Strange the Dreamer

I just... really loved this. I loved in it a way that I am pretty sure means that it has somehow seeped into my soul and become part of me. This book is a fairy tale. Not in the sense that it is a traditional story with familiar elements. If a fantasy world somehow had its own myths and legends and somehow those stories were published into a book that book would be Strange the Dreamer. This book is the story of a shy young orphan boy who grows into a young junior librarian. The name of a strange city that was cut off from the rest of the world 200 years ago is suddenly lost. From one minute to the next and for no reason that anyone can name the whole world forgot it and so it comes to be known as Weep. Lazlo becomes obsessed with the city, and its fate. It is also about a young blue girl goddess who is growing up in hiding with her siblings. Lazlo is an interesting character. He is an introverted, even shy, male. Many of his qualities are traditionally feminine. He isn't powerful, rich, or handsome. He can't fight and sometimes is a victim. While reading this book made me very aware that there are still certain things that we expect from different genders especially in fantasy. Lazlo isn't dangerous. He never holds a sword. He is the dreamer of the title. His strength is internal and hidden away from the world. He doesn't have to be the big man to be the hero. He is content with being the hero of his own life rather than the hero of the world. I loved that Liani Taylor let that happen. There is a love story. It is central to the story but doesn't take over the story. You know how sometimes in romance there is a secondary couple? I usually like that couple more than the main couple because their love doesn't have to have the predictability of the main couple. The love story in Strange the Dreamer feels like that except it is also satisfactorily filled out. Fantasy is all about world building. Adult fantasy can get bogged down with this and sometimes YA fantasy hardly bothers with it. This book hits the perfect balance. The world is understandable and real, but the focus on the story is still on the characters and not in the world. I loved the writing. There are authors that you want to just get on with the story and writers that you want to describe every sounds, sight, and emotion. Liani Taylor is definitely the latter for me. She paints with words. There is some amazingly beautiful, disturbing, and powerful imagery in this book. For example, there is a statue floating a hundred feet off the ground the size of a mountain, the shadow of which covers an entire city. Strange the Dreamer is the first book of a duology. That is both the bad news and the good news. The good news is that we are going to be able to visit this world and these characters again. This prospect warms my heart and fills me with glee. The bad news is the wait. I don't have it in my hands at this moment, and that means that I have had to wait too long to start reading it. Unacceptable. Highly recommended.

Lazlo Strange is a young librarian who is obsessed with the lost city of Weep. The day the heroic Godslayer shows up from the city of Weep is the day Lazlo always dreamed about. The Godslayer is looking for people to join him to help him solve a problem Weep is facing. With limited details and no useful skills, Lazlo is desperate to join the small group of people headed to Weep, and convinces the Godslayer to bring him along. What ensues is a journey that Lazlo won’t soon forget. Why did Weep disappear two hundred years ago, what is the problem that needs to be solved, and who is the girl named Sarai that keeps showing up in his dreams…and why is she blue? I’d heard so many rave reviews about Strange the Dreamer, that I decided to pick it up (the gorgeous cover didn’t hurt) and I’m so glad I did! Lazlo is the most innocent little button, and I wanted to shield him from the nastiness of the world for the first half of the book. Ha! I love that he works in a library and has a love of books and storytelling, and I immediately connected with him as a character. Strange the Dreamer was unlike any other YA or fantasy book I’ve read. The story of Weep was so unique to me, and I loved that it was told in both Lazlo’s perspective as well as Sarai’s perspective. Often, I’m not a huge fan of books that have multiple POV’s because they can get confusing, but this one worked perfectly and added a lot to the background of the story. This book had it all – beautiful writing, wonderful storytelling, developed characters, action, and romance, and it far surpassed my expectations. I’m eagerly anticipating the next book in the series so I can see what happens next! I loved the way the first book ended. I felt like it made enough progress in the story to where I didn’t feel like I wasted my time reading a 500 page book where nothing happened, but ended at a point where a second book makes sense. It’s been a very long time since a book made me cry, but this one had tears streaming down my face! The writing was flowy and lyrical, and I really enjoyed reading the book. This was a 4 star read for me, and I recommend that all fans of YA Fantasy pick this one up!

Taylor is a genius, there's nothing she has written that I haven't liked. Strange the dreamer is full of magic, heartache, and the ending had me in a chokehold. (Tears were shed) and true fear for the MC has me reaching for book 2 .

