Stranger The Dreamer by Laini Taylor is the first book in a young adult fantasy series.
Lazlo Strange has dreamed of finding the forgotten city of Weep since he was a five-year-old orphan with no name and no history. As a man and a bookish librarian, Lazlo is still a dreamer and he fears that he will only ever fantasize about his dream, never chase it. That is, until Lazlo is faced with a chance of a lifetime that could put him within reach of his dreams.
What happened to Weep centuries ago that all-but wiped it from the history books? What could a man named the God Slayer possible need from a people he never knew existed? And how on earth does a city lose it’s name?
Boy am I late to the party on this one! I came across some promotional material for the sequel to this series and when I went to read the synopsis, I realized I had to get my hands on the first one. And this book didn’t disappoint.
It’s always refreshing to find a new fantasy series with a truly unique theme. From the very beginning when five-year-old Lazlo is fighting imaginary warriors and loses Weeps true name, I was hooked. There was just enough world building to help contribute to the mystery of the story but not too much to give everything away.
Looking back, one of the things that struck me about this book was how the language shifted when we were in Lazlo’s dreams/stories/imaginings. The language seamlessly goes from descriptive (maybe even wordy) narrative to this flowy prose that just fits with these impossibly vivid dreams. It was lovely.
These lovely, impossible dreams were also a nice balance to the truly awful things surrounding the city of Weep. Some of the plot points of this story are really horrible but the way Laini Taylor sprinkles the magic and keeps the “terrible” on the fringes, creates a good balance.
I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait until the sequel comes out in October. This one gets 4-4.5 stars from me.
That’s all for now!
-M-
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