Customer Reviews

Dreamquake (The Dreamhunter Duet, Book 2)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On St. Lazarus's Eve, numerous people attend the Rainbow Palace where they look forward to experiencing Homecoming, a favorite dream caught by renowned dreamhunter Grace Tiebold. However, Grace has been feeling anxious due to the recent disappearance of her brother-in-law, Tizga Hame, and how it has affected the Hame-Tiebold family. She arranges to have George Mason, Southland's best Soporif, join her in the presentation and help her fall asleep.

What is supposed to be a refreshing, peaceful dream quickly becomes a terrifying nightmare. The Rainbow Palace and nearby residences of Founderston experience Buried Alive, which conveys the terror convicts face. Amidst the terrible chaos, a mysterious figure flees the dream palace carrying a girl --- Laura Hame.

The Dream Regulatory Body and the Body of Commission begin an intense investigation in which the dreamhunters are questioned and then allowed to go back in the Place to overwrite the terrible master dream. Laura is sequestered in the Temple until it's safe for her once again, while the rest of the family uncover secrets of their own. Rose finds plans for a railway being built into the Place, its purpose unknown. Chorley discovers some startling messages, while Grace tries to understand her family and the society she thought she knew.

There are many great changes to come for the Hame-Tiebold family. Rose and Laura are growing up but taking very different paths in life. Rose is at school and is a debutante, a role that she both relishes and despises. There is also her friendship with Mamie Doran, who, despite her wealthy lifestyle, is lost and unhappy --- partly resulting from her father's growing need to maintain his public image no matter what the cost. Meanwhile, Laura is now a full-time dreamhunter and spends time with her secret companion Nown as she develops feelings for Sandy Mason. Most of all, Laura wants to expose the corrupt politicians responsible for her father's disappearance and possible demise. But at what price?

DREAMQUAKE, the much-anticipated sequel to DREAMHUNTER, follows the two cousins on a path of discovery, and shows how the Place affects the lives of the people who regard it with wonder and suspicion. There are many complex ideas that are revealed and answered throughout the book. Its captivating storylines, along with the descriptive scenery of the Place, satisfy, while the conclusion gives a feeling of mystification long after the final page has been read.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle

I don't make a habit of rereading books. And yet I have wanted to reread not one, but two books in the past month almost as soon as I completed my first reading. They were that good.

The first of these two extraordinary books was Dreamhunter by New Zealand author Elizabeth Knox (alternately known as The Rainbow Opera in the UK). The second, and perhaps this isn't a great surprise, was Dreamquake also by Elizabeth Knox. Together, these titles create The Dreamhunter Duet.

Dreamquake (which I believe is more appropriately called The Dream Quake in England) is the second book of Knox's Dreamhunter Duet and was a 2008 Printz Award Honor Book and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults in 2008.

There is a lot I want to say about this book, but first I have to say a bit about how the duet actually works. Some readers feel strongly, and fairly, that the Duet cannot be read in isolation (that is the two books cannot stand alone). Other readers, also fairly, feel that the books can and do work well as individual pieces of prose. I actually agree with both viewpoints.

Personally, I think both books stand alone. Knox is a good enough writer that either book feels like a complete read. The opening of Dreamquake adequately explains the events of the first book so that readers won't be lost or bored. At the same time, having seen both parts of the Duet in person, I have to say they really are one book. Just looking at the book design-the first book has a prologue while the second includes the epilogue and a glossary-I realized that Dreamhunter and Dreamquake are more like two parts of one story (what I often call companion books in this blog) than two stories directly following each other (what I would call sequel books).

Just a bit about the basic plot of Dreamhunter: I'm not all that familiar with New Zealand but a review from the New Zealand Listener tells me that Knox's novels are set in "something like the New Zealand of a century ago, but with a twist, in that social life revolves around a traffic in dreams." The rare people who can catch dreams (dreamhunters) perform them for the social elite at dream palaces like the Rainbow Opera. Dreams are also often used for the public good in hospitals around Southland.

Some dreamhunters also capture nightmares which readers learn in Dreamhunter are used for the public good, but in a much more sinister way. Laura, our protagonist, discovers this fact when she begins investigating the disappearance of her father, one of the greatest dreamhunters Southland has ever seen. Outraged by what she has seen, Laura sets out to inform the public of the governments use of nightmares. Dreamhunter ends with the disastrous results of this attempt.

It is therefore no surprise that Dreamquake opens with the chaos following the execution of Laura's plan as Southland and Laura's family are thrown into a state of disarray. Adrift with only her creation Nown and a nightmare, Laura has to find a way to earn back her family's trust while negotiating an entanglement with a fellow young dreamhunter. All this while continuing to investigate the corruption of the sinister Dream Regulatory Body created to control the Place and its invaluable resources.

I could actually talk for hours about the nuances of this novel's plot and how Knox ties everything together at the end, but if you read the book you'll probably see what I mean for yourself.

Dreamquake is every bit as good as Dreamhunter while also being even better because it expands on characters who don't get as much time to shine in the first novel. Sandy and Rose (and to some extent Nown) are back and much more engaged in the central plot than they were in Dreamhunter to great effect.

Knox's prose is unique in that it is well-paced while also being high action. Knox takes her time to explain terms like "Soporif" and "Novelists" but never to the detriment of the story. The action here is so intense and gripping that, at several points in the novel, I found myself skimming ahead just to make sure that everything would turn out all right in the end.

The Dreamhunter Duet is a rare thing in contemporary literature. Both books are rich enough that, were the main characters not teenagers, no one would question its place as an adult book-but I've made that argument about other books on this site. More to the point, Knox is an amazing writer. Dreamhunter and Dreamquake are populated by a wide variety of characters, each unique and fully realized on the page.

