Book Review :: Strange the Dreamer, by Laini Taylor

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
ISBN: 9781444788976
Series: Strange the Dreamer #1
Also in this series: Muse of Nightmares
Published by Hachette NZ
on 28th March 2017
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 544
Source: Hachette Publishing NZ
Find at Hachette NZ
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The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around - and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly.

Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries - including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Last updated on 14 October 2023

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What is Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor about?

Strange the Dreamer is about Lazlo Strange. He’s a bit of an oddball. He has no family, works in The Great Library, and knows pretty much everything about everything. His deepest obsession, however, is with the mythical city of Weep. What exactly happened to this city 200 years ago? Did it ever exist? Where did it go?

When the opportunity arises to actually visit the lost city, Lazlo makes sure he’s there, front and centre. When the Godslayer – named for exactly that – appears in his town with legendary fighters, Lazlo ensures that he is in the group that embarks on this incredible adventure.

What they’re needed for, the team isn’t sure, but whatever it is, whatever lies in the city of Weep, whatever awaits them, Lazlo knows he needs to be a part of it.

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My thoughts on Strange the Dreamer

Oh my goodness. What aren’t my thoughts? I love every sentence of this book. From the very beginning, I was hooked on Strange the Dreamer. Lazlo’s character is me but times 100. Lost in a world of books and make-believe, buried in a library most people don’t even visit, he is inquisitive, he is curious, and yet he is fiercely passionate about what he loves.

“The Great Library was no mere place to keep books. It was a walled city for poets and astronomers and every shade of thinker in between.”

If I got to visit that library, you’d never see me again. There were times in this book when I was also positive Laini Taylor did a study on me and added parts of who I am into Lazlo’s character. Especially when it comes to books.

“He read while he walked. He read while he ate. The other librarians suspected he somehow read while he slept, or perhaps didn’t sleep at all…He believed in magic, like a child, and in ghosts like a peasant….head in the clouds, world of his own, fairy tales and fancy.”

When he sees Weep for the first time, and he realises it’s real, when he begins to understand his part in the greater picture and when he starts to dream of a blue-skinned goddess, Lazlo’s character shines through. He’s honestly one of the greatest characters I’ve ever read.

Sarai, the blue goddess, has a beautifully terrifying talent and has been tormenting the city of Weeps for years. I loved her side of the story too. The interaction between the two characters was so genius, and Taylor writes so wonderfully it’s as if you’re there.

The story was insanely good. You know how sometimes the characters overshadow the story, or the plot line is epic, but the personalities kinda put a damper on things? Not in Strange the Dreamer. The storyline was so captivating, and even though there were a few things that I called before they were spelt out, it didn’t make the book any less incredible.

“It was impossible, of course. But when did that ever stop any dreamer from dreaming.”

Taylor writes with a style that’s hard to explain. All I know is that it’s magical, it’s ‘beautiful and full of monsters’. It draws you in and doesn’t let you go. There’s no way that I won’t be reading this book again. I think it’s now one of my favourites.

If you’re a lover of fantasy, magical lands, gods and humans, then you seriously have to pick this book up. It’s out in stores now, and make sure you head on over to Hachette Publishing NZ to read more about the book.

Have you read Strange the Dreamer? What did you think? 

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Thank you to Hachette Publishing who sent me a copy of this book for review. This does not affect my review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.