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Dreamlands #1
Dreamlands
In one terror-filled moment, prisoner Keno Inuzaka is being attacked, and in the next, he's standing in the Dreamlands, a mirror of ancient Japan. To his surprise, he finds shelter in the magical world among strangers who swiftly become comrades.
Among them is Samojirou Aboshi, a handsome scholar who treats Keno with unexpected care and respect while openly pursuing his affections. To Samojirou, Keno is the embodiment of perfection, a man who could be his companion and lover forever.
When Samojirou offers him life and love as his companion, Keno realizes he may have finally found a home... but all that is threatened when a commando team from the real world arrives to steal the power of the Dreamlands and Keno's chance for a future of his own choosing.
Among them is Samojirou Aboshi, a handsome scholar who treats Keno with unexpected care and respect while openly pursuing his affections. To Samojirou, Keno is the embodiment of perfection, a man who could be his companion and lover forever.
When Samojirou offers him life and love as his companion, Keno realizes he may have finally found a home... but all that is threatened when a commando team from the real world arrives to steal the power of the Dreamlands and Keno's chance for a future of his own choosing.
284 pages, Paperback
First published August 24, 2009
6 people are currently reading
576 people want to read
About the author
Felicitas Ivey
30 books35 followersFelicitas Ivey is the pen name of a very frazzled helpdesk drone at a Boston-area university. She's an eternal student even with a BA in anthropology and history, since free classes are part of the benefits. She's taken courses on gothic architecture, premodern Japanese literature, and witchcraft, just because they sounded like fun. She has traveled to Japan and Europe and hopes to return to both in the future.
She knits and cross-stitches avidly, much to the disgust of her cat, Smaugu, who wants her undivided attention. He's also peeved that she spends so much time writing instead of petting him. She writes urban fantasy and horror of a Lovecraftian nature, monsters beyond space and time that think that humans are the tastiest things in the multiverse.
Felicitas lives in Boston with her beloved husband, known to all as The Husband, and the aforementioned cat, whom the husband swears is a demon, even though it's his fault that they have the cat. The husband also is worried about Felicitas’s anime habit, her love for J-Pop music, and her extensive collection of Yaoi manga and Gundam Wing doujinshi, which has turned her library into a Very Scary Place for him.
Visit her blog at http://Iveys_Tales.livejournal.com and e-mail her at Felicitas.Ivey@gmail.com.
She knits and cross-stitches avidly, much to the disgust of her cat, Smaugu, who wants her undivided attention. He's also peeved that she spends so much time writing instead of petting him. She writes urban fantasy and horror of a Lovecraftian nature, monsters beyond space and time that think that humans are the tastiest things in the multiverse.
Felicitas lives in Boston with her beloved husband, known to all as The Husband, and the aforementioned cat, whom the husband swears is a demon, even though it's his fault that they have the cat. The husband also is worried about Felicitas’s anime habit, her love for J-Pop music, and her extensive collection of Yaoi manga and Gundam Wing doujinshi, which has turned her library into a Very Scary Place for him.
Visit her blog at http://Iveys_Tales.livejournal.com and e-mail her at Felicitas.Ivey@gmail.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
October 31, 2010
I thought this book was very well developed. I loved how even though Samojirou didn’t have to, he still acted like a gentleman and allowed Keno to get used to him instead of just taking what he wanted from Keno. He allowed Keno to make his own decisions on whether they would be intimate and always understood when Keno said ‘no’. I especially liked the fact that there wasn’t much sex; no penetration at all but I thought it worked well with who Keno was. I thought Mason was rather funny with his sarcasm and dark humor and I’m interested to see what happens in the sequel with all these avatars showing up.
At first, I was a little confused because you learn everything upfront but then the more I read, the more I understood and soon I was sucked into it, zipping through the pages quickly. I’m not all that good with weird names so I had to shorten everyone’s name. Samojirou became Samo, Tamazusa became Tama and so on. After I did that, the story flowed better for me.
This was a very delightful read and I’m looking forward to sink my teeth into the sequel Back to the Dream, which came out a few days ago.
For spoilers go here.
At first, I was a little confused because you learn everything upfront but then the more I read, the more I understood and soon I was sucked into it, zipping through the pages quickly. I’m not all that good with weird names so I had to shorten everyone’s name. Samojirou became Samo, Tamazusa became Tama and so on. After I did that, the story flowed better for me.
This was a very delightful read and I’m looking forward to sink my teeth into the sequel Back to the Dream, which came out a few days ago.
For spoilers go here.
December 18, 2014
4.5 stars I was pretty excited for this one because the plot reminded me of Inuyasha... and I wasn't disappointed!
It starts from the POV of Mason, so of course my first thought is, "who the fuck is Mason." But don't worry, it'll all make sense. They easily could have given us a million POV's and I am so glad they didn't. It's just our two MC's, and then Mason for the added real world perspective. I hope we get more of him in book 2!
There's very little sex in this, although a lot of mention of rape and abuse. Despite how it initially seems when Tamazusa-sama presents Keno to Samojiro, he treats him with kid gloves and is so incredibly sweet. I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop.
I enjoyed all the feudal-Japan type stuff, and wasn't bored while Keno spent some quite time in the Dreamlands. I felt the cultural stuff was explained well without giving an info dump. Most honorifics, titles, or words were given a brief description when first mentioned, and then we moved on. It was done perfectly.
A great mix on fantasy, historical Japan, and science fiction (with the Stargate-esk pseudo-government group). My one complaint is probably that the Trust was a little too evil on a person-to-person basis. When they caught Keno hacking their database, wouldn't they say, "look, you can join us, or die," and then treat him like any other fucking employee. It was never really explained why he was a prisoner and treated so poorly, especially from people like McGann. So that was a little too convenient. But I'm glad we're going to keep up with Trust and hopefully see the few good guys again.
Small Warning: at the end there is a glossary, character list, and the first chapter of book two, so the actual story ends about 20 pages before the end of the eBook.
Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, reviewed for Hearts On Fire
It starts from the POV of Mason, so of course my first thought is, "who the fuck is Mason." But don't worry, it'll all make sense. They easily could have given us a million POV's and I am so glad they didn't. It's just our two MC's, and then Mason for the added real world perspective. I hope we get more of him in book 2!
There's very little sex in this, although a lot of mention of rape and abuse. Despite how it initially seems when Tamazusa-sama presents Keno to Samojiro, he treats him with kid gloves and is so incredibly sweet. I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop.
I enjoyed all the feudal-Japan type stuff, and wasn't bored while Keno spent some quite time in the Dreamlands. I felt the cultural stuff was explained well without giving an info dump. Most honorifics, titles, or words were given a brief description when first mentioned, and then we moved on. It was done perfectly.
A great mix on fantasy, historical Japan, and science fiction (with the Stargate-esk pseudo-government group). My one complaint is probably that the Trust was a little too evil on a person-to-person basis. When they caught Keno hacking their database, wouldn't they say, "look, you can join us, or die," and then treat him like any other fucking employee. It was never really explained why he was a prisoner and treated so poorly, especially from people like McGann. So that was a little too convenient. But I'm glad we're going to keep up with Trust and hopefully see the few good guys again.
Small Warning: at the end there is a glossary, character list, and the first chapter of book two, so the actual story ends about 20 pages before the end of the eBook.
Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, reviewed for Hearts On Fire
July 18, 2011
4.5 Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I must be honest and say that this is not something I would have ever chosen for myself to read. I'm really glad this was picked for me as a reading challenge.
Normally, I do not like to read stories with androgynous characters, but Keno was so adorable there was no way I could not love him. I loved how the relationship evolved between him and Samojirou. Samojirou was so patient and loving to Keno and I was so happy when Keno was finally able to trust him and return some of that passion. The ending was so perfect, in my opinion, that I'm a little scared to read the sequel.
