Strange the Dreamer

Lazlo Strange grew up as a foundling in the monastery with only stories of a far off wonderful land for friends. The land is called Weep, though Lazlo is sure that isn't its real name. He remembers the day clearly when the name changed, it's the one time he's sure he's experienced magic, but he can't remember what it used to be. As Lazlo grows and moves to the library to work there, the stories of Weep are still his companions. In his free time, he hunts down more references to the far off land he's sure really exists but others call fantasy. And then one day, strangers arrive claiming to be from Weep and seeking people to help them with a special project.

In a floating city, five young people have grown up with only ghosts for company. Their skin is blue, they each have special powers, and if the people in the city below knew they were up here, they'd try to kill them. After all, that's what they did to all the other gods and children of gods. One of the five witnessed the killing and has room in her heart only for hate and revenge. Another of the five visits the people below in their dreams every night and better understands why they killed their gods, the gods who stole their young people and returned them a year later with no memories but evidence of wrong done to them.

And one day, Lazlo's world and the world of the blue young people will collide.

Taylor has built a very fascinating world and magic system and complicated world history here. I really enjoyed following Lazlo around. The two of those, the world building and Lazlo, are what kept me tearing through this massive tome. I figured out one of the twists in the story long before the characters did, but I didn't predict exactly how or where the others would figure it out. I also figured out how the opening sequence fit into the plot with growing dread as I got more and more attached to characters but kept hoping against hope that I was wrong. I won't spoil anything beyond saying that. There are some rather daunting problems to solve in the next book, but I am definitely in for reading it. I want to know how things turn out!

Notes on content: Very few language issues. There's quite a bit of kissing on page, and some of the characters are sleeping together. The language used to convey this is so vague that innocent readers may not figure out what is going on though. The reason why the gods were killed is that people were basically being abducted for their breeding program. This is conveyed without going into gross details or spelling anything out but it comes up a lot and has left many people quite traumatized. If made into a movie, that stuff probably would earn this an R rating just because of the amount it comes up so know the reader you hand this to and whether they can handle it. The slaughter of the gods and their children is a bit described and some mentions are a bit gory. There's also the opening sequence in which someone dies from a fall and impaling on a fence. Lazlo and some other characters endure some beatings and mistreatment.

4.5 Stars

Lesson learned: Don’t ever sleep on Laini Taylor. When the announcement was made about this new series, I was so excited about it. But then somewhere down the line, there was a delay and the release date was changed. For some reason, I forgot to mark down this change and I forgot about it. It wasn’t until recently that I remembered about this book and read it. And man, I severely regret not reading this book as soon as it was released.

Taylor is an incredible writer. I love the way she is able to brought so much depth and detail to her writing. Although this is a Young Adult book, the vocabulary is very advanced so this book would be great for all ages. The tone follows the same style. It’s very advanced and dark, which is something that I look for in my Young Adult reads. You can definitely expect quality writing and worldbuilding in Taylor’s books. So the fact that it may have taken longer to get this book doesn’t bother me at all. She does it right and she does it well.

In the last YA novel I reviewed, a reader said that she didn’t enjoy books that were too depressing. While this book does have some dark tones to it, I do think it’s a fascinating read. The writing has a lyrical – almost musical- quality to it that I think a lot of readers would enjoy. This book is sure to take you on a ride and makes for the perfect escape.

STRANGE THE DREAMER is definitely one of my favorite reads of this year. Next time, I won’t be making the same mistake and waiting to read Laini Taylor again.

I fell in love with this book early on. The story unraveled slowly at first, about an orphan boy who dreamed instead of prayed, was called strange and then named Strange, and eventually finds the way from the grey mundane of his childhood to dive headfirst into his life's story. I won't give anything away, but suffice to say that Laini Taylor has outdone herself. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is still one of my favorite YA books, and this new series is no exception. The writing is exceptional, full of luscious descriptions and worlds you can just fall into. In reading this, I felt I was Strange the dreamer, enchanted by pages to the point that the real world around me paled in comparison.

The only SLIGHT drawback for me was the romance. Don't get me wrong, I grew to love both of the characters, but I felt that it had too much of an instant quality of everything being perfect and just a bit too easy, too fast and at the same time too slow. I liked the lingering on description at first, but these scenes felt altogether very aware that of the fact that they were written for YA. For many, that's going to be a major draw. Teenage me would have drank it in. 20-something me, however, was impatient to get to the furthering of character and description, rather than the lingering on each and every physical milestone of a new relationship. I liked the

Back to all of the great parts of this story. Not everything is as black and white as it seems. There are several very clever plot twists that left me breathless with their perfection, and frustrated with myself that I hadn't seen them coming. Aside from the romance bits, the timing and pacing of everything was perfect, giving the reader just enough information to be fully wrapped up in the story while leaving some to the imagination.

Altogether a beautiful story, and I can't wait for the next installment. Enchante, Ms. Taylor.

~Review taken from the book review blog Literary Weaponry~

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1) by Laini Taylor. I have put this book off for months. Since it came out people have been gushing over it left and right and I scoffed in disbelief. I just assumed that it was another over hyped book that didn’t deserve the positivity it was receiving. So, I put it off and put it off and put it off. Finally, Laini announced that the audiobook for Strange the Dreamer was on a great sale through Audible. What the hell? I decided. I was already in a reading funk, why not give it a shot, right?

Then, I dove into the world of Lazlo Strange, the orphan and junior librarian, and it got its claws in me and didn’t want to let go.

The world that Taylor painted in this book is so magical, I absolutely could not get enough. The story begins with our dear little Lazlo being raised as an orphan by monks. A war had broken out around the time he was born and many children had been left without families and the monks had taken them. He was a plain boy with perhaps a bit much of an imagination for the monks. One day, he gets sent on an errand by the monks to the massive library in the city. There, Lazlo falls in love. He falls for the books and stories that they contain. There, he also begins to learn about Weep.

Weep is a city that was once known for its goods and learning. It’s travelers went to distant towns and cities to trade their goods but no one was ever welcomed in their city. Anyone who went there was killed. But Weep fell off the map over 200 years ago and no one has heard from them since. Not until a group of warriors from Weep travel to the city, asking for people to help them with a problem. A problem that they refuse to explain.

Guys, without giving much of anything away to those who haven’t read this yet, I will say that pretty much everything that follows that point is amazing. Fantastical adventure, artfully crafted magical elements, beautifully written character interaction…it is just beautiful. I’ll be the first to stand up and say that I intensely disliked Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone so I truly was not expecting a lot out of this story, but I fell in love.

There are two points in this book that didn’t settle well with me that I would like bring up. One, there is a romance in it that pretty much overpowers anything else in the second half of the book. It was sweet for a chapter or two but I got sick of it pretty quickly. The point of the romance could have been made in far less time, and it did have a point. That is my pet peeve about romance in fantasy, it has to have a purpose and not just be filler, and Taylor did do that well but it became overkill after a while.

Secondly, when someone is painted as a bad or evil character I think that they should also have relate-able or redeeming qualities. If they are presented as pure evil and given no redeeming characteristics then they are boring. Our so called evil doer in this book had a terrible personality, just a whiny little shit that needed someone to give them a good slap and told to stop being such a bitch.

I haven’t read many reviews of this book because I don’t like to spoil a potentially good plot line so I’m not sure if anyone shares my sentiments on the two negatives. However, despite those two major points, the rest of the book is completely excellent.

This was actually the first book that I read as an audiobook and I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed it. On behalf of the voice actor for this work, I must say that he was fantastic. His tone and the lyrical quality of his voice were absolutely superb. There are enough odd words and names in it that I’m sure I could have made it through a physical copy. Too many difficult to remember names and concepts and it is hard to follow the story. It was very simple to keep things straight listening to this book, though. I highly recommend indulging in it in this manner.

This book is loved by so many and I can see why. It's whimsy and whimsical with just a bit of the traditional fantasy elements lingering around to make it one that could be enjoyed by people with different reading tastes. The author definitely has a style that is a very unique one. Not only that, this story is also very unique. The cast of characters are like no others and the 'godspawn' are something completely new. This story is a lot of things from a zero to hero type to a love story to so much more.
All that being said, it wasn't one I really loved. I liked it just fine but wasn't up there in the ranks of the loving of the book. It was just a writing style that I didn't quite click with. The story was really good, really unique, but I found myself drifting off more than a few times where it seemed a little wordy. I do intend to give this one a reread in a few months and see if it's better for me on a second run. With the rave reviews and the general good vibes going around about this book, I think it's worth reading (or reading again) to see what you think of it yourself.

Plot: I'm going to be super difficult with the rating, I think if I were being honest I would give Strange the Dreamer 3.75 stars (yep, I'm that difficult). But in the case of this book, it was definitely an "it's me, not you" situation.

Strange the Dreamer was a beautiful book, I swear Laini Taylor makes creating a fantasy world look easy, which is an impressive feat. I loved how Taylor slowly unraveled the tumultuous relationship between the gods and people from Weep and the lengths each side took to survive. For how much I loved the actual content, I don't know if the pace was for me. It took me a while to read this book, and that just wasn't because of the intimidating 530 pages; I thought that it was a rather slow book and I kept getting distracted every 30 pages or so. I will be anxiously awaiting the sequel and I just hope that I have a better time with trucking through it.

Characters: Strange the Dreamer was told from two perspectives, the orphaned junior librarian and the orphaned godspawn. By having both perspectives, Taylor was able to make both sides of the war sympathetic and help the reader understand what was at risk. I was especially interested in Sarai and her four other godspawn siblings who were doing all that they could to survive without alerting the citizens of Weep to their presence. Of course, there was a romance between our two main characters, but it wasn't a romance I was interested in. I understood their quick attraction to each other, but it didn't have the same beauty and allure as Daughter of Smoke and Bone had.

Worldbuilding: Taylor's world was flawless, which I think we've all come to expect. I loved the mystery behind Weep and the minimal history she gave about the gods - it was just enough to have me wanting to learn more. I honestly could praise her lush worldbuilding for days, but I'll let you be the judge of it.

Short N Sweet: Strange the Dreamer was a marvelous fantasy book that was just a wee too slow in my opinion, but that's my only minor complaint!

Terrific fantasy novel, one of the best I have ever read. This should be on your Hugo Award hot list for next year.

The story and settings are so creative and complex that I have trouble figuring out how much to tell you and where to start. The style of writing is such that anything I say is a spoiler, from the first chapter on. Laini Taylor really knows how to build a story. Every chapter sets up a mystery, and as the book progresses, it seems like every subsequent chapter answers one question and poses two new ones. The book title itself is a mystery with several layers. The main character is Lazlo Strange, an orphan adopted by the royal librarians of a strange medieval-like city. He is thought of by the librarians as a “dreamer” – someone whose head is filled with fairy tales and stories of the past, not quite connected to reality. They call him “Strange the Dreamer”. But the name also implies to us a poetic construction of “the dreamer is strange” (like “how bright the sun” or “how green the tree”). And Lazlo eventually discovers that his actual dreams are indeed strange and wonderful.

Lazlo is especially mesmerized by the stories that one of the elderly librarians tells about a mysterious city with no name. Travel to and from that city, on the other side of the desert, stopped a couple of centuries ago. It used to have a name but several years ago the name disappeared from every book and memory - now it is only referred to as The Unseen City - or "Weep." Lazlo spends all of his spare hours reading the fairy tales, myths, and histories of Weep, although everyone assumes that it no longer exists. He even learns the forgotten language of Weep and figures out most of the pronunciations. And then, miraculously, emissaries arrive from Weep, led by a warrior that others call “the Godslayer.” They are seeking help to recover from disaster. They won't specify what the disaster is, but they ask for several experts in metallurgy and weaponry. To everyone's surprise, Lazlo is accepted as a clerk and translator.

There are many other fascinating characters, several with hidden layers that require patience from the reader as Taylor spins out her slow reveals. Taylor is particularly good at both imagery and using imagery to reveal character. I kept having to stop and read passages aloud.

Intriguing to me, also, is that the story has no villains – or rather, the plot takes place after the villains have been killed. Everyone who survived is, in some sense, a victim trying to cope with memories or in some cases, the *lack* of memories. But a lack of true villains doesn’t mean that everyone else is a *friend*.

Don't miss this book.

I saw this lovely cover several times on my Instagram feed, and then spotted it at BigW for a great price. It's one of those times an impulse buy pays off. I'd hoped for something beautiful and surreal with such a title and cover, and that's just what I got.

The first thing I wanted to know was the sense in which the main character was a dreamer. Does the title refer to Lazlo Strange's hopes and ambitions, or his actual, nocturnal dreams when he's asleep? It turns out to include both, in a very fantastic, colourful, and eventually dangerous way.

Lazlo starts off as a war orphan in the kingdom of Zosma, who is apprenticed to work at the library. He's always been intrigued by tales of the lost city of Weep, although after two hundred years of broken contact, everyone else has dismissed the place as a legend. Lazlo is laughed at and treated like a quirky nerd, until a mighty warrior named Eril-Fane arrives, seeking recruits to help restore his city to its former glory.

He enlists mathematicians, metallurgists, engineers, an explosives handler, and Thyon Nero, the gorgeous but arrogant young alchemist. Even though structural experts seem to be in demand, bashful Lazlo is eager to get himself included in the expedition. He must find a way to convince Eril-Fane that his extensive knowledge of folklore and fairy tales might come in handy.

The quest to dismantle a menacing structure and restore daylight to the city is fraught with more peril than anyone imagined, including the offspring of former enemies who were believed purged. When recent history is revealed, it becomes more unclear whether or not Eril-Fane was a hero or a scourge, since both cases can be argued convincingly. And Lazlo meets the love of his life, who has appeared in his dreams before he even knows she exists.

Part of the plot is the most otherworldly Romeo and Juliet re-telling you could imagine. Shakespeare, eat your heart out. It's all so very romantic, and tied in with the tension between acceptance and rejection, mercy or vengeance.

Many things get turned upside down and prove to be their opposite, including Lazlo's status, since his modesty, gentleness and humility make him truly great. I really love all the scenes between him and Thyon Nero. Suspicious Thyon can't comprehend how a person could willingly offer a bully a helping hand with no strings attached. His thinking reflects our own world of ulterior motives. The young men are a fascinating study of opposites. Thyon has by far the most desirable outward appearance, but Lazlo's inner life is far more enviable. Would you rather look good to other people, or stay humble and enjoy your own good company?

A major theme is how war happens when both sides believe they are good people who were in the right. Hate happens when people close their minds and don't allow themselves to see the other side. 'Good people do the sames things bad people do, but call it justice,' says a character who's in the position to know this as fact.

The book ends at a crucial spot, and I'll be snatching up the sequel as soon as I know it's available. Talk about being backed into a corner! The concept of death was a bit disturbing at times. You seem to either dissipate into the ether or... you'll find out. But a third sort of heavenly alternative, 'Dreamer's Weep' is presented, from Lazlo's own head, and I'd love to visit it.

I hope we see more of Thyon Nero too, in the next story. He's seems to have the 'total package' that gives anti-heroes charisma. It includes looks, intelligence, a grudge, a troubled past, and lots of scope for change.

The problem with Strange the Dreamer, if one can call it a problem, is that the concept and the world-building and the characters are so bizarre. Not bizarre in a bad way though. Bizarre in a unique, enchanting way. It's a hard book to explain to people. Instead, you just have to scream at them to go read it. (Or something.) But the way Laini Taylor tells this tale--from the opening myth to the life of Lazlo to the interlacing story of the god children--it never comes across bizarre or confusing. It works. It works too well, that it has to be magic.

Lazlo's life as an orphan, then a librarian, and then the secretary of the Godslayer is intriguing in of itself, but pairing it with several other threads bolsters the story and gives it a wider scope. Somehow each character, from the smallest to the greatest, the most minor to the most major, is important and needed in the story. Without a single character, this story somehow would not be the same.

The world-building is much the same. All the details and depth that have been poured into this story help to weave the magical tale. Without knowledge of how Lazlo became an orphan or how he was treated in the library, without knowing how the god children live every single day of their lives in the temple, the story would not be the same. Somehow the intricate details that may seem unimportant, overbearing, or drawn out to sound pretty or create more pages are vital to the book's story.

In addition, the pacing of the book works wonders. There are moments of lingering, of dreaming, of letting the story just mingle and melt, but there are also moments of action and chaos and sadness and deepness. Even though the story takes a while to get going and there seem to be chapters that take longer to read, the book isn't boring. It isn't dragging or draining. It's all mesmerizing--and dare I say, dreamy?--and vivid. Despite it taking longer to read because of the page length, I adored every word. I gobbled up the descriptions and word choice, and sometimes I had to let the words wash over me because of how phenomenal the writing is.

The way the story all ties together with the various character threads, with Lazlo being called 'the Dreamer,' and with the rich history of Weep is stunning. There is a way to writing where there are enough hints that readers can start to guess some of the stuff that will happen, maybe have an inkling in their minds nudging at them, that when they get to certain points in the book they gasp because they knew, they just knew, that things would come together in such a way. There were moments where I knew this or that would happen, but it never felt too obvious or cliche or predictable. It felt right. It was as if when I read upon specific parts I made a discovery that I had known would be there all along without realizing it until that point.

I thought I adored the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy for all of these reasons, but somehow I don't think those books can even compare to the absolute marvel of Strange the Dreamer. (But they are still worth reading if you like crazy mythology and angels and monsters.) Laini Taylor is a wordsmith, through and through. If you're a fan of Laini Taylor, a fan of rich fantasy worlds and odd concepts, of magic and dreaming, of myths and legends... and if you want a good story with great characters, read Strange the Dreamer.

Before I read STRANGE THE DREAMER, I was enormously frustrated by how vague the premise seemed to be. After I finished the story, I realized that vagueness was deliberate, because no cut-and-dry summary could possibly capture the beauty of Laini Taylor's writing, or the story she's created. I was captivated, from the initial description of Lazlo on page one to the final climactic scene. Everything unfolded precisely as it should, from the reasons behind Lazlo's earliest infatuation with Weep, to the mysteries that surround it, and the roles each of the characters played in the fall of the gods ten years before.

I'm used to feeling a little bit lost every time I read fantasy novels. I'm not used to wishing I could stay lost for a few hundred pages longer. This book was magic, in every sense of the word.

Slow, slow, and slow. Did I mention that it's slow? Also, there's a great deal of unimportant and uninteresting material that covers the same information over and over again. I didn't find the characters at all interesting (except Lazlo), and Taylor's writing style was choppy and turned what could have been a great story into a mishmash. I loved "The Daughter of Smoke and Bone," but felt the two succeeding part of the trilogy were a complete letdown. I decided to take a chance on this volume due to the good reviews, but I will not be reading anything else from Laini Taylor.

“‘Beautiful and full of monsters,’ she’d said. ‘All the best stories are.’”

Strange the Dreamer definitely fit this mold. It was exceptionally beautiful and filled with monsters. I loved this book every bit as much as I anticipated I would. I love Laini Taylor’s writing and she took it to an entirely different level here. Truthfully I finished this book days before getting around to writing this and I am still spinning from the words and from the story. I highly anticipate the release of the next book in the series, and will remain and avid fan of this outhor. If you love beautiful writing, unique stories, adventure and romance then this one won’t be a disappointment for you either. One million stars from me.

“‘I think you’re a fairy tale. I think you’re magical, and brave, and exquisite. And…’ His voice grew bashful. Only in a dream could he be so bold as to speak such words. ‘I hope you’ll let me be in your story.’”

"He'd sooner die trying to hold the world on his shoulders than running away. Better, always, to run toward."

No one knows what happened in Weep two hundred years ago to isolate the wondrous city from the rest of the world. No one can remember the city's true name.

Lazlo Strange has been obsessed with the Unseen City since he felt the city's true name stripped from his mind when he was five years old. Now he spends every free moment tracking down what clues he can about the city as it once was and hints to what might have transpired there.

Unlikely as it may be for a war orphan turned into a lowly junior librarian, Lazlo's greatest dream is to visit Weep and see its wonders with his own eyes. He knows such opportunities, such legends, are more suitable to men like Thyon Nero--a scholar renowned through the land for his alchemical wonders--but that does little to tamp down his hope. Lazlo is a dreamer who survives on a steady diet of magic and fairy tales. To deny the possibility of either in his own small life is unthinkable.

When an unexpected caravan led by Eril-Fane, the Godslayer, Lazlo has to embrace his dream and strive for the impossible: not just the chance to see the Unseen City for himself but possibly the chance to save it.

The city is more than even Lazlo could have expected filled with wonders and horrors in equal measure. The city is still haunted by the centuries long legacy of war and terror under the Mesarthium--blue-skinned gods who came down from the sky when the city was still whole.

There are problems to solve in Weep and answers to find. But as Lazlo explores his dream city, he realizes there are also more questions as his own dreamscape becomes something he doesn't recognize with moments that are strikingly, vividly real, and a blue-skinned goddess who seems nothing like the terror he's heard about from the Godslayer.

In a world where the old gods are dead and dreams have weight, Lazlo will have to decide what he wants to protect and what he's willing to lose in Strange the Dreamer (2017) by Laini Taylor. Welcome to Weep.

Strange the Dreamer is the first book in Taylor's latest duology which will continue in The Muse of Nightmares. While this story is very obviously unfinished (the last line of the novel is "Because this story was not over yet.") Strange the Dreamer does provide a partially contained arc in terms of Lazlo's journey and growth as he comes into his own upon arriving in Weep.

Through Weep and its history Strange the Dreamer artfully explores themes of forgiveness and recovery as both Lazlo and the rest of Weep struggle to determine next steps for the wounded but healing city. The imagined city of Weep is evocative and vibrant with distinct customs, landscapes, and even language. The use of language is demonstrated especially well with the words in Weep's native language used to start each section of the novel.

Taylor builds drama that remains taut from the opening prologue until the very last page. Written with an omniscient third person point of view this story is very self-aware and encompasses numerous points of view. This narrative structure and the tone of the novel are deliberately reminiscent of the fairy tales that Lazlo so richly loves and serve to underscore the fairy tale nature of Strange the Dreamer where magic continuously appears in seemingly mundane and unexpected places.

Strange the Dreamer is a captivating fantasy sure to appeal to readers looking for an intricate and unique story. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: The Reader by Traci Chee, The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi, House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones, Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta, Lirael by Garth Nix, A Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab, The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

I've got a lot of mixed feelings here, but I think any negative opinions I have are all personal...so I can't really critique the book for it.

But first: this book is gorgeous. The writing. The worldbuilding. The characters. It's magical in every possible way, and it gives you that feeling of wonder that only a Laini Taylor book can produce. In terms of worldbuilding and concept, this is my favorite Laini book to date. It's excellent.

The characters are also (almost) perfection. I love how she creates two cultures that have such deeply rooted prejudices for each other that are rooted in *real* suffering. She portrays the people as sympathetic even when their views are wrong. It was nuanced and perfect. Also, she KILLED ME with the sleeping on the other side of the bedroom door thing. (If you've read it, YOU KNOW!)

And the writing. I mean, Laini can't go wrong there, I don't think. She's a mistress of words, queen of metaphors, and empress of descriptions. We are all unworthy of her.

But I did have an issue. Just one: I didn't like the romance.

Call me a heartless anti-romantic, but I'm just not on board for the "love conquers all" plot line. Nor do I like instalove, even when it's written well. This is personal preference, so obviously this is an issue with me and not the book. But it did make me roll my eyes more than once and not be able to give the book five stars. I didn't care about our central couple; in fact, I liked them better individually than together.

That being said, the ending is crazy. I know Laini books are too slow for some people, but I don't care. Her pacing and plotting totally work for me, and she always writes a great climax. Be prepared for a cliffhanger though.

All in all: gorgeous. And I'm dying for the sequel.

As soon as I sampled the writing style, I was addicted. Boy, Laini Taylor can write herself some absolutely gorgeous prose! The writing had me mesmerized and even if there were tiny flaws in the story, or even a slower plot at some points, I didn't care as long as I was able to keep devouring those beautiful words. And that was not the only thing I loved. Oh no, one of the main things Strange The Dreamer works so well is its main character Lazlo. He is hands down one of my new all time favorite characters and it was an absolute delight being able to follow his story. I liked the other characters in general as well (Sarai!) and being able to connect to them only made it easier to fully emerge myself in the story and worldbuilding. Although the worldbuilding and its descriptions alone already make you wish you could see it all with your own eyes. As you can already guess, I absolutely loved Strange The Dreamer and it turned out to be my second 5 star read of the year.

This story finishes... and then keeps going, actually ending with a major cliffhanger.

I enjoyed both Lazlo's and Sarai's narration. I was always a little thrown off when someone else narrated, which was rare but occurred for a few different characters.

I would like more Calixte, please; it is a tragedy that we know nothing about her progress or lack thereof in climbing the divine metal and also that we see so little of her romance.

Lots of people are jerks here, or worse, but almost all of them (with the exception of one minor villain?) have very understandable motives.

I could have done without Eril-Fane's "unable to love" plot.

CW: systemic sexual assault (not graphically described, but pretty consistently discussed), imperialism-ish, attempted genocide, sex, explosion that destroys part of a city, earthquake, physical abuse, character death.

This is by far the best book I have read this year thus far. I enjoyed every second of reading it and it pains me to think about how long it will be for the second book to be released.

Do not let the prologue hold you back. I almost put this book down before I even started it because the flowery descriptions and wordiness felt like to much. If the entire book had been like this, I would not have made it through.

Once the actual book started it was so engaging and interesting. It is rare that I read a book and feel like I have never read anything like it before. I have read so many books in my life and this one is just…special. The characters are well developed and endearing. Lazlo Strange is such a wonderful character and I feel that this quote does him justice better than any description that I could provide.

"He believed in magic, like a child, and in ghosts, like a peasant. His nose was broken by a falling volume of fairy tales his first day on the job, and that, they said, told you everything you needed to know about strange Lazlo Strange: head in the clouds, world of his own, fairy tales and fancy."

I spent most of the book trying to figure out how this could possibly end in a way that would feel good and be true to the story.

"It was a noble question, and if destiny had seen fit to reveal its staggering answer to him then, he would never have believed it."

I really don’t want to go into it to much because I feel like there is so much that could be spoiled. The ending was equal parts devastating, triumphant and infuriating. Seeing it unfold was like watching a car accident that you were powerless to stop and then finding out that the driver was someone that you loved. Heartbreaking.

I feel like I want to scream from the mountaintops just how wonderful this book is. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

This book is very well written, with flowing prose, evocative descriptions, a deeply built world, and a diverse cast of characters.

However, it's also slow. And that diverse cast of characters really aren't that interesting. Some are obvious antagonists, support staff, authority figures, mysterious strangers, there's even a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. But our Main Character is such a generic poor-orphan-who-can-save-the-world that i really didn't care about him, and thus his quest. A secondary Main Character comes in partway through, and she's also a generic poor-orphan-who-can-change-the-world who i also struggled to engage with at all.

I think i might love another story told in this world. The author clearly knows it down to the size of grains of sand in the desert. It's rich and beautiful and complex. Just dump Lazlo in a ditch somewhere and put in a main character with, y'know, character.

An eARC of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of those books that I saw getting a lot of buzz, certainly the Booktubers I follow were very excited about it. And, who wouldn't be with the gorgeous bright blue cover with gilded dragonfly? Even the gold and blue flecked cover was striking. It's a book whose appearance begs you to pick it up and read it. And if that wasn't enough, the blurb is fantastic and sucked me in. I'm new to Taylor's work and I am really excited I got to read this book. What Taylor does here was really unique for me, there are certainly the trappings of epic fantasy but they're used in really interesting ways. 

I adored Lazlo's character and enjoyed him as an unusual hero type, a dreamer where the story doesn't really fit him but he's there doing the best he can anyway. I loved his bookishness and his quiet dedication. I loved the whimsical fantasy of the world-building and the adventure, although honestly, Lazlo was one of the only characters I was attached to at all. Lazlo and Sarai, and I thought her short changed as a character. I struggled with the godspawn characters as the 'them' of the book entirely - they were too juxtaposed as both terrifying and dangerous and also helpless and trapped in a way that never really worked for me. Same with the band of experts gathered to attend the problem in the city of Weep, save the thief who took up the betting ring, they were unremarkable - I'd read much more of her story though. 

That's kind of where shine wears off for me, because although Lazlo was interesting and engaging. Although I empathised with Sarai's empathy and loneliness, the story itself fell flat for me. I struggled with the plot, especially as it just seemed like there was so much more plot in the history of Weep than in the present, and it was horrific history and I found the way it was shared felt a bit wooden. I was told characters were traumatised and such, but I didn't get that from the characters themselves. I also struggled with the romance between Lazlo and Sarai, I liked the premise but found the execution left me cold, I wanted more from them, more for them, and I find the ending of the book abhorrent. The interaction between all the characters save Lazlo and Sarai is flat and unsatisfying - it's hard to care about what they're doing and why. 

