Title: Fearsome Dreamer (Fearsome Dreamer #1)
Author: Laure Eve
Genre/s: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Fantasy, Romance
Released Date: October 3, 2013
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Synopsis:
There is a world where gods you’ve never heard of have wound themselves into hearts, and choice has led its history down a different path.This is a world where France made a small, downtrodden island called England part of its vast and bloated empire.There are people here who can cross a thousand miles with their minds. There are rarer people still who can move between continents in the blink of an eye.These people are dangerous.And wanted. Desperately wanted.Apprentice hedgewitch Vela Rue knows that she is destined for more. She knows being whisked off from a dull country life to a city full of mystery and intrigue is meant to be. She knows she has something her government wants, a talent so rare and precious and new that they will do anything to train her in it.But she doesn’t know that she is being lied to. She doesn’t know that the man teaching her about her talent is becoming obsessed by her, and considered by some to be the most dangerous man alive ...
My Thoughts:
I never though I would find a book that could blend sci-fi dystopian, alternate history and fantasy seamlessly without being over-the-top unrealistic but Fearsome Dreamer proved me wrong. It has virtual reality, futuristic technology, witchcraft, clairvoyance and teleportation existing in the same fictional universe. I was blown away by the mash-up. But I have to be honest, there are a few things that stopped me from giving it a high rating. Read further to know what those were.
In World where White used to live, people don't usually travel as often as they used to. They were at their houses, most of the time and jacked into a virtual reality called Life. They can have anything and do anything inside Life without giving any physical effort. And White was sick of it. He knew he was special, he can do things other people can't...he can Jump. But the World knew it too and they've been tracking him for a long time now, just waiting for the right time to arrest him. White knew the only way he can escape the Worlders, was to go to a place where his tracking signals can't be traced and he knew exactly where that was. He will go to Angle Tar.
On the other hand, at Angle Tar, Vela Rue was apprenticing to become a hedgewitch to Fernie Penhallow. But she felt like she wasn't cut out for it like she expected. So when Frith, a Castle agent, offered her a scholarship to study at the university in the Capital City, she accepted it immediately, eager to go to a foreign place, start anew and learn about her Talent. Rue and White's path crossed at the university, causing tension and spark in the story. But there's someone trying to intervene and he was determined to take his revenge on White and take Rue away.
Okay, I will start with the good points, first. The writing style of Laure Eve was beautiful and the world-building was vividly imagined. The thought of having a world where people are relying and addicted to machines and virtual reality was horrendous but highly possible since a lot of us are addicted to the internet, already.
The characters were okay but I didn't connect with them as much as I would've like to because of the third person, alternating perspective. Vela Rue was a strong, naive, bull-headed character. She might not be likeable but at least, she's realistic.
On the other hand, I like White in the first part of the book. I admire him even. He wanted freedom and he will do everything to get it even if he doesn't know how he will survive in a foreign land like Angle Tar. He was full of hope and dreams and when Wren and Areline befriended him, he felt like he finally belong somewhere and have someone who can understand him. But he changed in the second part of the story. I understand why but I can't help not to be sad. He became cold and distant. And when Rue barged in his life he was conflicted with emotion. It was very frustrating to see his reactions whenever Rue was around and he disappointed me with his decisions and lack of action in the ending.
The plot was good but the threat that could destroy the world was not explained, properly. The only thing that the Ghost Girl said is that it's coming and only the Talented can stop it. It was a very vague explanation to the whole mission of training the Talenteds so it left me with a lot of uncertainty and questions as to what the threat is really about.
Overall, Fearsome Dreamer is still a good debut novel with a great amount of creativity and imagination. I will still pick up the next book in the series because I believe, that there's a lot more to come in this series and hopefully, my questions will be answered soon. I will recommend it to everyone who likes to be dazzled in a really awesome world. You should give this book a try!
My Rating
*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange of honest review. (Thanks, Hot Key!)