Instead of creating a world and characters and even this story, it feels instead like Knox is introducing readers to old friends, reciting a familiar tale-everything within these novels seems so real, the details are so concrete, that it feels like folly to consider it fantastic or even fiction. And that is why Dreamquake (and Dreamhunter) will surely take their rightful places among the canon of great fantasy novels.

The finale to Dreamhunter was well worth the wait, easily fulfilling the promise of the first half.
The book starts with a recap of the events at the end of Dreamhunter, but told from different points of view - a quick and effective way to get readers back into the story (Not that I needed it - this story is unforgettable).

Laura's scheme, based on her father's cryptic letter, is a complete failure, and causes more trouble, alerting the conspirators that they have opposition to deal with.

However, the assistance of older and supposedly wiser heads doesn't seem to help much either, and Laura's family do little more than hinder her.
But her cousin Rose finds some interesting clues, and Laura and her loyal golem Nown head off to investigate - straight into lethal danger.

In the end, everything hangs on the true nature of the Place - what is it for, where do the dreams come from, what brought it into being?

This book has everything - from adolescent angst, magic, romance, fate vs free will, evil politicians, scheming priests and much, much more. The ending isn't quite as good as it could be (the fate of Nown makes no sense at all) but it comes together to a satisfying conclusion.

I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone.

I read the first book in the Dreamhunter duet as part of the Most Underappreciated Book Contest earlier this year. It intrigued me enough that I went out and got the second. However, about half way through I almost put the book down. The characters seemed to be stuck in a loop trying to figure the same things out over and over again.

Things were just taking too long for me, but I stuck through it and the second half of the book made up it. The characters started to develop again and the plot become involved and was progressing once again.

Laura Hame is once again center stage of the story, and she has finally started to put things together about the mysterious Place. The pieces eventually fell together quite nicely and the story ended well.

3/5

Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet opens in the chaos that ends the first book. It's a little hard to understand if you haven't read the first book, but essentially, Laura Hame's protest against the government's exploitation of dreams, in the form of a terrible nightmare, has shocked the patrons of the dream palace. The story follows not just Laura but her cousin Rose and her aunt, renowned dreamhunter Grace Tiebold, in the confusion that follows, as well as the government's investigation into the protest. I won't give any more of the plot away, especially if you haven't read the first one (go read it!!), but there are so many changes ahead for Laura Hame and her family, as they uncover the secrets of the Place and work to expose corrupt politicians. So there's some politicking, some adventures in the Place (where dreams are captured), some romance, and great family relationships.

It's hard to really tell you about this book. I don't want to give away anything and yet at the same time, want to encourage you to read it! Can't I just say, `read this! read this!' and let that be enough? Probably not. So let's see here....

Dreamquake was a completely engrossing read, with some rather genius plot developments that unveil intriguing ideas. I love that this series was a two-parter, as sometimes a middle book can get bogged down with explanations and details. Instead, with a duet, Knox was able to plunge the reader back into the scene and fall back in with those familiar characters. As I turned the last page, part of me hated that I had to leave this fascinating world of Laura Hame's behind, but Dreamquake offered such a satisfying conclusion that it quenched my thirst, but also left me eager to read more by the amazing Elizabeth Knox.

Imagination so deep it'll make you dream about it. Loved this book, even my husband raved about it.

I was so happy with the final book. It was so gratifying in the end.

I really wanted to love this book series, but I didn't. I thought the concept of the story was interesting and imaginative, but I didn't really connect with the characters.

I think Elizabeth Knox may have lost a fight with her publishers on the release of Dreamquake. As I read the book, I couldn't get over the feeling that it would have worked so much better if it was published together with Dreamhunter as one, long novel. This is not to say that I enjoyed either volume less for their separation -- but I also read the books back-to-back. I think the cliffhanger ending of Dreamhunter would have had me completely undone if I didn't know the companion novel was waiting patiently on the shelf. But I digress.

In her second novel, Elizabeth Knox continues the story of young dreamhunter Laura Hame and her efforts to find both her missing father and the answers to her family's mysteries. Dreamquake begins immediately after the surprise public performance of the disturbing nightmare Laura caught at her father's request at the end of Dreamhunter. Laura's life is more complicated than ever. She is still trying to unravel the secrets of Nown's existance and to learn the Hame family magic. She's missing her family support system, as Rose continues to board at her finishing school and her aunt and uncle continue to try to keep her safe -- by keeping Laura at a distance. And she's hard at work to reveal the truth of the government's use of "dreams for the public good" and the sinister mind control plans that threaten everyone in the community.

In the midst of all this action, Laura develops into a much more likeable and relatable character than her portrayal in Dreamhunter. She falls in love with fellow dreamhunter Sandy, and their relationship becomes one of the bright spots of the novel. I wish Knox had been able to dedicate even more time to develop their romance, because I really enjoyed those parts of the story.

Overall, fans of Dreamhunter will not be disappointed in Knox's conclusion. I think readers would struggle to understand the book without first reading Dreamhunter, because much of the novel's fantasy is set up in that first volume. Not all of the loose ends are tied up in a neat little bow, but I don't think the story suffers because of it. I was a little uncertain about the ending -- especially the fate of my favorite character, Nown -- but in the end, I had to concede that the epilogue provided a satisfying conclusion to the most pressing questions, at least. And I'm a sucker for a happy ending.

What a wonderful series of books. The premise and characters are just great. Looking forward to reading and sharing Book Five.