The writing itself makes up for a lot here, it's lyrical and paints such a beautiful picture while you're reading that you don't seem to mind the lack of substance. At least, that's what I found for myself until I got to the end and I felt like I'd taken in so little for all the pages I'd read. Others have commented that they thought the pace a little slow in places and I'd also agree with that. I'm really glad I got to read this and my favourite part was how much of a whimsical dreamer Lazlo was, and that although he was happy in the depths of the library, he got to go on an adventure and explore the city of his dreams. 

If you've enjoyed other works by Taylor, you'll likely enjoy this book similarly. It's a good read overall, though I'm left a little wanting - and not in the way you'd hope. It's worth noting that there's some heavy content in here, reference to rape and torture and forced pregnancy - it's not gratuitous, but it's there and I found it uncomfortable reading in the story - again it was part of the being told rather than finding out as the story unfolds more organically. Although I've had Taylor's work recommended to  me several times, I'm not sure if I'm up for book 2 at this stage. 

4.5 stars

The ending is for sure 5 stars, but the build up at times, was not as catching for me and it took me over a year to complete the novel. I had started reading back when it came out in 2017, but after 50 ash pages, I ended up putting it down until this past month. And again, that beginning drags, but in an understandable way. You cannot have an impactful fantasy novel without laying down a foundation for the worlds.

The characters themselves were lovely and are a testament to Laini Taylors abilities as a writer that I felt bad at the end for certain characters that I would have loved to see die, at the beginning. There are so many layers developed and woven between the various characters where by the end you can't help but feel connected to them, even after what they had done in years past.

Final notes:
- Told in multiple POV's [third person] focusing mainly on Lazlo and Sarai
- mentions of off-page and implied sexual assault
- this book felt darker than the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy

Holy crap this is amazing! This is her newest novel and it's better than her previous series. I liked the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, but the ending was too convienent. But this first book in two books series was everything I love about fantasy: an original world, creepy monsters, alluring folklore, goregous writing and surprises hiding in the pages. While this is long, Laini Taylor takes you on a beautiful journey as Lazlo Strange, an orphan and librarian, gets the chance to see the long forgotten city of Weep. Go into this as blind as possible and enjoy the journey. I could tell how much passion and work Laini Taylor put into this book and it truly shows in her craft :) can't recommend enough!

I'm generally not a band-wagoner. I get quite wary any time I see others going gaga over a book or an author. We've all been burned by following hype at least once right? After reading STRANGE THE DREAMER I'm kicking that part of myself that shies away from anything that seems too popular for not starting to read Laini Taylor sooner. Believe the hype people!

Rich fantasy worlds in YA can oft times begin to feel like the same influences over and over. Comfortable but sometimes a little lackluster. STD (err, worst abbreviation ever sorry) felt like nothing I've read before in YA or adult fantasy. The world building is lush, layer upon layer of mythology and culture forming a deeply captivating realm. Further, Taylor has created a cast of characters with backstories so poignant it can be painful to read in the best kind of way.

It's a rare book that I spend a few months slowly nibbling because it is so good I want to savor it. STD was very much that book for me and I'm glad I took my time. By the final page I was breathless with anticipation and emotionally wrung out. It's packed with mystery, romance, one seriously make-your-skin-crawl villain, and written so elegantly I can't even gush about anything specific. If you enjoyed Magonia by Maria Davhana Headley, An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, or Roar by Cora Carmack this should most assuredly be your next read.

While many readers thought that the beginning was too slow to bear, I completely devoured the details. Yes, tons and tons of details at first. Be warned that this is a book that you have to savor. I’m a skimmer and I had to keep going back to slow myself down. Once I got used to my new reading pace I was hooked! I loved learning about how the main character, Lazlo, came to be Lazlo! Even if the pace was a tad bit slow at first, I feel like it was necessary in order to get proper world building done and to get a feel of how the characters came to be who they are. Seriously, the world building in this book is nothing short of magical. The characters are complex and so human (well I suppose half the characters are human and half are demigods). I have never read anything like this; maybe somewhere out there, there’s another book similar, but it has not found my hands and so as far I know, this story is very unique and original to my mind. Fast forward to the last 200 or so pages and you won’t be able to put this book down. There was so much to keep you on your toes and give you so all the possible feels. I was in a frenzy in the last 50 or so pages and I’m sad to say it isn’t a stand alone. Sad, but also happy since I get to have more time with Lazlo and Sarai. Please do yourself a favor and read this! This book is definitely 5 stars from me!

pooled ink Reviews:
3.5 Stars

Lovely, whimsical, brimming with a softness, a strength, a heart. I loved the whole idea of lost magic and the forgotten city of Weep. The beginning of this book was like an intricate folktale, reading about Strange, his dreams, and his courage as he finally stepped from the shadows to embark on a journey he’d imagined ever since he was a child. The entire story was a fascinating intertwining of fairytale and dark adventure.

Overall this book was quite unique which was rather refreshing. My only drawback was that it failed to connect with me or spark any excitement. So although it was definitely a well-written tale, I felt as if I could take it or leave it. But if you enjoy fantasy books painted with vibrant colors and emotional hues, then perhaps you should read about Strange the dreamer. It might just become a favorite like it has for so many others.

**Read the full review on Wordpress: Pooled Ink

3 stars (rounded up)-story
audiobook
Narration-excellent
The story was fascinating, beautifully written, visual, flowing as I have come to love of
Ms. Taylor's style and it was too long and over written. I wanted to love it, wanted to have that can't wait for more feel, instead I was asking, "when will this end". It was slow for me, dragging at times with inner dialog, extreme detailing of everything, that my mind would drift away to mundane thoughts instead of being in the story. Till the last hour of the book, that woke me up and grabbed my attention fully and then CLIFFHANGER ! I listened to over 18 hours struggled to stay with the story to finally have something happen and was left hanging with "to be continued" ARGUH ! Seriously ? That really pissed me off. For me the book was twice as long as it needed to be. There was a part where she went into such extreme details about kissing, omg how many pages did that carry on for in print ? The first 3/4 of the book was so slow and over written for this reader.
Will I read the next book ? Right now I have no interest. I'm so tired of the story, the endless self discoveries, and awakening feeling I really don't care. I am shocked I feel this way I adored her last series.

If you’ve enjoyed Laini Taylor’s previous books, I’d say this should definitely be at the top of your to be read pile. The writing style is incredibly lush. I found it was something I wanted to savour and take slowly, rather than rush through. There are some truly beautiful passages in the book that make this a truly dreamy fantasy.

The pacing of the first third of the book was a little slower than I would have liked. I think I am used to a shorter format and cracking pace. There was a lot of set up with Lazlo, his obsession with Weep, his rather shadowy backstory and his interactions with the current ruling family where he lives. I loved the scenes in the library. Being a library fan, I was rather fond of his time there. I enjoyed the growth of his character. He has a quiet kind of strength, which I appreciated.

The time in Weep was fascinating and while some elements are telegraphed so there were not too many surprises, I found it incredibly engaging. Particularly the last third, which I felt was a little more tightly written. I am now rather impatient to see what happens next as we’re left with some things resolved, but more urgent matters we left hanging. Beautifully written.

Long post coming, trying really hard not to include a spoiler, maybe there's a teensy-tiny one at the end, but I don't say what happens, I swear. And don't expect a summary, this is not that kind of review

I finished STRANGE THE DREAMER last night, and I am still thinking about it, going in circles as I realize the layers of what Laini Taylor has done. Honestly, I don't think I can pick up another book to get started on yet, not today. The world she has created--the imagination, the people, the beauty, the humor, the lushness. I am pretty sure I spent last night in wondrous Lazlo-Strange type dreams--I absolutely woke up smiling. But...and this is an amazingly good But...the plot. The Plot. Absolutely worthy of Agatha Christie, and, no, it's not a mystery novel. I can't even imagine the pile of index cards she must have gone through, if that's her system, or how she somehow interconnected them across all the dimensions of the story. Like Star Trek's 3-D chess was at least supposed to be. She had me asking questions all the way through, coming up for air to follow out story threads and elements to multiple possible endings, half wishing for certain outcomes as a reader in love, and half thinking other paths at the same time, feeling like there were "shoulds" that I didn't want her to break rules on, so wouldn't feel like there was a a cheat. SHE DIDN'T CHEAT. She totally didn't cheat. AND she surprised me. I thought I had explored all the options, I thought I knew all the possible had-to-happens, and no...I missed it. And I was not dissecting as I went just because I am a writer--this was all Taylor, laying my path, poking me to look, daring me to predict, challenging me to see. All while she sucked me into the most perfect of worlds, the most wonderful characters.

*takes breath*

I am in awe.

Lazlo, a boy raised in an orphanage who dreams of another world – until one day, the name of that world is erased and becomes, simply, Weep. A young man who is Strange the Dreamer, and who could never have dreamed the adventure awaiting him.

Strange the Dreamer is, quite simply, one of the best books I have read. It will definitely go on any "Top 10" list I have for this year, and probably for quite some time after that. The writing is poetic and beautiful to read - I found myself re-reading passages just to enjoy the way the words played together on the page. The characters are unique and fully fleshed out, so that - at any given time - they are exactly as they should be in that moment. The settings are surreal and amazing, and the descriptions of those so well done that reading this was sort of like having a mini movie playing in my head during the entire time. It is heartbreaking, beautiful, strange...all at the same time.

I came to this book as one who had never read any of Taylor's previous works, and what I found here absolutely blew me away. It's the kind of book that leaves the reader wanting to re-read it right away, just to enjoy it all over again. It's the kind of book that lives on in the reader's mind for days afterwards, haunting with its beauty and all the little details that stand out. It's the kind of book that all regular readers are always searching for - one that makes an impact. Strange has found a permanent home on my shelf, and I look forward to the next book in the series.

Laini Taylor how you slay me.

I love Laini's writing. I am enamored by it, totally and completely enchanted. It's an art form in itself. I've loved every book of her's I've had a chance to read and although it took me, what seems like forever, I finally tackled Strange the Dreamer. I am kicking myself in the booty for not reading it earlier, but on the flip side I'm glad I waited because the next one will be releasing soon! Laini's writing is like a rich decadent dessert. You can't just shovel your mouth full. You want to savor it, let it roll over your tongue, experience the exquisite flavor, and revel in each and every bite. Her stories fill me up, they entertain, they enliven, and then they destroy your emotions! I loved these characters, I loved this story and I can't WAIT to read the continuation of this story.

10,000 out of 5.
Let me catch my breath.

This still won't be as much of a review as I want it to be simply because this book changed me. It actually changed me.

Firstly, go to the book's page, go to the quotes section, and just soak some of those lines up. And those are only the tip of the iceberg. Taylor is a master at language. I met her when she was in Denver for her book tour and the moderator was asking her about her process and at the time, I hadn't read Strange the Dreamer - she was talking about how she doesn't only concentrate on how words look and the senses, she concentrates on the sounds of the words. The way they move together.

And I completely understand that now.

I can't tell you how many times I read a sentence, closed the book on my finger, and closed my eyes because WOW that line was stunningly beautiful. So many times.

The book is like watching Lord of the Rings in VHS versus watching it in Bluray. It's beautiful. It's stunning. It is so many words I can't even find because I'm so struck stupid by Laini Taylor's words.

The story itself is fantastic. This lost city of Weep that has been plaguing Lazlo his entire life suddenly at his feet when he takes a chance out of character. A cast of amazing characters you love to learn about. A citadel in the sky. Godspawn and magnetics and alchemy and the art of being inside of dreams.

All I can say without giving away spoilers is this book changed me.

If you haven't yet read a book by Laini Taylor, you need to, ASAP. It may be a little early, but I'm already sure that this will be my favorite book of 2017. After finishing this book, I immediately began to long for more time with Lazlo and Sarai.
Laini Taylor has a gift for creating vivid worlds, even if one of them can only be found inside a dream.

The physical world of Lazlo Strange was not a very hospitable one until some spoiled fish gave him a fresh start in a much more suitable place. His time with the monks wasn't pleasant, but a mysterious event occurred in a place now known as Weep, that set Lazlo on his life's quest, even though he didn't know it at the time.
Spending much of his life inside his own head, Lazlo didn't experience many things most boys his age would. That is, until the soldiers came to a select group of people to travel to Weep to solve an unnamed problem.

The story moves between the Citadel in Weep and Lazlo and the Feranji (foreigners) that come to Weep. It is a story filled with both tension and wondrous floating dreamscapes that the reader wishes would never end.

I purchased this book for my High School library, and I'm sure it will have a ready audience with those who have read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. (which I have read through twice so far)

Strange the Dreamer was my introduction to Laini Taylor’s writing and storytelling skills and boy, what a stellar first impression! I was hooked by the first chapter- the idea of a lost city with a lost name is such an enticing concept. I’ll admit, I turned into a starry-eyed dreamer myself for awhile there.

When people blather about authors having “lyrical prose” I typically call BS and go on with my life. HOWEVER, Laini Taylor really does have prose that practically sings to you- it’s enchanting! I would place Strange the Dreamer in the top tiers with my favorite fantasy novels despite it being categorized as a Young Adult novel because it’s definitely of a higher caliber than the usual YA fantasy. The world as a whole is somewhat underdeveloped, but the city of Weep and its culture are well-defined. The whole world is enchanting and promises new discoveries around every corner, but the real treat here are the characters.

Lazlo Strange was orphaned as a young child and grew up in the care of first monks and then librarians. You may consider him an expert on the city lost in the sands of a distant desert that is now called Weep, though Lazlo recalls when it had a different name. How is it that a name could simply disappear? His quest for knowledge and his kindheartedness has led him to become an integral part in the stories of others, but Lazlo has a chance to be present in his own story when a man leading the Taizakain warriors of Weep arrives and requests help with an unnamed problem. The second perspective is that of Sarai, a Mesarthim girl of terrible power that is trapped along with four other children in the Citadel with only ghost for company. Each of them has command of a unique power, but none of their powers are enough to allow them to escape their lonely prison and even if they did, they would be slaughtered on sight, for their sires enslaved the people of Weep for two centuries. Sarai and Lazlo end up having one of the most beautiful relationships I’ve ever encountered in literature, perhaps because 95% of it occurs in Lazlo’s dreams. Yes, dreams. Sarai can enter into dreams and meddle with the visions therein, but is never seen… that is, until Lazlo sees her.