The world building in the Dreamlands was complex, but I didn't have much trouble following and never found myself too confused. Most of the Japanese terms were translated and easy to remember. I never was able to tell all of the "brothers" apart and I don't think I ever will.
4.5 stars instead of 5 because I found the pace to be a bit slow and was often bored with the parts from Mason's POV. I know his POV was needed, but I was never bored when it was told from Keno or Samojirou's POV.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I must be honest and say that this is not something I would have ever chosen for myself to read. I'm really glad this was picked for me as a reading challenge.
Normally, I do not like to read stories with androgynous characters, but Keno was so adorable there was no way I could not love him. I loved how the relationship evolved between him and Samojirou. Samojirou was so patient and loving to Keno and I was so happy when Keno was finally able to trust him and return some of that passion. The ending was so perfect, in my opinion, that I'm a little scared to read the sequel.
The world building in the Dreamlands was complex, but I didn't have much trouble following and never found myself too confused. Most of the Japanese terms were translated and easy to remember. I never was able to tell all of the "brothers" apart and I don't think I ever will.
4.5 stars instead of 5 because I found the pace to be a bit slow and was often bored with the parts from Mason's POV. I know his POV was needed, but I was never bored when it was told from Keno or Samojirou's POV.
September 15, 2009
The author's writing style was so fluid that I was midway through the book before I realized it. She gives you a look into the beauty and violence of ancient Japan in the setting of this story, the Dreamlands.
Keno is a bright young man that due to a careless mistake is kept captive in a covert government agency that deals with the monsters and we're not talking about werewolves and vampires here, but oni (demons). Badly mistreated he finds a freedom of sorts when he ends up in the Dreamlands where he meets Samojirou-an oni. Their relationship grows slowly but steadily and is threatened when Keno's captors find their way into the Dreamlands intent on its destruction.
There is mentions of violence and abuse but although there is mild petting there is no actual intercourse between the main characters which, for me at least, enriches their relationship making it a real love story. It brings to the forefront that sometimes true evil wears a human face and that just because it looks like a monster doesn't mean it has the heart of one.
Keno is a bright young man that due to a careless mistake is kept captive in a covert government agency that deals with the monsters and we're not talking about werewolves and vampires here, but oni (demons). Badly mistreated he finds a freedom of sorts when he ends up in the Dreamlands where he meets Samojirou-an oni. Their relationship grows slowly but steadily and is threatened when Keno's captors find their way into the Dreamlands intent on its destruction.
There is mentions of violence and abuse but although there is mild petting there is no actual intercourse between the main characters which, for me at least, enriches their relationship making it a real love story. It brings to the forefront that sometimes true evil wears a human face and that just because it looks like a monster doesn't mean it has the heart of one.
March 8, 2017
3.5 STARS
November 15, 2009
This debut novel from a new author is a stunning piece of work. Intricately plotted with fascinating world building and creative characters, this story captures interest immediately and carries it through to the end. This is one of the better written books in the genre, offering a look at ancient Japan and all its wonder and glory. Unfortunately the book does try too hard in places and jumps into the action so fast there is a continual low level of confusion and muddled detail. However, the world building and fast paced story mostly makes up for this and the result is a solid, riveting tale.
The story is told from three different first person points of views and two different worlds. The first world depicted is Boston, however there is no time reference given. It could be modern day or it could be futuristic but there is no additional detail, which is an unfortunate flaw. The second world is the Dreamlands, which is a mirror for ancient Japan but incredibly vast and filled with beings. There are portals that can be opened through a variety of dark magical ways, leading between the two worlds. The story opens when one such portal has been created to allow monsters to infiltrate an underground bunker for an international organization based in Boston. This organization is very classic government, killing evil monsters under a guise of troubleshooting. In the chaos of this attack one of the prisoners ~ a young, computer hacker named Keno ~ goes missing.
Keno has been taken to the Dreamlands to be given as a present to a powerful demon there, Samojirou. Unfortunately the organization is not ready to let Keno and the monsters go, thus starting the action and complexity of the story. Told from Keno, Samojirou, and Mason’s perspective, the story follows the action as the government organization seeks to recapture Keno and destroy the monsters while Keno is learning that not all monsters are evil. Alongside this is an incredibly complex plot regarding Samojirou’s past and his life before and after arriving in the Dreamlands, a past which has serious implications involving Keno.
The plot itself is very complicated and contains several important subplots happening simultaneously. For the most part, the deft writing keeps each storyline moving and without too much confusion but the sheer volume of information presented is overwhelming. The intricate customs of ancient Japan from the manners to political structure are fascinating and well depicted but muddled by the somewhat confusing storyline of Fuse and her sons. While this information is important to Samojirou’s past, the high level of involvement of Fuse and her sons is repetitious and distracting. Adding to that are the numerous names of the various men, which blend together indiscriminately at that point.
The world building itself is stunning with the level of minute detail regarding ancient Japan. Unfortunately that same level of detail is sacrificed in the Boston world, where several inconsistencies are present showing that the main focus and effort was put into the world of the Dreamlands. Since most of the action does happen in that world, it’s not to the detriment of the story but shows the unevenness of the world building. However, the level of research and complexity involved is incredible and worth reading for alone.
The cast of characters is rather large from the important and well crafted men and women from the Dreamlands such as Keno, Samojirou, Fuse, Tamazusa, to the muddled, stereotypical Boston cast. Even Mason, one of the muscle bound trouble shooters who has a soft spot for Keno, is without much depth and predictable. This dichotomy is very interesting and serves to heighten the differences between the two cultures. Although the Dreamlands are filled with monsters, demons, and non living, non human beings – they are showed to have more depth, more culture, more breeding, and more intelligence than the one dimensional and predictable actions of every member of the “real world.”
This plays into the problem with Mason as a narrator. Although his voice is entertaining and enjoyable, there are too many scenes from his perspective and actually slow down the pace of the book and its interest. The most interesting and well written parts are those from the Dreamlands from Keno or Samojirou’s point of view, thus when the perspective shifts to Mason and the real world cast actions and manipulations, this eventually starts to bore and grate. The lack of interest and originality in these characters creates very little interest in their action. From the racist comments of numerous members to the predictably evil actions of the leaders and even Mason’s irreverent constant commentary offer little imagination and creativity to what is otherwise a wildly interesting and riveting tale. This had me hoping the narrative would quickly move from Mason and the predictable actions of the organization to the more interesting reactions of the Dreamlands inhabitants. Even the somewhat confusing and muddled family of Fuse is better written.
Overall this is a wonderful story with the coming of age for Keno and his slow acceptance of his chosen world. The Dreamlands world and inhabitants steal the book with a vibrant energy and stunning beauty that more than overshadows the weaker aspects of the real world organization in Boston. There are minor missteps in the writing such as confusing action and inconsistent detail, but these are minor in the face of the Dreamlands wonderful world building and creativity. I doubt many readers will be bothered by the bland, predictable real world villains and it’s easy to overlook those issues to continue with a fascinating story. I really enjoyed reading this story and can’t wait for more ingenuity from this new author.
The story is told from three different first person points of views and two different worlds. The first world depicted is Boston, however there is no time reference given. It could be modern day or it could be futuristic but there is no additional detail, which is an unfortunate flaw. The second world is the Dreamlands, which is a mirror for ancient Japan but incredibly vast and filled with beings. There are portals that can be opened through a variety of dark magical ways, leading between the two worlds. The story opens when one such portal has been created to allow monsters to infiltrate an underground bunker for an international organization based in Boston. This organization is very classic government, killing evil monsters under a guise of troubleshooting. In the chaos of this attack one of the prisoners ~ a young, computer hacker named Keno ~ goes missing.
Keno has been taken to the Dreamlands to be given as a present to a powerful demon there, Samojirou. Unfortunately the organization is not ready to let Keno and the monsters go, thus starting the action and complexity of the story. Told from Keno, Samojirou, and Mason’s perspective, the story follows the action as the government organization seeks to recapture Keno and destroy the monsters while Keno is learning that not all monsters are evil. Alongside this is an incredibly complex plot regarding Samojirou’s past and his life before and after arriving in the Dreamlands, a past which has serious implications involving Keno.
The plot itself is very complicated and contains several important subplots happening simultaneously. For the most part, the deft writing keeps each storyline moving and without too much confusion but the sheer volume of information presented is overwhelming. The intricate customs of ancient Japan from the manners to political structure are fascinating and well depicted but muddled by the somewhat confusing storyline of Fuse and her sons. While this information is important to Samojirou’s past, the high level of involvement of Fuse and her sons is repetitious and distracting. Adding to that are the numerous names of the various men, which blend together indiscriminately at that point.
The world building itself is stunning with the level of minute detail regarding ancient Japan. Unfortunately that same level of detail is sacrificed in the Boston world, where several inconsistencies are present showing that the main focus and effort was put into the world of the Dreamlands. Since most of the action does happen in that world, it’s not to the detriment of the story but shows the unevenness of the world building. However, the level of research and complexity involved is incredible and worth reading for alone.
The cast of characters is rather large from the important and well crafted men and women from the Dreamlands such as Keno, Samojirou, Fuse, Tamazusa, to the muddled, stereotypical Boston cast. Even Mason, one of the muscle bound trouble shooters who has a soft spot for Keno, is without much depth and predictable. This dichotomy is very interesting and serves to heighten the differences between the two cultures. Although the Dreamlands are filled with monsters, demons, and non living, non human beings – they are showed to have more depth, more culture, more breeding, and more intelligence than the one dimensional and predictable actions of every member of the “real world.”
This plays into the problem with Mason as a narrator. Although his voice is entertaining and enjoyable, there are too many scenes from his perspective and actually slow down the pace of the book and its interest. The most interesting and well written parts are those from the Dreamlands from Keno or Samojirou’s point of view, thus when the perspective shifts to Mason and the real world cast actions and manipulations, this eventually starts to bore and grate. The lack of interest and originality in these characters creates very little interest in their action. From the racist comments of numerous members to the predictably evil actions of the leaders and even Mason’s irreverent constant commentary offer little imagination and creativity to what is otherwise a wildly interesting and riveting tale. This had me hoping the narrative would quickly move from Mason and the predictable actions of the organization to the more interesting reactions of the Dreamlands inhabitants. Even the somewhat confusing and muddled family of Fuse is better written.
Overall this is a wonderful story with the coming of age for Keno and his slow acceptance of his chosen world. The Dreamlands world and inhabitants steal the book with a vibrant energy and stunning beauty that more than overshadows the weaker aspects of the real world organization in Boston. There are minor missteps in the writing such as confusing action and inconsistent detail, but these are minor in the face of the Dreamlands wonderful world building and creativity. I doubt many readers will be bothered by the bland, predictable real world villains and it’s easy to overlook those issues to continue with a fascinating story. I really enjoyed reading this story and can’t wait for more ingenuity from this new author.
March 17, 2011
3.5 stars. It reminded me of yaoi novels. I had fun but that could have been better. I wasn't drawn into the world which is a rare thing for me. May be that's because I couldn't anticipate with Keno. I don't like weak heroes. I would like to see him get his strength and jump in the active fight.
October 17, 2009
This debut novel from a new author is a stunning piece of work. Intricately plotted with fascinating world building and creative characters, this story captures interest immediately and carries it through to the end. This is one of the better written books in the genre, offering a look at ancient Japan and all its wonder and glory. Unfortunately the book does try too hard in places and jumps into the action so fast there is a continual low level of confusion and muddled detail. However, the world building and fast paced story mostly makes up for this and the result is a solid, riveting tale.
The story is told from three different first person points of views and two different worlds. The first world depicted is Boston, however there is no time reference given. It could be modern day or it could be futuristic but there is no additional detail, which is an unfortunate flaw. The second world is the Dreamlands, which is a mirror for ancient Japan but incredibly vast and filled with beings. There are portals that can be opened through a variety of dark magical ways, leading between the two worlds. The story opens when one such portal has been created to allow monsters to infiltrate an underground bunker for an international organization based in Boston. This organization is very classic government, killing evil monsters under a guise of troubleshooting. In the chaos of this attack one of the prisoners ~ a young, computer hacker named Keno ~ goes missing.
Keno has been taken to the Dreamlands to be given as a present to a powerful demon there, Samojirou. Unfortunately the organization is not ready to let Keno and the monsters go, thus starting the action and complexity of the story. Told from Keno, Samojirou, and Mason’s perspective, the story follows the action as the government organization seeks to recapture Keno and destroy the monsters while Keno is learning that not all monsters are evil. Alongside this is an incredibly complex plot regarding Samojirou’s past and his life before and after arriving in the Dreamlands, a past which has serious implications involving Keno.
The plot itself is very complicated and contains several important subplots happening simultaneously. For the most part, the deft writing keeps each storyline moving and without too much confusion but the sheer volume of information presented is overwhelming. The intricate customs of ancient Japan from the manners to political structure are fascinating and well depicted but muddled by the somewhat confusing storyline of Fuse and her sons. While this information is important to Samojirou’s past, the high level of involvement of Fuse and her sons is repetitious and distracting. Adding to that are the numerous names of the various men, which blend together indiscriminately at that point.
The world building itself is stunning with the level of minute detail regarding ancient Japan. Unfortunately that same level of detail is sacrificed in the Boston world, where several inconsistencies are present showing that the main focus and effort was put into the world of the Dreamlands. Since most of the action does happen in that world, it’s not to the detriment of the story but shows the unevenness of the world building. However, the level of research and complexity involved is incredible and worth reading for alone.
The cast of characters is rather large from the important and well crafted men and women from the Dreamlands such as Keno, Samojirou, Fuse, Tamazusa, to the muddled, stereotypical Boston cast. Even Mason, one of the muscle bound trouble shooters who has a soft spot for Keno, is without much depth and predictable. This dichotomy is very interesting and serves to heighten the differences between the two cultures. Although the Dreamlands are filled with monsters, demons, and non living, non human beings – they are showed to have more depth, more culture, more breeding, and more intelligence than the one dimensional and predictable actions of every member of the “real world.”
This plays into the problem with Mason as a narrator. Although his voice is entertaining and enjoyable, there are too many scenes from his perspective and actually slow down the pace of the book and its interest. The most interesting and well written parts are those from the Dreamlands from Keno or Samojirou’s point of view, thus when the perspective shifts to Mason and the real world cast actions and manipulations, this eventually starts to bore and grate. The lack of interest and originality in these characters creates very little interest in their action. From the racist comments of numerous members to the predictably evil actions of the leaders and even Mason’s irreverent constant commentary offer little imagination and creativity to what is otherwise a wildly interesting and riveting tale. This had me hoping the narrative would quickly move from Mason and the predictable actions of the organization to the more interesting reactions of the Dreamlands inhabitants. Even the somewhat confusing and muddled family of Fuse is better written.
Overall this is a wonderful story with the coming of age for Keno and his slow acceptance of his chosen world. The Dreamlands world and inhabitants steal the book with a vibrant energy and stunning beauty that more than overshadows the weaker aspects of the real world organization in Boston. There are minor missteps in the writing such as confusing action and inconsistent detail, but these are minor in the face of the Dreamlands wonderful world building and creativity. I doubt many readers will be bothered by the bland, predictable real world villains and it’s easy to overlook those issues to continue with a fascinating story. I really enjoyed reading this story and can’t wait for more ingenuity from this new author.
