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”? I’m just completely floored yet again by Laini Taylor’s imagination and lyrical prose. The lady can write! As in Strange the Dreamer, everything just pops. (If you haven’t 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. It’s the dream they’ve held onto all these years. They were meant for better than this. This is not their life. It couldn’t be. They were meant to be soldier-wizards. Then after an absence of many years, a starship comes. And everything changes. Sarai is dead. There’s no way around it. She’s the Muse of Nightmares, and yet her life – or death – has become a nightmare. She’s seventeen and she’s 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 Minya’s godspawn gift allows her to pull souls back from death’s 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. She’s 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 Minya’s 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 doesn’t want to be free; she wants to be a monster. Can Sarai ever be escape Minya’s plan? Can she still be the Muse of Nightmares even if she’s 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. It’s 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. I’m trying not to include spoilers, so I’ll 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 wasn’t 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 don’t know when or if you’ll 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.

Muse of Nightmares picks up pretty much right after the cliffhanger that was the ending of Strange the Dreamer and we are immediately thrown back into everything, which I appreciated because I was desperate to know how things would work out. I think my favorite things about this book is Taylor's balance of action and non-action scenes. This isn't really what I would consider a fast-paced, high-action story, yet I couldn't turn those pages fast enough. There are some more fast-paced scenes, but there's also much that focuses on other components and really adds a nice balance to the pacing. If you didn't like the slower pace as much in Strange the Dreamer, then you will probably like this one a bit more because there is not quite as much meandering as the first book had, but it still has Taylor's vivid writing that breathes life into each page. Although we spend plenty of time in Lazlo's head, this book does branch out a bit more and we seem to spend more time in Sara's head (which is why I assume this one is titled Muse of Nightmares), as well as some in Minya's and Thyon's, and a few others. Lazlo is still perfectly adorable and innocent, as well as passionate about what he knows he wants, and Sarai is still determined and as selfless as Lazlo. These two are beautiful together and I'm not sure the last time I rooted for two people are much as I did for these two. As much as I love the worldbuilding of this duology, the rest of the characters are easily one of my other favorite components. They are all such an eclectic, mixed variety of people that bring so much life and enjoyment to the story. Some of our favorite supporting cast return such as Eril-Fane, Tizerkane, Ruza, Thyon, Feral, Ruby, Sparrow, Calixte, and so many more. Thyon and Minya were two that had rather prominent roles in this installment, and I loved how Taylor portrayed their personalities and sentiments. Both undergo momentous changes throughout this book, some of which were initiated in the first book, and Taylor did this in an understandable and steady pace. She didn't make either character undergo unnecessary changes or have abnormally quick changes of heart, but she instead made it a gradual process that makes sense. I particularly liked that we got know more about Minya's backstory and why she is the way she is now, as it shed so much like on the general backdrop of the plot as well. In addition to our beloved returning characters, we also meet two new characters, Kova and Nova. I don't really want to tell you how we know these characters or why they are important, but they end up being pivotal to the events of Muse of Nightmares and I found they added a really interesting dynamic and storyline. I really can't go into detail about the major plot twist (?) direction this story took, but my god was I not expecting this book to go in the direction it did! As soon as I realized what might be happening, I was so blown away and impressed by what Taylor made this book. It's brilliant and truly momentous and I am still excited just thinking about it. I definitely plan to re-read Strange the Dreamer sometime in the semi-near future to see what I can pick up in that book that may have hinted at what happened in this book. I desperately need more from this world and these characters. I have so many new questions that I want to explore and I will sacrifice anything (and look, I'm willing to make my morals a little grey, so honestly, anything) needed in order to get more from Taylor. It's not that things aren't wrapped up, because they definitely are; Taylor answers all of the main plot questions and wraps up everything we've wondered, but because of what happens and how big this world gets, there's just so much more that my imagination wants to explore. I honestly can't put into words how much I have loved this duology. I just love these books.

