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The Dark Dreamweaver
Eleven-year-old David is suffering from nightmares. Over and over again, he dreams about a strange, bear-like man with black eyes. He's not the only one; an epidemic of nightmares seems to have infected the Earth. David takes matters into his own hands and embarks on an adventure to Remin, a land powered by dreams. Aided by a caterpillar wizard, a jellyfish-man, two wise-cracking water serpents, and several other unusual characters, he sets out to find and confront the evil wizard who is causing the nightmares. The challenges that he encounters will require all of his intelligence, his courage, and most of all, his imagination.
- GenresFantasy
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 4, 2008
Reviewed by Carrie Spellman for TeensReadToo.com
David's favorite thing to pretend is that he is "Magic David." Not card trick magic - REAL magic. Sadly, David is a completely normal boy. The strangest thing about him is the recurring nightmare he's having about an evil man in a dark robe. According to the article his dad found in the paper, even that's not very strange. Apparently there is a worldwide bad dream epidemic. That doesn't really make David feel better about it, since no one knows how to make them stop.
His current distraction, and happiest thought, is that he and his family get to collect Monarch Butterfly eggs. They'll monitor the eggs all the way through them turning into butterflies. Then they get to track their migration south. (Did you know Monarchs migrated? I didn't.) It's David's favorite thing, right about now.
He's alone in his room the first time he hears the call for help, but he brushes it off. Why wouldn't he? There's no one else in the room. Except the cats, but cats don't talk! David hears the voice again later and investigates. The voice is coming from the once Monarch egg, which is now a caterpillar! But caterpillars can't talk, either. Unless the caterpillar is really a wizard under a curse! David is so excited to meet a real wizard (well, sort of a wizard) and to know that there really is magic in the world, he nearly forgets that the caterpillar was yelling for help. There isn't much time for questions.
The wizard's name is Houdin. He's from a land called Remin. Remin is a magical place, and very different from the world David knows. He's about to find out just how different. Houdin needs David's help to get back to Remin and break the curse. In the process they'll have to face the dark wizard that's been haunting David's nightmares. If they succeed they'll save Remin, fix the nightmare problem, restore Houdin, and hopefully make it back before David's parents notice he's gone. If they fail, well, they just won't fail. Hopefully.
David learns so much more than just magic in this story, and so will you. Tolerance, the importance of friendship, the danger of letting fear get in the way, conservation of resources, the need to preserve nature... Most important, though, is the amazing power of imagination. It's the thing that makes everything else possible, not just in the story, but in life. And it all comes without you even noticing that you're learning!
A great fantastic adventure that seamlessly weaves a good story in with important lessons. Now that's impressive. It's a journey I will happily take again. And I definitely encourage you to give it a try, no matter how old you are.
David's favorite thing to pretend is that he is "Magic David." Not card trick magic - REAL magic. Sadly, David is a completely normal boy. The strangest thing about him is the recurring nightmare he's having about an evil man in a dark robe. According to the article his dad found in the paper, even that's not very strange. Apparently there is a worldwide bad dream epidemic. That doesn't really make David feel better about it, since no one knows how to make them stop.
His current distraction, and happiest thought, is that he and his family get to collect Monarch Butterfly eggs. They'll monitor the eggs all the way through them turning into butterflies. Then they get to track their migration south. (Did you know Monarchs migrated? I didn't.) It's David's favorite thing, right about now.
He's alone in his room the first time he hears the call for help, but he brushes it off. Why wouldn't he? There's no one else in the room. Except the cats, but cats don't talk! David hears the voice again later and investigates. The voice is coming from the once Monarch egg, which is now a caterpillar! But caterpillars can't talk, either. Unless the caterpillar is really a wizard under a curse! David is so excited to meet a real wizard (well, sort of a wizard) and to know that there really is magic in the world, he nearly forgets that the caterpillar was yelling for help. There isn't much time for questions.
The wizard's name is Houdin. He's from a land called Remin. Remin is a magical place, and very different from the world David knows. He's about to find out just how different. Houdin needs David's help to get back to Remin and break the curse. In the process they'll have to face the dark wizard that's been haunting David's nightmares. If they succeed they'll save Remin, fix the nightmare problem, restore Houdin, and hopefully make it back before David's parents notice he's gone. If they fail, well, they just won't fail. Hopefully.
