The Dream Thief [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Shana Abe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2007

In the remote hills of northern England lives a powerful clan with a centuries-old secret. They are the drákon, shape-shifters who possess the ability to Turn—changing from human to smoke to dragon. And from the very stones of the earth, they hear hypnotic songs of beauty and wonder. But there is one stone they fear....

Buried deep within the bowels of the Carpathian Mountains lies the legendary dreaming diamond known as Draumr, the only gem with the power to enslave the drákon. Since childhood, Lady Amalia Langford, daughter of the clan’s Alpha, has heard its haunting ballad but kept it secret, along with another rare Gift....

Lia can hear the future, much in the way she hears the call of Draumr. And in that future, she realizes that the diamond—along with the fate of the drákon—rests in the hands of a human man, one who straddles two worlds.

Ruthlessly clever, Zane has risen through London’s criminal underworld to become its ruler. Once a street urchin saved by Lia’s mother, Zane is also privy to the secrets of the clan—and is the only human they trust to bring them Draumr. But he does nothing selflessly.

Zane’s hunt for the gem takes him to Hungary, where he is shocked to encounter a bold, beautiful young noblewoman: Lia. She has broken every rule of the drákon to join him, driven by the urgent song of Draumr—and her visions of Zane. In one future, he is her ally. In another, her overlord. In both, he is her lover. Now, to protect her tribe, Lia must tie her fate to Zane’s, to the one man capable of stealing her future—and destroying her heart....


From the Hardcover edition.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in 18th-century England and the Carpathian Mountains, Abé's lively sequel to The Smoke Thief continues the saga of the drákon (or "dragon-people"), "magnificent, terrifying creatures who have the ability to exist as humans but may transform into dragons at will, especially at night." Zane, a handsome thief, and the Lady Amalia "Lia" Langford, who can see the future, join forces to search for the lost Draumr, a dangerous jewel that can control the drákon. Zane, a delicious anti-hero, finds himself captivated by the delightful Lia, who has been dreaming precognitively about him for years, certain that Zane is her destiny, though he might cause future problems for the drákon. When Lia finally "Turns," first into smoke, then into full drákon power, their passion for each other is tested in an exciting, fire-breathing resolution. Paranormal romance fans will be well rewarded.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Shana Abé is the award-winning author of nine novels, including The Smoke Thief. She lives in the Denver area with four surly pet house rabbits, all rescued, and a big goofy dog. Please, please support your local animal shelter, and spay or neuter your pets.


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 401 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (March 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786293373
• ISBN-13: 978-0786293377
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,352,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Shana Abé is the author of Queen of Dragons, The Dream Thief, and The Smoke Thief. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Sequel to SMOKE THIEF, October 2, 2006

By 

Elaine C McTyer "avid reader" (Dawson, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dream Thief (The Drakon, Book 2) (Hardcover)

Zane, the young thief, from SMOKE THIEF has grown into a formidable man. He is the head of a very unique and prosperous gang of thieves. The draken of Darkfirth have used his abilities and underlings many times. Zane is the only human to know the truth about the draken, he is the only human they trust. Now is the time to recover the lost Draumr, a diamond that can control the draken. None of the draken are able to stand it's presence and none have been able to find it. It is more of a legend than a truth. But now it's song is heard by most of the draken and someone must be sent to find the diamond. Zane is promised 60,000 gold pieces to retrieve the diamond and return it to the draken. Unfortunately, he will find something he desires more than money. And Draumr may be the only way to gain it. Zane is not told of the powers of the diamond, nor is he told of the danger it holds for the draken.

Amalia, one of the daughters of Rue and Kristin, the rulers of the draken, has a special connection to the diamond. She also has the gift of foretelling. She has not revealed any of these powers to her family. As a matter of fact her family thinks her powerless because she can't turn to smoke nor dragon. When she is 14 she sees in a vision that Zane will be her lover and husband, but she also sees that he will be touched by the power of Draumr. Her dreams show the destruction of her family and the draken by Zane. Now at the age of 19 the song of the diamond calls to her strongly and somehow she must try to change destiny and hope she can save the man she loves and her family. Yet unknown to her, there are other players in the game, her dreams have never shown her these things. With a full heart and a knowledge that things must be changed she leaves her school to follow Zane and force him to take her with him.

This is a wonderful story full of romance and adventure. From the ballrooms of London to the ballrooms of the last Castle in the Carpathian Mountains we are carried along on the wings of legend and love. Shanna Abe is a wonderful storyteller, her unique take on dragons and magic make this one of those wonderful new fairytales for adults.

I couldn't put it down. If you have read SMOKE THIEF you might enjoy it even more, but it is not necessary. I can't wait for the next book. I surely hope there will be one.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding sequel, October 9, 2006

By 

C. Cox "MarineMom" (Georgetown, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dream Thief (The Drakon, Book 2) (Hardcover)

I love the way Shana Abe uses her imagination and how well she captures it on paper. She takes romance and fantasy and seamlessly blends the two. This book stands alone on it's own, but as a sequel it's fantastic.

We start The Dream Thief years after the first book, The Smoke Thief and meet Kit and Rue's children, particularly Amalia, the youngest and the plainest of their offspring. She is the odd one out this time, wishing to be free and having none of the gifts of her parents or siblings. Or so everyone, including her, thinks. But fast forward five years and things definitely have changed.

Zane, the former street urchin, has grown up into the King of Thieves and since he has the protection of the Smoke Thief herself, Rue, the Drakon suffer him to live and use him when they need him. His latest assignment, however, is the granddaddy of all heists and little does anyone know that Amalia will follow him and that she has the most unique gift of all.

I loved Zane and Amalia. He was definitely a hero that could have gone either way, to the dark or the light. It was fun to see the twists and turns that led to the revelation that he needed Lia and what he would or wouldn't do to get her. They are exciting together and I love getting inside both of their heads to see what makes them tick and how they feel about the other. The love scenes, while passionate and heartfelt, were mostly brief, but that did not detract from the book at all. It was actually refreshing not to have the obligatory five page sex fest. That's not what this book is about.

I would have liked to see the reaction of the Drakon to what happened at the end of the book, but perhaps we'll see some of that in the next. There surely has to be a next. I await it with much pleasure.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No spark or human emotions, August 20, 2007

By 

j.m.s "jmsclassicromancelover" (california, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dream Thief (The Drakon, Book 2) (Hardcover)

I bought this as it's a sequal to the first book, the Smoke Theif, which I really enjoyed. I was hesitant to read the Smoke theif, as I had attempted to read her Mermaid book and put it down after about 50 pages, but the premise was new and intriguing so I gave it a chance. Having liked the first book, I was really excited to see how she developed this new idea in the sequal. Suffice it to say, I was really, really disappointed. What made me put down The Last Mermaid was the complete lack of a connection with the characters. They were so lacking in emotion as to be almost imhuman and I couldn't find anything to like about them, let alone keep me reading. This book had the same problem. The author has a habit of writing in a vague, disconnected style that makes it hard to connect to the story and the characters. This book felt really heavy in style compared with the first one and it just seemed like it was one unhappy circumstance after the next. The two main characters don't seem to trust or even really like one another much, the love scenes were a bit too rough and anger filled for my taste and there really wasn't much of a romance between them. As for the Drakon, I was hoping the two groups would be reunited and we'd get a bigger glimpse into their world. Instead, we find the last remaining survivor is completely evil. Plus, it just seemed strange to me that the drakon would keep around these stones that literally turns them into mindless zombies. I kept waiting for something heroic for the hero to do or something great from the heroine, but I was disapointed on all accounts. I was also hoping for some interaction with characters from the previous book, but there wasn't any. In fact, there's a part where you think the main characters are going to be aided by her drakon family, but nothing happens. It was very strange and left you hanging. All in all, this one was a disappointment and I'm not holding out much hope for the 3rd one. I would read the Smoke Theif though, as that one was worth the read.