We review Strange the Dreamer, the highly anticipated new novel from bestselling author Laini Taylor, author of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy.
Strange the Dreamer, author Laini Taylor’s highly anticipated follow-up to her Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, finally dropped last week. The first in a planned duology, it follows the story of Lazlo Strange, a junior librarian at the Great Library of Zosma. Lazlo is an orphan who loves stories, fairy tales and the idea of magic. Since he was five years old, he’s been obsessed with the mythical lost city of Weep. He receives the amazing opportunity to investigate this mystery, when a caravan of strangers arrives. Led by a mysterious man called the Godslayer, this band of legendary warriors and ragtag intellectuals means to solve the problem of what happened, exactly, to Weep.
Along the way, both Lazlo’s world and mind expand significantly, and we meet a wide variety of other interesting characters, including warriors, tradesmen and intellectuals. (And even a few more magical beings too.) There is Eril-Fane, the Godslayer, a man who saved his people but remains haunted by his past. There’s Thyon Nero, a brilliant alchemist, who struggles with the world’s expectations of greatness. And there is Sarai, a beautiful young girl forced to live in hiding with the other remaining “Godspawn”, lest they all be killed.
Strange the Dreamer is a beautiful, compelling read. It’s also pretty massive – clocking in at well over 400 pages. So maybe block out some solid reading time before you get started. Because it’s not exactly a quick read. You’re going to want to sit with some of this imagery as long as possible. Yes, a few things – such as the inevitable star-crossed romance – feel a bit predictable. (This is a YA novel after all.) But the overall freshness of Strange the Dreamer’s setting and story will suck you in and keep you there. (It just might take a chapter or two.)
The World Building is Incredible
If you have any previous experience with Taylor’s writing, you won’t be surprised that that world of Strange the Dreamer is epic, lush, and wildly detailed. It’s kind of her thing, this extensive world-building. But Taylor really takes it to the next level here, crafting an entirely original fictional setting full of all manner of people, creatures and, yes, even gods.
A fairy-tale on steroids, Taylor’s whimsical prose builds a wild, glistening universe – from Zosma to Weep and back. Everything is epically descriptive and beautiful. There are strange, bizarre creatures. There are far-off kingdoms, monsters and magic. And we meet characters with special abilities, surprising backstories and interconnected histories. Plus, there’s so much in-universe history here. And not just that, but history that’s been painstakingly thought through by the author. It is terrifyingly detailed. Hundreds of years worth of details in places. And that’s part of what makes it so enchanting to read. Taylor’s world feels like it could be a real place, even if it’s the sort of one you only see in your dreams.
Our Collective Lazlo Crush is So Real
As lead characters go, Lazlo Strange is pretty awesome. He’s smart, adorably dorky, passionate and kind. He’s willing to help anyone, even and especially those who have done nothing to deserve his aid or care. You know that Tumblr meme, about some character that’s “too good for this world; too pure”? Well, that’s Lazlo Strange in a nutshell. And he must be protected at all costs.
To be honest, I haven’t read a piece of YA fiction in quite some time in which the protagonist was not only male, but male and not particularly good at anything. Yes, Lazlo is clearly smart and interested in learning, but he is not particularly strong or suave. (In fact, the guy who is all of those things in this novel? At least superficially? Is kind of a jerk.) Instead, Lazlo is creative, thoughtful and a natural storyteller. He is the titular dreamer – in both the figurative and literal sense. His dreams make much of the story possible, whether it’s his vision of a different kind of life for himself or of a better world than the one humanity currently inhabits.
There’s an interesting tension at work in his character. As a librarian and part time amateur historian, Lazlo’s job is to recount the stories of others. Not take part in adventures himself. And yet he desperately wants a story of his own. Whether that saga is ultimately to find and save Weep, or to solve the ultimate mystery of his orphan birth, Lazlo is seeking a narrative to belong to. And when he finds one, it’s thrilling to witness.
The Jury’s Still Out on the Romance, Though
Because this is a YA novel, of course our two main protagonists end up falling in love. Probably no one reading is surprised by this information. Most readers probably predicted it going in. Lazlo and Sarai meet and fall in love in the literal world of dreams – thanks to a particular power that Sarai wields as one of the “Godspawn”. (Just go with it, it’ll make more sense when you read it.) Their interactions are initially awkward and rather charming, but the two fall in love at an uncomfortably rapid pace. Almost unbelievably so. And I’m saying this about a story where chrysopoeia – the transmutation of lead into gold – is a real thing that people can do. Unbelievable is very relative here.
Don’t get me wrong, Sarai and Lazlo’s interactions are sweet, and generally charming. But someone needed to pump the brakes on how fast they go from “strangers who weirdly interact in dreams” to “OTP Forever” status. It’s hard to really feel invested in their relationship due to the speed at which it happens. No matter how much you might want to be.
The dreams in which Sarai and Lazlo interact are wonderfully vivid and intricate. They’re incredible settings in and of themselves, so it’s not surprising that they easily lend themselves to serving as the backdrop for a love story. And as a plot device, they offer a lot of interesting possibilities for the future of their story, particularly in Strange the Dreamer’s Sequel. So maybe now that we’re past the initial “falling in love” stage, we can skip the bit where a single kiss goes on for something like two pages in the sequel? Fingers crossed.
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The sequel to Strange the Dreamer is due out in 2018.