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Strange the Dreamer Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Laini Taylor (Author), Steve West (Narrator), Hodder & Stoughton (Publisher)

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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 or lose his dream forever. What happened in Weep 200 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?

In this sweeping and breathtaking new novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times best-selling Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.

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Product details

Listening Length	18 hours and 20 minutes
Author	Laini Taylor
Narrator	Steve West
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	28 March 2017
Publisher	Hodder & Stoughton
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B01NCNP7HL
Best Sellers Rank	6,484 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 8 in Survival Stories for Teens 12 in Multicultural Fiction for Teens 52 in Survival Stories for Young Adults

Customer reviews

5 star		77%
4 star		15%
3 star		6%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Amazon Customer

Lost in genre-change

Reviewed in Australia on 22 March 2020

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A story has three things: a beginning, a middle and an end. This one lacks an end and leaves the reader hanging.
However, the worst of it is that the story didn't have a reason for the very long quest. What is it the boy wanted? When do we find out? Never.
The writing is beautiful, mostly, but needed a lot of skimming over the stuff that wasn't necessary (How many pages does it take to describe one kiss?).
I won't be going for the next one. I hate being disappointed by a lack of purpose and particularly by the lack of an ending to the main story.
It would be one star but for the intrigue of the prologue, which turned out to be a flash-forward that should have been placed in the location where it happened. Makes me think it was only a prologue because the rest of the opening scenes are so boring and grey.
That this story skipped into a different genre when the kissing started is another blow. I don't mind a bit of romance, but in a fantasy, I want that to be the main element of the story. Did not need so much of the romance, because it left it without any tension or conflict.
Not a good story. No beginning and no end = no story and no reason to read on.

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Amazon Customer

Beautifully written

Reviewed in Australia on 19 April 2020

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This is a beautifully written tale. The writing is gorgeous, and brings the world and characters of the story vividly to life. I kept turning pages mostly because of this. The story itself is good, but I didn't find myself becoming invested in it so much that I wanted to keep reading into the next book in the series straight away. I think maybe for me there wasn't quite enough complexity in the story, or its twists and turns, to really hook me in? If you like magical, beautifully written stories with a simple love story at their hearts, you'll love this!

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Ribsy

Another Great Series by Laini Taylor

Reviewed in Australia on 16 March 2018

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It took a little while to get into this story as the beginning really sets the scene for the rest but once I understood where we were headed, it was a great read. Laini's style is to keep the reader guessing as to what is actually going on so you tend to read the story feeling like you don't quite have all the details you'd like but they are gradually revealed as you progress until it all makes sense at the end.... although not the end of this book, you'll have to keep going if you want all the answers... and I suggest you do, it's well worth it.

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Marianne Curley

Dreamer Genius

Reviewed in Australia on 6 November 2017

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Strange The Dreamer was a genius creation with long winded stretches of description that might have been boring if not so beautifully written. I did stumble over some unknown words and having to stop to look them up became annoying. Still, by the time I reached the climax I was thoroughly hooked and in awe of Laini's talented gift with the written word. So good to know there will be Strange The Dreamer Book 2.

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Darcey B

beautiful story!

Reviewed in Australia on 10 September 2020

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I had high hopes thanks to the high reviews from this book, and they were not let down. Strange the Dreamer was beautifully written, had stunningly sweet characters and was a captivating book. loved it!

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Ms. J.L.Kelly

Fantasytic!

Reviewed in Australia on 25 November 2018

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A far reaching beauty of a book. Lazlo Strange, a ragged orphan boy dares to dream. His incredible dreams eventually coalesce to an even more incredulous reality. Beautifully written, what a joy to find Laini Taylor's works.

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Alessandra Giglio

Enchanting, gripping, heart-wrenching

Reviewed in Australia on 4 July 2017

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Exquisitely written, capturing that harsh divide between fairy-tales and reality, high ideals and practicality, between dreamers and fallen heroes. Pretty much one of those reads you feel as if you won't be able to handle life until you find out what happens next - cannot deal until the sequel!!

One person found this helpful

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Amyquil

In love!

Reviewed in Australia on 1 August 2017

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This book has everything!! First of all the cover is just beautiful. Laini Taylor has done it again and this is marvellously just as captivating and all consuming as Daughter of Smoke and Bone. My heart was ripped out at the end to which I physically said out loud "oh noo!!". But oh wow wow wow I cannot wait for the next one, what a cliffhanger!

