All trans bodies are divine.

Strange the Dreamer. By Laini Taylor. New York: Little, Brown Books, 2017.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: YA fantasy

Part of a Series? Yes, Strange the Dreamer #1

Summary: The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around— and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever. What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving? The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: blood, violence, drug use, rape, sexual slavery, abduction and imprisonment

Overview: I really enjoyed Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, so I decided to give her new work a go. Overall, I also really enjoyed Strange the Dreamer because it had a lot of things that are characteristic of Taylor’s writing that I love - lush, lyrical prose; tragic, star-crossed love; a political conflict involving otherworldly creatures. The reason why I’m giving this book 4 instead of 5 stars mainly has to do with the pacing and the way events played out. There wasn’t anything wrong, I think, with the way Taylor handled her story - it’s just that I felt like things started to rush to a close too quickly, and I would have liked to spend more time in the book exploring character emotions.

Writing: Taylor’s prose tends to fall into two categories: lyrical and descriptive or straight-forward and economical. Part 1 of this book is more lyrical; the metaphors are more fantastical and the prose evokes a sense of longing and fascination. Taylor really captures the feeling of being immersed in a library, surrounded by stories, as well as what it’s like to have a dream (not a dream in your sleep - more like a goal or a wish that has a small or nonexistence likelihood of coming true). Part 1 was probably my favorite part of the book for this reason, as subsequent sections tended to lose that lyrical quality and fall into a style more typical of YA books.

Taylor’s pace is also fairly well-done in that I didn’t feel like I was being rushed or that I was plodding through the book. The only thing I would change in terms of pacing is the book’s ending; I felt a lot of things were dropped on the reader all at once, and though they were foreshadowed earlier in the book (which I very much appreciated), I tend not to like endings where too much happens.

Before I close this section, a couple of notes on descriptions and worldbuilding: though I know teenagers have sexual urges, I was a little put off by the descriptions of teenagers’ bodies in certain places. I can remember a few instances where Taylor describes the look of one character’s breasts, and though it wasn’t gratuitous, I didn’t like that these descriptions were included. I also thought the worldbuilding detail of “women get tattoos on their bellies as a rite of passage/coming of age marker when they become fertile and Sarai longs for one of her own” was a little uncomfortable. It made me feel like the world Taylor built was concerned with showcasing female reproductive capacity, and that just seems exclusionary. While it could have worked if the story was more about pushing back against reproductive regulation or exploring what such tattoos would mean for trans characters, as the book stands, that doesn’t really happen, so it was a weird detail that I felt distracted from the main themes.

Plot: This book primarily follows Lazlo Strange - an orphan who dreams of finding the lost city of Weep - and Sarai - the daughter of a dead god and a human who must hide her existence in order to stay alive. Lazlo is surprised one day when some inhabitants of Weep - led by someone called “the Godslayer” - show up in his library, asking for assistance from the land’s greatest scientists. Though Lazlo isn’t a scientist, he is the most knowledgeable person about Weep and its culture, so the Godslayer elects to take him along. Meanwhile, Sarai and several other demigods live in a secluded Sanctuary, hiding from the inhabitants of Weep so that they won’t be slain on account of their parentage.

Without spoiling anything (which is kind of hard, since there is a lot that happens), I will say that I really liked the central conflict of this book. Taylor does a good job of setting up a problem with no black-and-white solutions; it seems like everyone had a legitimate reason for acting the way they do, and no matter what happens, someone will be hurt.

But perhaps the thing I appreciated most about the plot was that Taylor never sets up a surprise twist that comes out of nowhere. I feel like I’ve read a lot of YA books that drop a bomb on the reader with no set up, and I personally feel like such twists make the story feel less cohesive. Taylor sets up all her reveals and twists by dropping hints early and frequently, and rather than make the story feel dull, I felt like they made the end emotionally fulfilling.

If I had one criticism of the plot it would be that the romance doesn’t feel genuine. Lazlo and Sarai seem to fall in love with each other too quickly, which made it seem like they got together because they just hadn’t had opportunities to meet other people. I didn’t see what they saw in each other aside from looks and special qualities like “oh, he’s able to share my dreams” or “she was kind to me when so many other people weren’t.” I wanted more out the romance, like Sarai falling for Lazlo’s kindness and Lazlo falling for Sarai’s compassion towards those who would harm her. Maybe there was some of that, but it was definitely overshadowed by lengthy descriptions of kissing, which I wasn’t much a fan of. I also wasn’t really a fan of the “dates” that they went on; some parts were cute, but overall, they dragged.