4.5 stars out of 5. It could easily have been a five stars but I had issues with a few things, mainly the insta-love and the ending that was a bit too traditional (I wouldn't say cliché because it wouldn't do it justice). Everything else was amazing. The pacing, the atmosphere, the unique writing style and the sketched-out-but-not-spelled-out characters. Contrary to what I've read in other reviews, I actually really liked the 100 first pages. The first two thirds of the book are in fact the best part of Strange the Dreamer. The characters were a really strong point for me : almost every one of them avoids classical tropes, except maybe Nero and, sadly, Sarai. I particularly liked Laszlo, who is a credible and likable in a not in-your-face way new model of male main character. Can't wait for the next one, even if, strangely since it almost never happens, I have absolutely no idea about what could happen in the next. The story could finish there. But it won't. And I thank Laini Taylor for that.

Lazlo Strange has dreamed of the mythical lost city of Weep since he was a young boy playing make-believe in the orchards of the monastery where he was raised. Now a librarian in the Great Library of Zosma, Lazlo spends his days still dreaming of journeying to the lost City, until that is the day arrives when his dreams look set to turn into reality. Suddenly he finds himself one of a group of delegates accompanying a mysterious stranger known as the Godslayer as well as a group of legendary warriors from the lost city. What awaits them there is even more extraordinary than anything even Lazlo could have dreamed! I found myself completely immersed in this imaginative and captivating read, drawn into the vividly described fantasy world that Taylor has created. From the Great Library of Zosma, to the vast desert plains of the Elmuthaleth, and to the lost City itself, it was a joy accompanying Lazlo on his voyage of discovery. Lazlo himself makes for a wonderful fantasy book hero, with his nose always behind a book and his mind full of wonder; he's gentle and kind and very easy to like. Yet I thought that Taylor did a really good job of portraying a whole host of more complex characters too. There's Thyon Nero, the arrogant alchemist, who early on in the story seems set on being a clear villain; yet I was surprised to find that it wasn't quite so black and white. The Godslayer too is another prime example, a hero who saved his City and its people from a reign of terrible tyranny, and yet at a great cost too;such that he is haunted by the blood on his hands. Minya, again, is an intriguing character; controlling and manipulative, she might easily have been painted a pure villain, but the tragedy of her past and the great trauma she has witnessed can but render her in a more sympathetic light. I don't want to go into detail regarding the ins and outs of the story, but I thought that Taylor touched upon some great themes within the book, re-working them in an imaginative way. Its a story about the aftermath of tyranny and war, about hatred and how hard it can be to forgive and reach a reconciliation. I thought that Taylor did a good job of portraying two sides of a story; as a reader it is easy to appreciate the suffering that the people of Weep have endured, but by allowing us to get to see things from the Godspawns' points of view, and Sarai's in particular, we gain an insight into what they - the orphans of war - have endured too. I personally found the idea of the Mesarthim and the Godspawn, with their mystical powers, intriguing; and there are still so many unanswered questions regarding them. Who were the Mesarthim, where did they come from, and what happened to all those Godspawn children over the centuries? Sarai's power is a particularly interesting one and obviously shapes a lot of the story; with dream elements becoming more prominent as the book goes on. I really liked the depiction of the dream sequences in which Lazlo and Sarai interact; and thought Taylor really managed to capture that whimsical and magical quality that dreams have. The romance between the two central characters was I thought sweetly rendered; and whilst some people have complained that it felt too instantaneous and also took up too much time I would disagree on both accounts. I think the secluded nature of the lives that both Lazlo and Sarai have lived, makes it believable that they might develop feelings so quickly for each other; and I think the ending of the book makes it quite clear why so much time was invested in their relationship.Certainly the book ends on a cliffhanger, with some very interesting dynamics being set up;such that I can't wait for the sequel. I did guess at the ending of the story, but that didn't at all spoil it. I would also say that the book starts off quite slow, but if you stick with the first few chapters, things soon start getting interesting. A beautifully written book, with exquisite prose and imagery, this is certainly a story I won't be forgetting in a while.

This is a 2 part series. It is one of the most beautiful reads I have had in a very long time. Every word, every expression, every detail is filled with magic. You enter into a completely different realm altogether so much so that you start wishing you were in it. If you want an escape from the daily life and dive into something extraordinary outwardly then definitely go for it. It won't have realistic issues of the world but it is full of intense emotions and feelings which we all go through at some point in our life.

Any books by this author is awesome!