Synopsis:

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Welcome to Weep.

Review:

I put off reading Strange the Dreamer for such a long time, and I honestly don’t have a good reason as to why. Laini Taylor’s other series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, is one of my all-time favourites and has been since I read it about 9 years ago! Maybe I was worried it wouldn’t live up to my expectations of her work. Well… I shouldn’t have been because it absolutely did.

Strange the Dreamer is a beautiful book hidden inside a fairly unassuming cover. As I expected, Taylor’s writing was wonderful, so captivating, atmospheric and vivid. Every scene was alive for me, pictured so clearly in my mind. Writing like this reminds me of why I fell in love with books.

Lazlo was a fantastic character. Our titular dreamer, always dreaming of the mysterious Unseen City. It turns out though, that he wasn’t strange, and that his dreams really were reality. Altruistic, accepting and hopeful… the world needs more Lazlo Stange’s, that’s all I will say.
Sarai was also a beautiful character. I don’t want to spoil anything here, for I really believe that this is a book to read without knowing too much. But she is strong and empathetic and I loved her so, so much.

The way Taylor writes and develops charaters – all of the characters – is brilliant. We get to know them so deeply. We know all of their thoughts, every emotion and every need.

As for the worldbuilding, the world we have in this book is just amazing. It honestly has everything you could want from a fantasy story. Libraries, a mysterious city, gods, ghosts, magic and more. Even though there was so much to discover, the discoveries were natural and easy over the winding course of the story and it never felt like too much. If anything I always wanted more because it was just so wonderful!

I will be rereading this many times in the future I am certain.

“It was impossible, of course.
But when did that ever stop any dreamer from dreaming?”