Happy Boxing Day, everyone! I hope you've had a good Christmas and since I spent some of mine finishing up this little, 500-page nugget, I know I had a great one! I've had this books praises sung to me most of the year and I've finally gotten around to it. Thank goodness for that because this was just fantastic! Let's start.
Lazlo Strange is a dreamer. That is, his mind is full of impossible dreams, fairy tales, and stories he's read while living in the vast library of Zosma after growing up an orphan in a monastery. His favorite stories are of the Unseen City, whose name was stolen some years ago and is now only known as Weep. When an army of warriors, lead by a man known as Godslayer, from that city come looking for the sharpest minds to help them with a problem, Lazlo is decidedly uninvited. But Lazlo refuses to give up on his dream and journeys forth to see the city of his dreams, where he beholds an otherworldly citadel in the sky and the mysterious beings that dwell within.
Wow. Just wow. That's all I could say after I finished this thing. The writing is just superb. You are quickly invested in these characters, you see the vivid images in your mind's eye, you feel the pull of tension and dread that weighs in the atmosphere...it's just fantastic! Lazlo Strange is the kind of bookworm character that other bookworm characters try to be, but don't necessarily succeed at being. His wild imagination and respectful eagerness to witness the world of his imaginings come to life is something anyone with impossible dreams can understand and relate to. He's remarkably humble, happy to see good things happen to other people and thinking nothing of any lost credit he could have had. When he sees the chance to reach his dreams slipping away from him, you feel for him. I even found myself yelling at the book, saying, "You can do it, Lazlo! Go get your dream! What are you waiting for!?" That's how invested I got. It has been some time since I actually yelled at a book...in a good way. Kudos for that.
The other characters in the book are just as good as he his. Thyon Nero, a nobleman who can create gold, serves as a very interesting type of rival character. Most rivals are pretty shallow characters, bullies or downright nasty people and are generally unsympathetic. Nero, however, is an interesting mix. He's not a heartless bully, though, granted, they don't make him the nicest guy either. He's complex and you can understand his bitterness toward Lazlo. Eril-Fane, the Godslayer, also has a very tragic story and you feel the weight that constantly presses on this guy. He's a leader who constantly has to hide the fact that he feels lost. But the other big characters are those of Sarai and the Mesarthim, the powerful, magical beings that watch over Weep. There's a deeply complex history between them and Weep, leaving them caught in a purgatory of past sins and present fears. Each of them has a unique power as well that reflects their personalities, which was a fun detail and told us a lot about them without actually saying anything, which was really clever.
The mythology and set-up of this world is absolutely wonderful. It's vivid and imaginative and filled with dreams and reality. Some of these are ideas you just want to kick yourself for not thinking of first. Roads made of lapis lazuli, pink blood candy that makes you immortal, mythical creatures, wingsmiths...it's all just so gloriously put together and I just loved dreaming these dreams right along with Lazlo. The wonder and spectacle that the book builds up gives us hope along with Lazlo and I just loved it. It opens the mind to limitless possibilities that fantasy gives us, reminding us why we love it so. A book that reminds one how it feels to be a reader, or a dreamer, is one that will stick with you for quite a long time.
Final Verdict
Ladies and gents, we have a winner! I just loved this book! The characters are amazing, the writing is spectacular, the story was thrilling and complex...just read it! Seriously, read it. True praise be unto this book as it takes its place upon the Shelf of Recommendation!
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Next Time: In Soviet Russia, game plays you!...urgh, I'm sorry. I'm never saying that again...
No comments:
Post a Comment