A human girl gets translocated to the Fae world for mysterious reasons. There, she meets the Nightmare King, who sets her a task to help rout the Unseelie invaders. Not an easy task! The rules of the Fae world are strange, and Claire has very little to guide her. Even the Nightmare King, once the Lord of Dreams, seems to oscillate between villainy and madness. Can Claire be the hero she always wanted to be, in The Lord of Dreams?
Six words to describe this book: gentle, folkloric, dream-like, odd, confusing, hypnotic.
Clearly, Claire never read all those Fae books that I’ve consumed over the years; otherwise, she would have known the primary rules of the Seelie versus Unseelie world: (1) the Unseelie are not good folk; (2) as human, you cannot eat Fae food, or you get trapped in the Fae world forever; and (3) don’t dismiss what you see in your dreams in the Fae world. In any event, Claire spends the first 20% of the book puttering about, confused and lost. I almost gave up on her.
But things take an interesting turn when she meets the Nightmare King. He can simultaneously exist both on the physical plane and in the dream world. And he has a riddle for Claire – she has forgotten about a gift she received long back, and she must try to remember. That gift is the key to this struggle. Confusing but also hypnotic, those parts of this tale are exceptionally well written. To be honest, Claire’s characterization has holes, but the sly, imaginative unwinding of the riddle makes up for it.
Recommended for fans of: Fae lore, the movie Labyrinth (though not as good!), portal fantasy, Olivia Atwater’s Half a Soul, and The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington.
10 replies on “The Lord of Dreams by C.J. Brightley”
Aww poor Claire haha! She really DID need to read some fae books so she’d be prepared. 🙂 Seriously though, this does sound interesting. I do love a good visit to the fae realms, and glad you enjoyed this one mostly even if it wasn’t necessarily outstanding.
Haha, yes. I like finding about some of those lesser known books which do turn out to be decently entertaining, and not very expensive either!
At least we all have read so many fae books that no fae can trick us! LOL 😂
Well said. Claire’s ignorance made me roll my eyes several times, but the Nightmare King is interesting. Read it for him!
Wow, okay, never heard of this one but now, I’m intrigued to know more. Will check this one out.
Okay, I don’t know anything about the Fae either. So I might also get myself in some serious trouble.
If I want to read a bit more of the Fae, where do I start?
Ah, this is my favorite topic. 😛
For the more epic fantasy versions, start with the Sevenwaters series by Juliet Marillier. You should also try out The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Pope and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.
On the more YA/ New Adult side, there’s Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, and An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson.
And if you’re willing to try Urban Fantasy (same themes, but set in modern cities), then try out October Daye series by Seanan McGuire, or the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs.
Would love to know if you ever get to try any of these!
The Nightmare King sounds like an intriguing character! Talk about the power he has to exist in two different worlds.
That’s the best part about this book. I like how the author has handled those aspects
I like books that take us into the tricksy land of the fae – but, at the same time I’m not a lover of dreams as a plot device – so maybe this one isn’t for me. Glad you enjoyed it after the initial slow start.
Lynn 😀