David learns so much more than just magic in this story, and so will you. Tolerance, the importance of friendship, the danger of letting fear get in the way, conservation of resources, the need to preserve nature... Most important, though, is the amazing power of imagination. It's the thing that makes everything else possible, not just in the story, but in life. And it all comes without you even noticing that you're learning!
A great fantastic adventure that seamlessly weaves a good story in with important lessons. Now that's impressive. It's a journey I will happily take again. And I definitely encourage you to give it a try, no matter how old you are.
April 24, 2018
it's not a bad story; it is, however, terribly written
January 16, 2009
I recently received a review copy of this book after wandering through a series of blogs. I found out about this book from one such blog and thought to myself that it sounded really good. So I request a review copy.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book even though it was written for an audience somewhat younger than I am used to. I love Harry Potter, Leven Thumps, and other such novels that are written for that slightly older teen audience--the more versed groups. The Dark Dreamweaver is written, obviously for a much younger audience. The language, while at times a little advanced, is perfect for those 8-13 year olds.
That being said, the story basically is as follows:
David is a young boy from our world. He collects caterpillar eggs with his parents, pretends his a magician (the real kind, not tricks), and goes about life like any young boy does. Then one day one of his caterpillars starts talking to him. This is Houdin, a wizard who has been cursed into a constantly repeating life cycle as a caterpillar--growing, sprouting, dying, all repeated over and over. David soon learns that the dark dreams he keeps having and all the dark dreams plaguing the world are due to a dark wizard named Thane from the world of Remin, where Houdin comes from. Remin is the world of imagination, dreams, and spectrum--the curious magical glitter than allows select few people in Remin to do amazing things. Now David finds himself caught in a battle not only to save Remin from Thane's destructive path, but also to cure Houdin of his curse and save his own world before it's too late...
I found the book to be delightful. It's not a perfect book, and I think that won't matter considering the audience it is meant for. Younger kids aren't too concerned with scenes that move a little too quick. The magic of this world is really interesting too. The idea of having to 'load' wands with 'spectrum' the way you might load a gun is a neat little twist. Some of the characters are great too. Sir Head-a-lot is a guy who can change his appearance by switching his heads. Houdin, obviously, a little caterpillar. And there are more characters too, all lovable in their own way. I couldn't help but find Houdin as my favorite--and I think that stems from reading Leven Thumps some time ago where one of the characters was a talking toothpick.
One notice for this book as that it does have some dark sections to it. It is not so dark in the same sense that Stephen King is dark. There are mentions of some blood, which for me is perfectly fine, and themes that I think might be a little scary. Regardless, I think kids can handle it. It's a powerfully driven tale with swift and well drawn action, interesting puzzles, and a well paced plot.
Good work!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book even though it was written for an audience somewhat younger than I am used to. I love Harry Potter, Leven Thumps, and other such novels that are written for that slightly older teen audience--the more versed groups. The Dark Dreamweaver is written, obviously for a much younger audience. The language, while at times a little advanced, is perfect for those 8-13 year olds.
That being said, the story basically is as follows:
David is a young boy from our world. He collects caterpillar eggs with his parents, pretends his a magician (the real kind, not tricks), and goes about life like any young boy does. Then one day one of his caterpillars starts talking to him. This is Houdin, a wizard who has been cursed into a constantly repeating life cycle as a caterpillar--growing, sprouting, dying, all repeated over and over. David soon learns that the dark dreams he keeps having and all the dark dreams plaguing the world are due to a dark wizard named Thane from the world of Remin, where Houdin comes from. Remin is the world of imagination, dreams, and spectrum--the curious magical glitter than allows select few people in Remin to do amazing things. Now David finds himself caught in a battle not only to save Remin from Thane's destructive path, but also to cure Houdin of his curse and save his own world before it's too late...
I found the book to be delightful. It's not a perfect book, and I think that won't matter considering the audience it is meant for. Younger kids aren't too concerned with scenes that move a little too quick. The magic of this world is really interesting too. The idea of having to 'load' wands with 'spectrum' the way you might load a gun is a neat little twist. Some of the characters are great too. Sir Head-a-lot is a guy who can change his appearance by switching his heads. Houdin, obviously, a little caterpillar. And there are more characters too, all lovable in their own way. I couldn't help but find Houdin as my favorite--and I think that stems from reading Leven Thumps some time ago where one of the characters was a talking toothpick.
One notice for this book as that it does have some dark sections to it. It is not so dark in the same sense that Stephen King is dark. There are mentions of some blood, which for me is perfectly fine, and themes that I think might be a little scary. Regardless, I think kids can handle it. It's a powerfully driven tale with swift and well drawn action, interesting puzzles, and a well paced plot.
Good work!
October 1, 2008
The only two things about this book that annoyed me were Kira and the elements. Kira herself was okay, but that name is overused, and so are the elements.
Those are minor, however, and more personal peeves than anything. Ignoring those, this was a creative and well-written book with a new writing voice and a great use of words, and tons of great ideas--dreamweaving, spectrum and wands, mano, Sir Heads-a-lot, and one of my favorites, the Imaginator and its dome. The crystals and their deathly power "net" were great. I especially loved the idea of spectrum. I'd really like to learn more about types other than elemental.
I also loved Houdin, especially when he was complaining about the magic doors. He was a very likable character, and the quick-moving curse on him helps create pathos. That curse was also original. I appreciated the fact that David occasionally failed at spells and actually practiced them, as well, for many books look over that, and in doing so create very Gary Stu-ish characters.
As I said before, though it has a few cliches (elements and kind of the evil), "The Dark Dreamweaver" is a highly original book that deserves more attention (and sequels!). I can't wait to read more about Remin and Inspire, especially how it's going to adapt to using less spectrum. My little peeves would like to give this book a final grade of "B", but everything else was so great that doing so just wouldn't be right.
On a side note, I got many cool story ideas while reading this book. The fact that the book is inspiring is a very good sign.
Those are minor, however, and more personal peeves than anything. Ignoring those, this was a creative and well-written book with a new writing voice and a great use of words, and tons of great ideas--dreamweaving, spectrum and wands, mano, Sir Heads-a-lot, and one of my favorites, the Imaginator and its dome. The crystals and their deathly power "net" were great. I especially loved the idea of spectrum. I'd really like to learn more about types other than elemental.
I also loved Houdin, especially when he was complaining about the magic doors. He was a very likable character, and the quick-moving curse on him helps create pathos. That curse was also original. I appreciated the fact that David occasionally failed at spells and actually practiced them, as well, for many books look over that, and in doing so create very Gary Stu-ish characters.
As I said before, though it has a few cliches (elements and kind of the evil), "The Dark Dreamweaver" is a highly original book that deserves more attention (and sequels!). I can't wait to read more about Remin and Inspire, especially how it's going to adapt to using less spectrum. My little peeves would like to give this book a final grade of "B", but everything else was so great that doing so just wouldn't be right.
On a side note, I got many cool story ideas while reading this book. The fact that the book is inspiring is a very good sign.
February 8, 2014
The boy I tutor lent this to me after touting it as his favourite book. So naturally I was keen to try it.
... I don't know. The story is okay, I guess. But I just feel like the whole thing was really talking down to its target audience. And I get that it's a kids book. Fine. But you can still write a good story without talking down to everyone.
The writing style in general was my big problem. All telling, no showing. And it felt really juvenile. Which, again, I get because of the target audience. But if it had been better written, the simplicity wouldn't have rubbed me the wrong way like it did. Plain Kate comes to mind as a story with a simplistic narrative, but that didn't aggravate me this way.
Anyway. Not recommended. There are other, better kids books out there.
... I don't know. The story is okay, I guess. But I just feel like the whole thing was really talking down to its target audience. And I get that it's a kids book. Fine. But you can still write a good story without talking down to everyone.
The writing style in general was my big problem. All telling, no showing. And it felt really juvenile. Which, again, I get because of the target audience. But if it had been better written, the simplicity wouldn't have rubbed me the wrong way like it did. Plain Kate comes to mind as a story with a simplistic narrative, but that didn't aggravate me this way.
Anyway. Not recommended. There are other, better kids books out there.
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February 13, 2019The adventures, characters, challenges, and magic make the book an exciting and rewarding read.
July 6, 2008
Wasn't sure about this book at first, but it was pretty good. Found this one as a free e-book and I will read pt. 2. Good kids story, interesting characters, and good fantasy plot.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews