kblincoln's review against another edition
5.0
J. Kathleen Cheney has a gift for creating heroes whose very strength also place them in a position of weakness in their world. They are angsty, and caring, and unprepared to handle their desire to protect the younger, more willing to risk all heroine whom they encounter.
So we have Mikael Lee -- who is both the ruling/invader Anvarrid and the indigenous "Family" with a psychic power that forces him to dream murders in his city, and broadcast them to any psychically sensitive person around.
This does not make him popular.
And we also have Shironne Anjir-- who is exquisitely sensitive to his projections, but is blind AND a child by their society's definitions.
And there are gruesome, ritualistic murders being carried out somehow tied to people they know.
So I contemplated taking away half a star here because I got confused just a smidge by the complicated military history and the cultural world building at the start. There are Larossans and Family and Anvarrid and it took me a while to sort everything out-- but that might have just been lazy reading on my part (although a short timeline at the back of the book of the major military happenings, or a map might have helped more visual learners like myself).
But I just couldn't. Cheney does such an intricate, layered world-building here, that all along as you're enjoying the exquisite details of Fortress society or Mikael's Boss's backstory, or cringing along with Mikael when his coworker, Kai teases him about a youthful incident where a girl fell on him during a fight, you're not aware you're slowly, slowly being prepared for all those details to actually MATTER later on when more of the mystery is revealed.
Cheney is one heck of a mystery writer able to tie together various plot threads to a quite satisfying conclusion. And I'm already in love with Mikael's solemn desire to do right and Shironne's exquisite need to shield herself as a sensitive prodded on by curiosity. More, please.
So we have Mikael Lee -- who is both the ruling/invader Anvarrid and the indigenous "Family" with a psychic power that forces him to dream murders in his city, and broadcast them to any psychically sensitive person around.
This does not make him popular.
And we also have Shironne Anjir-- who is exquisitely sensitive to his projections, but is blind AND a child by their society's definitions.
And there are gruesome, ritualistic murders being carried out somehow tied to people they know.
So I contemplated taking away half a star here because I got confused just a smidge by the complicated military history and the cultural world building at the start. There are Larossans and Family and Anvarrid and it took me a while to sort everything out-- but that might have just been lazy reading on my part (although a short timeline at the back of the book of the major military happenings, or a map might have helped more visual learners like myself).
But I just couldn't. Cheney does such an intricate, layered world-building here, that all along as you're enjoying the exquisite details of Fortress society or Mikael's Boss's backstory, or cringing along with Mikael when his coworker, Kai teases him about a youthful incident where a girl fell on him during a fight, you're not aware you're slowly, slowly being prepared for all those details to actually MATTER later on when more of the mystery is revealed.
Cheney is one heck of a mystery writer able to tie together various plot threads to a quite satisfying conclusion. And I'm already in love with Mikael's solemn desire to do right and Shironne's exquisite need to shield herself as a sensitive prodded on by curiosity. More, please.
suncani's review against another edition
4.0
I'm definitely going to have to read more of this author. I loved the world she created with different types of sensitives and although one of the criticisms of this novel is that she keeps the MC's apart for too long I actually think it works really well and makes sense for reasons given towards the end of the book. Looking forward to the next one.
jaclynder's review against another edition
4.0
Originally reviewed in a joint review at The Book Adventures.
I enjoyed Dreaming Death. Similar to Cheney’s previous trilogy The Golden City, Dreaming Death also combines a rich fantasy world with mystery. While there is a great deal of detail about the world that Cheney puts her readers into, at heart, Dreaming Death is a mystery and I like that. Anytime an author wants to defy the bounds of genre categorization I’m game. Unlike more traditional mysteries, this one is solved using unique measures, like two people with particular abilities that just so happen to feed off the other, making them quite the duo. Interestingly, Shironne and Mikael have not even met before they start their crime solving.
