Dream-Weaver [Hardcover]

Louise Lawrence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 1996

An intricately woven and brilliantly conceived novel dealing with the confrontation between gentle, nature-loving psychics of the planet Arbroth of another solar system and the technically superior invaders from Earth en route to colonize Arbroth.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The setup may sound all too familiar?a ship of colonists from high-tech Earth is heading for apparently low-tech Arbroth, the colonists happily anticipating abundant land and native labor; a young Earth lad, Troy, appalled at the prospect, establishes telepathic contact with Eth, a young woman of Arbroth. The two are going to work together to foil the greedy Earthians, and will simultaneously triumph and discover their love for each other, right? But Lawrence (The Patchwork People) is beyond such cliches. The people of Arbroth have unexpected skills in their "dream-weaving" abilities and not only can deal with the invaders themselves but use their presence to solve a problem of their own; Troy and Eth's story has a similarly unanticipated and satisfying conclusion. However, the author advances an overly pointed agenda, as expressed in the use of dream-weaving to heal unhealthy (violent and controlling) people; in the contrast between Arbroth's destructive patriarchal past and peaceful gynocentric present; and in discussions of such topics as "The renunciation of violence is an essential part of our culture." The target audience may be too sophisticated for such obvious sermonizing, but this still compelling story could well be embraced by slightly younger readers. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up?Troy Morrison, 17, is about to embark on a one-way journey through space when he has a vision of a beautiful, dark-haired, orange-eyed girl. Ten-year-old Eth, a native of Arbroth, a world that has forsaken a violent past to live in peace by any means necessary, dreams of a blue-green planet and a blue-eyed, fair-haired boy unlike anyone she has ever seen. Troy, on a spaceship taking 3000 wealthy people toward Arbroth, is concerned that the colonists, leaving Earth in droves because of the imminent destruction of its environment, will repeat their errors. The local Dream-Weavers' Guild inducts Eth into their ranks and she is trained to dream-walk, projecting herself into different planes of existence and using her abilities to influence others. As Troy passes most of his seven-year journey in cryogenic suspension, Eth grows and matures. Her superiors use her powers to try to track and divert the approaching ship, but she is torn between her desires to protect Arbroth and to bring Troy to it. Power and its uses and abuses are at the center of most of the conflicts in this novel. While the secondary characters tend to fit standard stereotypes, especially the greedy colonists, Eth and Troy and their immediate associates are complex and interesting. The story starts slowly but builds to a conclusion that is not unpredictable but still delightful, uniting many loose ends and leaving ample room for a sequel. In all, an intriguing combination of philosophical science fiction and fantasy.?Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books (October 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395718120
• ISBN-13: 978-0395718124
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,741,097 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My first foray into the mix of SF and Fantasy, April 20, 2000

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dream-Weaver (Hardcover)

An intriguing SF drama about two people from entirely different worlds--one from Earth, one from another planet, Arboth.

A young man named Troy is travelling to Arboth, one of a large group of colonists. As the ship travels onward, Troy has visions of a strange girl named Eth. Eth, who also dreams of Troy, is a "dream weaver", who helps with the pivotal task of keeping her civilization stable and ordered.

The writing style is excellent, though every now and then I lost track of the plot in the details. The colonization ship gives the book an edge of hard SF, while Arboth is a beautiful planet of fantasy-like atmosphere....

5.0 out of 5 stars verry good book, April 8, 2011

By 

Rukyius "Can you best me?" - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Dream-Weaver (Paperback)

dont want to spoil anything but like most fiction, it verry good.
i do have a con about 1 thing .
you'll find out and agree.

My Con:
I know right..