Book Review: Strange the Dreamer is a Beautiful Story Filled with the Whimsical Dark Nature of a Fairytale
If you’re looking for a beautifully written novel that will sweep you away with its lush worldbuilding and dreamlike quality, Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor is the next book you MUST pick up. I thrifted this book years ago after some mutuals had recommended it, and I never got around to reading it. Until now. My 2025 goal to unhaul at least 200 books from my home library is having me reach for the ones that have been waiting a while. Some are quick DNFs, but this book will absolutely not be going anywhere. I loved it. If you love books like The Night Circus, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, and The City of Stardust, you will also probably love this book. It’s that type of writing you can get absolutely lost in or you want to tab every five seconds because the prose is so beautiful; or both. The story itself reminded me, at first, a bit like Atlantis: The Lost Empire with Milo Thatch and the ragtag group of people with all special skill sets, but there’s no ocean in this story…only an orphan boy who grew up to be a librarian and a girl who walks in dreams. But this story is anything but simple. There is tragedy and love, and deep moral quandaries, like any great story. This also isn’t a fast-paced book, and while some of the themes are rather dark, it also has a whimsical feeling about it—like a fairytale—and I honestly couldn’t put it down. So should you read it?
Things to Know:
Book one of a completed duology
Dual POV
Beautiful writing and rich worldbuilding
A dreamlike quality
monsters, magic, and gods
TW: death, child murder
***MINOR SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT—YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!***
We follow a dual POV with Lazlo, an orphan raised with monks, and Sarai, a girl who can manipulate dreams. She’s the survivor of a massacre and daughter of a terrible god that was vanquished. He was left abandoned, and is obsessed with a city who’s name has been lost. Well not lost, but rather taken from memory.
They’re from completely different worlds, but dreams eventually bring them together. I loved the different POVs. I was so invested in Lazlo’s story at first and didn’t realize it was dual POV, so when I got to Sarai’s first chapter, I was a little bummed. But her story was just as interesting, and I found myself so captivated by these characters, and frankly, the settings.
Taylor packs her worldbuilding with backstories, myths, creatures, and they’re all a joy to devour. It never feels like info dumping, and you’re always left wanting a little more. The entire story is shrouded in multiple layers of mystery, and as a reader, you’re trying to put the pieces together, while the characters do the same. Oh and before I get ahead of myself, the prologue?! This is how you write a prologue. No spoilers, but it was excellent.
There’s also some villains you can love to hate. The gods who aren’t even alive anymore and committed atrocities that make you sick. Thyon Nero—I mean with a name like that—of course he’s going to be a villain. But is he really? Or is he just a spoiled, selfish, egotistical, brilliant scientist who’s had every advantage and no real world experiences? By the end, I’m still uncertain. And don’t even get me started on Minya. She’s a great character because she’s complex. I can’t stand her, but I also understand some of her motivations and why she feels the way she does.
I honestly just finished reading this book and immediately sat down to write the review in time for the newsletter, and I know I have so much more to say about this story. I will come back and add to this once I’ve had a day or two to sit with it.
But if you haven’t read it, or added it to your TBR yet, please do! More people need to read this beautifully tragic story. I’d also recommend the audiobook while reading. I did another immersive read and the narrator was fantastic! I’ll be starting book two, Muse of Nightmares immediately.
Quotes:
“There were two mysteries, actually: one old, one new. The old one opened his mind, but it was the new one that climbed inside, turned several circles, and settled in with a grunt—like a satisfied dragon in a cozy new lair.”
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“Get outdoors, Strange. Breathe air, see things. A man should have squint lines from looking at the horizon, not just from reading in dim light.”
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“And that’s how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can.”
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“Good people do all the things bad people do, Lazlo. It’s just that when they do them, they call it justice.”
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“You have ruined my tongue for all other tastes.”
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