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aconstellationoftomes 's review for:
Strange the Dreamer
by Laini Taylor
3,5 stars
"He knew that, but the dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around."
Strange the Dreamer has everything going for it - imaginative and magical world-building, a sense of mystery and intrigue, complex characters with layered relationships and rich concepts and themes. The writing is stunning, with moments so gorgeous I would pause just to appreciate the beauty of a single sentence. The way the author captures emotions and crafts imagery is truly masterful.
"For what was a person but the sum of all the scraps of their memory and experience: a finite set of components with an infinite array of expressions."
The first quarter of this book had me convinced it would be a new favourite. Lazlo is a fascinating, lovable and relatable character and the story felt immersive. Unfortunately, once the narrative shifted to Weep, I lost interest and my engagement in the story started to wane. Maybe it was the pacing, maybe the story lost the spark that initially made it so captivating, maybe it's Weep itself, but whatever it was, I found myself having to push through to finish the story.
Despite all its beauty, or maybe because of it, this has turned out to be my most disappointing read of 2024. There's so much that I absolutely love, but for some reason, the story didn't fully connect with me.
"And that’s how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can."
"He knew that, but the dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around."
Strange the Dreamer has everything going for it - imaginative and magical world-building, a sense of mystery and intrigue, complex characters with layered relationships and rich concepts and themes. The writing is stunning, with moments so gorgeous I would pause just to appreciate the beauty of a single sentence. The way the author captures emotions and crafts imagery is truly masterful.
"For what was a person but the sum of all the scraps of their memory and experience: a finite set of components with an infinite array of expressions."
The first quarter of this book had me convinced it would be a new favourite. Lazlo is a fascinating, lovable and relatable character and the story felt immersive. Unfortunately, once the narrative shifted to Weep, I lost interest and my engagement in the story started to wane. Maybe it was the pacing, maybe the story lost the spark that initially made it so captivating, maybe it's Weep itself, but whatever it was, I found myself having to push through to finish the story.
Despite all its beauty, or maybe because of it, this has turned out to be my most disappointing read of 2024. There's so much that I absolutely love, but for some reason, the story didn't fully connect with me.
"And that’s how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can."