The story is told from three different first person points of views and two different worlds. The first world depicted is Boston, however there is no time reference given. It could be modern day or it could be futuristic but there is no additional detail, which is an unfortunate flaw. The second world is the Dreamlands, which is a mirror for ancient Japan but incredibly vast and filled with beings. There are portals that can be opened through a variety of dark magical ways, leading between the two worlds. The story opens when one such portal has been created to allow monsters to infiltrate an underground bunker for an international organization based in Boston. This organization is very classic government, killing evil monsters under a guise of troubleshooting. In the chaos of this attack one of the prisoners ~ a young, computer hacker named Keno ~ goes missing.
Keno has been taken to the Dreamlands to be given as a present to a powerful demon there, Samojirou. Unfortunately the organization is not ready to let Keno and the monsters go, thus starting the action and complexity of the story. Told from Keno, Samojirou, and Mason’s perspective, the story follows the action as the government organization seeks to recapture Keno and destroy the monsters while Keno is learning that not all monsters are evil. Alongside this is an incredibly complex plot regarding Samojirou’s past and his life before and after arriving in the Dreamlands, a past which has serious implications involving Keno.
The plot itself is very complicated and contains several important subplots happening simultaneously. For the most part, the deft writing keeps each storyline moving and without too much confusion but the sheer volume of information presented is overwhelming. The intricate customs of ancient Japan from the manners to political structure are fascinating and well depicted but muddled by the somewhat confusing storyline of Fuse and her sons. While this information is important to Samojirou’s past, the high level of involvement of Fuse and her sons is repetitious and distracting. Adding to that are the numerous names of the various men, which blend together indiscriminately at that point.
The world building itself is stunning with the level of minute detail regarding ancient Japan. Unfortunately that same level of detail is sacrificed in the Boston world, where several inconsistencies are present showing that the main focus and effort was put into the world of the Dreamlands. Since most of the action does happen in that world, it’s not to the detriment of the story but shows the unevenness of the world building. However, the level of research and complexity involved is incredible and worth reading for alone.
The cast of characters is rather large from the important and well crafted men and women from the Dreamlands such as Keno, Samojirou, Fuse, Tamazusa, to the muddled, stereotypical Boston cast. Even Mason, one of the muscle bound trouble shooters who has a soft spot for Keno, is without much depth and predictable. This dichotomy is very interesting and serves to heighten the differences between the two cultures. Although the Dreamlands are filled with monsters, demons, and non living, non human beings – they are showed to have more depth, more culture, more breeding, and more intelligence than the one dimensional and predictable actions of every member of the “real world.”
This plays into the problem with Mason as a narrator. Although his voice is entertaining and enjoyable, there are too many scenes from his perspective and actually slow down the pace of the book and its interest. The most interesting and well written parts are those from the Dreamlands from Keno or Samojirou’s point of view, thus when the perspective shifts to Mason and the real world cast actions and manipulations, this eventually starts to bore and grate. The lack of interest and originality in these characters creates very little interest in their action. From the racist comments of numerous members to the predictably evil actions of the leaders and even Mason’s irreverent constant commentary offer little imagination and creativity to what is otherwise a wildly interesting and riveting tale. This had me hoping the narrative would quickly move from Mason and the predictable actions of the organization to the more interesting reactions of the Dreamlands inhabitants. Even the somewhat confusing and muddled family of Fuse is better written.
Overall this is a wonderful story with the coming of age for Keno and his slow acceptance of his chosen world. The Dreamlands world and inhabitants steal the book with a vibrant energy and stunning beauty that more than overshadows the weaker aspects of the real world organization in Boston. There are minor missteps in the writing such as confusing action and inconsistent detail, but these are minor in the face of the Dreamlands wonderful world building and creativity. I doubt many readers will be bothered by the bland, predictable real world villains and it’s easy to overlook those issues to continue with a fascinating story. I really enjoyed reading this story and can’t wait for more ingenuity from this new author.
August 17, 2014
Very good world building and creativity. I loved the characters (well, I hated some, but any extreme reaction is a good thing), loved the adventure, the tradition wrapped up in this other world, and everywhere this story took me. I felt like I was watching an awesome movie because I felt like I was in every scene, and could feel what they felt and imagine these worlds very well.
What really bothered me was the ridiculous lack of editing. There must have been something wrong with the formatting or just no one checking the results, because there were many misspellings and extra words in sentences "...and there was somea lotof touching..." and missing commas, where instead the words were joined together "They killed all the other mostersthe Hakarlthat were eating people." Do people just not take pride in their work and not want to strive to make it as close to perfect as it can be? Or at least legible? 'Cause I often had trouble understanding a bunch of these sentences the first or second time I read them.
Regardless of the havoc wreaked by the lack of editing, this was still a solidly enjoyable book. Read it if you like fantasy, adventure, violence, a good plot, and characters that you can love alongside characters that you can hate. But be warned there is off-page non-con (rape) in here and on-page beatings, bloodshed, and other forms of abuse.
What really bothered me was the ridiculous lack of editing. There must have been something wrong with the formatting or just no one checking the results, because there were many misspellings and extra words in sentences "...and there was somea lotof touching..." and missing commas, where instead the words were joined together "They killed all the other mostersthe Hakarlthat were eating people." Do people just not take pride in their work and not want to strive to make it as close to perfect as it can be? Or at least legible? 'Cause I often had trouble understanding a bunch of these sentences the first or second time I read them.
Regardless of the havoc wreaked by the lack of editing, this was still a solidly enjoyable book. Read it if you like fantasy, adventure, violence, a good plot, and characters that you can love alongside characters that you can hate. But be warned there is off-page non-con (rape) in here and on-page beatings, bloodshed, and other forms of abuse.
February 15, 2016
I actually really liked this book! Keno was realistic in his fears and concerns regarding intimacy after his traumatic experience at the beginning of the book (to those worried about triggers, the description is vague and never used graphic detail) and the pace was just fast enough to keep me reading, but slow enough that I wasn't trailing behind scratching my head. Although there were points where I was angry with Samojirou for his sometimes forceful nature in regards to some forms of intimacy, he is later forgiven when you get his point of view and when he realizes he needs to slow down.
On the other hand, in the non-romance part of the plot, it might have been a little confusing. There are some parts/chapters where I couldn't see why we were getting a certain characters point of view. I'm not a huge fan of switching POV unless those characters are going to be sticking with you through out the series (I have not read this entire series, so maybe they do, maybe they don't).
I really liked the whole divided universe, and the magical side of it. I can't wait to read into the other books to see where this takes me.
A good read for the weekend! If you're a fan of anime/manga (m/m) this could be your book! If you know nothing of Japanese culture/language, you might be left confused by all the Japanese words thrown in and may find this book less enjoyable.
On the other hand, in the non-romance part of the plot, it might have been a little confusing. There are some parts/chapters where I couldn't see why we were getting a certain characters point of view. I'm not a huge fan of switching POV unless those characters are going to be sticking with you through out the series (I have not read this entire series, so maybe they do, maybe they don't).
I really liked the whole divided universe, and the magical side of it. I can't wait to read into the other books to see where this takes me.
A good read for the weekend! If you're a fan of anime/manga (m/m) this could be your book! If you know nothing of Japanese culture/language, you might be left confused by all the Japanese words thrown in and may find this book less enjoyable.
September 3, 2011
In fact it is 3,5, but I put 4 here because I don't know how much I should let my total dislike for male characters acting as female teenager influence my rating. Maybe it is believable in that contest (Keno, still very young, discovers a side of himself) or deliberate (a kind of shōnen-ai?).
Incredibly complex world building (the Dreamlands, not Boston, the other place the story is set), lots of details about ancient Japan. It looks like an accurate research went into that.