There is a lot of fear and apprehension surrounding Shironne and Mikael’s relationship even before they met. Shironne shares Mikael’s dreams and because of that she can help solve the murders he dreams about. However, the downside of this bond is that Mikael can influence Shironne and make her feel things that she just might not want to feel. Because of the nature of their bond, Shironne and Mikael have been kept separate but remain aware of each other. And therein lies my only frustration with Dreaming Death: how long it took for Shironne and Mikael to actually connect in person. The first half of the book keeps Shironne and Mikael separated. Readers get both of their points of view, but it’s not until much later that they actually interact. For me, it was when Shironne and Mikael finally met each other that the pace started to pick up. I had liked the story up to that point, but it was when these two met and started to explore their bond that I became truly hooked.
Separation of the main characters aside, the concept of individuals being bound to each other was really interesting with rather serious ramifications to individuality. Mikael is used to subduing his emotions since it discomforts the other sensitives that physically surround him, so in some ways he is more prepared for his bond to Shironne. Mikael is afraid of unduly influencing Shironne and forcing her to become someone that she’s not. Shironne, partly due to her blindness and her gender, has been shaped into a specific kind of person already, and again, Mikael recognizes this when he asks “Who are you when you’re alone?” (p. 233). Shironne does need to create her own sense of self as she has been very much shaped by her role in her family. Shironne's relationship to her family isn't a negative thing, but it does not allow Shironne to fully explore her abilities. By the end of the book, I think Shironne has come a long way to claiming her independence and I’m curious to see how the author explores Shironne’s personality considering the seemingly vulnerable position that she’s in. I think this concept will be much further explored in future books as Shironne and Mikael work with each other on a regular basis.
If you enjoy mystery, detailed world building and great characters, Dreaming Death will be a fun read. Shironne and Mikael are more subdued than you would expect of main characters, but I think it serves a purpose in the author’s questioning of fate and individuality. I can’t wait to see where this goes next!
I enjoyed Dreaming Death. Similar to Cheney’s previous trilogy The Golden City, Dreaming Death also combines a rich fantasy world with mystery. While there is a great deal of detail about the world that Cheney puts her readers into, at heart, Dreaming Death is a mystery and I like that. Anytime an author wants to defy the bounds of genre categorization I’m game. Unlike more traditional mysteries, this one is solved using unique measures, like two people with particular abilities that just so happen to feed off the other, making them quite the duo. Interestingly, Shironne and Mikael have not even met before they start their crime solving.
There is a lot of fear and apprehension surrounding Shironne and Mikael’s relationship even before they met. Shironne shares Mikael’s dreams and because of that she can help solve the murders he dreams about. However, the downside of this bond is that Mikael can influence Shironne and make her feel things that she just might not want to feel. Because of the nature of their bond, Shironne and Mikael have been kept separate but remain aware of each other. And therein lies my only frustration with Dreaming Death: how long it took for Shironne and Mikael to actually connect in person. The first half of the book keeps Shironne and Mikael separated. Readers get both of their points of view, but it’s not until much later that they actually interact. For me, it was when Shironne and Mikael finally met each other that the pace started to pick up. I had liked the story up to that point, but it was when these two met and started to explore their bond that I became truly hooked.
Separation of the main characters aside, the concept of individuals being bound to each other was really interesting with rather serious ramifications to individuality. Mikael is used to subduing his emotions since it discomforts the other sensitives that physically surround him, so in some ways he is more prepared for his bond to Shironne. Mikael is afraid of unduly influencing Shironne and forcing her to become someone that she’s not. Shironne, partly due to her blindness and her gender, has been shaped into a specific kind of person already, and again, Mikael recognizes this when he asks “Who are you when you’re alone?” (p. 233). Shironne does need to create her own sense of self as she has been very much shaped by her role in her family. Shironne's relationship to her family isn't a negative thing, but it does not allow Shironne to fully explore her abilities. By the end of the book, I think Shironne has come a long way to claiming her independence and I’m curious to see how the author explores Shironne’s personality considering the seemingly vulnerable position that she’s in. I think this concept will be much further explored in future books as Shironne and Mikael work with each other on a regular basis.
