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A review by acedimski
Dream Country by Ashaye Brown
4.0
If you had asked me before I was reading this book which of the three realms - Sleep, Dreams, and Nightmares - I would want to spend time in, I wouldn't have hesitated to answer the one of Dreams! But the deeper I dived into Dream Country, the more I found myself questioning my own answer, questioning the fine line between a Dream and a Nightmare, and the more entranced with the concept of these three.
Dream Country follows the triplet gods of Sleep (Theo), Dreams (Fanta), and Nightmares (Tores) who have been seperated from each other by the Gates of Horn and Ivory ever since the murder of their mother. Each of them being a suspect in the murder, they have come to feel distrust for each other. Until one day, one mortal seems to have the power to destroy the gates and change their worlds.
This book was a ride, everyone! From the very beginning, I was lured into this world, curious about the mysterious death of the All-Mother, and found myself desperately wanting to know all the answers.
We get to meet the worlds of the mortals, Pangaea, the realm of Sleep, Zion, the world of Nightmares, Os Pesadelos, and Dream Country. Each one of them captivated me with their own atmosphere, different magic, and fascinating culture. I loved to see how each realm was not only connected to their god or goddess, but also to each other. I loved to discover their customs, the landscapes, the way of life in the realms, and to find out what minor gods chose to live in which realm.
And in the middle of this amazing world, we have our triplets. Seperated for years. Each dealing with their own realm, their own struggles, and the same question of who is the murderer of their mother. I loved the dynamic between Theo, Fanta, and Tores, and to see how their personalities are connected to their powers and realms, but also how flawed they were. Because the narration follows the perspective of Theo and Tores, it took me longer to warm up to Fanta than to the other two gods. Despite the fact, that the story focuses heavily on the three siblings, I enjoyed that we also got to meet other characters, and the role they play in the gods' lives. Especially Iara became a favorite of mine.
Even though the worldbuilding is broad and in times complex, the story progresses in a fast pace, only slowing down when we learn more of the world and its characters, especially during the middle of the book. What I truly appreciated was the writing of Ashaye Brown, and the beautiful descriptive language that introduced us to the world and religion of the Majority. Particularly the excerpts of the Holy Theologos, the scripts of the religion, were beautifully written, and helped me get transported even deeper into the celestial world, adding a depth to the story, that feels like this is, in fact, a mythological lore of its own.
The reason why I have settled for a four-stars-rating is that I found some answers came too easily to the protagonists. As this world seems to be filled with more mysteries than just the murder of the All-Mother, I wished that they could have stumbled upon a few answers instead of being oblivious to some solution until it became handy for the storyline.
Overall, this is an amazing read with an unique worldbuilding inspired by Kenyan, Brazilian, Caribbean, and Greek mythology and culture that just waits to entrance you.
Thank you to OnWe Publishing for sending me an ARC in exchange of an honest review!
Dream Country follows the triplet gods of Sleep (Theo), Dreams (Fanta), and Nightmares (Tores) who have been seperated from each other by the Gates of Horn and Ivory ever since the murder of their mother. Each of them being a suspect in the murder, they have come to feel distrust for each other. Until one day, one mortal seems to have the power to destroy the gates and change their worlds.
This book was a ride, everyone! From the very beginning, I was lured into this world, curious about the mysterious death of the All-Mother, and found myself desperately wanting to know all the answers.
We get to meet the worlds of the mortals, Pangaea, the realm of Sleep, Zion, the world of Nightmares, Os Pesadelos, and Dream Country. Each one of them captivated me with their own atmosphere, different magic, and fascinating culture. I loved to see how each realm was not only connected to their god or goddess, but also to each other. I loved to discover their customs, the landscapes, the way of life in the realms, and to find out what minor gods chose to live in which realm.
And in the middle of this amazing world, we have our triplets. Seperated for years. Each dealing with their own realm, their own struggles, and the same question of who is the murderer of their mother. I loved the dynamic between Theo, Fanta, and Tores, and to see how their personalities are connected to their powers and realms, but also how flawed they were. Because the narration follows the perspective of Theo and Tores, it took me longer to warm up to Fanta than to the other two gods. Despite the fact, that the story focuses heavily on the three siblings, I enjoyed that we also got to meet other characters, and the role they play in the gods' lives. Especially Iara became a favorite of mine.
Even though the worldbuilding is broad and in times complex, the story progresses in a fast pace, only slowing down when we learn more of the world and its characters, especially during the middle of the book. What I truly appreciated was the writing of Ashaye Brown, and the beautiful descriptive language that introduced us to the world and religion of the Majority. Particularly the excerpts of the Holy Theologos, the scripts of the religion, were beautifully written, and helped me get transported even deeper into the celestial world, adding a depth to the story, that feels like this is, in fact, a mythological lore of its own.
The reason why I have settled for a four-stars-rating is that I found some answers came too easily to the protagonists. As this world seems to be filled with more mysteries than just the murder of the All-Mother, I wished that they could have stumbled upon a few answers instead of being oblivious to some solution until it became handy for the storyline.
Overall, this is an amazing read with an unique worldbuilding inspired by Kenyan, Brazilian, Caribbean, and Greek mythology and culture that just waits to entrance you.
Thank you to OnWe Publishing for sending me an ARC in exchange of an honest review!