There is almost no sex, because Keno doesn't want it ), This is necessary for the story and it is a positive point for me, I dislike gratuitous sex.
There are a bit too many characters, many of them with similar Japanese names. The ''bad'' are stereotypically bad, and stereotypically stupid.
The story is narrated through the voices of 3 characters, one of them (Mason's) is weaker. Maybe because he is trying too hard be witty?
It was a nice read.
Incredibly complex world building (the Dreamlands, not Boston, the other place the story is set), lots of details about ancient Japan. It looks like an accurate research went into that.
There is almost no sex, because Keno doesn't want it ), This is necessary for the story and it is a positive point for me, I dislike gratuitous sex.
There are a bit too many characters, many of them with similar Japanese names. The ''bad'' are stereotypically bad, and stereotypically stupid.
The story is narrated through the voices of 3 characters, one of them (Mason's) is weaker. Maybe because he is trying too hard be witty?
It was a nice read.
February 20, 2015
4.5 stars
It's weird, the first time I read this story a few years ago, I expected romance so I skimmed a lot when the story was told in Mason's point of view. The story did not impress since I was expecting romance and love story was not the dominant part of this book.
A few years after, this book was republished by DSP Publication as fantasy and I did a reread. My opinion changed a lot! The story got a lot more enjoyable and interesting. It seemed the change in my expectation influenced my opinion of the story. I appreciated the plot a lot more and invested in more than the main couple's relationship development.
Now I'm curious. The story is not finished and I'm going to buy the sequels a.s.a.p!
It's weird, the first time I read this story a few years ago, I expected romance so I skimmed a lot when the story was told in Mason's point of view. The story did not impress since I was expecting romance and love story was not the dominant part of this book.
A few years after, this book was republished by DSP Publication as fantasy and I did a reread. My opinion changed a lot! The story got a lot more enjoyable and interesting. It seemed the change in my expectation influenced my opinion of the story. I appreciated the plot a lot more and invested in more than the main couple's relationship development.
Now I'm curious. The story is not finished and I'm going to buy the sequels a.s.a.p!
February 20, 2012
Ok, I give it 5 star. I may find the overtly effeminate keno to be too japanese girly from the 17th century, but the whole story is good. So bumps it up.
June 1, 2022
There are at least two pillars that hold this book up. The premise, for example, was interesting. (That alone is why I picked it up to begin with.) The writing style was engaging, and had the author taken the time to edit, I would have enjoyed this work and rated it an enthusiastic 4 stars (or more.)
This brings us to the reason why I rated this book a measly one star: the author did little to no editing or research. Their diction and word choice alone were extremely jarring, it got to the point that it completely took away from the experience of reading.
Simple things like Keno thinking the oni (an immortal mythical being) spoke "old Japanese like his grandpa" to Samojirou (the oni) thinking Keno "wasn't as westernized" as a lot of other Japanese people these days, which by default, made Keno a "good one", got so distracting that I had problems following the plot entirely.
I could not for the life of me fathom why such phrases were left in.
Within the first two chapters, it became abundantly clear that the author is not Japanese. I don't say this with the intent of preaching about how authors should only write about the culture they know, (anyone should be able to write about anything, given thoughtful execution), but the lack of research was obnoxious to the point of insulting. Which by itself wouldn't have been a problem if the body of work was edited.
But... well. It clearly wasn't.
I was barely a couple of chapters in, and already I had completely forgotten about the plot and my enjoyment of the premise in the face of their quality of writing. I found myself sighing, scowling, and huffing in increasing intervals, to the point that I visibly noticed that I was no longer enjoying myself in the least, a few chapters in. Willing myself to keep on reading felt like dragging a fresh wound across a bed of salt, and ultimately, I decided to DNF.
My decision to DNF wasn't made hastily, as I usually finish all books, even badly written ones, simply for the sake of completion. My usual train of thought typically meant that if the writing didn't give me an inkling of satisfaction, at least I can procure it for myself by finishing out the body of work and achieving closure.
But this book was an exception. That was bad. It was so bad, that I will go out of my way to avoid all works, both current and coming, by this author. I hope they invest in a great editor for their future endeavors as their ideas show great promise, but because I find my time to be an increasingly scarce resource nowadays, I won't be participating in their writing hereafter.
1/5 stars. Would not recommend it.
Good luck and godspeed.
This brings us to the reason why I rated this book a measly one star: the author did little to no editing or research. Their diction and word choice alone were extremely jarring, it got to the point that it completely took away from the experience of reading.
Simple things like Keno thinking the oni (an immortal mythical being) spoke "old Japanese like his grandpa" to Samojirou (the oni) thinking Keno "wasn't as westernized" as a lot of other Japanese people these days, which by default, made Keno a "good one", got so distracting that I had problems following the plot entirely.
I could not for the life of me fathom why such phrases were left in.
Within the first two chapters, it became abundantly clear that the author is not Japanese. I don't say this with the intent of preaching about how authors should only write about the culture they know, (anyone should be able to write about anything, given thoughtful execution), but the lack of research was obnoxious to the point of insulting. Which by itself wouldn't have been a problem if the body of work was edited.
But... well. It clearly wasn't.
I was barely a couple of chapters in, and already I had completely forgotten about the plot and my enjoyment of the premise in the face of their quality of writing. I found myself sighing, scowling, and huffing in increasing intervals, to the point that I visibly noticed that I was no longer enjoying myself in the least, a few chapters in. Willing myself to keep on reading felt like dragging a fresh wound across a bed of salt, and ultimately, I decided to DNF.
My decision to DNF wasn't made hastily, as I usually finish all books, even badly written ones, simply for the sake of completion. My usual train of thought typically meant that if the writing didn't give me an inkling of satisfaction, at least I can procure it for myself by finishing out the body of work and achieving closure.
But this book was an exception. That was bad. It was so bad, that I will go out of my way to avoid all works, both current and coming, by this author. I hope they invest in a great editor for their future endeavors as their ideas show great promise, but because I find my time to be an increasingly scarce resource nowadays, I won't be participating in their writing hereafter.
1/5 stars. Would not recommend it.
Good luck and godspeed.
November 19, 2012
I pretty much flew through the first half of this book. I loved the balance between the fairly dark storyline involving the Trust and Samojirou's attempts to win Keno's trust. I loved pretty much everything that went on in the Dreamlands: the way Tamazusa and Samojirou interacted, Keno getting used to his new life in the Dreamlands, and Keno slowly building up confidence as Sakura.
Since there are many, many authors I am unfamiliar with in the e-book world, my e-book buying strategies have gone something like this: make a list of all books that have a style of cover art I like, read reviews of those books, and then read the excerpts of any books that are still in my wishlist after I read reviews. Yes, my very first step involves judging books by their covers - it was the easiest way to come up with a short list of e-books to potentially buy, because so many e-books have covers that don't appeal to me.
Being a manga and anime fan, manga and anime inspired e-book cover art is almost guaranteed to put a book on my initial list. That's how things went with Dreamlands. The reviews I read indicated that the book would have some things I might like, but I was a little worried when I read that Dreamlands featured first person perspective, alternating from three different characters' perspectives. First person from one person's perspective is hard enough for a lot of authors - first person from three different characters' perspective seemed like a recipe for disaster. I read All Romance's excerpt, which gave me a taste of Ivey's writing from each of the three perspectives, Mason, Samojirou, and Keno, and decided I was willing to give this book a chance.