"Strange the Dreamer" was one of my favorite books of the past five years, so I was a little nervous about "Muse of Nightmares," since I loved "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" soooooo much more than the others in that series. Thankfully, there are many things to love about "Muse of Nightmares" - the main character of Laszlo Strange, lush descriptions, the painstaking development of even the subcharacters, to name just a few. I did have a few minor issues - I felt like the story of Nova and Kora should have made it into the first book - I already cared so much about the characters I knew, it was hard to become emotionally invested enough into their story. But other than that, I was happy. What I loved the most about these books is how Ms. Taylor made me really think: Is doing evil in the name of good EVER justified? What makes someone evil or good? Their thoughts or their actions? What makes someone a "god" in a society like this? What makes a family? How do we ever overcome our deepest wounds? And, lastly - and what I found most beautiful - was how, in the end, it is love that makes us "real."

Muse of Nightmares is the second book in the Strange the Dreamer duology by Laini Taylor. I loved the second book just as much as I did the first, but for very different reasons. I was so incredibly enamored by the first book because of the lost city of Weep, it’s history and mythology, and Lazlo’s years spent studying it. It reminded me so much of my love of Atlantis that I couldn’t help but feel a kinship to Lazlo. A lot happens over the course of Strange the Dreamer and the world as we know it has completely changed. If you haven’t read Strange the Dreamer, then there will be spoilers in my review and I would suggest not reading it. Lazlo’s entire world has been shattered and altered as a result of the events of Strange the Dreamer. He discovers a people that he couldn’t only have dreamt existed and learned that he is one of them. It is a big shift from the first book in pace and tone. In Strange, we are introduced to the characters and the world through vivid descriptions and interactions. In Muse, we are thrown into an entirely new landscape and have to learn about the gods that came to Weep. The story bounces back and forth between the tale of two sisters and the story of the characters that we’ve grown to know. While I was still engaged throughout, I could feel that the pace of the story would be a challenge for people who need more action and less backstory. Sometimes we were learning an incredible amount of information that we would have to digest and somehow fit into the world we were discovering was much larger and more confusing than we could have expected. The characters shone in this book, as we got to know some of them more deeply and discover their hidden depths. I still wanted a little more development from some of the more secondary characters, but with the inclusion of new characters and backstories, I can understand how it wouldn’t have fit. The stories and worlds also allowed the author to dive into so many different emotions from anger and fear, to grief and despair, love and acceptance, and it was incredibly powerful. I can’t talk about it without spoilers, but this book is very affecting. As always, Laini Taylor’s writing is incredibly beautiful and descriptive. She paints vivid pictures of the world and her characters that you can help but be entranced by. I loved how the story was painted and the tiny threads that speak to futures untold. I hope you will read this series if you have not yet and fall in love with this magical world just as I did.

Strange the Dreamer is one of only a handful of books that I actually read twice. I almost never read books a 2nd time. (And I'm a quite prolific reader!) I'm so glad I re-read it before reading this, and I enjoyed it every bit as much as the first time! It was important to have it fresh in my mind because it'd been a year or 2 since I'd read it. Reading Strange the Dreamer first is a must. Don't attempt Muse of Nightmares without reading Strange the Dreamer. Like its prequel, Muse of Nightmares is absolutely exquisite! Lush, beautiful writing, an incredibly original tale that's epic is scope, thorough world-building, rich character development to the point that the characters become REAL and memorable...all that you will find in both of these books (and in Laini's earlier series as well, though I think her writing got even better with these!). But what really stands out in Strange and Muse is her treatment of the psyche. The dream time is real...it is where the archetypes of our mind play out their roles. It's taken quit seriously in this story. I also loved how the characters evolve. It isn't a black-and-white contrast of good guys vs villains, but real people you get to know and care about, who've experienced extreme trauma. So there's a lot of room for compassion towards even those who are threatening. This is PROFOUND STUFF! The nod to her previous worlds was a pleasant surprise. I hope her next book takes place int he same universe. My only nit - and it's a minor one - is that there wasn't more taking place in the dreams, being that Sarai was the Muse of Nightmares. Sarai did a lot of important work in the dreamtime, but I guess I was expecting her to be living in that realm more than she was. But that's ok. Oh, and I was disappointed that a certain character's overtures towards another character were dismissed, in favor of another that seemed like a token move towards political correctness. It seemed unnecessary. But that too was very minor. Aside from that, both books are pretty near perfect and among the very best I've ever read. I eagerly await her next book!