Characters: Lazlo, one of our protagonists, is likeable in that he’s pretty much the embodiment of a lot of book nerds. He starts off shy, completely absorbed with fairy tales and folklore, and loves to roam the abandoned stacks in his library. What I liked most about him, though, was his willingness to help people even if they treat him poorly. For example, there’s a character named Theryn Nero who is basically a Science Bro. He’s rich, beloved by everyone, and gets famous for cracking the secret of alchemy. While he puts himself up as the lone genius, he was actually aided by Lazlo and takes sole credit for a lot of things that Lazlo proved to be key in discovering. Lazlo, though annoyed, never lets his feelings get in the way of helping Nero when the greater good is at stake, and I really admired that.

If I had any criticisms of Lazlo, it would be that I wish his “dreamer” status or knowledge base was put to better use. After Lazlo gets to Weep, he isn’t quite as interesting as he was before, probably because he no longer needs to use his vast knowledge of stories to make his way through the world.

Sarai, our other protagonist, is fairly sympathetic in that all her problems feel undeserved. She is forced to stay locked away in a hidden Sanctuary in order to protect herself and her little found family (composed of other demigods), and though it’s for the best, it also feels stifling. I really liked that Sarai was not single-mindedly fixated on revenge for the things that happened in her past. Without spoiling anything, I will say that something happened which put the demigods and inhabitants of Weep in conflict with one another, and there is no easy solution that would guarantee that the demigods stay alive. Sarai has a lot of dreams like Lazlo - of finding family, of living a normal life, of living among the humans - but it’s not really viable for her, and instead of letting hate consume her, she tries to think up other ways of existing.

Sarai’s “family” is also charming. The group consists of 5 demigods who are the last remaining offspring of the slain gods, and all of them feel fairly complex. They all possess some kind of magical “gift”: there’s Sarai (who can produce supernatural “moths” that allow her to enter people’s dreams), Ruby (a girl who can turn herself into flames), Feral (the only boy, and he can summon clouds), Sparrow (a girl who can manipulate plants), and Minya (a girl who can make ghosts do her bidding). I liked that these characters had different personalities that often put them in conflict. Ruby is boy-crazy and seems to be obsessed with sex. Sparrow is more passive but has sweet moments where she makes a “flower cake” for Ruby’s birthday and braids Sarai’s hair. Minya is completely consumed by her desire for revenge, and it presents some real barriers to finding a solution to the group’s problems.

The supporting characters down in Weep are also fairly compelling. The Godslayer is sympathetic in that he doesn’t revel in his heroic image or title; instead, he feels complex and seemingly warring emotions tied to guilt over what happened to Weep and his role in it almost 20 years prior to the events of this book. The Godslayer’s companions are also sympathetic and have emotions that are easy to understand, and I loved that they seemed to take to Lazlo so quickly. They welcome all outsiders with open arms, but they have a soft spot for Lazlo, which I liked because it meant that he didn’t have to face bullying or gatekeeping from people he had longed to meet his entire life.

The inhabitants of the world outside of Weep were interesting. There’s Theryn Nero, who seemed like he would be a primary antagonist but doesn’t have enough “screen time” to truly be a threat. I liked that his conflict with Lazlo was low-key - it was intense enough to be annoying, but no so intense that their rivalry consumed the whole story or put petty emotions above the greater good. The other “scientists” who follow the Godslayer back to Weep served their purpose; not all of them had rich, complex lives, but they didn’t really need to because if they did, the story would feel crowded.

Overall, there weren’t any characters I disliked, per se. While I do wish Lazlo got to develop differently, there wasn’t much wrong with his character, and I think all of the main players had interesting backstories and motivations, and I appreciated the layer of complexity they all had. I do wish there had been more queer characters though. There is one wlw couple, though they aren’t too prominent in the grand scheme of things. Of course, that could change, as there is a whole second book to go through, but I wish some of the demigods had been lgbt+ so it felt like Taylor’s world wasn’t overwhelmingly straight and cis.

