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A review by restlessreason17
A Multitude of Dreams by Mara Rutherford
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.5
This was an... odd book. Not necessarily bad (yes I know I'm giving it 2.5/5) but nothing stood out.
I feel like this had a strong beginning. I was literally thinking about The Masque of the Red Death a couple days before picking this up, so when I realized it was a retelling, I was so excited!! The first 20% had me absolutely hooked, especially when I stared to realize thatvampires were involved.
And then the world building started to break.
This shouldn't have been just fantasy, with all due respect. I think that, given that our MC is a Jew, this book would've been better as a historical fantasy book. While I respect and enjoyed reading bits about Judaism, it was an element that just didn't fit! Here's why:
- The Torah is explicitly mentioned but never explained. That means, as far as I understand, that Moses is a canonical figure in this world. Except we're in fantasy land. Like there's not a single real place mentioned!
- Yiddish??? I had to double check myself of this, but Yiddish is essentially a mix of Hebrew and the German language. (I am not Jewish or a linguist, so deepest apologies if I'm wrong. I read an article I found on Google lol.) But again, fantasy land. And it also explicitly says that Eldrich Hall (and the country, but I can't reme ber if that has a name) speak English. So HOW did Yiddish happen??? Pilmont?? Why didn't we mention that??
Now, this element could've made sense if further explored. For example, how interesting would it have been if the Torah was literally given to the Jews in this world by God? Or what if the Torah had different prophets, but still ultimately conveyed the same ideas and included Jewish law? And if there is a fantasy Germany, why not reference Germanic culture or language? Why did we even make this a fantasy and in the first place, when we could've just had this been historical and all of these elements would make sense? Like there were ways to make this work. I legitimately would be criticizing this same element if Christianity was thrown in here. All in all, this part felt really unfinished.
Also it's never explained why people in the world hate Jews. Like the most I could gather was that people thought they caused the sickness, but if Giselle found Seraphina at the beginning of the pandemic, why would she hate them...? It really sounds like the hatred came mid-plague. But it didn't, because Henry/Lord Greymont also was anti-Semitic and then went "oh hah Seraphina is a Jew? Ok maybe the stereotypes are wrong." I just feel like this should've been more explored, ESPECIALLY since there's so much emphasis on her keeping such an essential part of her identity under tight wraps.
The romance had actually zero chemistry and I wasn't particularly drawn to any of the characters. (Also everyone called Seraphina clever and firey and I was like "girl no you're stupid for the plot and firey because you're running for your life. Like I would be "firey" too? I guess??)
I saw someone call the romance slow burn, which was an odd decision, since the MCs don't meet until there's about 200 pages left.Also I have to talk about the fact that they hooked up literally after being exhausted and almost killed. Sorry but the last thing I'd be thinking of is boys. I'd be out light a like snoring in my nice comfy bed. Or I'm up worrying all night if everyone is ok, if we're even going to find food and live, etc. It just felt so forced.
The magic was poorly explained, I feel. To be fair, they were sort of learning about it as they went. However, here's an example that really shows the rushed quality behind finding answers.
Seraphina becomes an immune after originally being Immaculate, someone who never came into contact with the disease. How? Is it the fact that the vampire bit her and she lived, OR is it the fact that she just so happened to get the blood of an immune into her system?
It's the second. But how in the world did. Nick just know. He was like "it's a guess" and then he was right. He had to be SO exhausted when he was treating Seraphina's wound, so how did he even notice they shared blood?? Why isn't the VAMPIRE the first thought?
The same kind of thing happened with inviting a vampire in.
Also wait. How are some people just immune without ever coming into contact with the disease. Doesn't that make them imma ulate?? I thought they needed the disease make immunity happen? And why didn't any vampires care about killing the immune if they're in their way. Like what.
I was also hoping to see more of rebuilding society, since those were the vibes I got from Nico's POV. Also he never reached his goal of becoming a physician?? Like didn't even get textbooks. Just did blood guesswork.
