Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2)

Wow! Just WOW! Muse of Nightmares is even better than Strange the Dreamer: deeper, darker, twistier did I mention deeper? Im just completely floored yet again by Laini Taylors imagination and lyrical prose. The lady can write! As in Strange the Dreamer, everything just pops. (If you havent read Strange the Dreamer, go buy it, read it, and then come back here, because Muse of Nightmares is not a standalone novel.) So many storylines intertwine in this tapestry of madness and redemption. It is incredibly satisfying to see how many characters twine their way through the story strengthening the whole vibrant tapestry.

Muse of Nightmares starts with Kora and Nova, sisters writing their story separated by worlds and time from Sarai, Lazlo, and the others. They too, are like orphans, clinging to each other in a world of drudgery. They wait for the Mesarthim to return and test them, so they can be chosen to be Servants as their mother was. Its the dream theyve held onto all these years. They were meant for better than this. This is not their life. It couldnt be. They were meant to be soldier-wizards. Then after an absence of many years, a starship comes. And everything changes.

Sarai is dead. Theres no way around it. Shes the Muse of Nightmares, and yet her life or death has become a nightmare. Shes seventeen and shes in kneeling beside her own body. Minya saved her, pulled her back from unraveling in death, keeps her from melting away, from evanescing. But even as Sarai hugs Minya, rejoicing that at least she still exists, if non-corporeally, she sees Lazlo Strange, her love. She felt like a breath that had been inhaled into darkness, only to be exhaled again as song. She was dead, but she was music. And then Minya speaks and the nightmare descends, because while Minyas godspawn gift allows her to pull souls back from deaths grip, it also allows her to control them. What they do, what they say, all controlled. Minya has never grown past the six-year-old child that she was when Eril-Fane slew Skathis and the others. Shes the same size, she wears the same clothes, she feels the same hate that she did years ago as she fled the slaughter with the two babies and two small toddlers that were all she was able to save. She has never left the memory of the murdered babies in the nursery behind. She lives that memory and hates with every single breath.

Now Sarai is Minyas hostage to make Lazlo behave, to make Lazlo obey. She wants nothing more than to descend on Weep, the city below their floating home, and destroy every single human. While Sarai is rejoicing that they are free of their skyborn prison, Minya doesnt want to be free; she wants to be a monster. Can Sarai ever be escape Minyas plan? Can she still be the Muse of Nightmares even if shes dead?

Muse of Nightmares winds the story of Kora and Nova around the story of Eril-Fane, Lazlo Strange, Sarai, Minya, and the others. The novel shines with incredibly detailed and believable characters, blisteringly real world-building, and a story that echoes the human condition as two sisters reach across worlds toward each other, struggling to unite. Its a story of heroes and monsters: heroes who become monsters and monsters who become heroes. Love, PTSD, shame, guilt, fear, horror almost everything that anyone could ever feel is woven through a timeless tale. We live for love, we kill for love, we change for love we hate when love is lost to us.

The story feels as if every Greek myth infused a body, sat down by a bonfire, and mesmerized everyone else sitting there with a horror story as the night grew dark around them. But for every night, a dawn rises, and flickering through all the pain and darkness in Muse of Nightmares, shimmers of light touch a face, a hand, and gradually reveal the speaker and their audience. Frightened. Heartbroken. Hopeful. Changed.

Im trying not to include spoilers, so Ill simply finish by saying Laini Taylor is a writer that will grab your attention and yank your heart around. Phrases will resonate with you long after you put the book down, as will many aspects of the story. I was sorry when the book was done and there wasnt another to journey on with. Not that there were any cliffhangers, it was just like having your favorite people in the whole wide world walk out the door and you dont know when or if youll see them again. But you wish they would take you with them on their next adventure.

Highly recommended for those who love fantasy, lyrical yet unpretentious prose, and simply brilliant storytelling.

Strange the Dreamer (StD) was probably my favorite read for 2017 besides Oathbringer so the bar was so high for this book I was extremely scared that there was no way it could live up to the hype in my mind. While this wasnt quite as good for me as StD it is still a pretty strong book.

One of the only reasons that the rating is 3.5 instead of a little higher it just that I expect more of a lyrical prose that Im used to from Laini Taylor and there is some but the beauty of the words just didnt quite match up to StD. But, like I said before the bar was really high.

***For fifteen years, the people of Weep had lived with the certainty that the monsters were dead, and Eril-Fane had lived with the burden of it. ***

Muse of Nightmares comes in right where we left off in StD, well after the prologue that is, it introduces a whole new set of characters on another world, but we will get back to that. There were some big consequences in StD and Minya seems to have the upper hand. Since that 21 year old woman stuck in the body of a 6 year old is a bit on the vengeful side it is just a little bit tense for awhile.