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Sarah (Feeling Fictional)

Strange the Dreamer

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 April 2017

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It's been a long wait for something new from Laini Taylor, I absolutely adored her writing in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series but if anything she's honed her skills even more and Strange the Dreamer was even more beautifully written. She always manages to completely captivate me with the worlds she creates and when I fall into one of her books I never want to come back out again.

Strange the Dreamer is the story of Lazlo, a young man who was orphaned as a baby and raised by monks before he discovered the magic of the great library and trained to become a librarian. Lazlo is in part a little like every book worm you'll ever meet, he's obsessed with stories and spends so much time with his head stuck in a book that real life often happens around him without him even noticing. Lazlo's biggest obsession is the mystery of Weep and he has dedicated his life to reading everything he can about the city that disappeared so long ago. It's been years since anyone was able to find Weep and nobody can even remember the city's real name but Lazlo longs for it to be discovered again and he would give anything to visit the place he has spent so long dreaming about. Lazlo is a dreamer but he's also smart, funny and very caring. He always tries to help people but never expects thanks for his hard work and is so grateful for every opportunity he is offered that he never takes anything for granted.

This is also the story of Sarai, a young woman who has been trapped in her home for years with only her siblings for company. I don't want to get into too much detail about where Sarai is or how she ended up trapped there but her path crosses Lazlo's in the most unusual manner and I absolutely loved spending time with them both and watching the beginnings of their romance. Sarai and her siblings have been through something horrific but thanks to her unique talent she is the one best placed to understand both sides of the story and she longs for peace and freedom. She's such a compassionate girl, one who has seen the worst people have to offer but who also has great capacity for forgiveness and who tries really hard to look at the good in people.

Once again Laini Taylor has created a world that you just want to dive into, there are so many beautiful and amazing things to discover but there are also dark secrets lurking underneath that will leave you reeling. Her characters are people you want to be friends with and even her villains are so complex that you can understand their actions even if you don't particularly agree with them. There is so much pain and fear between the two different groups in the story that it's going to take a miracle to pull them together but I have complete faith that if anyone can pull it off Lazlo Strange and the Muse of Nightmares can. Working together I think they can achieve anything.

Strange the Dreamer is definitely one of my favourite books of the year and there is no doubt in my mind that it is going to be appearing on a lot of "best of 2017" lists. The Muse of Nightmares is right at the top of my 2018 wish list but I know I'll be rereading this book while I wait for it to be released.

28 people found this helpful

drawingmad

Is everything you want and more

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 March 2019

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After being an avid fan of the Daughter of smoke and bone series, I highly anticipated this new series of hers, and it did not disappoint. Lani Taylor's ability to create vivid, complex and believable worlds in immense detail is truly astounding, and I can not express how engrossing her stories are. This is a little slow to start, but once you are a couple of chapters in, there's no putting it down. This book is a true feat of mystery and masterful writing, just as daughter of smoke and bone is. After creating such an extensive and engrossing world and character plot line in DOSAB, I don't know how she has managed to come up with new characters, completely different in every respect but equally as captivating and developed, in a new world, unequivocally enchanting and full of burning questions we must know the answers to. One of my favorite books already.

5 people found this helpful

little bookworm

Wonderfully imaginative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2018

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Lazlo Strange has dreamed of the mythical lost city of Weep since he was a young boy playing make-believe in the orchards of the monastery where he was raised. Now a librarian in the Great Library of Zosma, Lazlo spends his days still dreaming of journeying to the lost City, until that is the day arrives when his dreams look set to turn into reality. Suddenly he finds himself one of a group of delegates accompanying a mysterious stranger known as the Godslayer as well as a group of legendary warriors from the lost city. What awaits them there is even more extraordinary than anything even Lazlo could have dreamed!

I found myself completely immersed in this imaginative and captivating read, drawn into the vividly described fantasy world that Taylor has created. From the Great Library of Zosma, to the vast desert plains of the Elmuthaleth, and to the lost City itself, it was a joy accompanying Lazlo on his voyage of discovery.

Lazlo himself makes for a wonderful fantasy book hero, with his nose always behind a book and his mind full of wonder; he's gentle and kind and very easy to like. Yet I thought that Taylor did a really good job of portraying a whole host of more complex characters too. There's Thyon Nero, the arrogant alchemist, who early on in the story seems set on being a clear villain; yet I was surprised to find that it wasn't quite so black and white. The Godslayer too is another prime example, a hero who saved his City and its people from a reign of terrible tyranny, and yet at a great cost too;such that he is haunted by the blood on his hands. Minya, again, is an intriguing character; controlling and manipulative, she might easily have been painted a pure villain, but the tragedy of her past and the great trauma she has witnessed can but render her in a more sympathetic light.