TL;DR: Despite some pacing problems at the end and minor details that didn’t fit my personal tastes, Strange the Dreamer is a lush, evocative fantasy about the power of dreams. Readers who enjoy epic fantasy and stories about gods, star-crossed love, and will probably adore this book.

By popular demand, here hare my essays comparing and contracting “The Decent of Inana” with “Last Stand of the Wreckers,” and Cain and Able to Megatron and Optimus in the Aligned continuity. Hope you all enjoy. They’re both pretty short. 

“Last Stand of Inanna”

The Descent of Inanna tells the story of Inanna, her descent into the underworld, being tricked, trapped, and eventually freed. Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers tells the story of a group of Autobots who descend on a captured prison, their struggle, their deaths, and the ultimate outcome. While these stories may seem drastically different at a glance, I found a few comparisons between Ereshkigal the queen of the underworld who trapped Inanna, and Overlord the character who captured the prison, as well as The Wreckers and the beasts who free Inanna, and the Autobots and the god who sent the beasts. I also managed to find similarities between Inanna and the prison itself, Garrus 9. Both stories have an intense role of “good” and “bad” however Last Stand of the Wreckers, in the Transformers style, contains  more ultimate evil and ultimate good themes. The reason for The Wreckers visit and the Beasts visit also differ in their intention, however accomplish a common goal.

While trying to compare these two works I first tried to equate Inanna to the Wreckers themselves, as both parties go alone into dangerous territory. The Wreckers themselves could be a parallel to the artifacts Inanna brings into protect herself with. Like the artifacts, which were removed in the seven gates, at every point of the Wreckers journey a member of the team is either killed or injured beyond repair, making the odds of the last Wrecker standing escape quite low. However, Inanna reminds me more of the Prison the Wreckers infiltrate. This Prison, Garrus 9, like Inanna, is captured and made a “corpse” by Overlord, the cruel death loving protagonist of the Wreckers story, who I compare to The Queen of the Underworld Ereshkigal. It is likely there is a greater reason behind Ereshkigal taking Inanna, but it appears as though she does it simply because she can, and the ultimate enemy of the Underworld is generally set up to be Heaven, where Inanna hails from and is a representative of (The Descent of Inanna). Overlord takes over Garrus 9 for attention, but while he is there he goes on a killing spree for the pure sake of it. (Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers) Making others suffer was literally what he was built for, (Transformers: More than Meets the Eye) and he does it as well as the Queen of the Underworld herself. It takes three years for anyone to be sent to Garrus 9, and in Inanna’s story she tells a servant to send someone after her in three days (The Descent of Inanna). The Wreckers remind me of the beasts in that they are disposable, and hold no greater meaning beyond that of their mission. Not only that, but both are sent by a “holy” figure. In Inanna’s case it is by Enki and in the Wrecker’s case it is by the Autobots, who hold themselves on a pedestal of Righteousness because their leader was assigned by their god, Primus.

The Descent of Inanna and Last Stand of the Wreckers does a good job of blurring the lines between good and evil, while at the same time setting up a character we are meant to root for and one we are meant to root against. The difference, however, is that The Wreckers do have an ultimate bad guy, and in the end he is defeated. Whereas in Inanna, while Ereshkigal loses Inanna, I would not count anything that happens as her being defeated. She is actually quite respected, considering her status. She is still a goddess and is still in high standing, despite what she had done. Overlord, on the other hand, is burned nearly to death in order for anyone to escape Garrus 9, which very few do (Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers). Another major difference between these stories is the intent. The Wreckers, unlike the Beasts, do not descend onto Garrus 9 to rescue anyone or liberate it, they go in to get data that would incriminate the Autobots. The only reason they fight Overlord as all is because defeating him was their only way out. While the intent is different the outcome is the same in both stories. One must stay for another to go. The only way Inanna was able to escape the Underworld was if someone took her place. The only way the Wreckers were able to escape Garrus 9 was if they defeated Overlord. In both cases there is an ultimate need to fulfill the ultimate goal.

The Descent of Inanna and Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers, while aesthetically very different, end up being very similar in the end. It is easy to equate certain characters from one story to certain characters in the other. The series of events I find to be very similar, and even though the intent differs, the ultimate goal becomes the same in the end.