***Everything she was, everything she did, grew out of the Carnage. Sarai would have wagered that in all of time there had never been a purer wrath than Minyas. ***

The thing I really liked about this book is seeing how Lazlos mind was so different from Skathis. While all the godsmetal shaped by Skathis is sinister and cruel, the metal in Lazlos hands becomes the images from his dreams and changes the scary into the wonderous.

Up in the citadel Lazlo, Sarai and the others must convince the little tyrant of their group that vengeance against the people of weep is not required. They are free and can leave. But Minya has had her heart set on it for so long that it is easier said than done.

Down in Weep Eril-Fane must convince everyone that the Monsters arent coming for them and the people are still safe in the city. After everything that he and Azareen went through they are the couple that I was rooting for the most to finally get a HEA. Their story is so full of longing and tragedy that I really just wanted them to find their way back to one another.

Thyon too is left in Weep a little dumbstruck to realize that the boy whose life work he tried to pass off as his own is really one of the Godspawn. Then the weirdest thing happens, he makes a few friends. No really. After everything he did and StD I hated him for the most part but Thyon away from the Queen and with Calixte giving him a hard time actually becomes a real boy and figures out how to play with the cool kids.

***But I am a stupid barbarian?
Did I say so?
You say it with your face.
Thats just his face, said Calixte in a pretense of defending him. He cant help having indignant nostrils. Can you, Nero? You probably come from a long line of indignant nostrils. Aristocrats are issued them at birth, along with haughty eyes and judgmental cheeks.
Judgmental cheeks? repeated Ruza. Can cheeks be judgmental?
His manage.
To Thyons surprise, Tzara took his side. Leave him alone. Hes here, isnt he? He could have fled like the others. She gave Ruza a shove. Youre just jealous hes so much better-looking than you. ***

I love Calixte and all the fun stuff that comes out of her mouth. She is hilarious and all the stuff about being descended from spiders seems like a good cautionary tale. Maybe we will hear it sometimes.

But then there is a new set of characters that we saw in the prologue Cora and Nova. They are sisters on a different world and through them we get an idea of how all the worlds became connected and we learn the dirty truth of what happened to all of the children the gods produced over centuries. Through Cora and Nova we see how a sisters bond can keep two girls alive and later drive them to become something much different that what they started out as.

***There comes a certain point with a hope or a dream, when you either give it up or give up everything else. And if you choose the dream, if you keep on going, then you can never quit, because it’s all you are. ***

I do like where this ended. I can totally see a crossover book as a possibility with the characters from Daughter of Smoke and Bone possible in the future. It ended in a great spot so that the story felt complete and at the same time left it just open enough that I could see us traveling the worlds with some of our favorite characters as they go out on a quest.

Overall: This is a really good book. I liked the romance aspect of it along with the dialogue. I did want just a little more beautiful language to it as I think StD outshines MoN in this category.

Audio Note: Steve West is FANTASTIC!!! He is always one of my favorite narrators and so I loved listening to him perform both StD and MoN. He was a great fit and really made the story shine.

From the first page of Strange the Dreamer, I knew that I had stumbled upon a book that was going to challenge everything that I thought a book could be. That book altered me in some magical way and Muse of Nightmares was no different. In the short time that it took me to finish Muse, I felt like Id found myself in a dream and when the ending came, I was reluctantly kicked out of it. For me, the magic of these books far surpass their pages. This series had this ability of finding its way to me, like the Universe wanted me to read it and, most remarkably through no expense of my own. My first encounter with Strange the Dreamer was an audiobook that I got for free for Independant Bookstore Day. And then I unbelievably won Uncorrected proofs of both Strange and Muse of Nightmares. And if this wasnt enough to make me believe that these books were bound to me in some way, both covered in magic and mysticism, than the stories themselves and their prose was the final decider.

My expectations for this book were high and so I was riddled with nerves, when I set my eyes on the first page. However I can safely say that this book completely shattered my expectations in every way. The story starts with the introduction of two new characters, sisters Kora and Nova, and as is Laini Taylors way, I fell in love with them immediately. I never imagined that it would be possible to introduce new characters and have me feel so deeply about them as I do with those from Strange, but inevitably it happened. I cried for Kora and Nova, laughed with them, hated them, rooted for them, raged for them and just loved them, all in a never ending loop.

Being given chapters from the past and then the present, following Kora and Nova and then the original cast just made everything so much more intense. It takes sheer genius to be able to create stories, within stories, within stories and for each one to fully hold its weight and all come together in such a bittersweet way. Something would occur in the past and then youd be flung into the future and your mind would start making the connections of how this led to that and so on. It was truly the mark of great craftsmanship and was endlessly fascinating to have realisation dawn on you time and time again. Kora and Novas story was just so mesmerisingly haunting and yet filled with the purest love, that I couldnt help but clutch their chapters a bit closer to my heart.