A perfect ending to a perfect duology! This book picks up right where we left off on the first which I was so glad for. I don't think my heart could have taken not knowing what happened almost immediately! Lazlo and Sarai are the sweetest couple, I haven't shipped a couple so hard in a long time. I also really like that we shared a few more POVs in this book, a lot more of Sarai and even Thyon and Minya. The thing that makes this duology so special to me is the morally grey characters and situations they find themselves in. What complexities! I LOVED IT! Trying to describe this book to my husband was so funny, he'd be "so they're a bad guy?" and I'm "No! It's just a facet of their personality!" I think this really enriches the characters and as a reader you know why or how they could do something and what the motives behind it are. Also Thyon and Minya are really quite awful in the first book and then in this second one you see what they are thinking and feeling more. They go through a huge shift but the author does it so well, gradually and making perfect sense with their characters. I was shocked I was so invested in Thyon's happy ending by the finish of the book. What a redemption arc! There is a huge cast of characters but the author does a phenomenal job of making them individual people, I had no problems following along with everyone. I'm so invested in everyone! The magical world building in this duology is just...amazing. The world is sooo rich. Not only is the world full of magical lands, beasts, and people but each magical land has a history spanning back centuries. Very LOTR feeling with how immense the world is. The ending of the book is perfect but boy do I wish I could still follow these characters on their future adventures. The only con...we need more books in this world! You need to read these two books ASAP, they are so so special. I will definitely re-read it and will shout/recommend it from the rooftops forever!

I found myself already a bit boom depressed around 75% through this. This all because I knew this was merely a duology, and this world deserved far more. I thought I would be left feeling bereft and unfulfilled, but I was pleasantly surprised with the ending. This was a truly beautiful story of enemies coming together to forge a new path, one filled with hope and beauty and adventure. This series was a lovely read, and while I was more enthralled with the first than the second, it in its entirety was still marvelous.

5/5 Stars Laini Taylor’s first book in this duology, Strange the Dreamer, was a slow starter for me. I had to pick it up and put it back down three times before I tried it on audio. I had heard AMAZING things, and I wanted to give it the chance it deserved. It took me probably between 6-10 hours of listening before I started to REALLY care. But by the end, I was so hooked I could barely click on the download button for MUSE OF NIGHTMARES fast enough. The slow start made me waiver between 4 and 5 stars for Strange the Dreamer but by the end of it and the beginning of Muse of Nightmares, I was fully committed. I wanted to know everything there was to know about this world Laini had created. I wanted to know more about the gods, about the magic, about the landscape. I wanted to know the backstory of every single morally gray character she created. I wanted so much more Minya. And Laini Taylor did not disappoint. I loved this book so freaking much, that on the first day I downloaded it on audiobook, I stayed at the gym for TWO HOURS just so I could listen. Then, limping up my apartment steps, I kept it on. I found odd jobs around the house to do so I could continue listening. I finished the 15-hour audiobook faster than any I’ve listened to before: in just two days. Laini’s characters are complex, deep, interesting. I was rooting for them, ALL of them. Because an interesting thing about these books is that there are no living villains in this world, just people who make bad decisions. That concept is simple and in its simplicity is brilliant and beautiful. I was swept away into her dreamscape, and into Lazlo’s. Yet by the end, I found myself sated. I don’t want or need a spinoff. A Muse of Nightmares told me everything I wanted to know. This book (the duology really) is buttoned up. It’s as though Laini knew every question I might have and answered it right there on page. As an author, I found that more than impressive. In one word, I found it magical. This series is magical, and comes highly recommended from me.