If you enjoy mystery, detailed world building and great characters, Dreaming Death will be a fun read. Shironne and Mikael are more subdued than you would expect of main characters, but I think it serves a purpose in the author’s questioning of fate and individuality. I can’t wait to see where this goes next!
vale15's review against another edition
5.0
I definitely ended this book with mixed feelings. I still don't fully grasp all of the history, hierarchies, and political groups. I really wish the author had created a guide to help keep it all straight. The plot had a lot of potential to be exciting and fast-paced but it really just was steady/slow until the ending fight. I really like the two main characters and I thought their connection was really unique. I appreciate that it wasn't just another case of insta-love but more that they recognized they could grow into love. I think the constant reminders that she was a "child" was fairly annoying. And despite the fact that Kai lets Shironne in on the secret of her connection with Mikael, we have to go through it all over again at the very end. I was also a little disappointed that the reason behind the murders wasn't more exciting. It was a little blah to me. However, I am going to get the next book because the author does a good job of connecting the reader with the main characters. I want to see how this ends.
amym84's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Originally posted at Vampire Book Club
Shironne Anjir is a touch sensitive. Her powers, which manifested when she was twelve, have now grown so overwhelmingly strong that she’s gone blind. Not letting that hinder her, Shironne helps the Larossan army in various ways. She can tell someone’s innermost secrets just by touching them skin-to-skin. For all its advantages in helping her track down criminals, there are the obvious drawbacks. Then there are the dreams.
Some nights Shironne has vivid dreams. Always of death. It didn’t take her long to realize that these dreams are not her own. She’s pulled into another’s dreams. A male who witnesses death through the eyes of those being murdered. Despite sharing his dreams for years now, her superiors have been against the two meeting, citing some vague sense of danger.
Mikael Lee’s dreams vary in their clarity. Oftentimes he can only remember small pieces of information, but these most recent dreams have Mikael bearing the injuries of the dead in his waking hours. As the dreams come more frequently it’s acknowledged that there’s a murderer on the loose. In order to stop the killer and figure out their motivations, it might finally be time for Mikael and Shironne to meet.
When I first started reading Dreaming Death I felt like I was on world-building overload. There’s A LOT dealing with who did what to whom and when that’s thrown at the reader all at once. It came to the point where I just kind of compartmentalized and focused on the main storyline. This worked in that the essentials of the story—the police hunting for a murderer using Shironne and Mikael’s connection—were pretty straightforward. It didn’t work in that, while things did get clearer, there’s still plenty I’m left a little foggy on and in Dreaming Death it’s very clear we’re only dealing with one part of the realm. I can only hope the actual released copy will feature a map or possibly a genealogy chart—if not, just be prepared. I also hold out hope that this will be a setting that as I read more of I will understand better.
Now what I think J. Kathleen Cheney did really well was the bond between Shironne and Mikael. It is literally a bond and it has a very driving force about it because from the first mention of Shironne never having met the man she’s dubbed the “Angel of Death” I knew, of course, they had to meet. Yet J. Kathleen Cheney doesn’t just throw them together. The story slowly works towards this inevitability. It would also have been easy for their connection to make way for insta-love, which most every other character in this story believe is set to happen, and they very well could end up romantically entangled down the line, but both Mikael and Shironne are very aware of wanting to preserve their sense of self. They don’t want to influence each other untowardly. Instead, there’s clear devotion between them. They won’t deny their link, but they both have growing up to do regardless of the atrocities they’ve seen.
While, the setting and world building was bit overwhelming for me, I still like what has been started in this book. There’s no doubt that I will read the next installment. If you’ve read Cheney’s previous series The Golden City, you’ll find the same style here.
Originally posted at Vampire Book Club
Shironne Anjir is a touch sensitive. Her powers, which manifested when she was twelve, have now grown so overwhelmingly strong that she’s gone blind. Not letting that hinder her, Shironne helps the Larossan army in various ways. She can tell someone’s innermost secrets just by touching them skin-to-skin. For all its advantages in helping her track down criminals, there are the obvious drawbacks. Then there are the dreams.
Some nights Shironne has vivid dreams. Always of death. It didn’t take her long to realize that these dreams are not her own. She’s pulled into another’s dreams. A male who witnesses death through the eyes of those being murdered. Despite sharing his dreams for years now, her superiors have been against the two meeting, citing some vague sense of danger.
Mikael Lee’s dreams vary in their clarity. Oftentimes he can only remember small pieces of information, but these most recent dreams have Mikael bearing the injuries of the dead in his waking hours. As the dreams come more frequently it’s acknowledged that there’s a murderer on the loose. In order to stop the killer and figure out their motivations, it might finally be time for Mikael and Shironne to meet.
When I first started reading Dreaming Death I felt like I was on world-building overload. There’s A LOT dealing with who did what to whom and when that’s thrown at the reader all at once. It came to the point where I just kind of compartmentalized and focused on the main storyline. This worked in that the essentials of the story—the police hunting for a murderer using Shironne and Mikael’s connection—were pretty straightforward. It didn’t work in that, while things did get clearer, there’s still plenty I’m left a little foggy on and in Dreaming Death it’s very clear we’re only dealing with one part of the realm. I can only hope the actual released copy will feature a map or possibly a genealogy chart—if not, just be prepared. I also hold out hope that this will be a setting that as I read more of I will understand better.
Now what I think J. Kathleen Cheney did really well was the bond between Shironne and Mikael. It is literally a bond and it has a very driving force about it because from the first mention of Shironne never having met the man she’s dubbed the “Angel of Death” I knew, of course, they had to meet. Yet J. Kathleen Cheney doesn’t just throw them together. The story slowly works towards this inevitability. It would also have been easy for their connection to make way for insta-love, which most every other character in this story believe is set to happen, and they very well could end up romantically entangled down the line, but both Mikael and Shironne are very aware of wanting to preserve their sense of self. They don’t want to influence each other untowardly. Instead, there’s clear devotion between them. They won’t deny their link, but they both have growing up to do regardless of the atrocities they’ve seen.
While, the setting and world building was bit overwhelming for me, I still like what has been started in this book. There’s no doubt that I will read the next installment. If you’ve read Cheney’s previous series The Golden City, you’ll find the same style here.
bookadventurer's review
4.0
Two quibbles. Great hero, interesting heroine. Bonded pair. Magic that has extreme consequences. International politics that remind me of another book I can't remember right now.
Full review closer to publication date on The Book Adventures
Full review closer to publication date on The Book Adventures
skeletonwriter's review
5.0
Think book was wonderful. Cheney's words made me feel as if I was actually there in the story with her characters.
thefourthvine's review
3.0
I loved Cheney’s earlier book [b:The Golden City|17707612|The Golden City (The Golden City, #1)|J. Kathleen Cheney|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1365012349s/17707612.jpg|24757141], so I was enthusiastic about this one. And I still am, but with reservations. On the one hand, this features soulbonds! Complicated soulbonds, even! And psychic powers with rules and consequences! And nifty worldbuilding! All things I love.
On the other hand, the writing in this is, in many places, just ... awkward. It’s odd, because I remember The Golden City as being well-written and deft in a way this most certainly isn’t. There’s a lot of repetition and infodumping and even a touch of As You Know, Bob. And that got in the way of the story a LOT.
But. If you’re into soulbonds, age differences, het romance, mysteries, and angsty dudes who love confident women, you’d probably like this. And I will certainly read a sequel, and not just to try to figure out what the heck is up with Cheney’s writing style fluctuations.
(Also, a note: this book is very Compulsory Heterosexuality. In this entire cast of thousands, there isn’t one queer character that I could see. Like, not even the token background gay couple mentioned once and never again. I am so, so tired of intricately created fantasy worlds that totally exclude queer people.)
On the other hand, the writing in this is, in many places, just ... awkward. It’s odd, because I remember The Golden City as being well-written and deft in a way this most certainly isn’t. There’s a lot of repetition and infodumping and even a touch of As You Know, Bob. And that got in the way of the story a LOT.
But. If you’re into soulbonds, age differences, het romance, mysteries, and angsty dudes who love confident women, you’d probably like this. And I will certainly read a sequel, and not just to try to figure out what the heck is up with Cheney’s writing style fluctuations.
(Also, a note: this book is very Compulsory Heterosexuality. In this entire cast of thousands, there isn’t one queer character that I could see. Like, not even the token background gay couple mentioned once and never again. I am so, so tired of intricately created fantasy worlds that totally exclude queer people.)
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