At first, I didn't mind the first person perspective, and even kind of liked it. Mason, Samojirou, and Keno all had very distinct perspectives. Mason was basically a good guy, but hardened by his experiences in prison and working for the Trust. He didn't have a whole lot of power in the organization, but he still wanted to do what he could for Keno, feeling guilty about his part in Keno's imprisonment, even though his only other choice would have been to kill 15-year-old Keno. Samojirou, too, was not an innocent, although he was a more subtle person overall than Mason. For a good portion of the story, Keno was frightened and damaged, having been raped just prior to the start of the book. He had been kept prisoner for over 4 years and, after being given to Samojirou as a gift, expected even more mistreatment.
In the second half of the book, particularly after Keno and Fuse were kidnapped, I became more intensely aware of just how bad a choice Ivey made when she decided to write the book in the first person. For one thing, it resulted in a lot of repetition. Often, the time periods covered by characters' perspectives overlapped a little. Sometimes this worked out very well - I enjoyed getting to see "Sakura" from Mason's perspective, before he knew that Sakura was Keno, and then getting to see the same scenes again from Keno or Samojirou's eyes.
Other times, however, I felt like the perspective choice didn't really add anything to the story and just resulted in me having to read about the same scene or about the same sort of things again for no particular reason. For example, there was one character who had a habit of making snide comments about Tamazusa and others in Russian. Samojirou picked up on this. So did Mason. In fact, in one part of the book, Mason noticed and was annoyed by the snide comments at least twice within just a few paragraphs. It got to the point where I started wishing Tamazusa would kill her, just so that I wouldn't have to read about yet another character noticing, once again, that she was saying something insulting (and incredibly stupid, considering she was without a weapon and completely at Tamazusa's mercy).
First person perspective always puts limits on what an author can show the reader. Three people might seem like more than enough to get over this particular problem, but did you read my synopsis? Some of these characters have incredibly complex pasts. Tamazusa and Fuse's entire histories were related as stories told to Mason or Keno. At least Samojirou's perspective was one of the three used, so his past with his former lover was worked into the book a bit better. I could barely follow along during the parts about Fuse and Tamazusa's pasts.
And, since I'm on the subject of confusion, I might as well mention that I'm still not sure what an avatar is - at first, I thought "avatar" meant "one of Fuse's sons, reborn," but then a couple of Fuse's sons (all their names start with Inu - don't ask me to remember who's who) met their avatars, so obviously that's not the case.
While I enjoyed the storyline involving the Trust, up to a point, I would have loved it if the book had showed Samojirou and Keno interacting more. For me, some of the strongest scenes in the book were the ones where Keno and Samojirou were getting to know each other and keeping each other company. I was really surprised when Keno began learning how to become a woman named Sakura - I don't think any of the reviews I read mentioned cross-dressing, or, if they did, that detail slipped my mind - but once I got over the shock I actually found that I liked Keno better when he was Sakura. Keno as Keno was tense and frightened. Keno as Sakura was more confident and relaxed. Although I've read a lot of manga and watched a lot of anime that features cross-dressing, I don't think I've ever read a book in which one of the main characters cross-dresses. I thought Ivey handled it well, and I hope that the next book features more scenes with Samojirou and Keno/Sakura.
Don't expect this book to have much in the way of sex - I think there's only one scene that qualifies as a sex scene. By the end of the book, Keno is still limited in what he's willing to do with Samojirou, even though he trusts him and knows Samojirou won't purposefully hurt him the way his rapist did. Dreamlands focuses much more on the emotional aspects of Keno and Samojirou's relationship, rather than the physical.
Overall, this book was...frustrating. I wish I could say it was a really wonderful book. I think it could have been, had some things been handled differently. Some aspects of the story were extremely complex and, as they were written, very hard to follow and remember - thinking about it now, I wonder how much of the complexity was really necessary. I can only assume that things like that one telepathic character (whose abilities, as far as I could tell, weren't used at all in this book) and the revelations about Mason and Wolf's connection to Fuse will be getting more attention in the next book - unfortunately, in this book, all things like this did was confuse me.
Even though there were things I disliked about the book, I really loved reading about Samojirou and Keno's relationship. I would have been happy if there had been fewer passages from Mason's perspective, and more from Keno and Samojirou's perspectives. I wanted to know how things would turn out for them. So, while I worry that the second book will suffer from some of the same problems this book did, I look forward to reading it because it will give me more of Keno and Samojirou's story. I'm crossing my fingers that things go well for them - the next book's description sounds ominous.
(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Since there are many, many authors I am unfamiliar with in the e-book world, my e-book buying strategies have gone something like this: make a list of all books that have a style of cover art I like, read reviews of those books, and then read the excerpts of any books that are still in my wishlist after I read reviews. Yes, my very first step involves judging books by their covers - it was the easiest way to come up with a short list of e-books to potentially buy, because so many e-books have covers that don't appeal to me.
Being a manga and anime fan, manga and anime inspired e-book cover art is almost guaranteed to put a book on my initial list. That's how things went with Dreamlands. The reviews I read indicated that the book would have some things I might like, but I was a little worried when I read that Dreamlands featured first person perspective, alternating from three different characters' perspectives. First person from one person's perspective is hard enough for a lot of authors - first person from three different characters' perspective seemed like a recipe for disaster. I read All Romance's excerpt, which gave me a taste of Ivey's writing from each of the three perspectives, Mason, Samojirou, and Keno, and decided I was willing to give this book a chance.
At first, I didn't mind the first person perspective, and even kind of liked it. Mason, Samojirou, and Keno all had very distinct perspectives. Mason was basically a good guy, but hardened by his experiences in prison and working for the Trust. He didn't have a whole lot of power in the organization, but he still wanted to do what he could for Keno, feeling guilty about his part in Keno's imprisonment, even though his only other choice would have been to kill 15-year-old Keno. Samojirou, too, was not an innocent, although he was a more subtle person overall than Mason. For a good portion of the story, Keno was frightened and damaged, having been raped just prior to the start of the book. He had been kept prisoner for over 4 years and, after being given to Samojirou as a gift, expected even more mistreatment.
In the second half of the book, particularly after Keno and Fuse were kidnapped, I became more intensely aware of just how bad a choice Ivey made when she decided to write the book in the first person. For one thing, it resulted in a lot of repetition. Often, the time periods covered by characters' perspectives overlapped a little. Sometimes this worked out very well - I enjoyed getting to see "Sakura" from Mason's perspective, before he knew that Sakura was Keno, and then getting to see the same scenes again from Keno or Samojirou's eyes.
Other times, however, I felt like the perspective choice didn't really add anything to the story and just resulted in me having to read about the same scene or about the same sort of things again for no particular reason. For example, there was one character who had a habit of making snide comments about Tamazusa and others in Russian. Samojirou picked up on this. So did Mason. In fact, in one part of the book, Mason noticed and was annoyed by the snide comments at least twice within just a few paragraphs. It got to the point where I started wishing Tamazusa would kill her, just so that I wouldn't have to read about yet another character noticing, once again, that she was saying something insulting (and incredibly stupid, considering she was without a weapon and completely at Tamazusa's mercy).
First person perspective always puts limits on what an author can show the reader. Three people might seem like more than enough to get over this particular problem, but did you read my synopsis? Some of these characters have incredibly complex pasts. Tamazusa and Fuse's entire histories were related as stories told to Mason or Keno. At least Samojirou's perspective was one of the three used, so his past with his former lover was worked into the book a bit better. I could barely follow along during the parts about Fuse and Tamazusa's pasts.
And, since I'm on the subject of confusion, I might as well mention that I'm still not sure what an avatar is - at first, I thought "avatar" meant "one of Fuse's sons, reborn," but then a couple of Fuse's sons (all their names start with Inu - don't ask me to remember who's who) met their avatars, so obviously that's not the case.