The dynamics between those in the Citadel had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, Minya as expected was as unpredictable as ever, which led to others acting in the most uncharacteristic of ways. These scenes were some of the most tense Ive ever read and were an mini echo of the whole novel, as everyone had valid arguments for and against, valid reservations, valid feelings, no matter how unnerving, and were all suffocating in the shadow of their own pasts and of those who came before them. This book had the most complex characters and it truly put my heart through the ringer to see them trying to figure, not only each other, but themselves out. I found my self weeping for characters that Id despised no more than a minute ago, reflecting in the most honest way, how good and bad lives in all of us and that second chances are always there if we want them.

This book was such a tangle of relationships; family, friends, enemies to friends? Humans and godspawn, lovers and fighters, the living and the dead and those on the cusp of forming relationships. With all these complex interactions, Lazlo and Sarais relationship was such a safe haven for me, and them, amid everything that seemed to be going wrong. It was so beautiful to read and this really was where the author showed off that wondrous prose, that seemed to exist solely to document this relationship. I also loved the little hints at a certain romantic relationship that was slowly materialising (its my favourite of the whole book), concerning Thyon and someone no one could have guessed, I just wished there was more of it because it was so unexpected but so stinking adorable!

Speaking of Thyon Nero, the character development in this book was amazing and for so many of them. Thyons transformation was so funny and endearing to read and I love himjust like a little bit, it was done in such subtle ways, progressing at such a believable pace. Minyas was by far the most monumental for me, I mean she was my favourite character before this book, but this just confirmed it for me. I was so glad that Laini Taylor allowed us to explore why Minya is the way she is, because hand on heart she deserved it. I cant believe some of the things that came to light about her, I really couldnt handle the way that shed been showing them all along how she cares for them ,without even herself realising. Youll know exactly what I mean when you read the book, trust me it will touch your heart and make you rethink everything you thought you knew about her.

Another aspect that I was so grateful to the author for, was the history lesson we were given about, well everything. It felt so good to finally know what on earth had been going on in the citadel for all those years, that so few now recalled. There were so many backstories that were finally revealed, that allowed us to see just how much the characters pasts and presents overlapped.

Not only were we fed the history of Weep, but offered the history of their whole Universe, it was spellbinding and clearly a different class of storytelling, given the sheer detail in everything. Learning more about the lost godspawn, Skathis, the rest of the Gods and how they got their powers is what I desperately wanted from this book, and I got what I wanted, no matter how disturbing. This book definitely had a darker tone to it than Strange the Dreamer, but I enjoyed it quite a lot, as it made the story unbearably honest and raw. I cant think of a story as greatly weaved and constructed as this. It had everything; complex characters, emotive, hypnotic language, a seamless plot, rich setting, the purest romances, easy and strained friendships, enemies, magic and action. There were so many battles in this book of all shapes and sizes, but each was completely enthralling.

To conclude, I doubt Ill ever read anything like this duology again, or have any story or cast of characters mean so much to me, give so much to me. These stories offered themselves to me without me giving anything in returnliterally. Although Im making up for it buy collecting every edition I can and I cant wait for the audiobook of Muse, as the Strange the Dreamer one took the story to a completely different level. It was utterly phenomenal!! I plan to re-read this duology many a time as Im sure theres things that I didnt fully appreciate, it was epic after all. I dont know what force brought them to me but Im so grateful, these books will forever be apart of my heart and I hope they find their way into yours too! And judging by the ending, Im not quite sure that this story is finished being told.

Sequel to Strange The Dreamer, Muse of Nightmares continues from right where the story broke off last time. Lazlo now finds himself a demi-God, whilst Sarai has to accept her new existence as a ghost; both however, find themselves at Minya’s mercy. With the little girl hell-bent on revenge, is there any way of getting through to her, and finally putting an end to this terrible cycle of hate and vengeance? Though, Minya may not be all they have to worry about, as a new foe emerges, shedding light on old mysteries regarding the Mesarthim. Who were they, where did they come from, and what happened to all those children taken from the Citadel’s nursery?

I completely fell in love with Strange the Dreamer, and as such was avidly looking forward to the sequel, though not without a little trepidation too; would Taylor be able to live up to expectations? All in all I think she did a fantastic job. Certainly she managed to answer a lot of the questions I was left with at the end of the first book, mainly regarding the backstory of the Mesarthim. She does this by introducing us to two new characters at the very start of the story – Kora and Nova. Whilst the first chapter did seem a little jarring to begin with as a result, it is not long before we return to Weep and follow up on the action right were we left off; and I enjoyed the occasional flash back chapters to Kora and Nova after that, both for the light they shed on the history of the Mesarthim, and also for the incredible bond between these two sisters that is built up in the story. Not wanting to give away too much, I won’t say too much more about these characters; other than their arc was a very poignant one, and a strong component of the book.

I also really liked the expansion of the world-building, and the book ends on a note of great possibility in terms of future books, either directly involving some of the characters from these stories, or even linking to Taylor’s other popular Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. Really there is so much scope in terms of the Universe she has created, with all its various worlds and races.

As in the previous book, Taylor writes beautifully with vivid imagery and prose, again bringing her world and characters completely to life. Furthermore, once again she gives us complex characters, as opposed to one-dimensional villains, such that as a reader you can understand the various characters’ motives and the reasons for the hatred sometimes driving them. Indeed the only true villains across these books were Skathis and Isagol. It was also nice to follow up on some of the other Farenji from the first book, particularly Thyon Nero, whose character journey continues.

Did I enjoy this book as much as its predecessor, the answer is no. I thought there were some pacing issues, with the first half of the book quite slow and often treading in circles, without really getting anywhere. There was a little too much repetition for my liking at times, in terms of essentially just stating the stale-mate situation the characters were in. Also whilst I appreciated the complexity to her characters, I do think that Taylor sometimes over-forced this – both with regards to Minya and Nova. I could already appreciate their vulnerability from their backstories to feel some sympathy for them, such that I didn’t need reminding that I ought to feel sorry for them in every single chapter; it rather felt that Taylor really drove the hammer home at times, when she could have been a little subtler.

Furthermore, whilst I liked the romantic elements to the first book, I was less keen on them here; as often these parts just felt misplaced and out of tune with everything happening. Perhaps it was because the romance, be it between Lazlo and Sarai, or Feral and Ruby, felt rather too ‘teenagerish’. In contrast the relationship between Eril-Fane and Azareen struck a much stronger chord with me.

Overall, still a vastly enjoyable read, if not quite as magical and captivating as its predecessor.

If Strange the Dreamer ran then this book galloped it’s way into my heart. I didn’t think I could love it more than Strange the Dreamer but I did. It took all the way to the last few pages but it clutched its way inside me and didn’t want to let go. I almost ALMOST shed tears.

I have to admit, I started this book reading about Kora and Nova and was so instantly lost and confused that I thought i’d picked up the wrong book. But it soon becomes clear just how important they are to this story and they were FASCINATING. We get so much more world-building in this book that is just so intriguing and so damn clever. It is spread throughout the entire book and never once feels boring or flat and just constantly kept adding bricks of information to what we already knew about the world. I love how well thought out this world is and just praise Laini for how well she weaves threads together. I loved the information about the world we get from them and the backstory for The Wraith as well! Oh just fascinating and so well done.

I would have chosen you, if they had let me choose

They also teach us so much more about Skathis and if we thought he was cruel in Strange the Dreamer we understand just how cruel he can actually be. One of the main questions running through me in the first book was, why the children? where do they go? and we find out in Muse and my god do I wish we hadn’t. It’s quite horrifying how simple the reality is, that no matter that they are gods, some are simply dark and evil. I figured out quickly that their first chapter was in our characters past but didn’t realise they’d come to a full loop with our character. I have to say, I did want to scream at Nova a little bit for her inability to pay any attention to what was going on around her BUT she has spent all her life seeing vengeance and justice and the safe return of her sister so I understand why she just, imploded.

The characters are so incredibly well developed in this book; everyone of them is complex and intriguing and isn’t just how they started. The stand out character for me was Minya. I hated her in book one and just didn’t get why she was the way she was. And then we get to Muse and we learn about her nightmares and my heart just broke for her. She is a child who watched all her kin slaughtered and she saved the few that she could and never felt it was enough and did everything in her power to save them and ensure it would never happen again. She was 6 years old when this started and she never got the chance to just be a child. No wonder she holds so much hate in her heart constantly reliving the day trying to work out just how to save her family. By the end of it she is so well developed and so real and I just really appreciate her character.

For real tough, with the amount of time Sarai and Lazlo spending thinking about kissing, talking about kissing, actually kissing, they could have solved world peace. We don’t need pages and pages of them talking about how much they love kissing and how Sarai is the only one for Lazlo to kiss… blah blah. That is my only downside of this book!! That and the flowery OTT language that Laini seems to love at times. I couldn’t even take a star off for it though because I loved the rest of the book that much.

The ending was so good and did not disappoint AT ALL. It also leaves it very wide open for future stories about the characters we know and love already, but other Godspawn who are out in the world just waiting to be saved. I for one, would be thrilled for many more stories about this world. OH and we learn the true name of Weep.

OH AND BEFORE I FORGET. Page 125 – the page Lazlo began to grow on me.

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