A review by aislinghamill
Dreamtime by Venetia Welby

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

This book really isn't like anything else I've read. I went into it with few expectations, having found it in a charity shop. I thought it would be something of a cli-fi adventure quest novel. The world it's set in is actually far closer to our own. At times it was hard to place – events like the Second World War are discussed as being still in living memory, and yet clearly there have been some significant changes in technology, politics etc., though nothing so dramatic it feels far off or impossible. Some political elements, such as the American presence in Okinawa, dependence on handheld devices etc. are clearly very current, though though they are presented in alternate ways, presumably to keep the novel from feeling too immediate.

I think the most interesting thing about the book is the way it blends the science fiction aspects with a sort of folklorish magical realism. It mixes the old with the new. Somehow both sit comfortably together, without creating any kind of tonal clash. Robots sit alongside kitsunes. It's beautifully done and refreshing in its uniqueness. 

The characters are good too. Their flaws make them feel real, but still loveable. The romance is understated but gives an emotional heart to an otherwise somewhat disorienting (positive) and hard-to-pin down plot. the write is beautiful, hypnotic at times, but never over-indulgent or dramatic. The tragedies of climate disaster are mundane in this world, and they are described casually in the narrative – never with melodrama. 

Yeah, nice.