I could literally blather on for several more paragraphs and give you an entire in-depth summary of the story, but honestly that takes all the fun out of reading the story in the first place. Trust me when I say that this is the best thing to happen to YA fantasy in years and it absolutely floored me with its depth, the blurred lines between good and evil, victim and victimized. Laini Taylor crushed my heart at the end of this book but at the same time I was also cheering. When you get to that point, I think you’ll understand exactly what I mean. Strange the Dreamer will be going in my top ten favorite books of the year (unless 2017 astounds me with masterpieces). If her other series is half this good, I’ll be reading it ASAP.

Wow. I am in awe of this book.
From the prologue, Laini Taylor grabs the dreamer in you through lyrical prose. The writing is so stunningly beautiful that it takes you to another world.
Just the detailed descriptions of this magical world full of Gods, goddesses, Alchemy, carnage, dreams make you forget yourself and live inside it.
Lazlo Strange: From the moment I started reading of him, I knew that he will be a special character in my head. Not like those swoon-worthy fictional characters but like the rough looking one who gently breezes into your heart with his smile. Strange, mich like us readers is a dreamer. he reads of fairy tales and longs for a city whose name was plucked from his mind as a kid when he played make-believe. For years he looked for the name, for the place to be real. Until finally one day, it turns out to be true.
The story is a slow paced one but is necessary to have that build up and with the writing style, you won't mind reading 500 pages to reach that end. In fact, I still crave for more.
Now where the premise comes in, it is well-built and unique in itself. And the characters, well from Strange the dreamer to the godspawns and Godslayer, each character was intriguing to me.
I had some thoughts about the story told from Sarai's POV and I was so glad when the author brushed over that too. She left no loose ends. Thyon Nero, well let's just say I hated hi, but also couldn't help but pity him. Same goes for Minya. While it felt like Ruby and Feral were just unimportant side characters in this one, I'm really hoping they'll have some role to play in the sequel.
I loved how this story started off as something new and then built up into something magical. Though I have read Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, I have to say that this book impressed me more. There were some special moments in this book that I would like to mention:
<blockquote> <i>“And they gazed at themselves in it, side by side and hand in hand, and they beheld neither gods nor monsters. They were so nearly unchanged, and yet that one thing - the color of their skin - would, in the real world, change everything.” </blockquote> </i>

<blockquote> <i>“I turned my nightmares into fireflies and caught them in a jar.” </blockquote> </i>

The author does have a knack for storytelling. I adored the tales about the Man who loved the moon, the village of Mist and the story Lazlo concocted to get the purse of silver. These tiny tales within the bigger tale were like bits of chocochips in cookies.

One of my good friends recommended Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor to me. It is about a boy named Lazlo and a girl named Sarai. Lazlo was raised by monks and has always loved stories. He was always fascinated by the story of Weep, which is a city that is full of magic and wonder. Part of that wonder is it’s name, one day the name of the city disappeared from everyone’s minds and when they tried to think of it they could only come up with ‘weep’. Lazlo works in the big library researching weep in his free time. Sarai lives her life hidden away, if anyone ever saw her she would be killed on sight. This makes her wonder if she is really living her life and what it means to be alive. These two stories meet in an unexpected way. I really enjoyed reading this book, I loved the characters and saw my love of stories reflected back to me. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy, great world building, stories and fans of Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo because it also builds a magical world.

4.5 stars.

Strange the Dreamer is a beautiful, spellbinding book. It's one of those books that's hard to describe. It's the story of Laszlo Strange, an orphan raised by monks, who is obsessed with the mythical lost city of Weep, an obsession he researches tirelessly through his work as a librarian. Laszlo thinks that his obsession is just a dream and that he'll never leave the library, but one day, a chance to fulfill his greatest dreams comes along and Laszlo is off on the adventure of a lifetime.

This is such a dreamy, beautiful book. It's filled with gods, goddesses, heroes, monsters, magic, and one wonderful librarian with a magnificent dream. Laini Taylor has a unique, wonderful writing style, and every word feels rich with meaning. I'm usually a very fast reader, tearing through books, but I took my time with Strange the Dreamer, wanting to savor it for as long as possible. Taylor builds an incredibly rich, multilayered fantasy world. I didn't realize when I started the book that it's not a stand-alone, so I was a bit surprised when it ended on a cliffhanger, but I'm very glad there will be a second book and I can't wait to see where Taylor takes the story.

This was a fascinating book. Full of mystery and surprise, I was captivated by the story.

Lazlo Strange is such an engaging character. He is smart, loyal, and, in the end, not anything you expect him to be.

I also loved Sarai. At first when the point of view shifted to her world above the city of Weep, I was actually annoyed because I was so into Lazlo's story I resented the fact that I was being wrenched from his mind and thrown into that of a godspawn. It took some time before Sarai grew on me but soon I was just as engaged with her story as I was with Lazlo's and particularly so when their worlds collide.

Having said that, I found the romance of the book a bit over the top. I love a good romance but in this book I found it a bit distracting from the overall story.

Strongly recommend this one from Laini Taylor!

Strange the Dreamer is probably my biggest disappointment of the year. I was super excited for this one, but it wound up being super boring. Seriously, nothing happens until the last several chapters. When it starts, we meet Lazlo Strange as a child. He's an orphan and is raised to be a librarian. As he gets older, he becomes obsessed with stories about a lost city known as Weep. To everyone Weep is just a fairy tale, but Lazlo believes it exists. Especially when his research leads to successfully creating gold.

I was extremely bored with Strange the Dream from the very beginning. It's just so slow going and I felt disconnected from Lazlo. He's basically a laughingstock for being so invested in the lost history of Weep. I had a burst of hope when Thyon Nero takes all of his books to make gold without crediting him. Maybe Lazlo will do something! Nope. Nothing. Although when the Godslayer from Weep appears, Lazlo does beg to be taken on the journey back to the lost city even though he has no useful skills. Um, okay?

Other than Lazlo, the other narrator of Strange the Dreamer is Sarai, a child of the gods. She lives in the floating citadel above Weep with four other children of the gods, although no one knows that they're there. Fifteen years ago, the Godslayer, well, slayed all of the gods and their children, but he missed those five. Now they live in secret and torment the citizens of Weep. Well, Sarai does since she can enter dreams and manipulate them into nightmares. She does it on the orders of one of the other godspawn though, because she's not like that and likes humans, and whatever. She's boring, although her power is pretty cool.

Aside from being boring and giving me no reason to care about either main character, I had huge issues with Strange the Dreamer's world building. It's all basically built on rape. The people hate the gods because they kidnap men and women, hold them in the citdel, and use them to make children. They steal their memories when they put them back, and mess with their minds while they're still there. The Godslayer didn't lose his memories though, which is why he went on a killing rampage. But all of the godspawn are products of rape which is why everyone hates them, even though it's not their fault. I really could have done without that. Isn't there some other basis for Fantasy worlds?! It doesn't seem like it.

Strange the Dreamer was just a mess. The plot is so slow and boring. The world building is atrocious and uncomfortable. The main characters have zero personality or backbone. The romance was just kind of there. It's a case of "no one's ever been kind to me before, so let's kiss." There's no chemistry whatsoever. I would believe Lazlo and Thyon going from enemies to lovers instead, but that's just wishful thinking. I honestly don't care enough to read the second book to find out what happens next, especially since I saw that big reveal at the end coming from the beginning.

Laini Talyor is a mad genius and Strange the Dreamer is another hit! There isn't one single thing I would change about this book, it is pure perfection. It does take some time to get into because the world that Taylor has created is so intricate, but if you have read her previous books then you already know this is her thing so it's not a big deal. And honestly it makes the story that much better to have this rich and intricate world. My favorite thing about this is the world. It in addition to being intricate it is is bold, beautiful, complex, and everything I have ever wanted in a book before. The characters and plot definitely don't disappoint either and just add to the overall amazingness of this novel. This is by far my favorite book of the year.

I mean, if you are a Laini Taylor fan and like her elaborate prose and rich worldbuilding and, let's be frank, romances with a whiff of instalove, I don't see how this book can disappoint you. It surely didn't disappoint me.

The story starts with a hungry orphan dreaming of a magic city beyond a vast desert where all kinds of wonders live. And ends... Well, I'll stop here because the biggest pleasure in reading Taylor's books is unspooling a wondrous yarn of her storytelling.

But rest assured, there are gods and wars with both sides guilty of unspeakable, "inter-species" love, guilt and envy, shame and regret, and impossible choices - all themes not unfamiliar to fans of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. And yet this story is also unique and irresistibly captivating.

Not at all surprised that I adored every second of this book. I have loved, loved, loved Laini Taylor's writing so far, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on this story of a boy obsessed with a mythical city and a demi-god trapped in a citadel above. It's a love story, yes, but set in a story world of gods and monsters with a deep history.

Taylor's books have everything--characters that come fully to life (good, evil, in-between, and both), a rich, vivid, well thought-out story world, incredible writing, mythology, magic, plot twists, perfect pacing, scenes that will leave you breathless... I found myself savoring every word, forcing myself to go slower so I wouldn't reach the end of the book. And when I did reach the end...well. The wait for the next book is going to be brutal.

The author writes lyrically and weaves a beautiful story - I blazed through the over 500 pages in two days. That said, had I realized this book was only the first part of a longer story (it ends on a cliffhanger), I would never have started it. I hate the increasingly accepted practice of authors trying to ensure an audience for their future release by not giving their readers a complete story in the current book. I can understand that an author may have more to say - that a tale may be bigger than permitted by a commercial publisher for a single volume - but a skillful author can divide his or her story line into discrete, yet satisfying parts (think JK Rowling and Harry Potter). Ending books with a cliffhanger is a cheap trick. I won't be reading more by this author.

I don't know if I absolutely loved this book or if I absolutely hated it. Kidding, kidding! I didn't hate it, but I'm pretty torn up about the ending. I'm not sure where it goes from here but I'm definitely intrigued and anxious to find out.

If you're looking for the same flowery writing that Taylor exhibited in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone books - you'll get a lesser version of it here. It's still deep and thought provoking, but does not have quite the same style. Perhaps because it's mainly narrated by a male character. Which, I must say, I really enjoyed. Especially when a little bit of romance was added to the story, I loved his perspective of things.

Strange the Dreamer delivers a wonderfully flawed new world of Gods, their children and the men that live under them. I really, really enjoyed it. Up until that last bit. ;)

Laini Taylor wrote the hell out of this book. It is NOT predictable. It is NOT kitchy. It does NOT leave the reader wanting for lack of substance. She created a rich world with characterization that goes above and beyond most of these books that make it to the New York Times bestseller list. I am embarrassed by the books I've given more than 2 stars because I loved the story even though the writing and character development was weak. After having read Strange the Dreamer, I know you can a great story written in exceptional prose that speaks to a wider audience. I was not ready for this book and I was far from disappointed by it.

The ending though, I'm shooketh...

Because of this book, I am re-rating some of these other mediocre books I read this year and was Lazlo level kind with my rating.

DNFed after about fifty pages.

Okay, so Laini Taylor and Stephen King are the same kind of writer for me even though they're very different from one another and that's why I can't finish Strange the Dreamer despite my best efforts.

Both of them are brilliant writers and are undeniably beloved by many readers, but I like their writing better when their works are shorter. For instance, Taylor's Lips Touch: Three Times and King's Carrie are both short and both among my favorites. Strange the Dreamer and 'Salem's Lot are much longer and their writing was killing me slowly in their own ways. That's just how it is.

Now, my best friend and I still quote the "inessential penises" quote from Daughter of Smoke and Bone at one another when we feel like it, but I think that book was a one-off. I'm confident enough in my taste as a reader that I rarely say "it's not you, it's me" about a book. Most of the time, it is the book. This time, it's 100% me.

I finished this book a few days ago and I'm still blown away by it! "Strange the Dreamer" was unbelievably beautiful, magical, captivating, thrilling, enchanting, and completely utterly memorable. I had very high expectations going into this book, and they were actually surpassed - it's not often that *that* happens to me!

Laini Taylor is an amazing storyteller!!! Her writing is breathtakingly beautiful, the world-building was absolutely perfect, and her characters ... oh how I love her characters! Lazlo and Sarai stand out in particular of course, but I also adored many of the supporting characters, and I can't wait to find out more about all of them in the next book. I hope that I will be able to write a more thorough review soon but right now I don't think I could find the words to do this book justice so I'll just say that I loved it very much, that I savored every single word on every single page, and that this is one of those incredibly rare books that I just wanted to crawl into and live in while I was reading! It was THAT good!

I have very mixed feelings about this book. So far, if I can finish it, I am giving the first part 5 stars and three stars overall. Part I is a brilliant piece of mature, literary fantasy. The writing is beautiful and the language has a thrilling cadence and energy. Lazlo is a fresh, interesting narrator and potential hero and we are immediately endeared to him. The first eleven chapters reminded me of Ishiguro's "The Buried Giant" and that is high praise. But then we are introduced to Sarai and her fellow "godspawn" and the book quickly becomes juvenile. The flowing writing becomes bogged down in petty, childish dialogue between characters who are uniformly unlikeable. The story line, which was so elegantly laid out in the beginning becomes hard to follow and just messy and strange. I so want to follow the adventures of Lazlo but I simply cannot slog through the chapters narrated by Sarai. The contrast is just too great between the pathos of Lazlo's "dream" and the pettiness of the godspawn. The author hasn't given us anything that helps us empathize with the godspawn's plight. Perhaps this changes, but I'm not sure I can finish the book. Disappointing!

What started out as a very slow read ended up being a book that I struggled to put down.

Since this is my first time reading anything from Lani Taylor, I am unfamiliar to her writing style. This probably did not help me for the first third of the book as she sets up the world excellently , albeit very slowly. Strange the Dreamer follows Lazlo Strange, a junior librarian who ends up travelling to a mystical lost city called Weep.

I do not want to say too much as I feel like once I start getting into the meat of the story, you will know everything that occurs. What I will say though is that Strange the Dreamer seemed to be split into two seperate acts. Whilst the first one was, in my opinion, the most boring; it was also nessecary to set up everything else that occurs. Even after the first act finished, it was still a slow read but things start to tie together and the overall picture makes sense.

Whist a slow read, it does pick up and sink its teeth into you.

Full disclosure, I only made it to about page 150 before I DNF'ed this. I don't think its the book or author's fault, the writing is beautiful and the characters by in large engaged my attention...when they were active.