“Brother’s Keeper”

The book of “Genesis” has no lack of siblings and their rivalries. The most notorious among them is the story of Cain and Abel, a pair of brothers whose differences lead one to do unto the other the unthinkable. Killing one’s own brother. The older of the two, Cain, is an example of the human at his worst, while Abel is the example of what can happen to man when human is at his worst. These two brothers share a similar story of another pair of “brothers” in a piece of today’s modern media. The quarrel between the Transformers characters of Megatron and Orion Pax, later known as Optimus Prime, follow in the footsteps of these Biblical examples. One, like Cain, is arrogant, and misunderstanding of God’s way and words. The God in this case, is meant as a literal entity,  as well as a higher power known as The Council. Megaton, like Cain, presents to this higher power an offering. In their ignorance though, the offer is not accepted, and the higher power shows that it is in favor of Abel, or Orion Pax, as opposed to Cain and Megatron. Both instances result in death.

Cain is the brother who “tills the earth.” (Genesis 4:2) Abel is the brother deemed “the keeper of the sheep.” (Genesis 4:2) Cain’s job implies a heavy amount of physical work, while Abel is a watchful eye meant to keep others safe. Abel is portrayed as being slightly more devout than his brother, in the way in which he works to please God. When an offering is called to be taken Abel picks his best lamb while Cain, not wanting to waste his best crop, gives God scraps of the land. Similar to how Cain does more physical work, Megatron works as a Gladiator before becoming a true revolutionary (Transformers Exodus). Orion Pax, on the other hand, watches and files away information as an Archivist, similar to how Abel watches over his herd. Further, the image of the Shepherd is often associated as a holy figure. A shepherd is often used to refer to God’s “deliverer” of the people. This role that Abel plays, along with his willingness and devotion to God, could have been why God favored Abel over Cain. Orion Pax, like Abel, was also favored, and granted an artifact called “The Matrix of Leadership” turning him into Optimus Prime (Transformer Prime 27) In essence he, too, became a shepherd, and it was his voice that was heard over Megatron’s.

It is no secret that brothers are prone to fighting, especially when brothers differ so much it is not surprising at all. Cain was hard and arrogant, believing himself the better of the two and deserving of more. Abel, on the other hand, can be described as “gentle and timid” and “a dreamer of kind and peaceful dreams” (Weisel 41). Orion Pax, being a young and curious soul, can also be described as soft in the way Abel is a lover of life with an unrelenting want to discover and explore. It is the complete opposite of his soon to be friend, Megatronus. While Cain, throughout his story, is not an advocate of violence like Megatron, both are lead to it through jealousy and rage. Unlike Cain Megatron never succeeded in killing his “brother” Orion Pax, but his anger lead to the destruction of many lives nonetheless. Had Cain not fallen to his knees before God and admitted his guilt, the same fate may have befell him. Megatron and his followers, like Cain, were cast out and cursed to wander for the rest of their lives. Though one wandered and found a wife and settled, the other went on fighting for the rest of their life.

Like the story of Cain and Abel the characters of Megatron and Optimus are meant to represent the ultimate “good and evil.” Cain and Megatron being the Ultimate Evil, and Optimus and Abel being the Ultimate good. The fact that I can find parallels between a story about humans written hundreds of years ago, and story about fictional space creatures written in the twenty first century demonstrates that these themes are universal.

(Cites for both)

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha. Eds. Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom and Pheme Perkins. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print. New Revised Standard Version.

Wiesel, Elie. Messengers of God: Biblical portraits and legends. Bibliophile Library, 1987

(Wiesel, Élie, and Marion Wiesel. Messengers of God: biblical portraits and legends. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2005 (?))

Irvine, Alexander. Transformers: exodus. Del Rey, 2010

Dubuc, N. (Writer). (2012, February 18). Orion Pax Part 1 [Television series episode]. In Transformers Prime

Roche, Nick Et Al. Transformers last stand of the wreckers. 681336, 2010

2. Wolkstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer (trans). "The Descent of Inanna." The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Ancient World, Beginnings - 100 C.E., edited by Paul Davis et al., Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004, pp. 28-39

3. Roberts, James, et al. Transformers: more than meets the eye. IDW Publishing, 2016