Lastly, it was definitely a choice to give Seraphina 3 names, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SUMMARY CALLS HER PRINCESS IMOGEN. I was so confused when I read the first chapter and it was all about Seraphina. And her father called her Genny sometimes??
I dunno. To sum it up, I had it in my head at first that this was a debut novel. Idk why. But yeah it kinda read like one. Could've had another round of editing or two.
I feel like this had a strong beginning. I was literally thinking about The Masque of the Red Death a couple days before picking this up, so when I realized it was a retelling, I was so excited!! The first 20% had me absolutely hooked, especially when I stared to realize that
And then the world building started to break.
This shouldn't have been just fantasy, with all due respect. I think that, given that our MC is a Jew, this book would've been better as a historical fantasy book. While I respect and enjoyed reading bits about Judaism, it was an element that just didn't fit! Here's why:
- The Torah is explicitly mentioned but never explained. That means, as far as I understand, that Moses is a canonical figure in this world. Except we're in fantasy land. Like there's not a single real place mentioned!
- Yiddish??? I had to double check myself of this, but Yiddish is essentially a mix of Hebrew and the German language. (I am not Jewish or a linguist, so deepest apologies if I'm wrong. I read an article I found on Google lol.) But again, fantasy land. And it also explicitly says that Eldrich Hall (and the country, but I can't reme ber if that has a name) speak English. So HOW did Yiddish happen??? Pilmont?? Why didn't we mention that??
Now, this element could've made sense if further explored. For example, how interesting would it have been if the Torah was literally given to the Jews in this world by God? Or what if the Torah had different prophets, but still ultimately conveyed the same ideas and included Jewish law? And if there is a fantasy Germany, why not reference Germanic culture or language? Why did we even make this a fantasy and in the first place, when we could've just had this been historical and all of these elements would make sense? Like there were ways to make this work. I legitimately would be criticizing this same element if Christianity was thrown in here. All in all, this part felt really unfinished.
Also it's never explained why people in the world hate Jews. Like the most I could gather was that people thought they caused the sickness, but if Giselle found Seraphina at the beginning of the pandemic, why would she hate them...? It really sounds like the hatred came mid-plague. But it didn't, because Henry/Lord Greymont also was anti-Semitic and then went "oh hah Seraphina is a Jew? Ok maybe the stereotypes are wrong." I just feel like this should've been more explored, ESPECIALLY since there's so much emphasis on her keeping such an essential part of her identity under tight wraps.
The romance had actually zero chemistry and I wasn't particularly drawn to any of the characters. (Also everyone called Seraphina clever and firey and I was like "girl no you're stupid for the plot and firey because you're running for your life. Like I would be "firey" too? I guess??)
I saw someone call the romance slow burn, which was an odd decision, since the MCs don't meet until there's about 200 pages left.
The magic was poorly explained, I feel. To be fair, they were sort of learning about it as they went. However, here's an example that really shows the rushed quality behind finding answers.
It's the second. But how in the world did. Nick just know. He was like "it's a guess" and then he was right. He had to be SO exhausted when he was treating Seraphina's wound, so how did he even notice they shared blood?? Why isn't the VAMPIRE the first thought?
The same kind of thing happened with inviting a vampire in.
Also wait. How are some people just immune without ever coming into contact with the disease. Doesn't that make them imma ulate?? I thought they needed the disease make immunity happen? And why didn't any vampires care about killing the immune if they're in their way. Like what.
I was also hoping to see more of rebuilding society, since those were the vibes I got from Nico's POV. Also he never reached his goal of becoming a physician?? Like didn't even get textbooks. Just did blood guesswork.
Lastly, it was definitely a choice to give Seraphina 3 names, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SUMMARY CALLS HER PRINCESS IMOGEN. I was so confused when I read the first chapter and it was all about Seraphina. And her father called her Genny sometimes??
I dunno. To sum it up, I had it in my head at first that this was a debut novel. Idk why. But yeah it kinda read like one. Could've had another round of editing or two.