There's a lot of time when they're not active. Or when its more of their reacting to something. Or thinking about reacting to something. There's a lot of descriptions of things--beautiful descriptions with wonderful visuals--but there's so much of it. This felt a little bit like the book that "The Princess Bride" is (fictitiously) abridged from, with so much filler detail it became overwhelming.

Which isn't to say that's a bad thing, half the authors I read are accused of this (I like epic fantasy after all), but I tried for two months to get through this and found my attention distracted repeatedly.

In the end this is a beautiful book that just does not work for me.

Five Thousand Stars!
When reading a great book, I usually get caught up in the action and romance, and want to race through to the next chapter to see what happens next. But not with Strange the Dreamer: I wanted to savour every word on every page, to take my time and enjoy the characters, the incredible story and the amazing world that Ms Taylor created. I never wanted it to end because I knew that I would miss it and having to wait another year for the next book would just kill me.

Strange the Dreamer is easily my favourite book of the year and I have read many great books so far, but this one will stick in my mind (and my heart) for the longest time. It is one those books that I will re-read many times, not to remember the story, but to re-live it again – the beautiful writing (I highlighted half of the book with amazing quotes), the unforgettable characters and the incredible fantasy world. Ms Taylor is truly a god of writing!

This is a beautifully​written book, full of solid world-building and character development. It's a unique story premise and different from anything else that over read. Taylor is truly a talented writer and it shows in the flow of her words.

The issue that I had with this novel was the pacing. There was so much back story and build up that I was frustrated by the time I reached the story-within-the-story. The characters, while deep and well developed never really connected for me and so I was left wading through time with characters I didn't really like.

I was hoping to really enjoy this book, but it fell flat for me.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor is super wholesome and the imagery is really great and god damn does Laini write to her genre (which is normally a bad thing, but is good rn). Previously Laini seemed to write as though she were writing a Russian fairytale almost, but in this... she wrote a dream. This is such a neat tale- it's romance and villain origin and dreams come true and adventure and hope and a fairytale all wrapped up in a neat 544 pages. In short, it’s an in-depth epic* and that makes me very happy. In
*like Beowulf but better

I identify with Lazlo in a way that I identify with few other characters, and even fewer male characters. Lazlo is a dreamer, and he is always wondering when he will be able to help, to do something with his large accumulation of fantastic knowledge and his even larger imagination.

The foreshadowing was actually really easy to follow after he was like <spoiler>“well must be a fluke it only reacts with my skin!”</spoiler> – but soon there was a dream sequence with cake and dragons (shout out to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11375137-cait-paper-fury">Cait</a>).

Bless well-fleshed background characters.

Main characters were a little on the omniscient side but whatever it still flowed smoothly and wasn't bothersome.

Once the main romance section is reached, it gets a bit sketchy?
1. YAY INSTALOVE
2. Background characters become much more background,
3. <spoiler>Lazlo seems to become less of himself – he seems quite pacifist in the start, and after Sarai... well... fury is said significantly more frequently. But I suppose each time he got angry it was short lasting so I mean... yay for human* emotions.</spoiler>
<spoiler>*Mesarthim</spoiler>
Cliffhanger was solid, but, thank God, it did not make me want to throw myself off a cliff.

This book started out slow for me but by the end I found it hard to put down. I love the companionship that Lazlo and Sarai found in each other and in "their world". A number of the secondary characters are interesting too and wonderfully developed. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves Laini Taylor's other books; really anyone who loves the Fantasy Genre.

This next part might be a minor SPOILER so I am putting this here as a warning for people who wish not to continue reading.

I HATE Minya! Anyone who reads this book will understand. I disliked her almost from the beginning but really despise her for what happens in the end. It does tell you how well created she is as a character that she can bring such a strong emotion.

Holy Moly, you guys!!! This isn't like anything else. Not only does Taylor write like a poet painting word pictures, and takes us to a completely unique world where you get the feeling could hold a million untold stories-- JUST when you think you know what its all about you learn what it's all about! Laini Taylor is an amazing, magical, magical writer! Also, I listened to the Audio, and the reader is perfect. I can't wait for book two.

I'm not sure I have the proper words to review this.

I loved Lazlo and his absolute love for Weep and all of its secrets. I truly enjoyed being in his head while he was discovering things. There is quite a cast of characters here, but I'm not going to say anything else, because spoilers.

The plot is quite a slow burn, but I was captivated from the very beginning. And by the time the ending happened, I couldn't believe that's where it stopped. Even though it was over 500 pages.

It's lyrical and lovely and heartbreaking and funny and swoony and just so Laini. I think I felt every emotion possible while reading it and I can't wait to see what happens next.

**Huge thanks to Mysterious Galaxy for letting me borrow their store copy**

**Mega thanks to The Novl for sending me an arc and making me scream**

My god, no one makes me feel like a little kid at story time the way Laini Taylor does! The worlds she creates...they're just astounding. The narrative just pulls me in like nothing else. I feel like I'm being mesmerized by Scheherazade, every single time. This latest, Strange the Dreamer, is no exception. So lush, so rich...I just want to drown in these vividly realized landscapes. Every word is a delectable morsel from the most sumptuous banquet, lovingly laid in front of a starving person. Let it roll over your tongue. Swish it around. REALLY taste it, and appreciate it for what it is...a story written by someone who LOVES stories. Please hurry with the second one!!!! And when is some enterprising publisher going to grab a talented illustrator, and turn these stories into the magical children's books they're dying to be???

I almost put this down and I am SO GLAD I was talked out of it. I made the mistake of comparing it to DoS&B. I put it down and thought, by this time in S&B I was laughing. Or so thoroughly caught up in the world building that there was NO WAY we could be parted. (Unless it was with a snarl if someone told me I had to rejoin society.)
I didn't connect with Lazlo at first like I did Karou. Luckily, my writing buddy Erica told me to be patient and that the story was worth it. And she was so right. By the time I met the blue-skinned Godspawn I couldn't wait to see how the two storylines wove together.
This book is straight up magic and I cannot wait to devour the second one.

I was awed and amazed with the excellent world building and the romance that crosses all barriers. The characters are richly developed and complex, each one vital to the story in their own way. I loved everything about this unputdownable fantasy, so I will warn you to start Strange The Dreamer on the weekend, lock all the doors, pull the curtains, and put up the DO NOT DISTURB sign. My only complaint…There is another book and you will need to read it to get all the answers.

“Life won’t just happen to you, boy,” he said. “You have to happen to it.”

I was super excited that I won a copy of Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

WOW WOW WOW.

OK, full disclosure: YA is a guilty pleasure of mine. Even more than that, it's a secret shame. Which is to say I don't really respect it, respect myself or others for reading it, but by golly I will secretly devour book after junk-foody book of it on plane rides or beaches.

I first picked up Taylor's "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" on a lark, and then fell headfirst into the rich, sweeping, and seductive world it offered. I was completely smitten with that first book, oh man. The second installment of the trilogy was still lovely, though I had issues with the tone and narrative decisions. Same with the third, but still it wrapped things up neatly and solidified Taylor as an author to watch.

Now that I've just put down "Strange the Dreamer", I can conclusively say that Taylor is a brilliant, imaginative, highly skilled writer, and I've just watched her pull off the same magic trick TWICE, and I expect she'll be able to do it again and again. That trick being, building a small, inviting, cute little peephole that draws the reader in, and then expanding and expanding it into a vibrant, LUSH, and awe-inspiring world rife with mysteries and enigmas that Taylor then, methodically and meticulously, solves for us in staggeringly inventive and imaginative ways. Despite the trappings of YA, despite the fantastical elements that can often lend themselves to cheesiness (for other writers), her work has so much gravitas. It's MEANINGFUL, it's urgent, it mines political, philosophical, and spiritual controversies without being contrived or gratuitous. Her stories just feel so timeless, simple, and true. And the fact that they feel SIMPLE, at their heart, while technically being a dizzying labyrinth of plot and world building is a testament to her skill. Taylor betters the YA genre; she betters the book writing world in general.

I won't linger on the plot, or her incredible prose, since other reviewers have already done so. I just want to say: READ THIS BOOK. READ ITS SEQUEL! AND READ HER OTHER BOOKS!

Brilliant and beautiful book.

The author is clearly a lover of stories. When you have a storyteller writing about storytellers, magical things happen. Everything about Weep and the world around it, all the magic and depth and complexity, it's a true work of art.

I do agree with other reviewers that Lazlo takes the crimes in stride perhaps too quickly. Awful, atrocious things were done, by both sides. Maybe it's because he's the Dreamer, and can see the good in people, but it was a little quick in my opinion.

Even so, this is exactly the kind of book I want more of. And I need a sequel right now!

I don't even have words for how wonderful this book was.

After reading the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series, I shouldn't have been surprised, but Strange the Dreamer was wonderful beyond my wildest imagination. I thought, perhaps, Laini Taylor's first series was a fluke. That she couldn't possibly top a series I devoured in all of three days back in 2015. Somehow, she managed. The mysteries of Weep sucked me in, capturing me as they did the protagonist, Lazlo. I'm absolutely in love with this book and am eagerly counting down to the day the sequel releases.

From this day forth, Laini Taylor's books are a must-buy for me.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. So far, if I can finish it, I am giving the first part 5 stars and three stars overall. Part I is a brilliant piece of mature, literary fantasy. The writing is beautiful and the language has a thrilling cadence and energy. Lazlo is a fresh, interesting narrator and potential hero and we are immediately endeared to him. The first eleven chapters reminded me of Ishiguro's "The Buried Giant" and that is high praise. But then we are introduced to Sarai and her fellow "godspawn" and the book quickly becomes juvenile. The flowing writing becomes bogged down in petty, childish dialogue between characters who are uniformly unlikeable. The story line, which was so elegantly laid out in the beginning becomes hard to follow and just messy and strange. I so want to follow the adventures of Lazlo but I simply cannot slog through the chapters narrated by Sarai. The contrast is just too great between the pathos of Lazlo's "dream" and the pettiness of the godspawn. The author hasn't given us anything that helps us empathize with the godspawn's plight. Perhaps this changes, but I'm not sure I can finish the book. Disappointing!

What started out as a very slow read ended up being a book that I struggled to put down.

Since this is my first time reading anything from Lani Taylor, I am unfamiliar to her writing style. This probably did not help me for the first third of the book as she sets up the world excellently , albeit very slowly. Strange the Dreamer follows Lazlo Strange, a junior librarian who ends up travelling to a mystical lost city called Weep.

I do not want to say too much as I feel like once I start getting into the meat of the story, you will know everything that occurs. What I will say though is that Strange the Dreamer seemed to be split into two seperate acts. Whilst the first one was, in my opinion, the most boring; it was also nessecary to set up everything else that occurs. Even after the first act finished, it was still a slow read but things start to tie together and the overall picture makes sense.

Whist a slow read, it does pick up and sink its teeth into you.

Full disclosure, I only made it to about page 150 before I DNF'ed this. I don't think its the book or author's fault, the writing is beautiful and the characters by in large engaged my attention...when they were active.

There's a lot of time when they're not active. Or when its more of their reacting to something. Or thinking about reacting to something. There's a lot of descriptions of things--beautiful descriptions with wonderful visuals--but there's so much of it. This felt a little bit like the book that "The Princess Bride" is (fictitiously) abridged from, with so much filler detail it became overwhelming.

Which isn't to say that's a bad thing, half the authors I read are accused of this (I like epic fantasy after all), but I tried for two months to get through this and found my attention distracted repeatedly.

In the end this is a beautiful book that just does not work for me.

Five Thousand Stars!
When reading a great book, I usually get caught up in the action and romance, and want to race through to the next chapter to see what happens next. But not with Strange the Dreamer: I wanted to savour every word on every page, to take my time and enjoy the characters, the incredible story and the amazing world that Ms Taylor created. I never wanted it to end because I knew that I would miss it and having to wait another year for the next book would just kill me.

Strange the Dreamer is easily my favourite book of the year and I have read many great books so far, but this one will stick in my mind (and my heart) for the longest time. It is one those books that I will re-read many times, not to remember the story, but to re-live it again – the beautiful writing (I highlighted half of the book with amazing quotes), the unforgettable characters and the incredible fantasy world. Ms Taylor is truly a god of writing!

This is a beautifully​written book, full of solid world-building and character development. It's a unique story premise and different from anything else that over read. Taylor is truly a talented writer and it shows in the flow of her words.

The issue that I had with this novel was the pacing. There was so much back story and build up that I was frustrated by the time I reached the story-within-the-story. The characters, while deep and well developed never really connected for me and so I was left wading through time with characters I didn't really like.

I was hoping to really enjoy this book, but it fell flat for me.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor is super wholesome and the imagery is really great and god damn does Laini write to her genre (which is normally a bad thing, but is good rn). Previously Laini seemed to write as though she were writing a Russian fairytale almost, but in this... she wrote a dream. This is such a neat tale- it's romance and villain origin and dreams come true and adventure and hope and a fairytale all wrapped up in a neat 544 pages. In short, it’s an in-depth epic* and that makes me very happy. In
*like Beowulf but better

I identify with Lazlo in a way that I identify with few other characters, and even fewer male characters. Lazlo is a dreamer, and he is always wondering when he will be able to help, to do something with his large accumulation of fantastic knowledge and his even larger imagination.

The foreshadowing was actually really easy to follow after he was like <spoiler>“well must be a fluke it only reacts with my skin!”</spoiler> – but soon there was a dream sequence with cake and dragons (shout out to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/11375137-cait-paper-fury">Cait</a>).

Bless well-fleshed background characters.

Main characters were a little on the omniscient side but whatever it still flowed smoothly and wasn't bothersome.

Once the main romance section is reached, it gets a bit sketchy?
1. YAY INSTALOVE
2. Background characters become much more background,
3. <spoiler>Lazlo seems to become less of himself – he seems quite pacifist in the start, and after Sarai... well... fury is said significantly more frequently. But I suppose each time he got angry it was short lasting so I mean... yay for human* emotions.</spoiler>
<spoiler>*Mesarthim</spoiler>
Cliffhanger was solid, but, thank God, it did not make me want to throw myself off a cliff.

This book started out slow for me but by the end I found it hard to put down. I love the companionship that Lazlo and Sarai found in each other and in "their world". A number of the secondary characters are interesting too and wonderfully developed. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves Laini Taylor's other books; really anyone who loves the Fantasy Genre.

This next part might be a minor SPOILER so I am putting this here as a warning for people who wish not to continue reading.

I HATE Minya! Anyone who reads this book will understand. I disliked her almost from the beginning but really despise her for what happens in the end. It does tell you how well created she is as a character that she can bring such a strong emotion.

