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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!, June 11, 2011
Dreams of the Dead has been sitting on my bookcase for probably over a year. Every time I looked at it, I was not sure it was going to be a book for me. It was not until I read the summary for the second book in the series that I felt the calling to dive into Dreams of the Dead's pages. The tale starts off with a haunting beginning: "Akane Murakami died for a boy she did not love." From there, I was hooked.
Dreams of the Dead's main selling point is its focus on Japanese history. Having studied Japanese language and history in college plus having a very healthy love of manga / anime, I was completely at home in this novel. Randall beautifully describes not only the scenery but also everything about the Japanese culture. Throughout the whole novel, I felt like I was right there beside Kara, taking everything in as she did.
Truth be told, I loved this book. Didn't think that I would.. but I absolutely did. From the very first page, I could not put it down. And when I found that I absolutely had to, my brain kept going back to it. Wondering what would happen to Kara and her friends next. Wondering what was it that was lurking in the shadows. Now, this book may not be for everyone. But for those that love a great spooky story or Japanese culture, this book will have glued to its pages to the very end. And craving more. I know I am!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An OK book that became a good one by the end, February 5, 2010
This review is from: The Waking: Dreams of the Dead (old edition) (Paperback)
I didn't like this book very much in the beginning. The main character (Kara)was totally unbelievable. She seemed much too perfect. Here is a girl that is super smart, beautiful, respectful of authority, a loving daughter and also bravely soldiering on following the loss of her mother. She was too cliche ridden, and the author's attempts to inject elements of Japanese culture were often clumsily handled. The beginning of the book did not read smoothly and it was very difficult to connect with the story. I did enjoy the characters Sakura and Miho. They were more fully fleshed out and I found myself caring alot more for them than for Kara.
This novel succeeds in creating a delightfully spooky ghost/vampire/monster story. Toward the end of the novel, when the story of the Ketsuki begins to fully develop, the book suddenly turns into a real page turner. This monster tale is original and effective and even though I didn't enjoy the beginning of the book, I am actually looking forward to the next one in the series. This book found it's way about 2/3 of the way in, so I am very hopeful that the next one will be just as interesting as this one (finally) turned out to be. I would probably have given this one 4 stars if the beginning hadn't been quite so difficult and clumsy.
Here's hoping for the next installment!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall, January 30, 2010
This review is from: The Waking: Dreams of the Dead (old edition) (Paperback)
When first hearing about this book, I was automatically intrigued by the setting. I haven't read, or even know of, many books that are set in Japan. Although I was a little worried (mainly because of the unique setting) and also excited, I was not disappointed. I really liked the way Japanese culture was mixed in too - made the story less boring, plus I learned some new things about Japan's history along the way.
It was a little slow getting to learning about Kara's nightmares, but this is the first book in a trilogy, so there is going to be some extra background details. Once the horror and action started, it was very interesting and exciting. I really liked the Japanese legends that were incorporated. It can be quite refreshing for something new and different every now and again.
Dreams of the Dead was a great read and a good start to a new series. I'm looking forward to reading the next books.
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