Arlene Golds

This is a tale that well fits its name. The entire tale is hazily evocative of experiencing a dream. Drew has spent her entire life feeling distanced from everything and everyone. The only true feeling she has is the terror of her vivid dreams. During one such nightmare Drew is chased into another world by monstrous figments. This is a world where dreams can become reality and dreamers are met with either suspicion or ambivalence. When the son of this world's Keeper, Gyfree, discovers Drew it is immediately apparent to him that she is different from the insubstantial dreamers who usually land in his world, but accepting her for who she truly is will also lead him to acknowledge the truth about himself and the danger they both bring to the land.

This is a fantasy which is lush with vivid description and the author has made great use of simile and soliloquy. Every characters' motivations are dissected and discussed in great detail in an almost musical seeming method of expression. I know that there are a great many people out there who appreciate this kind of writing. The unfortunate part is I'm personally more partial to direct linguistics without the morass of description and did a lot of skimming of the long and verbose paragraphs. The characters were interesting but because of the dreamy writing I never really connected with them.

There were things I certainly enjoyed, such as the concept of creating reality through dreams which is fascinating and particularly the progression of the many different relationships portrayed. The connections between the varied dreamers and their figments were quite intriguing. The hummybees were a very fun addition as well.

Overall this isn't a story I would read again although I'm certain it would be appealing to those who appreciate more descriptive works. If I were to make a comparison I would say it is written rather like a McKinley fairy tale crossed with Stephen King's first Dark Tower fantasy novel. Neither work is something I was personally wild about but I know they have fans out there.… (más)