Holy Moly, you guys!!! This isn't like anything else. Not only does Taylor write like a poet painting word pictures, and takes us to a completely unique world where you get the feeling could hold a million untold stories-- JUST when you think you know what its all about you learn what it's all about! Laini Taylor is an amazing, magical, magical writer! Also, I listened to the Audio, and the reader is perfect. I can't wait for book two.

I'm not sure I have the proper words to review this.

I loved Lazlo and his absolute love for Weep and all of its secrets. I truly enjoyed being in his head while he was discovering things. There is quite a cast of characters here, but I'm not going to say anything else, because spoilers.

The plot is quite a slow burn, but I was captivated from the very beginning. And by the time the ending happened, I couldn't believe that's where it stopped. Even though it was over 500 pages.

It's lyrical and lovely and heartbreaking and funny and swoony and just so Laini. I think I felt every emotion possible while reading it and I can't wait to see what happens next.

**Huge thanks to Mysterious Galaxy for letting me borrow their store copy**

**Mega thanks to The Novl for sending me an arc and making me scream**

My god, no one makes me feel like a little kid at story time the way Laini Taylor does! The worlds she creates...they're just astounding. The narrative just pulls me in like nothing else. I feel like I'm being mesmerized by Scheherazade, every single time. This latest, Strange the Dreamer, is no exception. So lush, so rich...I just want to drown in these vividly realized landscapes. Every word is a delectable morsel from the most sumptuous banquet, lovingly laid in front of a starving person. Let it roll over your tongue. Swish it around. REALLY taste it, and appreciate it for what it is...a story written by someone who LOVES stories. Please hurry with the second one!!!! And when is some enterprising publisher going to grab a talented illustrator, and turn these stories into the magical children's books they're dying to be???

I almost put this down and I am SO GLAD I was talked out of it. I made the mistake of comparing it to DoS&B. I put it down and thought, by this time in S&B I was laughing. Or so thoroughly caught up in the world building that there was NO WAY we could be parted. (Unless it was with a snarl if someone told me I had to rejoin society.)
I didn't connect with Lazlo at first like I did Karou. Luckily, my writing buddy Erica told me to be patient and that the story was worth it. And she was so right. By the time I met the blue-skinned Godspawn I couldn't wait to see how the two storylines wove together.
This book is straight up magic and I cannot wait to devour the second one.

I was awed and amazed with the excellent world building and the romance that crosses all barriers. The characters are richly developed and complex, each one vital to the story in their own way. I loved everything about this unputdownable fantasy, so I will warn you to start Strange The Dreamer on the weekend, lock all the doors, pull the curtains, and put up the DO NOT DISTURB sign. My only complaint…There is another book and you will need to read it to get all the answers.

“Life won’t just happen to you, boy,” he said. “You have to happen to it.”

I was super excited that I won a copy of Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor.

WOW WOW WOW.

OK, full disclosure: YA is a guilty pleasure of mine. Even more than that, it's a secret shame. Which is to say I don't really respect it, respect myself or others for reading it, but by golly I will secretly devour book after junk-foody book of it on plane rides or beaches.

I first picked up Taylor's "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" on a lark, and then fell headfirst into the rich, sweeping, and seductive world it offered. I was completely smitten with that first book, oh man. The second installment of the trilogy was still lovely, though I had issues with the tone and narrative decisions. Same with the third, but still it wrapped things up neatly and solidified Taylor as an author to watch.

Now that I've just put down "Strange the Dreamer", I can conclusively say that Taylor is a brilliant, imaginative, highly skilled writer, and I've just watched her pull off the same magic trick TWICE, and I expect she'll be able to do it again and again. That trick being, building a small, inviting, cute little peephole that draws the reader in, and then expanding and expanding it into a vibrant, LUSH, and awe-inspiring world rife with mysteries and enigmas that Taylor then, methodically and meticulously, solves for us in staggeringly inventive and imaginative ways. Despite the trappings of YA, despite the fantastical elements that can often lend themselves to cheesiness (for other writers), her work has so much gravitas. It's MEANINGFUL, it's urgent, it mines political, philosophical, and spiritual controversies without being contrived or gratuitous. Her stories just feel so timeless, simple, and true. And the fact that they feel SIMPLE, at their heart, while technically being a dizzying labyrinth of plot and world building is a testament to her skill. Taylor betters the YA genre; she betters the book writing world in general.

I won't linger on the plot, or her incredible prose, since other reviewers have already done so. I just want to say: READ THIS BOOK. READ ITS SEQUEL! AND READ HER OTHER BOOKS!

Brilliant and beautiful book.

The author is clearly a lover of stories. When you have a storyteller writing about storytellers, magical things happen. Everything about Weep and the world around it, all the magic and depth and complexity, it's a true work of art.

I do agree with other reviewers that Lazlo takes the crimes in stride perhaps too quickly. Awful, atrocious things were done, by both sides. Maybe it's because he's the Dreamer, and can see the good in people, but it was a little quick in my opinion.

Even so, this is exactly the kind of book I want more of. And I need a sequel right now!

I don't even have words for how wonderful this book was.

After reading the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series, I shouldn't have been surprised, but Strange the Dreamer was wonderful beyond my wildest imagination. I thought, perhaps, Laini Taylor's first series was a fluke. That she couldn't possibly top a series I devoured in all of three days back in 2015. Somehow, she managed. The mysteries of Weep sucked me in, capturing me as they did the protagonist, Lazlo. I'm absolutely in love with this book and am eagerly counting down to the day the sequel releases.

From this day forth, Laini Taylor's books are a must-buy for me.

After the Daughter of Smoke and Bones series, I had very high expectations for this book, and I was not disappointed. If I were a writer, I would sell significant portions of my anatomy to be able to write like Laini Taylor. Several reviewers have noted, correctly, that the book has slow portions, but, to my mind, these are necessary interludes that allow the reader to sink into the minds of the characters and the world they inhabit. The pathos and wonder that Ms Taylor develops would be severely reduced without them. I am trying, with limited success, to cultivate a Zen-like attitude of patience while I wait for the sequel.

I heard Strange the Dreamer was a wonderful book. Everyone told me the story was fantastic, and the writing was, too. I agree about the writing. Laini Taylor is a beautiful writer. However, I couldn't get into this, because I just kept waiting and waiting for something to happen, and when something finally did, it was 100 pages from the ending, and I had guessed at the beginning what that something would be. Anyway, I do see why so many loved it. I loved a couple of the characters, I just was hoping for more.

Oh no, I started a trilogy, and I didn't realize it until I was almost finished. Now, I'll spend the next few years waiting for the next book to come out. This is not a genre I usually enjoy, but the world created by Ms. Taylor is rich and exciting. The story could go wrong in the sequels, so I'm hoping she is able to keep the trilogy exciting until the end. My biggest complaint was the length of the book. It really bogged down in the middle and would have been so much better if the author had shaved off about 100 pages. It's not top notch writing, but it's a good beach read if you're looking for something easy and fun.

I so wanted to love this.

I LOVED The daughter of smoke and bone books so much. I was an instant fan of Laini Taylor and couldn't wait to read her other books. I did like Strange the Dreamer, but I didn't love it. It's too fluffy and too many details and it all just ran together and made it hard to picture anything, in my opinion. Lazlo is a wonderful character and the story itself is very interesting. Sad I could not give it more stars!!

4,5 stars

I really don't know why I hesitated for so long to pick this book up. This was magnificent. Glorious. Excellent.

Laini Taylor's writing style is very beautiful and so poetic at times. I love it. Taylor knows which buttons to push and tells a beautiful story full of monsters and gods. In addition to that, I instantly connected with the characters, I'm very invested in them and my heart broke for them when I read what some of them had to endure in this book.

I need the sequel right now!!

No one, absolutely no one writes like Laini Taylor! Strange the Dreamer again goes beyond the usual Fantasy novels you read. I loved this book and will add it to my Keeper Shelf. I do not believe in writing a review that discloses the storyline but I urge you to read this. Its original and imaginative and wonderful. If you love fantasy you owe it to yourself to definitely pick this one up.

Amazing, this book was magic, I really love everything this author writes, so Strange the dreamer was perfection for me, it's full of action, fantasy and wonderful characters.
This is for the dreamers, the adventurers, the ones that love a great read. A favorite for me, absolutely a must read.

Loved this book - I really enjoyed the author's Smoke & Bones trilogy but at first read, the introduction to the world was confusing. This book was a much gentler introduction to the world and characters and it flowed beautifully. I will definitely read the next one. Reminded me a bit of Sarah Maas and a more optimistic Robin Hobb. Loved it.

Title: Strange the Dreamer
Author: Laini Taylor
Age Group: Teen/Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Series: Strange the Dreamer, book one
Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

I borrowed this book through my local library and reviewed it.

When I finally heard that one of my favorite young adult authors, Laini Taylor, who won my heart with her fantasy smash hit, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, had another book coming out in March of this year, I was absolutely thrilled. I had to return it because I couldn't read it in time, but when I went to book club, I couldn't resist taking it home with me to try again. I ended up getting sick over the weekend, but when I was well enough to read, I began Strange the Dreamer and was totally spellbound. With gorgeous prose, a strange, twisty plot that could only come from Taylor, as well as plenty of action, swoon-worthy romance, and more than a healthy dose of mystery and intrigue, Strange the Dreamer stole my heart, and I'm so happy that this weird, lovely tale has a sequel coming out next year! Easily one of my favorite books of 2017, hands down!

Lazlo Strange is a nothing, a no one, taken in by the monks of the library that he calls home. He is orphaned, and has no friends. But he has longed for adventure since he was a little boy, and when a mysterious man called The Godslayer turns up, he jumps at the chance to go with him, and see what the world is outside of his beloved stories. What he finds is more astonishing--and appealing--than his love of books, and combined with a group of outsiders, the boy discovers that he just might be the only thing standing between the hidden city he's found, and total annihilation...

I loved this book, so much. The prose was hypnotic and beautiful, the pacing breakneck. I also loved the strange (ha ha, Strange!), weird plot that Taylor weaves. What worldbuilding, as well! (I'm so freaking happy that this book has a sequel!) But I think what I loved most, more than anything, were the characters, especially Lazlo. I really identified with him, because he was a man that found excitement through stories, but wanted more. I laughed, I cried; I loved this book. It was so weird, fantastic, and romantic! I loved the political intrigue, the mystery, and that ending--just stomp on my heart, why don't you, woman?! I can't wait for the sequel! The bottom line: A beautiful, heartbreaking fantasy tale that stole my heart and healed my soul, I loved Strange the Dreamer! I can't wait for The Muse of Nightmares! Next on deck: Fireworks by Katie Cotugno!

Lazlo Strange grew up an orphaned nobody, first callously raised by monks and then callously raised by librarians. Since he was a child, the legends of a forgotten land called Weep have fascinated him. From then to adulthood, he compiled every scrap, every story, and every mention of the lost city that everyone else think is a fairy tale. As an adult, Lazlo is a lowly librarian, but inadvertantly helps an enemy discover his beloved city. He seizes the opportunity to help Weep and its envoys with a unique problem that the envoys won't reveal until they get there. The problem is hugely obvious, puzzling, and the reason why the inhabitants of Weep have travelled the world so the smartest, most skillful, and most innovative people can try to solve it.

I was a bit doubtful going into this book because the beginning took a little bit to get started. As the story goes on, I was completely hooked. Lazlo is such a relatable character because he comes from so little and keeps his kind heart despite the way everyone above him treats him. His polar opposite is Nero, the privileged golden boy who is miserable, rich, and given every opportunity under the sun. Lazlo is happy despite his low standing and even goes out of his way to selflessly help Nero who works to steal everything Lazlo has worked for. He doesn't let rivalries or even his own frustration and anger get in the way of his kindness. In a rare moment of confidence, Lazlo convinces the Weep envoys to take him with them and his lifelong dream comes true. Unlike the others invited, he doesn't have special skills and isn't widely known, but he learned the language of Weep and everything he could about their culture and history.

Five teens live above Weep who are half god and half human known as godspawn. They all have magic abilities. Minya can command the souls of the dead. Sparrow has power in plants and nature. Feral influences the weather. Ruby can create and control fire. Sarai has the most unique ability to put her consciousness in a swarm of moths and enter the dreams of mortals to either observe or control the events. The people of Weep slaughtered the gods while Minya, the oldest of them, rescued as many babies as she could. The gods ruled tyrannically, kidnapping people for their whims and bringing them back with no memory. Both sides have legitimate grievances and committed terrible atrocities towards each other. Minya is filled with rage and literally stunted her own growth because she can't move on from the slaughter she witnessed. Sarai has done so many things against humans because of Minya coaching her from a young age, but she's beginning to doubt Minya's way after realizing that humans aren't that much different than her.

Sarai meets Lazlo in his dream and he can actually see her unlike any other person. They form a relationship and get to know each other, leading to the one of the sweetest Romeo and Juliet type romances ever. Although it is a trope, the interactions are so organic and the language is so lyrical and beautiful that it seemed like new. The world building amazed me. Taylor creates such mindblowing worlds that I have trouble putting her books down. The beginning goes a little slow to get to know Lazlo, but once the group heads for Weep, the pace takes off. This is the rare book that I want to read slowly to savor the world but I also want to devour it as fast as possible to find out what happens. The ending has so many twists and turns that I never saw coming. It does end on a bit of a cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what happens in the second installment, Muse of Nightmares. After this novel and the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, Laini Taylor has a lifelong fan in me.

Lush, real, vivid... I love Laini's writing. One day I'm going to meet her. You just wait.

Lazlo Strange dreams. Not just regular dreams but big, beautiful, impossible-even-for-dreams dreams. I shan't spoil any of it, but: there is sorrow, kissing, magic, a vast desert, a real world billowing up around your feet. She tells it like a master.

I really enjoyed this story
It is my first Laini Taylor book and I will be exploring more of her books now. I am also new to this type of fantasy story snd found it very fun to read and it immediately engaged me to the characters and story. I was very sorry when I finished it and wishes the sequel was available now. I hated to move on to other books.

It took me quite a while to get into this book. For some reason, I tend not to like lost city books. I don't know what it is. But once we met the gods in the citadel, I became much more interested. And now I'm upset that you can't pre-order The Muse of Nightmares yet.

I came into this book completely blind and had no idea what it was about. I was enthralled from the first page.

It’s rare that an author is so successful in world building that he fantasy world is as real as the one outside the book. I love these characters! The wait for the next book is going to be far too long.

Laini has done it again. This book was everything she is known for....funny, bizarre, mysterious, scary, heartwarming, and of course magical. Could not wait to get through this to see what happens to Lazlo, Sarai, and the city of Weep. What a thrilling adventure!! Where is book 2? :)

Took a while to really get invested. The beginning can be a bit slow, especially if you're coming out of reading modern YA urban fantasy books with snarky teens. But once I got into it, maybe a quarter of the way, I was hooked.
Did NOT know this was a duology, so now I'm on pins and needles waiting for the finale. Laini, why are you so mean?
A beautiful romance, elegant writing, and a unique setting, I cannot recommend this higher. (But maybe wait til it's sequel is out so you're not heartbroken like me)

The world, the magic, and the characters were all perfect. This was a refreshing read, and made me envious of the author’s imagination. You will fall in love with this story. And then be really grumpy until the rest of it comes out.

Ordinarily, I'd be cranky that the book ends on a gigantic cliffhanger. But it's a beautiful story, full of horror and hate and hope and love and the possibility of redemption. So instead I'll be happy that I got to experience it.

I'll also anxiously await the sequel.

Well written, entertaining story with underdogs, villains, magic and heroes. From the beginning, you are gently taken on journey that keeps you turning page after page to find out what happens next. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Having never read this authors other series, I went into this book with only curiosity. And I was hooked from prologue.
Beautiful is the word that comes to mind for this book-the prose, the world, the characters. It is beautifully written, the characters so fairy-tale like, but so human, and the colourful world! It's a conglomeration of stories you've heard a thousand times, with twists you didn't expect.
The story begins by following Lazlo Strange, although you eventually get POV from Sarai, and a few other characters. But mostly, this is Lazlo's story, a young orphan monk, turned librarian, turned explorer. And this is also Sarai's story, the not helpless princess in the tower, in danger and still dangerous. As you read, you know their paths will cross, and I won't spoil that story, because you should enjoy that experience untainted.
This is also the story of a city that lost its name, and the devastated citizens, living in their nameless city in the aftermath of war, trying to come to terms with all they've seen and done. All that they will have to see and do, because the war isn't over.
The writing style reminded me of Cathrynne Valente, with a dash of Maggie Stiefvater thrown in for good measure. Really, thats a terrible explanation, because if you've never read anything by this author, you should know she has a style all her own, and there's no agenda, just fantastic storytelling.
I greatly appreciate receiving this in advance for my review, because it's not often a book wows me like this. Perhaps my soul will come back when I get my hands on the second book.

Fantastic story, totally compelling, but unless you love a cliffhanger and have the patience to wait for the next installment, I suggest you wait until the next one, (or two), come out so you can binge the whole set at once.

Lush, real, vivid... I love Laini's writing. One day I'm going to meet her. You just wait.

Lazlo Strange dreams. Not just regular dreams but big, beautiful, impossible-even-for-dreams dreams. I shan't spoil any of it, but: there is sorrow, kissing, magic, a vast desert, a real world billowing up around your feet. She tells it like a master.

I really enjoyed this story
It is my first Laini Taylor book and I will be exploring more of her books now. I am also new to this type of fantasy story snd found it very fun to read and it immediately engaged me to the characters and story. I was very sorry when I finished it and wishes the sequel was available now. I hated to move on to other books.

It took me quite a while to get into this book. For some reason, I tend not to like lost city books. I don't know what it is. But once we met the gods in the citadel, I became much more interested. And now I'm upset that you can't pre-order The Muse of Nightmares yet.

I came into this book completely blind and had no idea what it was about. I was enthralled from the first page.

It’s rare that an author is so successful in world building that he fantasy world is as real as the one outside the book. I love these characters! The wait for the next book is going to be far too long.

Laini has done it again. This book was everything she is known for....funny, bizarre, mysterious, scary, heartwarming, and of course magical. Could not wait to get through this to see what happens to Lazlo, Sarai, and the city of Weep. What a thrilling adventure!! Where is book 2? :)

Took a while to really get invested. The beginning can be a bit slow, especially if you're coming out of reading modern YA urban fantasy books with snarky teens. But once I got into it, maybe a quarter of the way, I was hooked.
Did NOT know this was a duology, so now I'm on pins and needles waiting for the finale. Laini, why are you so mean?
A beautiful romance, elegant writing, and a unique setting, I cannot recommend this higher. (But maybe wait til it's sequel is out so you're not heartbroken like me)

The world, the magic, and the characters were all perfect. This was a refreshing read, and made me envious of the author’s imagination. You will fall in love with this story. And then be really grumpy until the rest of it comes out.

Ordinarily, I'd be cranky that the book ends on a gigantic cliffhanger. But it's a beautiful story, full of horror and hate and hope and love and the possibility of redemption. So instead I'll be happy that I got to experience it.

I'll also anxiously await the sequel.

Simply magnificent.

I felt the love. Like I could feel it aurating from the book into my bones.

The writing is beautifully woven together like a fine quilt and I am glad to say that the story left me warm and comforted.

A must read.

Well written, entertaining story with underdogs, villains, magic and heroes. From the beginning, you are gently taken on journey that keeps you turning page after page to find out what happens next. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Having never read this authors other series, I went into this book with only curiosity. And I was hooked from prologue.
Beautiful is the word that comes to mind for this book-the prose, the world, the characters. It is beautifully written, the characters so fairy-tale like, but so human, and the colourful world! It's a conglomeration of stories you've heard a thousand times, with twists you didn't expect.
The story begins by following Lazlo Strange, although you eventually get POV from Sarai, and a few other characters. But mostly, this is Lazlo's story, a young orphan monk, turned librarian, turned explorer. And this is also Sarai's story, the not helpless princess in the tower, in danger and still dangerous. As you read, you know their paths will cross, and I won't spoil that story, because you should enjoy that experience untainted.
This is also the story of a city that lost its name, and the devastated citizens, living in their nameless city in the aftermath of war, trying to come to terms with all they've seen and done. All that they will have to see and do, because the war isn't over.
The writing style reminded me of Cathrynne Valente, with a dash of Maggie Stiefvater thrown in for good measure. Really, thats a terrible explanation, because if you've never read anything by this author, you should know she has a style all her own, and there's no agenda, just fantastic storytelling.
I greatly appreciate receiving this in advance for my review, because it's not often a book wows me like this. Perhaps my soul will come back when I get my hands on the second book.

Fantastic story, totally compelling, but unless you love a cliffhanger and have the patience to wait for the next installment, I suggest you wait until the next one, (or two), come out so you can binge the whole set at once.

Very much a young adult novel. It is very prettily written but the prose gets tiresome. Especially as the plot gets a little bit sleazy. I wouldn't want my 14 year old to read this because the whole subplot hinges on sexual perversion of the gods and goddesses. So it's a little disappointing and weird. Too bad she couldn't come up with a slightly different way to abuse the townsfolk. But it's too silly and thin for an adult to read so....

Here's my problem with this one: slow start but once I was about 20% in I was like yes, this could be good and then spent the rest of the book one minute understanding everything, next minute confused about what is happening in the world. I shouldn't have to work this hard to understand the plot. I liked Lazlo. I felt sorry for him when Thyon took all his books and claimed them. I was happy for Lazlo when he had a chance to go to a world he had only read above to help and then it got foggy except for Lazlo and Sarai falling for each other by her visiting him in his dreams.

This book is so beautifully written. I actually couldn't put it down once I started reading it. I loved everything about it and the descriptions were so well done you could really visualize the Unseen City.

Magical, beautiful, enchanting, engrossing. I loved every word. It was the most beautifully written book I have read in a LOOOONG time. The characters were fleshed out, it was suspenseful, I looked forward to reading and enjoyed every moment. Highly, highly recommend.

Perhaps my rating of this book/audiobook will be seen as unfair by some since I didn't despise the book and the narrator was good. Until I came to the ending of the book, I had been prepared to give the novel a 3.5 for the storyline and a 4 for the performance. I found the novel was disjointed at some points, slow, and appeared to jump genres which accounted for the loss of the 1.5 stars. So what happened to account to what would be .5 of a star?? Once in awhile, I don't mind reading YA books and I did somewhat enjoy the author's previous series but I am extremely annoyed with the author about the ending of 'Strange the Dreamer'. Why,, all her 5* fans are asking me? Well it's because of the 'cliffhanger' type ending that leaves me feeling like l bought a ebook that is missing the last chapter. I don't appreciate being conned into purchasing a second novel just to receive the conclusion to the eBook/audiobook that I've already bought. I read many series, Sue Grafton, Kathy Reich, Michael Connelly, James Patterson, Brandon Sanderson just to name a few, but these authors DO NOT leave readers with an incomplete storyline. There may be an interesting hook at the end of the novel that wets your appetite for their next book, but the current plot line has reached a satisfactory conclusion. You are not left with an incomplete storyline, that holds you hostage until you pay the ransom (the next book), if you want the conclusion to the first novel that you originally paid for. The phenomenon of the cliffhanging incomplete story, I noticed, appeared at the same time of the eBook self-publishing era. Perhaps it originated because at the onset authors feared that readers needed the extra incentive to continue purchasing eBooks, especially when many authors offered their first eBooks free of charge. But those days are mostly gone. EBooks, today, are often more expensive than paperbacks (that is another discussion altogether), and in 2017 eBooks sold more copies than books, therefore the old insecurities of the early 2000's should have faded by now, especially with authors who have met with success. I have the same issue with video games that advertise themselves as free but then once you start playing them, you find that you cannot move forward unless you use real cash to purchase additional game accoutrements. I've recently read on the Financial Post that the government is considering implementing rules on these types of charges considering them a form of gambling. Perhaps they should be looking at the sale of incomplete novels in the same manner except that books & audiobooks can at least be returned although the same cannot be said for eBooks. I think publishers/authors should have to identify if their books have cliffhangers requiring the purchase of the next novel in the series to get the ending to the book currently being purchased. That way, the individual would have the choice whether or not to proceed with the purchase.

I put 17 hours into listening to this book and then it ended horribly!!! There were so many ways to end this book and have a great series going; anything but this way! This series will keep going but it's going to go on without me.

If ever there was a book that endorsed reading so beautifully while delivering a brilliant story worth the read, Strange the Dreamer is it. Strange and wonderful and unexpected to the very end, this book took turns I could not have predicted and lead me to a world I could not have imagined. This world Laini Taylor created which melds dreams and reality, religion with fantasy and science and adventure, is on of the most striking stories I've ever read. I cannot recommend it enough and cannot wait to read the sequel.

I always find it hard to think about a book as a favourite when I’m not able to read the entire series in one go. But I’m pretty sure this whole series is going to be one of my all-time favourites. I was not devouring this book, the book was devouring me. Laini Taylor writes in a poetic way that just takes you away and makes you forget everything that is going on around you. At one point when I was reading, my phone went off and it felt exactly the same as when your alarm goes off in the morning and you get pulled away, out of this amazing dream. I don’t know if it’s just because of the way she writes, but this book made me certain that dreams are my favourite topic to read about from now on.

This book contains some pretty abstract concepts but Taylor just makes reading this book feel super smooth and simple. What can be more perfect and magical than a story about a boy who’s called a dreamer and who’s nose has been broken by a book of fairy tales? Dreams can be very complex (we’ve all watched the movie Inception!) and also messy, but here it all feels wonderful, and the whole book just had this airy feel that I can’t quite explain without having you read this book first (just do it!!). Even when Taylor writes about reality and the hardness of the world, she still does that by Weaving some kind of magic into her words (I’m really not sure if that even made sense. But it feels like that for me!).

Her characters were amazing. The way she lets them remember different things that have been said in the beginning of the book and succeeded in using those lines at the end, made those characters look educated and smart. That’s one of the most important things for me in a book. Characters need to be smart!
First, Lazlo our head dreamer. I loved him from page one. There wasn’t a moment were I didn’t like him. If I could pick any character from a book I read this year spend a night talking with, I would definitely choose him. It is always a good thing if the smartest character in the entire book is the main character. Lazlo is probably one of the smartest and most open minded character you will encounter in a book. Overall he is a very lovable guy without it getting annoying or unbelievable. He is the definition of a dreamer.
The other characters in the citadel were all so different. It must have taken a lot of work to make them stand out from each other as much as they did. Minya the young woman, trapped in the body of a six year old, looking for revenge. Feral a boy who has spent his whole life surrounded by 5 girls. Sparrow, who reminded me a little of Flora from WinxClub. Ruby, just your everyday fire queen. Sarai, muse of nightmares, who is as confused as her title makes you feel.

The romance between Sarai and Lazlo was so incredibly adorable. I don’t think anyone could describe first love better than Taylor did. This book never got overly physical. It was always just about being loved and not being alone in the world. This made me love this book even more.

The way Taylor plays with sentences and words is beautiful. Just two examples:

If you're afraid of your own dreams, you're welcome here in mine.
Sometimes a moment is so remarkable that it carves out a space in time and spins there, while the world rushes on around it.
But there were so many more I liked!

The story was about so many things; hate, discrimination, justice… all encapsulated in one beautiful fairy tale. It makes you think about what is right and who is wrong. And I personally never figured it out.

Strange the Dreamer is a beautiful story, but the word beautiful doesn’t even seem to do it justice. It reads like a fairy tale and an ancient myth all swirled into one, and it’s utterly unlike any book I’ve read in a long time. My heart is both full and broken, and I’m left with no idea of where to even begin this review.

Do you remember what it was like to read fairy tales as a kid, how it felt to uncover that world of wonder and awe and excitement you could find between the pages of a book? Do you know how feels to sit by a fire at night, listening to the sound of legends and adventures and ghost stories taking shape in that circle of flickering darkness? This book is all of those feelings and so much more. It’s the kind of story that feels both new and old at the same time: heartwarmingly nostalgic and impossibly inventive.

This is not a book to be read in one sitting. This book is like a large mug of cinnamon apple cider on a crisp fall day, like honey drizzling over the most delicious dessert you've ever tasted. Like something you can't help but savor because you don't know when you'll next come across something quite so exquisite.

One of the only other books that I can remember leaving me feeling this way is The Night Circus—another favorite, and one that I highly recommend if you enjoyed this. Both Taylor’s and Morgenstern’s writing styles are so incredibly atmospheric, bursting with such beauty and darkness.

The only way I feel I can properly sum it up is this: reading this book feels like magic.

