Strange the Dreamer gives us a lowly librarian who dreams of more, then gets more than he bargained for.
As opposed to the other book featuring a blue-skinned female lead that I read and did not love, this one I enjoyed. It was fast paced and surprising a few times, and I really enjoyed the portrayal of dreams which are, no surprise based on the title, a very relevant part of the book. Also, this story alone didn’t feel entirely incomplete even though it starts a two-part series.
(Content warning: there is a fair bit of sexual violence which is not explicit but a very weighty overarching theme of the abuses of power that are the central conflict in this story.)
This is a fantasy world with gods (well, slain gods, thanks to the godslayer, the saddest guy you’ve ever met) and — oops, there’s someone in there — their half-human children that live in a massively immoveable behemoth hovering over the city of Weep. It’s an interesting setup as the reader moves between the settings and understands the terror each feels for the other. There’s a huge element of prejudice to be overcome, and a large skills gap of magic to be overcome and explained.
Memorably, a totally maniacally crazy girl that is generally pretty freaky. Also a spoiled brat man-child and some metal animal giants.
The names in this duology irritated me a lot at first — oh, really, the weird guy’s name is Strange, mmhmm — but they kind of grow on you. The town where all the terrible and sad things have happened is called Weep, and you just sort of get immersed with that as part of the world.