While I enjoyed the storyline involving the Trust, up to a point, I would have loved it if the book had showed Samojirou and Keno interacting more. For me, some of the strongest scenes in the book were the ones where Keno and Samojirou were getting to know each other and keeping each other company. I was really surprised when Keno began learning how to become a woman named Sakura - I don't think any of the reviews I read mentioned cross-dressing, or, if they did, that detail slipped my mind - but once I got over the shock I actually found that I liked Keno better when he was Sakura. Keno as Keno was tense and frightened. Keno as Sakura was more confident and relaxed. Although I've read a lot of manga and watched a lot of anime that features cross-dressing, I don't think I've ever read a book in which one of the main characters cross-dresses. I thought Ivey handled it well, and I hope that the next book features more scenes with Samojirou and Keno/Sakura.
Don't expect this book to have much in the way of sex - I think there's only one scene that qualifies as a sex scene. By the end of the book, Keno is still limited in what he's willing to do with Samojirou, even though he trusts him and knows Samojirou won't purposefully hurt him the way his rapist did. Dreamlands focuses much more on the emotional aspects of Keno and Samojirou's relationship, rather than the physical.
Overall, this book was...frustrating. I wish I could say it was a really wonderful book. I think it could have been, had some things been handled differently. Some aspects of the story were extremely complex and, as they were written, very hard to follow and remember - thinking about it now, I wonder how much of the complexity was really necessary. I can only assume that things like that one telepathic character (whose abilities, as far as I could tell, weren't used at all in this book) and the revelations about Mason and Wolf's connection to Fuse will be getting more attention in the next book - unfortunately, in this book, all things like this did was confuse me.
Even though there were things I disliked about the book, I really loved reading about Samojirou and Keno's relationship. I would have been happy if there had been fewer passages from Mason's perspective, and more from Keno and Samojirou's perspectives. I wanted to know how things would turn out for them. So, while I worry that the second book will suffer from some of the same problems this book did, I look forward to reading it because it will give me more of Keno and Samojirou's story. I'm crossing my fingers that things go well for them - the next book's description sounds ominous.
(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
April 17, 2018
3.5 out of 5 Stars
Well well well!!
I can say that this book took me by surprise. First off I have a very slutty mind. If it's not Erotica then I aint reading it lol but for some reason I was very interested in this book. I got it then put it off for a couple of days and then when I finally started it I couldn't find it in myself to stop.
The Japanese story originated from a Japanese author named Kyoukutei Bakin who wrote the story from 1814-1842 which was named "Nansô Satomi Hakkenden" which translates to "Legend of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nansô". I also watched a anime twice over named "Hakkenden : Eight dogs of the east" that surrounded the Satomi Hakkenden writings. Very good anime. High recommend it. Two seasons for those interested.
Back to business, as I said I have a very slutty mind but this story progressed so well and so smoothly that I didn't really care about sex scenes. The attraction between Keno aka Sakura-chan and Samojirou wasn't off the charts steaming where your just screaming "AHHHH COULD YA'LL JUST FUCK ALREADY AND PUT A END TO THIS TORTURE!!" Lol no it was very well laid out and I can tell that the deed is not really that far off but it also isn't close to home. I'm am so looking forward to some Keno/Aboshi loving!!
Other than that little kink I really enjoyed the plot of the story. I can't lie when I say I really fucking loved Mason!! Cause Omg his no shit attitude had me laughing tears lmaoo He's pretty much my twin in that department. It was really amusing to watch his reactions to things.
Another thing is Wolf needs to stop being so blind and open his eyes. Yeah I can see his country might have been more peaceful but it aint like that in America bud. Most people are pieces of shit and I feel like he just needs to accept not everyone is made of gold.
Also Keno is a strong character but he hides behind his tears way to much. I look forward to seeing him grow but if he doesn't and he persist with the whiny bullshit I can't see myself finishing this series.
Better descriptions would also be appreciated. Such as eye color, build, height, weight, and appearance. I feel like the descriptions were pretty vague here. All we mostly got was Tall, long hair and a mean eyes type of description. That doesn't really give a picture tbh. But they plot pretty much took you away from everything that was missing.
All in all I'd give this book a 3.5 out of 5 Stars. It sucks I couldn't give a full 5 stars but maybe we'll have better luck in the next book.
Well well well!!
I can say that this book took me by surprise. First off I have a very slutty mind. If it's not Erotica then I aint reading it lol but for some reason I was very interested in this book. I got it then put it off for a couple of days and then when I finally started it I couldn't find it in myself to stop.
The Japanese story originated from a Japanese author named Kyoukutei Bakin who wrote the story from 1814-1842 which was named "Nansô Satomi Hakkenden" which translates to "Legend of the Eight Dog Heroes of the Satomi Clan of Nansô". I also watched a anime twice over named "Hakkenden : Eight dogs of the east" that surrounded the Satomi Hakkenden writings. Very good anime. High recommend it. Two seasons for those interested.
Back to business, as I said I have a very slutty mind but this story progressed so well and so smoothly that I didn't really care about sex scenes. The attraction between Keno aka Sakura-chan and Samojirou wasn't off the charts steaming where your just screaming "AHHHH COULD YA'LL JUST FUCK ALREADY AND PUT A END TO THIS TORTURE!!" Lol no it was very well laid out and I can tell that the deed is not really that far off but it also isn't close to home. I'm am so looking forward to some Keno/Aboshi loving!!
Other than that little kink I really enjoyed the plot of the story. I can't lie when I say I really fucking loved Mason!! Cause Omg his no shit attitude had me laughing tears lmaoo He's pretty much my twin in that department. It was really amusing to watch his reactions to things.
Another thing is Wolf needs to stop being so blind and open his eyes. Yeah I can see his country might have been more peaceful but it aint like that in America bud. Most people are pieces of shit and I feel like he just needs to accept not everyone is made of gold.
Also Keno is a strong character but he hides behind his tears way to much. I look forward to seeing him grow but if he doesn't and he persist with the whiny bullshit I can't see myself finishing this series.
Better descriptions would also be appreciated. Such as eye color, build, height, weight, and appearance. I feel like the descriptions were pretty vague here. All we mostly got was Tall, long hair and a mean eyes type of description. That doesn't really give a picture tbh. But they plot pretty much took you away from everything that was missing.
All in all I'd give this book a 3.5 out of 5 Stars. It sucks I couldn't give a full 5 stars but maybe we'll have better luck in the next book.
September 30, 2018
Keno went from being attached to standing in a mirror of ancient Japan, after having been rescued by a mysterious woman, who gives him to Samojirou as a "pet." Keno doesn't expect to be treated with care of respect but that is exactly how Samojirou treats him from the beginning. Samojirou can see that Keno is afraid of him and doesn't full trust him, but he also enthralled by Samojirou. As the two men start to find a peace that is shattered when the men that held Keno hostage in the real world make their way to the Dreamlands. When Keno is taken back to the real world with another from the Dreamlands, Samojirou will have to make a truce with his enemies, in order to get Keno back safely.
This took a bit to get into but once the relationship between Samojirou and Keno started to grow from friends to more the pace of book picked up. It was interesting to see the changes in Keno and how Samojirou let him flourish from the sacred young man he had been at the beginning of the book.
This took a bit to get into but once the relationship between Samojirou and Keno started to grow from friends to more the pace of book picked up. It was interesting to see the changes in Keno and how Samojirou let him flourish from the sacred young man he had been at the beginning of the book.
September 14, 2020
I don't really know what to say. This whole book had a serious issue of explaining instead of showing or subtly introducing the world. Throughout the whole book I felt like I was missing some context and didn't understand some parts. There was so much repetition, I think Kenos abuse was retold like 3 times. Also, what was with these weir and unrealistic characters? There was no explanation for their motivation, reasoning or background. They just existed and acted without any resemblance of logic. And don't even get me started on the mishandling of the effects of abuse or any repercussions for it.