There is so much cool stuff in this book, allow me to list just a few things:

- candy made out of blood
- a boy who steals rain
- imaginary cities where people leave free cakes on windows
- a goddess who screams nightmares
- a nerdy librarian main character

Speaking of said nerdy librarian….allow me to introduce you to the new love of your life, Lazlo Strange. I honestly don't think I've ever read a book with a character who was so astoundingly good and yet still incredibly compelling and relatable. This is a boy who has spent his life dreaming of lost cities and accidentally getting his nose broken by falling books, who has grown up with neither love nor friendship and yet manages to be so tirelessly and effortlessly kind.

Sarai, the other main character, is more morally ambiguous, and makes for an interesting contrast to Lazlo. This is a spoiler-free review so I won’t go into more detail, but I loved her gradual introduction and the mysterious feel to her chapters as we learned her full story. There’s so much goodness in her as well, even though the circumstances she’s lived in have done their best to turn her into a monster.

Now, I’m usually pretty much allergic to instalove......but for once it didn't bother me at all! I think what I liked about the relationship in this book was that although the characters were drawn to each other from their first meeting, it was more of an emotional bond than one of those "omg you're hot and I wanna rip your clothes off" scenes that most romance plots begin with. I loved that Lazlo and Sarai were just so open and understanding with each other, and my heart ached for these two people who have always had so much love to give but who never got the chance.

The plot moves slowly, which is actually one of my favorite things about this book. It unravels the mysteries of Weep in such mysterious and fascinating ways, lingering on all of the beautiful and terrible details of its dark history and the characters who get caught up in trying to save it. I took me more than a week to finish this; I was stretching it out simply because I did not want it to end.

One of the most powerful parts of this story was how it deals with hate, and how such a strong feeling can gradually become so deeply and tragically rooted in a society’s collective consciousness. Lazlo wants to see the good in everything, but meeting Sarai forces him to confront the fact that so many of the people he admires have bitter prejudices carved into their hearts, and have committed unspeakable acts of violence in the name of peace. This complexity is the reason why despite all of the mysterious, magical elements, this story still feels heartbreakingly real and grounded. Terrible things have happened in Weep, atrocities have been carried out by both of the sides involved, and it is not easy to untangle good from evil. (I’m a sucker for anything with good moral gray areas, and this book did not disappoint.) Sarai, the Godslayer, and even Minya were especially fascinating characters in that regard.

The only thing I didn’t particularly care for in this book was all the drama that went on with Ruby and Feral and Sparrow. I just didn’t care enough about them to take much of an interest in those chapters. None of those three ever seemed relevant to anything that was happening, and it kinda felt like they were just there to fill space. The only godspawn I cared about were Sarai (because I love her, obviously) and Minya (because she is one fascinatingly Messed Up™ evil six-year-old).

Anyway, if you haven’t read this yet idk what you’re doing with your life, but you should drop whatever it is now and acquaint yourselves with the glorious human specimen that is Lazlo Strange and the (literal) goddess that is Sarai and also the evil little child that is Minya. This book was everything I wanted and sososo much more. I don’t think anything I can say can really do it justice, so just go read it.

I just want to start off this review by mentioning how BEAUTIFUL this book is! I have the UK signed edition with the blue sprayed edges and it is easily one of the most asthetic books sitting on my shelf right now. This is made all the better by the fact that the story within the pages was just as beautiful as the actual book itself! I was completely hooked with the world that Laini Taylor has created and I absolutely need the next instalment... I needed it yesterday!

The world building in this book is extremely vivid. I definitely felt transported to the world Taylor created - I wish I was there! Taylor's description was lyrical and poetic, which helped to lull the reader and keep them hooked! I loved the imagery created - both within the dream states and the "real world", especially in the sense of contrasting between a dreamscape and a harsh reality. I would revisit this world in the next instalment just to find out more about this world and the things inside of it!

I really liked Lazlo from the beginning. He is extremely relatable to us readers (hello - librarian!) and he was an easy going character who I could see myself being friends with if he really existed. He always helped others without expecting anything in return (much to Thyon's chagrin) and it was fun watching him experience firsts with Sarai. I definitely feel like the ending has changed him in a big way - whether that is for the good or the bad remains to be seen, but I cannot see him doing anything bad. Well, unless Minya has her way.

I think Thyon is supposed to be a character that we would struggle to get along with, however, I found him to be misunderstood. He was definitely difficult to love because of his attitude towards others, but at the same time, I feel like he struggled under the stress his parents put him under and he didn't know how to react to kindness. I feel like his upbringing has caused him to be suspicious of anyone helping him out and I think it's caused him to see a trick lying in wait when someone does help him, even when there isn't one. This makes him cautious and he distrusts most people around him - which is why he is misunderstood.

I think what I enjoyed most about this story was the fact that we got multiple POVs. Most books are told through the eyes of the hero - so when I was introduced to both sides of the story - whether through Lazlo, Sarai, Eril-Fane, Minya's snippet etc. we are always getting all sides of the story. It helped to create an understanding as to why each character was feeling and doing what they were doing because each has a different understanding and experience of The Carnage. It keep the readers torn between all of the characters because it is so easy to understand why Eril - Fane and the community of weep has a hatred for the Gods and the Godspawn, but it was also extremely easy to understand why Minya has a hatred of Eril-Fane and the humans in general because of what she experienced. She was still a difficult character to like because of the lengths she will go to get her revenge, but I can understand why she feels the way she does... even if it was only through a snippet of a PoV.

I really enjoyed Sarai as a character! She is one of the only characters who sees both sides of the coin from the very beginning and she is someone who has to deal with the fact that she can understand the viewpoint of the humans and the viewpoint of the godspawn - who she considers to be her family. She struggles to reconcile with the fact that she no longer feels the hatred that Minya does, and it takes her a while to actually start defying Minya in her own way. I enjoyed watching her grow along side Lazlo (Taylor - STOP BLOWING HOLES IN MY SHIP!!)... I can't say anything more without ruining it.

Whilst the romance aspect happened pretty quickly, it didn't feel like an insta love kind of situation! I felt like it was right and that the two character fit together. I don't want to give too much of the story away which is why I'm being a bit vague about things... However, Taylor definitely does know how to throw a wrench in the works - first DoSaB and now this! :-O

Also, THAT ENDING!!! I CAN'T EVEN FUNCTION! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!

Anyway, all in all I absolutely loved this book! The writing was extremely vivd and poetic and I loved the way in which Laini brought in all of the voices in various PoVs, without any of the PoVs blurring together. Each voice sung on their own and stood out and it was easy to discern who the character was that we were reading, even without an introduction to the character we were currently reading. I definitely cannot wait for the next instalment and gave this book 5/5 stars.

Beautifully written. World building is amazing, wonderful descriptions of the locations that make it so easy to imagine how the places look. These characters are deep, complex and detailed, their stories are expertly woven together. The story has a great mix of lore and mythology, science and history that works within the world and makes perfect sense - even if it would never be feasible in the real world - but it feels possible. The slow developing plot lines never feel like they lag, the pacing is excellent so nothing is revealed too quickly or too slowly. Lazlo and Sarai are on opposing sides of the same story and you will want them both to succeed.

Lazlo Strange is a librarian who dreams of visiting the lost city of Weep, whose true named slipped from everyone’s minds about fifteen years ago. It has been his life’s work to find not only the true name of the city, but to unravel all its secrets and travel there one day. An opportunity arises when traveler’s come from that land seeking help with a problem they have endured for same length of time.

In an isolated city, a girl with blue skin, cinnamon-colored hair, and a magic ability that affects dreamers, lives in a tower with only four more of her race—three other girls and one boy. They have been raised by ghosts and a small girl whose body is frozen as a child, just as much as her mind is in their brutal past, and the horrifying Carnage she endured and saved the others from. Each child, now growing, has their own magic as well, which has kept them alive these last fifteen years, though in a boring, isolated way. Only Sarai has a connection to the outside world, and it is she who will attempt to seek answers that don’t end in violence or death.

With elements of ancient Judaism intertwined with sci-fi and a heavily post-apocalyptic fervor, Strange the Dreamer is a frightful lesson about the sins of the father visiting subsequent generations and the effects of genocide, fear, and hate against the power of knowledge.

To be honest this book was hard for me to get through. I had several moments where I almost I didn't finish it. I forced myself to get through it because of all the amazing things I have heard. Although the book is beautifully written it really bothered me how much unnecessary filler was filtered in. Laini Taylor has an amazing writing gift. I think this book was just not meant for me.

This was the strangest and yet most beautiful book I think I’ve ever read. I read the reviews and was told that this book was amazing, but I just didn't think I’d love it as much as I did. This was my first book by Laini Taylor, and I know it’s not going to be my last. She swept me away, and I just can’t describe how much I loved this!

Lazlo Strange is the protagonist of the book, and the boy who reminded me why I love to read. I found myself agreeing to every word he said. I saved so many quotes, and all of them were about reading. I could relate to him so much! I haven't felt that way about a character in a long time.

"As a boy at the abbey, stories had been Lazlo's only wealth.
He was richer now.
Now he had books."

The world of strange the dreamer is absolutely unique. I had to keep up a bit with the information and the names of places and fairy tales, but it wasn't something that bothered me. Laini Taylor's writing was so lyrical. It was so lush and beautifully written and It just made me fall in love with the book more and more. Everything was so detailed and vivid and rich, and exactly what everyone's imagination needs. Laini just built the most complex and breathtaking world. It was beautiful and frighting all at the same time.

I saw a lot of reviews saying it was boring in the beginning but I didn't find it that way. There was a lot of description that’s one thing, but I practically flew through the book. The last 100 pages are when things really started to spiral out of control, and I was just in shock because I didn't expect those things to happen. The cliffhanger left me gaping and I cant wait for Muse of Nightmares!

If I had to describe this book in a quote it would have to be this one:

“You’re a storyteller. Dream up something wild and improbable," she pleaded. "Something beautiful and full of monsters."
“Beautiful and full of monsters?"
“All the best stories are.”

This is Laini Taylor’s best book yet. I am puzzled that it is classified as belonging to the Young Adult category. This is an exceptional story. While young adulthood may be the time when most of us grapple with the question, “who am I?” in earnest; I can vouch that at age 68, the question is still both formative and definitive. Furthermore, the question of one’s dreams, realized or faded, remains.
Taylor’s writing has developed beyond expectations. She is both sensually visceral and brilliantly imaginative.
I would go on with quotes but I am typing this laying on my back and using only one finger.
As I await the sequel, I recommend this book to anyone with love and dreams alive in his/heart. It is a visual triumph and one grand story. I LT shares genes with Bradbury and Tolkien.

I love this book, and I think my review from when I first read it in 2017 still stands:

"A gorgeously-written fantasy novel about a boy raised in a library, who spends his early life chasing down obscure references to the faraway city whose name was removed from the world by magic. It's a bit reminiscent of The Kingkiller Chronicle, but with a far less arrogant and thus more likable protagonist. When our hero finally gets a chance to visit the mythical city, the story blossoms into one of star-crossed lovers who can meet only in slumber, and author Laini Taylor paints beautiful imagery in their shared dreamscape. It's a fairy tale of gods and desert magics, and of the struggle for the generation after a war to make peace with the children of their parents' enemies. This book is currently my top read of the year, and I highly recommend it to all lovers of fantasy."

The only thing I'll add is that Taylor has mentioned that this novel is technically in the same universe as her Daughter of Smoke & Bone series, and having now read that trilogy as well, I was pleased to spot the connections in this reread of Strange. Like Brandon Sanderson's early Cosmere writing, the links between works are subtle enough that a reader won't miss anything if they go unnoticed, but are fun for anyone who picks up on them. I'm excited to now read the sequel to this book, Muse of Nightmares, to see both how the dreamer's story resolves and what other surprises Laini Taylor has in store.

I started listening to this book on a whim when I was in the mood for an audiobook, and I’m so glad that I did. The audiobook is excellent, the story is absolutely wonderful, and my heart is full of compassion for these characters.

At first, I was a little confused about what was happening. The timeline was jumping around and all the descriptions felt very abstract. But then about an hour into the book I started focusing better and fell in love with the story.

Lazlo Strange is a librarian, hungry for any knowledge about the “mythical” city of Weep. When Lazlo was a child, he dreamed of going to Weep. Then one day the true name of the city disappeared from his mind and he has been forever enthralled with trying to discover why that happened.

What’s interesting is that the story is written in a third-person omniscient voice, which is rather unusual, I think. There would be two sentences in the same paragraph about two people who don’t know each other doing two different things in two different locations. It was very different, and I think it might have added to some of the confusion, but I’m glad to have read a book like this anyway.

Unfortunately, I felt detached from all the characters in the book except for Lazlo and, eventually, Sarai. I don’t know if that was because of the omnipresent voice or because I listened to the audiobook, but it made me a little sad that I didn’t connect with more of the characters. However, Lazlo and Sarai are so precious and I love them so much.

This book made me think about what it means to be a god. If a god can be killed and controlled by humans, is he or she really even a god? Is a god someone with an unnatural ability? What happens then when an ordinary human develops or discovers an unnatural ability, do they become a god? Is it someone who lives away from the rest and looks over the people? What happens then when they come to earth? What does a human have to do to become a god? There are godchildren in this book, but I can’t really tell why they’re considered “gods,” or what even makes a god. I see this issue quite a bit in fantastical literature, so it’d be interesting to research it more.

Laini Taylor’s descriptions of the ethereal dreamscapes are so vivid and lush. I’ve never read a book before in which the main character spends half the book sleeping, yet I found myself looking forward to the chapters when Lazlo would lie down in bed each night. It made me so happy to see Sarai and Lazlo together in his dreams.

Strange the Dreamer is about dreams and books and libraries and alchemy and fairy tales and magic. It’s turning out to be quite difficult to fully describe or review this book, but it was such a beautiful story. I’m so glad I listened to it, and now I’m ready to devour Muse of Nightmares when it comes out in a few days!

This story finishes... and then keeps going, actually ending with a major cliffhanger.

I enjoyed both Lazlo's and Sarai's narration. I was always a little thrown off when someone else narrated, which was rare but occurred for a few different characters.

I would like more Calixte, please; it is a tragedy that we know nothing about her progress or lack thereof in climbing the divine metal and also that we see so little of her romance.

Lots of people are jerks here, or worse, but almost all of them (with the exception of one minor villain?) have very understandable motives.

I could have done without Eril-Fane's "unable to love" plot.

CW: systemic sexual assault (not graphically described, but pretty consistently discussed), imperialism-ish, attempted genocide, sex, explosion that destroys part of a city, earthquake, physical abuse, character death.