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 I’d 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 wasn’t 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 Taylor’s 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 it’s weight and all come together in such a bittersweet way. Something would occur in the past and then you’d 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 Nova’s story was just so mesmerisingly haunting and yet filled with the purest love, that I couldn’t 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 I’ve 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 I’d 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 Sarai’s 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 (it’s 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. Thyon’s transformation was so funny and endearing to read and I love him…just like a little bit, it was done in such subtle ways, progressing at such a believable pace. Minya’s 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 can’t believe some of the things that came to light about her, I really couldn’t handle the way that she’d been showing them all along how she cares for them ,without even herself realising. You’ll 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 can’t 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 I’ll 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 return…literally. Although I’m making up for it buy collecting every edition I can and I can’t 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 I’m sure there’s things that I didn’t fully appreciate, it was epic after all. I don’t know what force brought them to me but I’m 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, I’m not quite sure that this story is finished being told.

I loved this sequel. As beautifully written as the first, it opens up more questions and then answers everything by the end, as every good book should. The world building is breath-taking and the characters take on new depths, and when you finish, you feel as though you've lost a home and family. With even more magic than the first book, it takes you into a dreamworld of possibilities, where death can be overcome and wars averted or started in the blink of an eye, a world you won't want to leave. I can't wait to read more by this author. Highly recommend!

Another beautiful book by laini Taylor. Just so well written, as a reader you're transported into her magical world and get so tangled up in the emotional ride. what lovely characters that i just loved so much, even the bad guys i felt such empathy for. A great book that you can just take your time over reading to absorb the emotions and beauty of the writing. Can't wait to see if her worlds are going to come together in the future.

Ya que aquí en México decidieron sacar una re edición con nueva portada, decidí comprar la versión en inglés que va al corriente con la primera edición sacada en México y pues no en decepcionó. Es verdad que el libro 2 no viene tan lujoso como el 1 pero encajan muy bien en cuanto a portadas. El nivel de inglés del libro es avanzando.

Primeiro: Que edição linda! Segundo: Eu ainda não sei como vou ler outras fantasias depois dessa perfeição! Comecei a ler Muse of Nightmares completamente focada no acontecimento que encerrou Strange The Dreamer. E apesar de termos isso acontecendo no segundo e último volume dessa duologia, nós recebemos diversas outras coisas em paralelo que irão se conectar do meio para o final do livro e causar um mindblow! Laini Taylor introduz aqui novos personagens: Kora e Nova. O arco delas é interessante, bem feito, emocionante (chorei mesmo) e totalmente conectado a história principal. Nesse livro, temos respostas sobre os Mesarthim e o Mesarthium, sabemos de onde eles vieram, quem são e o motivo de sua chegada em Weep. Entendemos quem foram esses deuses, um pouco sobre seus poderes, mas isso não foi só o que a autora nos entregou, ela veio com muito mais. O universo criado em Strange The Dreamer expande de um jeito que eu não esperava. Tem mais, muito mais e muito além do que se pensava. E o final deixa um gostinho de quero mais que dói no peito por não existir... ainda. Sobre os personagens que já conhecemos: Lazlo e Sarai continuam as pessoas incríveis de sempre, mas agora nós temos outros ganhando mais espaço nas narrações e isso inclui Minya e a verdade por trás do seu crescimento, no caso, a falta dele. Se antes ela era uma vilã fácil de detestar, aqui Laini Taylor nos dá uma lição de complexidade. Todos são muito mais do que bons ou maus. Eu notei muitos paralelos entre o destino e personalidade de Nova e Kora em Minya e Sarai. A questão de ser ou não consumido por sentimentos que nos matam aos poucos, o fato de ter um único propósito na vida e não ser mais nada sem ele... Laini Taylor deu um show de complexidade, profundidade, personagens tridimensionais e de criação de mundo. A última coisa que tenho a dizer é: QUERO CROSSOVER JÁ!