A gamer who finds his life threatened by illness finds solace in a fantasy world.
We all have a little Dragon inside of us, something that struggles to find solace.….Dreamer is the first book in a series that portrays life as a mixture of fantasy and reality. The main character, Magic, flows between the worlds, often preferring one more than the other. Both of his lives are fraught with their own dangers. He must struggle with illness and alternatively with the life of a Great Red Dragon.
The dual themes of love and fealty might just make you weep
Dreamer, Patrick O'Scheen's first book in the Marithe series, is a marvellous read. The dual themes of love and fealty penetrate the relationships of lovers, friends, and families. Bonds are forged that bear no limit of species, gender, time or space.
Two main characters move back and forth from a "real" world where Scheen is a wealthy man who has never known the love of a friend. He has formed a strong relationship with Magic, a man whose health and strength are slowly seeping away. They enter a world of gaming that carries the reader right along with them into the fantasy land of Marithe. In this gaming world, Magic is a dragon who can shape shift to human form and Scheen is the faithful captain of the King's guard.
Throughout the book, the author moves us effortlessly between these two worlds, as adventures of life and death play out in each. In Marithe, we encounter an evil sorceress, a great crimson dragon, lesser dragons called morgiths, kings, queens, and children (dragon, morgith, and human). All these characters weave their way into our thoughts and emotions. The author never allows us to fall into the trap of shallowly judging anyone's actions as good or evil. As humans are challenged in their belief that all dragons are inherently evil, so too is the reader challenged in what they may deem the faults or missteps of the various characters. The reader is invited to become part of a constantly shifting and complex game where the stakes are high.
I have always been a sucker for a book with a dragon as a main character. Dreamer did not disappoint. The idea is original, the writing is smooth and clear, the characters appealing and well-drawn. A few reviewers have mentioned that this is not a book for teens due to sexual innuendo. I would argue that the author deftly handled most of the sex scenes by letting the readers use their imagination, and I suspect most teens have been exposed to much worse in any popular music video.
Silk Words Turn Into A King Cobra of Feelings
As I sit here and write this review, I cannot believe how this book ended. It surprised me on a roller coaster of emotions that I am reeling from the after effects that has me wondering what I missed. I will be reading this book over to see if a second reading will open my eyes to something I missed the first time.
I would call this book a creeper. It creped inside of me and did not let go.
I did not realize that it got under my skin. I was enjoying the smooth flow that was the words wrapping around me like a soft silk sheet. I did not feel the words turning from the silk sheet to a wicked snake that I could not get away from.
Even now, I feel the effects the book had on me with the smooth as silk words. I kept turning page after page wanting a snip of flavor that each page gave to me like a starving person.
Each piece of the story line drew me in more and more at every page.
No book has made me feel like this one did. Wrapped in silk one minute and the next was a King Cobra trying to squeeze me to death!
5 Stars.
Made me angry, made me sad, but an overall great read
I've always loved dragons so I was really excited about reading a book about dragons and I wasn't disappointed....much. I won't get into details on what I didn't like, because that would spoil the ending, but I can say it happens to be about Magic who was my favorite character. Although I did understand the "why", I still held out for something else.
I loved how the book was about 2 people who escaped the harsh realities of life into a new world where there was magic, dragons, good vs. evil, kings and queens; where anything was possible. Real life was filled with pain, but then so was the fantasy world they escaped to. It was interesting how the story shifted from fantasy land Marithe back to reality. It was almost seemless, and maybe that was because most of the story did take place in Marithe. In both realities, Scheen is healthy and rich, but there were other differences from his real life to his fantasy life. Magic was his best friend in reality, but in Marithe, their relationship was filled with distrust, jealousy, and betrayals. In reality, Magic was seriously ill, yet in Marithe, he was healthy, but hated, mistrusted, and betrayed. Although physically superior to everyone else, his life was still filled with pain. I loved Magic and the injustice of his life in Marithe made me angry, but when you think about it, the same prejudices exist today. Some people just cannot see beyond the exterior and will always assume that if you are different then you are "bad". That one bad apple spoils the entire bunch. And the fact that the fantasy world mimicked life, although in varying degrees, made for some heartrending reading, but also a little hope in that at least some of those prejudices were addressed.
Lord Belmundus – The Omnibus One is a compilation of Books 11 through 15 of The Adventures of Lord Belmundus, a remarkable tale of other worlds, strange customs, beauty and warfare; and, in its grips, lands a young celebrity, who has the chaps to pla
Second in The Chronicles of Illúmaril series, author Gary Caplan's The Return of the Ancient Ones is a distinct tale that illustrates how one's fiercest enemy can become one's most aggressive ally.
Winner 2012 NABE Pinnacle Book Award in Fan
