12 spellbinding new science fiction and fantasy books to read this November
By Lacy Baugher
November 2021 release: Dreams Lie Beneath – Rebecca Ross
Dreams Lie Beneath, the latest novel from Rebecca Ross has a much more fantastical bent than her previous efforts, the excellent The Queen’s Rising duology and Sisters of Sword and Song. This is a tale where magic is real, nightmares walk the streets at night, and a cursed duchy slumbers high in a mountain fortress, waiting for someone to avenge the duke who died there.
The story follows Clementine Madigan, a young woman in training to become a dream warden, a magician whose job is to battle the living nightmares that rise in the streets of the kingdom of Azenor during the new moon. She loves the small town in which she lives and looks forward to one day becoming her father’s full partner in protecting it, rather than just his apprentice.
But when two strange magicians challenge her father for his role in Hereswith, Clem will find herself drawn into a centuries-old conflict, one that will ask her to explore her family’s darkest secrets, but decide who she wants to become.
The official synopsis describes the story as follows.
"A curse plagues the realm of Azenor—during each new moon, magic flows from the nearby mountain and brings nightmares to life. Only magicians, who serve as territory wardens, stand between people and their worst dreams. Clementine Madigan is ready to take over as the warden of her small town, but when two magicians challenge her, she is unwittingly drawn into a century-old conflict. She seeks revenge, but as she secretly gets closer to Phelan, one of the handsome young magicians, secrets begin to rise. Clementine must unite with her rival to fight the realm’s curse, which seems to be haunting her every turn."
Dreams Lie Beneath is available on November 2.