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suhbreenah's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Child death
Moderate: Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual assault, and Trafficking
Minor: Rape
kathrynleereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
As a human, mysteries intrigue me. As a person who devoted years to the study of anthropology, mysteries of culture consume me.
So a story about a city, mysterious from the beginning, but suddenly lost, disappeared from the world? It felt like magic to have stumbled upon it.
Right from the prologue, Strange the Dreamer grabbed my attention and refused to let go.
The story, the characters, the settings, the dreams, they all just kept getting better and better.
Watching the history of Weep unfold bit by bit in tiny little shards of knowledge was mesmerizing.
Other than the gods themselves, there were no characters that I didn’t like.
The only two who came close were Minya and Thyon, but even the two of them weren’t evil, they just lacked compassion.
And the dreams.
Laini Taylor’s writing truly encompasses and deserves the word “art.”
I have long wished that I could dive into the worlds I read about, and then there I was, reading about a world I wanted to dive into, and within that world they were doing the same thing.
The connection I felt to Lazlo and Sarai as they dove into dreams together and made their stories was one of the strongest I’ve ever felt with a character (or characters in this case).
I’m both excited and terrified to learn where the story, and the unseen city of Weep itself, go from here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Child death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Child abuse
Minor: Homophobia
vespix's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I love Laini Taylorʼs stories, if not her focus in telling them.
There's a fairy-tale quality to Strange the Dreamer, from whimsy and rich worldbuilding to very heavy topics used with very little care. (Seriously, mind your trigger warnings.) The plot is solid and — at least to me — felt unique in the manner of its telling. The writing style is occasionally too purple for my tastes, but not to the point it would detract from my enjoyment.
The romance did all the detracting. There's so much gratuitous making out, it had me skimming (and I almost never do that) entire sections. Pages. That's how much there is, once it gets going. It messes up the pacing. It servers no purpose. There was literally an entire plot point lost in the telling because the mains had to make out instead. I suppose it would feel different for someone who likes these scenes, but for me they were a waste of a perfectly good story. So much worldbuilding waiting to dive deeper into, but it's all lips, twining threads and whatnot.
I will read Muse, though the ending of Strange doesn't give me much hope that it's going to focus back on the plot. Pity.
There's a fairy-tale quality to Strange the Dreamer, from whimsy and rich worldbuilding to very heavy topics used with very little care. (Seriously, mind your trigger warnings.) The plot is solid and — at least to me — felt unique in the manner of its telling. The writing style is occasionally too purple for my tastes, but not to the point it would detract from my enjoyment.
The romance did all the detracting. There's so much gratuitous making out, it had me skimming (and I almost never do that) entire sections. Pages. That's how much there is, once it gets going. It messes up the pacing. It servers no purpose. There was literally an entire plot point lost in the telling because the mains had to make out instead. I suppose it would feel different for someone who likes these scenes, but for me they were a waste of a perfectly good story. So much worldbuilding waiting to dive deeper into, but it's all lips, twining threads and whatnot.
I will read Muse, though the ending of Strange doesn't give me much hope that it's going to focus back on the plot. Pity.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Trafficking
c_serpent's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I am a sucker for a few things. One of them is a story about gods. But a story about a city tormented for 200 years by false gods? That then the Godslayer killed?
Please do tell me more.
I messaged my best friend at one point while reading this book (it's her favorite) and said, "I want to eat this book. Which is WEIRD but it's like it has a flavor." The voice in this novel is a gift. It is funny, moving, poetic, and taught me some new words. Ya girl was a former ~*~ gifted child ~*~ reader and still rates shamefully high on vocabulary quizzes, and I learned words, bruh. That takes some work.
Lazlo is a gift. Sarai is a gift. I would do terrible things in the name of love for Ruza. I want to be Calixte's best friend. I want to kick Thyon in the teeth and if I had words for how much I hate Minya, my mother wouldn't let me use them.
It's hard to find a novel written in poetic voice that doesn't overdo it or make things needlessly obscure. Nothing was needlessly obscure here, and the prose sang. Moreover, I don't trust many people to do omniscient third person, but Taylor pulls it off. It never felt weird or contrived to me. I think I was about 50% of the way through the book before I even realised it was third person omniscient. The twists weren't completely unforeseeable but nor were they so obvious that everything was boring. And I appreciate that kind of foreshadowing.
This book deals with heavy issues (as in literal sex trafficking and the murder of babies), but it does so bearably. This book could have been completely grimdark, and it wasn't, and I love it for that. It is laced through with hope. And even though it ended on a cliff-hanger that made me yell, I know everything will be okay, and that is, I think, one of the most endearing qualities a novel can have.
Two stars have been awarded for the poetic voice, a star has been awarded for Sarai's brave little pacifist soul, a star has been awarded for Eril-Fane's tears, and a star has been awarded to Lazlo and Ruza's banter about mushrooms. Then I took all the stars away and gave them all to Ruza, because wow. What a guy.
Total score: 5/5 stars
Please do tell me more.
I messaged my best friend at one point while reading this book (it's her favorite) and said, "I want to eat this book. Which is WEIRD but it's like it has a flavor." The voice in this novel is a gift. It is funny, moving, poetic, and taught me some new words. Ya girl was a former ~*~ gifted child ~*~ reader and still rates shamefully high on vocabulary quizzes, and I learned words, bruh. That takes some work.
Lazlo is a gift. Sarai is a gift. I would do terrible things in the name of love for Ruza. I want to be Calixte's best friend. I want to kick Thyon in the teeth and if I had words for how much I hate Minya, my mother wouldn't let me use them.
It's hard to find a novel written in poetic voice that doesn't overdo it or make things needlessly obscure. Nothing was needlessly obscure here, and the prose sang. Moreover, I don't trust many people to do omniscient third person, but Taylor pulls it off. It never felt weird or contrived to me. I think I was about 50% of the way through the book before I even realised it was third person omniscient. The twists weren't completely unforeseeable but nor were they so obvious that everything was boring. And I appreciate that kind of foreshadowing.
This book deals with heavy issues (as in literal sex trafficking and the murder of babies), but it does so bearably. This book could have been completely grimdark, and it wasn't, and I love it for that. It is laced through with hope. And even though it ended on a cliff-hanger that made me yell, I know everything will be okay, and that is, I think, one of the most endearing qualities a novel can have.
Two stars have been awarded for the poetic voice, a star has been awarded for Sarai's brave little pacifist soul, a star has been awarded for Eril-Fane's tears, and a star has been awarded to Lazlo and Ruza's banter about mushrooms. Then I took all the stars away and gave them all to Ruza, because wow. What a guy.
Total score: 5/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Child death, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Sexual assault, and Slavery
Moderate: Pregnancy and Confinement
maddiebusick's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Trafficking, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Rape
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Slavery
shannonsacoman's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I really love the way this narrative explores the questions and complexities that arise with generational trauma and systemic oppression, as well as the aftereffects of overthrowing oppressors.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Trafficking
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