Rating - ⭐⭐⭐1/2
"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."
Strange the Dreamer is the first installment of the YA fantasy series of the same name by Laini Taylor.
I gave this 4 stars originally, but thinking back on it (and not remembering much), I knocked it down by half a star. This wasn't entirely what I expected nor wanted this to be.
I thought it would mainly be about the journey to find the lost city of Weep so I was not expecting Sarai's point of view and that storyline. The writing and storytelling are rather beautiful though, the author really knows how to tell a story. However, I was hoping for so much more to be happen as I felt like it was a bit slow moving.
I couldn't stand several characters (Thyon Nero, Minya, and Ruby). As bad as it is to say, I've never wanted to slap a child so much in my life because of how insufferable Minya was. The dynamic between Ruby and Feral also made me extremely uncomfortable for some reason (probably because there were instances of non-consent). Lazlo is by far the best character in this. I love characters that have a thirst for knowledge (in a Lazlo way and not a Nero way).
The way the book ended off though bothered me. I felt like it made a certain character less of a character and more of a plot twist.
So, seeing as there were a lot of negatives to this, despite my initial reading experience I may need to change my rating especially when I don't really care to read the sequel.
If you like flowery and magical stories, I would still say to try it out since I seem to be in the minority of people who didn't particularly like this.
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