.html
I first saw the cover here on goodreads. I thought it was absolutely gorgeous and it was part of the reason why I initially wanted to read this book. Having a physical copy in hand, the cover is just as gorgeous as I thought it would be but it's a little creepy too. I will admit though, I still have no idea how the cover ties into the story. I'm probably just missing something obvious though.
Initially, I had a lot of trouble getting into this book. If I hadn't promised Emma that I would review the book, I probably would have DNFed it after the first couple of chapters. That would have been a mistake. It took me about five chapters to be fully invested in the story but after that I was hooked. I think the slow start for me is completely attributable to the lack of world building.
Overall, I liked Dreamstrider but I didn't love it. The story had so much potential but fell just short of achieving it. The characters and overall story were the high points. The lack of world building was a serious detracting point though. Because of that, I have to give this story 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I first saw the cover here on goodreads. I thought it was absolutely gorgeous and it was part of the reason why I initially wanted to read this book. Having a physical copy in hand, the cover is just as gorgeous as I thought it would be but it's a little creepy too. I will admit though, I still have no idea how the cover ties into the story. I'm probably just missing something obvious though.
Initially, I had a lot of trouble getting into this book. If I hadn't promised Emma that I would review the book, I probably would have DNFed it after the first couple of chapters. That would have been a mistake. It took me about five chapters to be fully invested in the story but after that I was hooked. I think the slow start for me is completely attributable to the lack of world building.
Overall, I liked Dreamstrider but I didn't love it. The story had so much potential but fell just short of achieving it. The characters and overall story were the high points. The lack of world building was a serious detracting point though. Because of that, I have to give this story 3.5 out of 5 stars.
theartolater's review against another edition
3.0
With absolutely gorgeous prose with a questionable plot and what might be a mismarketing effort, Dreamstrider is absolutely one of the more different books I've read recently for this age group. A story basically about people who can shift themselves into the dream states and use it to spy and gain information, the idea ultimately ends up being superior to the execution, which promises more political intrigue and such than it ends up delivering.
While I think older teens and adults who enjoy this sort of prose will find something to love, the end result for me was just something that I felt had more potential than it ended up showing. Wouldn't be my first teen fantasy pick, but not one to completely ignore unless you're looking for something more straightforward.
While I think older teens and adults who enjoy this sort of prose will find something to love, the end result for me was just something that I felt had more potential than it ended up showing. Wouldn't be my first teen fantasy pick, but not one to completely ignore unless you're looking for something more straightforward.
lostinagoodread's review against another edition
4.0
This review and others can be found on Cozy Up With A Good Read
Well this book definitely had an interesting concept, I'm not too sure on all my feelings about the story, while I was truly taken with everything that was happening, I think I felt lost a couple of times too. But this story intrigued me a lot, the idea that there is a team trying to get political information through people's dreams... Lindsay Smith had a unique idea and truly brought a story that is full of intrigue, drama and even some romance.
Livia has worked hard to become a great dreamstrider, though there have been difficulties in her past she has worked through them and is one of the best talents so that she is able to work as a spy for the Barstadt Empire. There is a lot of tension throughout the story, Livia and her partner are having some issues and when a new opportunity arises for Livia with a neighbouring kingdom that has come to help them with their assignment, she begins to debate starting anew. Livia has a huge crossroad, one that could be very dangerous, and she is already playing a dangerous game in her job. She is very dedicated though and you can see that she truly regrets her past mistakes and she works hard to make up for them. The other problem for Livia is that she is trying to live up to what people say about her being the best, she doesn't want to look bad to those she looks up to the most in her life and it makes her that much more dedicated to what she does.
I really enjoyed the dream sequences, it was very high fantasy and yet so adventurous as well. The dream world added in some extra danger to the world, at times I kind of felt like there were two different storylines happening in the book, and that confused me sometimes, but by the end I was able to put everything together. I actually enjoyed the dangerous dream story a bit more, Livia is still growing and learning a lot throughout the novel and I always love a book where the main character still has things to understand, there is this rising arc to the story.
There is a lot of world building that and it Lindsay Smith takes her time bringing the reader into the Dreamstrider world, but if you stick through it the story is very well done and I can say it is always interesting. The story has a little bit of everything that will bring in readers from all genres, it's a fun story with a great fantasy world and also mixed into a realistic world with political drama. Definitely give this book a go.
Well this book definitely had an interesting concept, I'm not too sure on all my feelings about the story, while I was truly taken with everything that was happening, I think I felt lost a couple of times too. But this story intrigued me a lot, the idea that there is a team trying to get political information through people's dreams... Lindsay Smith had a unique idea and truly brought a story that is full of intrigue, drama and even some romance.
Livia has worked hard to become a great dreamstrider, though there have been difficulties in her past she has worked through them and is one of the best talents so that she is able to work as a spy for the Barstadt Empire. There is a lot of tension throughout the story, Livia and her partner are having some issues and when a new opportunity arises for Livia with a neighbouring kingdom that has come to help them with their assignment, she begins to debate starting anew. Livia has a huge crossroad, one that could be very dangerous, and she is already playing a dangerous game in her job. She is very dedicated though and you can see that she truly regrets her past mistakes and she works hard to make up for them. The other problem for Livia is that she is trying to live up to what people say about her being the best, she doesn't want to look bad to those she looks up to the most in her life and it makes her that much more dedicated to what she does.
I really enjoyed the dream sequences, it was very high fantasy and yet so adventurous as well. The dream world added in some extra danger to the world, at times I kind of felt like there were two different storylines happening in the book, and that confused me sometimes, but by the end I was able to put everything together. I actually enjoyed the dangerous dream story a bit more, Livia is still growing and learning a lot throughout the novel and I always love a book where the main character still has things to understand, there is this rising arc to the story.
There is a lot of world building that and it Lindsay Smith takes her time bringing the reader into the Dreamstrider world, but if you stick through it the story is very well done and I can say it is always interesting. The story has a little bit of everything that will bring in readers from all genres, it's a fun story with a great fantasy world and also mixed into a realistic world with political drama. Definitely give this book a go.
cyborgcinderella's review against another edition
2.0
My initial impression of this book ended up being much more impressive than my actual feelings after reading it. I was intrigued by both the cover and the premise, both of which turned out to be, in my opinion, more interesting than the book.
I found this book to have an intriguing plot, which is what kept me reading until the end. I was hoping to get more from it by the end of the novel, but I found a few things to be missing from what could have been a very entertaining and unique story. For instance, the lack of world-building made it difficult to feel immersed in the story. We get only very vague explanations of what kind of world the characters live in, where the protagonist came from and how she came to be where she is now. I would have liked to have been given more details about how she learned to dreamstride and what exactly it entailed. After the initial prologue, you're taken directly into a scenario where she dreamstrides, which could have worked well if the author had taken the time afterwards to explain how the process works and how Livia came to become a dreamstrider. I also would have liked to know more about Livia's backstory and what the tunnel world is like, as well as the aristocratic world and how Livia fits into it. We only get Livia's feelings and memories about these things, but it would have felt more complete to know facts about them as well.
I also felt that for a majority of the book, things just seemed to be going around in circles. While each mission that Livia and her friends go on involved different people and one overarching goal, it felt like everything was just kind of repeating itself and that there wasn't anything new about what they underwent each time. The dreamstriding and the undercover operations began to feel formulaic after the first mission. I also found that Livia was very repetitive as well, harping on the same feelings and anxieties throughout pretty much the entirety of the novel with very little character growth. I found it difficult to like her as a character when she acted in a very self-deprecating manner for most of the story, and even her eventually belief in herself came at the very end, and only because it seemed convenient for the plot.
The ending felt a little rushed, with so much happening in the last 30 pages that it felt somewhat forced. I also found the ending to be a little cheesy and unrealistic, even for a fantasy novel.
Overall, I found that I kept reading because I was interested in the plot and was hoping for something to match my initial opinion of the book.
I found this book to have an intriguing plot, which is what kept me reading until the end. I was hoping to get more from it by the end of the novel, but I found a few things to be missing from what could have been a very entertaining and unique story. For instance, the lack of world-building made it difficult to feel immersed in the story. We get only very vague explanations of what kind of world the characters live in, where the protagonist came from and how she came to be where she is now. I would have liked to have been given more details about how she learned to dreamstride and what exactly it entailed. After the initial prologue, you're taken directly into a scenario where she dreamstrides, which could have worked well if the author had taken the time afterwards to explain how the process works and how Livia came to become a dreamstrider. I also would have liked to know more about Livia's backstory and what the tunnel world is like, as well as the aristocratic world and how Livia fits into it. We only get Livia's feelings and memories about these things, but it would have felt more complete to know facts about them as well.
I also felt that for a majority of the book, things just seemed to be going around in circles. While each mission that Livia and her friends go on involved different people and one overarching goal, it felt like everything was just kind of repeating itself and that there wasn't anything new about what they underwent each time. The dreamstriding and the undercover operations began to feel formulaic after the first mission. I also found that Livia was very repetitive as well, harping on the same feelings and anxieties throughout pretty much the entirety of the novel with very little character growth. I found it difficult to like her as a character when she acted in a very self-deprecating manner for most of the story, and even her eventually belief in herself came at the very end, and only because it seemed convenient for the plot.
The ending felt a little rushed, with so much happening in the last 30 pages that it felt somewhat forced. I also found the ending to be a little cheesy and unrealistic, even for a fantasy novel.
Overall, I found that I kept reading because I was interested in the plot and was hoping for something to match my initial opinion of the book.
skelleycat's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't even know about Dreamstrider until my sister just about blew a gasket when she saw an ARC of it at a bookish event we were attending. Well, dreams are a fascination of mine, so of course I had to check this book out!
The world building can make or break a fantasy novel, and Dreamstrider was rich with immersive lore. When you can slide right into an interesting, but completely different world, it's so good! The level of detail was perfect to keep me intrigued and comfortable understanding the nuances of Livia's world.
The blending of magic and science was delightfully creative. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that the entire concept of dreamstriding really piqued my interest. The writing was lyrical and vivid (I can't tell you how many times I had to stop myself from underlining a sentence), which served to deepen the whole experience.
The villain was unusual, and I appreciated the exploration of concepts like gods, challenging/ examining one's religious beliefs, and truly valuing oneself. I do think that a few things were on the predictable or ~that was easy~ side, but it didn't lower my enjoyment of the book to much.
Dreamstrider was a GREAT read, and if it wasn't on your TBR yet, it should be now!
The world building can make or break a fantasy novel, and Dreamstrider was rich with immersive lore. When you can slide right into an interesting, but completely different world, it's so good! The level of detail was perfect to keep me intrigued and comfortable understanding the nuances of Livia's world.
The blending of magic and science was delightfully creative. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just say that the entire concept of dreamstriding really piqued my interest. The writing was lyrical and vivid (I can't tell you how many times I had to stop myself from underlining a sentence), which served to deepen the whole experience.
The villain was unusual, and I appreciated the exploration of concepts like gods, challenging/ examining one's religious beliefs, and truly valuing oneself. I do think that a few things were on the predictable or ~that was easy~ side, but it didn't lower my enjoyment of the book to much.
Dreamstrider was a GREAT read, and if it wasn't on your TBR yet, it should be now!
shay23's review
5.0
Actual rating: 4.5 Stars
*I received an advanced review copy of this book through Netgalley*
Can we start with the cover? Because it's a work of beauty. I would hang that on my wall, no lie.
More importantly! This book. Oh, I loved this book. I am fascinated by anything to do with dreams (though they also kind of freak me out) and a YA fantasy book about dreams? That's really all I knew about it, but it was enough!
Livia is a dreamstrider, the only one as far as she knows. This means she can go into the dream world, called Oneiros, which only select few (mainly the priests to the Dreamer) can do. What's even more unusual is that she can dreamstride, take over other people's bodies in the real world while they dream. This makes Livia the perfect spy -- or it should at least.
I have to say what really made me love this book so much is the world. I've never read anything like it, everything little thing felt new and unique. I loved the idea that their god (basically) was the Dreamer and their devil (again, basically) was Nightmare. Just, think about that for a moment, how can it not intrigue you?
Dreamstrider really brings it with its amazing world and premise. There's secrets, deception, greed, lots of bad things, and so much espionage! I'm not the biggest fan of espionage/political fantasy type books but I was so intrigued by the world and plot, so in love with the characters, I completely forgot that it wasn't my favorite thing.
The characters! Ah, as if I didn't love enough about this book already. Livia is not your average main character who's the chosen one and good at everything. As far as she can tell, she's not really good at much. Even Dreamstridering. She's convinced the Dreamer gave her this gift for a reason but she's also plagued with doubts and memories of all her past failures. She's flawed and uncertain and such a well-written character.
I admit, I have a ship or two, not going to say who but there's plenty of moments for subtle swooning. The romance never takes over the plot and there isn't even a wisp of insta love.
I'm having a hard time writing a coherent review... Just know you should go and read it as soon as possible okay?
I know what you're thinking, if I loved this so much, why the half star? Well, I did love it and once I got into it I was really into it. I wanted to drown myself in this world and characters. But parts were slow and it dragged just a little in the beginning and middle. And for once I wanted the romance to pick up, okay!?
Overall: I really enjoyed this one. It's a great fantasy novel and I was not disappointed by the dream related things that I was so looking forward to. Highly recommended!
*I received an advanced review copy of this book through Netgalley*
Can we start with the cover? Because it's a work of beauty. I would hang that on my wall, no lie.
More importantly! This book. Oh, I loved this book. I am fascinated by anything to do with dreams (though they also kind of freak me out) and a YA fantasy book about dreams? That's really all I knew about it, but it was enough!
Livia is a dreamstrider, the only one as far as she knows. This means she can go into the dream world, called Oneiros, which only select few (mainly the priests to the Dreamer) can do. What's even more unusual is that she can dreamstride, take over other people's bodies in the real world while they dream. This makes Livia the perfect spy -- or it should at least.
I have to say what really made me love this book so much is the world. I've never read anything like it, everything little thing felt new and unique. I loved the idea that their god (basically) was the Dreamer and their devil (again, basically) was Nightmare. Just, think about that for a moment, how can it not intrigue you?
Dreamstrider really brings it with its amazing world and premise. There's secrets, deception, greed, lots of bad things, and so much espionage! I'm not the biggest fan of espionage/political fantasy type books but I was so intrigued by the world and plot, so in love with the characters, I completely forgot that it wasn't my favorite thing.
The characters! Ah, as if I didn't love enough about this book already. Livia is not your average main character who's the chosen one and good at everything. As far as she can tell, she's not really good at much. Even Dreamstridering. She's convinced the Dreamer gave her this gift for a reason but she's also plagued with doubts and memories of all her past failures. She's flawed and uncertain and such a well-written character.
I admit, I have a ship or two, not going to say who but there's plenty of moments for subtle swooning. The romance never takes over the plot and there isn't even a wisp of insta love.
I'm having a hard time writing a coherent review... Just know you should go and read it as soon as possible okay?
I know what you're thinking, if I loved this so much, why the half star? Well, I did love it and once I got into it I was really into it. I wanted to drown myself in this world and characters. But parts were slow and it dragged just a little in the beginning and middle. And for once I wanted the romance to pick up, okay!?
Overall: I really enjoyed this one. It's a great fantasy novel and I was not disappointed by the dream related things that I was so looking forward to. Highly recommended!
amalyndb's review against another edition
4.0
A very different sort of fantasy, where Livia, the main character functions as a spy for her government by taking over the bodies of sleeping dreamers. She works as part of a team with other operatives and together they discover that enemies of their country are working together to disrupt the fragile seeming functional balance of aristocrats, gang leaders and underclass tunnel laborers and unleash Nightmare upon them all.
Odd (in that it is hard to explain or synopsis to someone without sounding kind of ridiculous) but enjoyable.
Odd (in that it is hard to explain or synopsis to someone without sounding kind of ridiculous) but enjoyable.
dtaylorbooks's review against another edition
2.0
DREAMSTRIDER is a book that I should really love but I kind of don’t. I liked the world and how it visually formed in my mind but I keep finding myself getting hung up around the concept of dreamstriding. I just don’t see how it’s actually done and every time it happened I wondered more about how it was even happening than I cared about what was really going on in the book, plot-wise, and it just kept drawing me out.
While I liked the world there wasn’t a whole lot that was unique about it. In the country/area that Livia lived there were the super wealthy, the educated, and pretty much everyone else living in tunnels. Where wasn’t a whole lot about Barstadt itself that was brought into the writing to make it its own entity. There was a university and the capitol area but that’s it. There was the Land of the Iron Winds that was dark and dreary and that’s pretty much the extent of that area. Everything was mostly mentioned in passing. So while I could picture the world pretty vividly it’s because it was relying on rather stock fantasy tropes to exist. That stuff was already in my head so it drew out bits and pieces and put a picture together for me.
What was different about it was the dream world, Oneiros. It’s a world shaped by priests and there’s a constant threat of darkness and nightmares looming that could pull a wayward person’s soul/essence in and they’d get lost forever in a dream world. Plus in the real world was the remains of a real creature called Nightmare who’s spine was sitting up on a mountain in view of Barstadt, constantly reminding people that it was once a thing pulled from actual nightmares that terrorized the world and now is no longer. Or is it . . .?
The concept of dreamstriding is where this all falls apart for me because I just can’t picture how it’s done. Livia goes into Oneiros, physically leaving her body under someone’s protection in the real world, where she’ll seek out her target. Once she finds her target she coaxes their dream world entity (usually some kind of creature?) into complacency so she can then get access to the person’s real world body. But she’s both consciously in the dream world, shushing the person’s subconscious so they don’t wake up, and in the real world working that person’s body. It’s this straddling two different places, psychically, that I just don’t get. Because Livia’s dream self is somewhat corporeal. But so is her real self, plus the self she’s occupying, that isn’t always herself. So while her body is just an empty shell that apparently doesn’t have a soul occupying it at the moment she’s dreamstriding (and if she doesn’t detach herself right from her current host she could lose her way back to her body and, presumably, get stuck in a dream state forever, I think?) Livia is asleep and in the dream world but lucid, caressing someone’s subconscious so they don’t wake up while consciously controlling their body in the real world. You see what I mean? It’s really not connecting for me. And since it’s the title of the book and thus the main premise of the whole thing, the rest of the story kind of crumbles.
I liked Livia in a very standard, stock oppressed person sort of way. She was a tunneler, the lowest of the low, brought up from the dredges of the world because she had this unique talent, only to find out she’s really not that good but she’s all they have so they tolerate her. And hang her citizenship papers over her head for it (because the people at the bottom of society aren’t actually citizens and are ruled by gang lords and have been forever and their only uprising has been a bill they’ve been trying to get passed to give them freedom (seriously, no physical uprisings?)). She’s in love with a guy who’s well out of her social station but he’s her partner at the ministry and they do have a great friendship but it’s very typical in that regard. The love that develops is atypical for the genre, which I did like. It’s always nice to see people who’ve known each other for a long time (in this case I think close to ten years) gravitate toward each other. So refreshing against insta-love that tends to pervade the arena.
Overall the book but just . . . meh. With fantasy taking place in an entirely other world I need it to be its own character and exist on its own. This one doesn’t and like I said before I did like the world but it’s not unique unto itself. There’s nothing special about the world, the people in it, its problems. It’s all very . . . standard. And that can have the unfortunate effect of not leaving a mark. And then my dreamstriding problem. The main thing making this world unique isn’t held together in my head so with that crumbling there isn’t much left to make it stand on its own.
The characters were fine but nothing that really left much of an impression. It was an okay book but in the fantasy regard it fell rather short. The religion it had was neat but it wasn’t explored in detail beyond passing mentions of priests and a pool in a temple and Livia praying to the Dreamer a lot so even that didn’t live up to its potential at all. I mean it’s a neat story and I think it’s worth the read but I don’t think it really holds a candle to other like-fantasy novels.
2
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
While I liked the world there wasn’t a whole lot that was unique about it. In the country/area that Livia lived there were the super wealthy, the educated, and pretty much everyone else living in tunnels. Where wasn’t a whole lot about Barstadt itself that was brought into the writing to make it its own entity. There was a university and the capitol area but that’s it. There was the Land of the Iron Winds that was dark and dreary and that’s pretty much the extent of that area. Everything was mostly mentioned in passing. So while I could picture the world pretty vividly it’s because it was relying on rather stock fantasy tropes to exist. That stuff was already in my head so it drew out bits and pieces and put a picture together for me.
What was different about it was the dream world, Oneiros. It’s a world shaped by priests and there’s a constant threat of darkness and nightmares looming that could pull a wayward person’s soul/essence in and they’d get lost forever in a dream world. Plus in the real world was the remains of a real creature called Nightmare who’s spine was sitting up on a mountain in view of Barstadt, constantly reminding people that it was once a thing pulled from actual nightmares that terrorized the world and now is no longer. Or is it . . .?
The concept of dreamstriding is where this all falls apart for me because I just can’t picture how it’s done. Livia goes into Oneiros, physically leaving her body under someone’s protection in the real world, where she’ll seek out her target. Once she finds her target she coaxes their dream world entity (usually some kind of creature?) into complacency so she can then get access to the person’s real world body. But she’s both consciously in the dream world, shushing the person’s subconscious so they don’t wake up, and in the real world working that person’s body. It’s this straddling two different places, psychically, that I just don’t get. Because Livia’s dream self is somewhat corporeal. But so is her real self, plus the self she’s occupying, that isn’t always herself. So while her body is just an empty shell that apparently doesn’t have a soul occupying it at the moment she’s dreamstriding (and if she doesn’t detach herself right from her current host she could lose her way back to her body and, presumably, get stuck in a dream state forever, I think?) Livia is asleep and in the dream world but lucid, caressing someone’s subconscious so they don’t wake up while consciously controlling their body in the real world. You see what I mean? It’s really not connecting for me. And since it’s the title of the book and thus the main premise of the whole thing, the rest of the story kind of crumbles.
I liked Livia in a very standard, stock oppressed person sort of way. She was a tunneler, the lowest of the low, brought up from the dredges of the world because she had this unique talent, only to find out she’s really not that good but she’s all they have so they tolerate her. And hang her citizenship papers over her head for it (because the people at the bottom of society aren’t actually citizens and are ruled by gang lords and have been forever and their only uprising has been a bill they’ve been trying to get passed to give them freedom (seriously, no physical uprisings?)). She’s in love with a guy who’s well out of her social station but he’s her partner at the ministry and they do have a great friendship but it’s very typical in that regard. The love that develops is atypical for the genre, which I did like. It’s always nice to see people who’ve known each other for a long time (in this case I think close to ten years) gravitate toward each other. So refreshing against insta-love that tends to pervade the arena.
Overall the book but just . . . meh. With fantasy taking place in an entirely other world I need it to be its own character and exist on its own. This one doesn’t and like I said before I did like the world but it’s not unique unto itself. There’s nothing special about the world, the people in it, its problems. It’s all very . . . standard. And that can have the unfortunate effect of not leaving a mark. And then my dreamstriding problem. The main thing making this world unique isn’t held together in my head so with that crumbling there isn’t much left to make it stand on its own.
The characters were fine but nothing that really left much of an impression. It was an okay book but in the fantasy regard it fell rather short. The religion it had was neat but it wasn’t explored in detail beyond passing mentions of priests and a pool in a temple and Livia praying to the Dreamer a lot so even that didn’t live up to its potential at all. I mean it’s a neat story and I think it’s worth the read but I don’t think it really holds a candle to other like-fantasy novels.
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I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.