I was really disappointed because they plot had a lot of potential and with proper writing and effort put into the characters and the world building this could have been a book I loved.
I was really disappointed because they plot had a lot of potential and with proper writing and effort put into the characters and the world building this could have been a book I loved.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2019
Rating: 4 stars.
I got confused by some of the characters development at the beginning. After the author started fleshing out the characters' personalities, it got easier. But, even near the end, I was confused between Mason and Wolf. Which one was the Ice-Bitch latching onto?
Unfortunately, I won't be able to read the rest of this series unless they go on sale. They're too expensive on my buying platform and I am a HUGE tightass when it comes to money. $6.50 or less please!
I got confused by some of the characters development at the beginning. After the author started fleshing out the characters' personalities, it got easier. But, even near the end, I was confused between Mason and Wolf. Which one was the Ice-Bitch latching onto?
Unfortunately, I won't be able to read the rest of this series unless they go on sale. They're too expensive on my buying platform and I am a HUGE tightass when it comes to money. $6.50 or less please!
October 10, 2016
I finally got around to reading this book after having it sit on my TBR for years and I’m glad that I did. I greatly enjoyed the story, as it was an interesting plot in a fascinating world that I would love to learn more about. The worldbuilding here was exciting. I could tell that the author did her research into ancient Japan, as that was what the section of the Dreamlands that we visited was based on. However, she also added her own twists to her worldbuilding, with plenty of tidbits and hints to allow for future worldbuilding in the other books in the series. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Dreamlands are like, and to learn more about the characters we met. The only downside is that I am still confused and have questions about elements of the worlds the author created, several of which I feel will likely be touched on later in the series. However, I would have liked a little more explanation of this world at times.
The second thing I really enjoyed were the characters. They were interesting, flawed individuals. The author didn’t try to portray one side as the bad guys and the other as the good guys. Instead, she shows how varied individuals are and that there isn’t always a black and white side. I really liked this dimension in the characters as it introduced a lot of potential. Add in a generations old feud between two groups of characters and I really want to see where the story goes in character development as well as plot.
My only big issues with the book came with some of the plot elements. I understand this is a fantasy world, so suspension of disbelief is obvious. However, some of the events in the book didn’t make any sense to me as they seemed to either go against what was previously established or they were just used as cheap plot development, which hurt the story and even led to a plot hole or two.
I felt that these were unnecessary since the author has shown that she has great writing chops with her worldbuilding.
Altogether though, I greatly enjoyed this story and the world the author has created. I can’t wait to see what happens next with these characters and where their journeys take them. If you’re looking for a good fantasy read, I highly recommend giving Dreamlands a try.
The second thing I really enjoyed were the characters. They were interesting, flawed individuals. The author didn’t try to portray one side as the bad guys and the other as the good guys. Instead, she shows how varied individuals are and that there isn’t always a black and white side. I really liked this dimension in the characters as it introduced a lot of potential. Add in a generations old feud between two groups of characters and I really want to see where the story goes in character development as well as plot.
My only big issues with the book came with some of the plot elements. I understand this is a fantasy world, so suspension of disbelief is obvious. However, some of the events in the book didn’t make any sense to me as they seemed to either go against what was previously established or they were just used as cheap plot development, which hurt the story and even led to a plot hole or two.
I felt that these were unnecessary since the author has shown that she has great writing chops with her worldbuilding.
Altogether though, I greatly enjoyed this story and the world the author has created. I can’t wait to see what happens next with these characters and where their journeys take them. If you’re looking for a good fantasy read, I highly recommend giving Dreamlands a try.
February 8, 2015
Reviewed for The Novel Approach.
Oh my God this book. I stayed up way too late reading it when I had to work the next morning and after I had been sick for days but it doesn’t matter; it was so worth it.
Felicitas Ivey has created an imaginative, beautiful world where mythology lives on, and an alternate, urban fantasy world for us where sometimes those demons from the Dreamlands cross over into ours. The creatures are fantastic and vivid, the characters are engaging, and the situations are explosive.
The story is told through the perspectives of three very different characters: Samojirou, and oni from the Dreamlands; Keno, a young man kidnapped by the Trust, abused by them, and then kidnapped by the “demons”; and Mason, a TC from the Trust who is starting to question everything that happens. Each voice is unique because of the different ways they interact with the world. There are secondary characters that are just as strong who you either love or loathe and want to die in the most vicious way possible.
I should warn readers that the story does not start off pleasant. Both the world of the Trust and the world of the Dreamlands can be brutal. Ironically (or maybe not), it’s our world that seems to be worse even though the Dreamlands are filled with monsters and demons. When reading this, the line between monster and human starts to blur and you start to question, what makes a monster? As I said, the story does not start off in a lovely happy place. There is violence, gore, and rape. The rape is not shown on the page, though, but is mentioned several times as it drives some of the characters throughout the novel.
While there is a romance element to Dreamlands, it is not the focus, so if you’re looking for straight romance, or fantasy with a heavy romance element, this is not the book for you. But I think you should give it a chance anyway, because the book is that awesome. And while this is the first in a series (and what looks like it could be a very long one!), if you don’t want to get invested in a lengthy series no worries; the novel ends in a place where this could stand alone. While I want to read more—and believe me I most definitely will read more—I am completely satisfied with the ending. I want more of the characters, but all of the threads were closed up by the end of the book and I wasn’t left hanging. It was such a relief to read a book like that!
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I look forward to seeing more of the characters in this series and watching Samojirou and Keno’s relationship progress even more.
Oh my God this book. I stayed up way too late reading it when I had to work the next morning and after I had been sick for days but it doesn’t matter; it was so worth it.
Felicitas Ivey has created an imaginative, beautiful world where mythology lives on, and an alternate, urban fantasy world for us where sometimes those demons from the Dreamlands cross over into ours. The creatures are fantastic and vivid, the characters are engaging, and the situations are explosive.
The story is told through the perspectives of three very different characters: Samojirou, and oni from the Dreamlands; Keno, a young man kidnapped by the Trust, abused by them, and then kidnapped by the “demons”; and Mason, a TC from the Trust who is starting to question everything that happens. Each voice is unique because of the different ways they interact with the world. There are secondary characters that are just as strong who you either love or loathe and want to die in the most vicious way possible.
I should warn readers that the story does not start off pleasant. Both the world of the Trust and the world of the Dreamlands can be brutal. Ironically (or maybe not), it’s our world that seems to be worse even though the Dreamlands are filled with monsters and demons. When reading this, the line between monster and human starts to blur and you start to question, what makes a monster? As I said, the story does not start off in a lovely happy place. There is violence, gore, and rape. The rape is not shown on the page, though, but is mentioned several times as it drives some of the characters throughout the novel.
While there is a romance element to Dreamlands, it is not the focus, so if you’re looking for straight romance, or fantasy with a heavy romance element, this is not the book for you. But I think you should give it a chance anyway, because the book is that awesome. And while this is the first in a series (and what looks like it could be a very long one!), if you don’t want to get invested in a lengthy series no worries; the novel ends in a place where this could stand alone. While I want to read more—and believe me I most definitely will read more—I am completely satisfied with the ending. I want more of the characters, but all of the threads were closed up by the end of the book and I wasn’t left hanging. It was such a relief to read a book like that!
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I look forward to seeing more of the characters in this series and watching Samojirou and Keno’s relationship progress even more.
June 10, 2012
I enjoyed Dreamlands immensely and can't wait to get the next book which is always a good sign for me whether or not I really like a story.
Stories with Japanese themes sometimes can be very hard to do without it turning into an informative essay in places which greatly detracts from the reading (this isn't just found in stories that try to incorporate Japanese themes either I'm sure but I've only read other stories with Japanese themes to go by). I think the author did an excellant job with the way she worked in the ethnic sides and explanations without detracting from the story. