Strange the Dreamer

Strange the Dreamer was recommended to me by Jerusha and when Wyrd And Wonder was on the horizon, I decided to pick up this two-book series for the month of May. Erynn and I decided to read it together for our first buddy read, and I am super excited to share our discussion about this beautiful beautiful book (yes, I had to type it twice). Atmospheric, breathtaking with protagonists that one creates an instant connection to, this book brought a smile to our faces multiple times. 

Strange the Dreamer is the story of Lazlo Strange, an orphan boy in the city of Zasmo. At the young age of 5 years, Lazlo experiences magic for the first time when he can no longer remember the name of the fantastical city he has grown up hearing about. All he can remember is Weep and the feeling of loss and sadness that comes with it. Fifteen years later, he is a librarian, devouring books about Weep, finding everything he can about the lost mythic city. When an opportunity arises, Lazlo travels to the city with the Godslayer of Weep and his contingent of legendary heroes. His dream has finally come true, but there are mysteries and secrets that await in Weep, and some answers will only be found in his dreams.

This story has magic, gods, humanity, past wars, love, intergenerational trauma, and much more.

Content Notes: Past sexual trauma.

First Impressions

I was sold on this book when Jerusha mentioned it. She loves it so much, and it was with this love for the story and characters that Jerusha convinced me to pick up books. Erynn, what prompted you to read this book too?

Erynn: Hmm, it’s strange (heh), because I hadn’t put much thought into the book before deciding to read it with you. I’ve never had anyone gush about Strange the Dreamer to me, so the book kind of slipped under my radar until I saw it on your Fantasy May TBR post. I thought the cover was beautiful, and saw that I already had it on my TBR as well, so that was a good sign for me. It definitely helped that the blurb was intriguing!

Once we started reading, where was it for you that had you thinking “I want to spend my entire life in this book?”

Yes! I wanted to read but not read because if I was reading then that would mean I was making progress in this book, and it would come to an end! How often does that happen?

Strange the Dreamer – the Reading Discussion

Erynn and I read this book over the course of about a week. We would set up time in the evening when we would read together and text each other. She is a very fast reader, by the way, and was I playing catch up a couple of times! Let’s start with the characters first, and then we will go into world building?

Sure, sounds great! While we were reading this book, I felt like sometimes I was reading too fast, actually! I constantly found myself going back and re-reading paragraphs because I wanted to savour them a little longer. Some sections I read about 3 times! Initial impression, again to highlight, and again to confirm that section was definitely highlight-worthy.

That was me too! That is why I was so slow when we would read together.

Lazlo

Let’s talk about Lazlo first. He is The Strange of this book. This was such a beautiful tale and Lazlo is such a pure character, in this thinking and approach. 

I loved everything about Lazlo! He reminded me a lot of myself, actually, as just like him, I tend to get lost in fairy tales and my head is too filled with stories to pay attention to the real world sometimes. I am, of course, nowhere as dreamy, noble, or innocent as Lazlo, haha!

As an orphan who was given a very low position in society, Lazlo’s lack of ambition is something that constantly comes up. He isn’t going to be the one to do great things but he will offer help to those who are destined to make a name for themselves. You and I know both know what ultimately ends up happening. What were your thoughts about this dichotomy?

I think it prompts the question of what greatness really is. Why are some people predisposed to “greatness” and not others? I think putting Lazlo (a nameless war peasant) up against Thyon perfectly illustrates the relationship between wealth, birth, privilege, and success. It mirrors the struggles many people face in our current societies, both for those attempting to push beyond class boundaries as well as those trying to cope with the limitations of the life they were born into.

Lazlo’s tale is ultimately a path to his own formula of greatness, which he only accomplishes by achieving balance between the limitations and expectations of his birth with his dreams. Because of that, I found Lazlo’s story particularly inspiring; he shows us that greatness is subjective.

I completely agree with you, Erynn. You have put it beautifully.

Sarai

Though I did not mention Sarai in the introduction, she is an integral part of Lazlo’s journey and discovery of the truth about Weep. Like Jerusha said in my May TBR post, Sarai is the one who brings balance to the actions of man and god in this story. She lives in a  precarious situation with no apparent way out of it. In my mind, she has a different gravity about her. Her empathy is what I love her for. What about you?

Sarai is a beautiful character through and through. Her empathy is one of her defining characteristics; the fact that she can look at both humans and gods and see both victim and oppressor in both paves the way for her to touch our hearts as readers. I particularly love her because of how damaged she is and for the war she wages within herself. I suppose that’s equal parts because of her empathy and her gift. She holds the power to both nurture and antagonize, but we’re introduced to Sarai as someone who has historically had antagonistic will and hates herself, and her gift, because of it. Her learning that she could be more than the Muse of Nightmares, and taking steps to achieve that, makes her story all the more satisfying for me. What are your thoughts about how she’s used her gift?

Sarai has a curiosity about the world. When she started using her powers in the beginning, it was driven by vengeance, but she did not know any better. The evolution of her thoughts with time and looking at the ‘why’ of her actions through a critical lens are important in her understanding of the world and her history. That brings about a big change in how she chooses to use her gift as well as realizing that she is her own master. She can choose to hate the humans, or she can choose to acknowledge the reasons behind their actions and do something different. Her gift can be a means of terror and bring nightmares, but it can also bring sweet dreams. And that is another dichotomy that I love about this book.

Weep & Worldbuilding

The city itself is a huge part of the story, whether it is through Lazlo’s fascination with it or Sarai and her history with what has become of it.

The anticipation building up to the truth about Weep and the journey to the city were agonizingly glorious. There were at least two times where I was like “okay, the next chapter, they’re going to reveal it!!” only for something else to keep that suspense intact. It was masterful, really. The descriptions of Weep were so vivid, too, even before Lazlo arrived in the city, because of his creativity and imagination. It was always a pleasure to be inside Lazlo’s head; he took everything beautiful about the world and story and amplified it by about 100. What was your favourite part about the worldbuilding?

The mystery of Weep, it’s name and existence, got me hooked to this book. The richness of Weep, in history, legends, people and beauty. Lazlo’s dreams take me back in time before the gods came and terrorized the people. He offers a pureness to it that we know Sarai appreciates too since the books that he learned from did not know anything about the gods. Would I love to visit Weep from Lazlo’s dreams? Yes!!! Won’t you, Erynn? 🙂

Yess!! I’d be so happy if we could just find a way to travel there. Even if it’s just for a little while!

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We immensely enjoyed our buddy read of Strange the Dreamer and now continue the journey with Muse of Nightmares. If you are looking for an atmospheric read that will cast a spell on you, this is the book to pick up. This isn’t particularly a romance book but I bet you will find yourself swooning over Lazlo. Until next time!

** Strange the Dreamer is available in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
If you have already read it, do tell us your thoughts in the comments!

Photo of castle: Photo by Jayme McColgan on Unsplash
Photo of moth and tree branch on Unsplash.