I don't want to go into detail regarding the ins and outs of the story, but I thought that Taylor touched upon some great themes within the book, re-working them in an imaginative way. Its a story about the aftermath of tyranny and war, about hatred and how hard it can be to forgive and reach a reconciliation. I thought that Taylor did a good job of portraying two sides of a story; as a reader it is easy to appreciate the suffering that the people of Weep have endured, but by allowing us to get to see things from the Godspawns' points of view, and Sarai's in particular, we gain an insight into what they - the orphans of war - have endured too.

I personally found the idea of the Mesarthim and the Godspawn, with their mystical powers, intriguing; and there are still so many unanswered questions regarding them. Who were the Mesarthim, where did they come from, and what happened to all those Godspawn children over the centuries?

Sarai's power is a particularly interesting one and obviously shapes a lot of the story; with dream elements becoming more prominent as the book goes on. I really liked the depiction of the dream sequences in which Lazlo and Sarai interact; and thought Taylor really managed to capture that whimsical and magical quality that dreams have. The romance between the two central characters was I thought sweetly rendered; and whilst some people have complained that it felt too instantaneous and also took up too much time I would disagree on both accounts. I think the secluded nature of the lives that both Lazlo and Sarai have lived, makes it believable that they might develop feelings so quickly for each other; and I think the ending of the book makes it quite clear why so much time was invested in their relationship.Certainly the book ends on a cliffhanger, with some very interesting dynamics being set up;such that I can't wait for the sequel.

I did guess at the ending of the story, but that didn't at all spoil it. I would also say that the book starts off quite slow, but if you stick with the first few chapters, things soon start getting interesting.

A beautifully written book, with exquisite prose and imagery, this is certainly a story I won't be forgetting in a while.

5 people found this helpful

Micky - bookphenomena

An exceptional world and story with characters to live for

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 June 2020

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This was a winner of winners in terms of reading, full absorption from start to finsh and a read that was mostly audio but sometimes ebook.

I fell into this book with a determination after loving Daughter of Smoke and Bone and I didn’t need to worry because I loved this world with an awe immediately, it didn’t ebb, not once. This book brought characters to live and long for and a world that was an exceptional creation. I am in awe.

I feel that there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t already been said coming late to a duology like this but it’s new to me and so I give you my fresh eyes. These fresh eyes were all on Lazlo. Unconventional hero, humble librarian, strength of character, kind and intelligent – 100% loveable. Lazlo started off in one land, travelled across a vast desolate plain and ended up in Weep.

“You know me, Strange the dreamer, head in the clouds.” He paused and added with a grin, “Miracles for breakfast.”

The world was on the one hand complex, but also not difficult to understand; that said, I couldn’t explain it that well. Sarai the other main character was a daughter of a godess but trapped and enslaved to a gift and future that was dismal. I felt for her, I liked her and seeing her come alive more as events unfolded was beautiful and enchanting.

As these two met, everything went still in my mind as I read, wanting every detail, every feel and boy, did I feel their connection. Sometimes I moan about not feeling connected to characters in books, this was such the opposite experience, it was a situation where I have rarely felt so much in a fantasy read, nor so tethered to two characters.

"She wanted. She wanted. She wanted to wake up holding hands."

The story was exciting, tragic, haunting and vivid. The world was further enhanced by brilliant narration injecting further personality into the characters and so I can highly recommend this format for the duology. I will be listening to MUSE OF NIGHTMARES rather than reading. Pick this story up and you will be ensnared in its trap.

One person found this helpful

Andrew Kluth

A great fantasy read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 June 2017

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I first heard of Laini Taylor when she was interviewed on Woman's Hour, I was drawn in to Laszlo's world by Ms Taylor's description, fearing that the book would not live up to the author's description. I was wrong. The book builds a world that is both impossible and convincing. Books have magic, but few weave it into the fabric of the world as simply and naturally as this. As Laszlo grows, our understanding of the world in which he lives expands and matures. By the time, as a young adult, he meets Sarai and starts to develop an insight of the godspawn, it is easy to take the fantastical elements of the book into the narrative stride and enjoy Strange the Dreamer for what it is: a very good story, told by a natural storyteller.
Since reading this, I have read the Gods and Monsters trilogy, and I still come back to Strange wondering why the book ended as it did. It is a trilogy, and I want the next two books to arrive quickly so I can understand how the various threads and characters evolve and interact.

6 people found this helpful

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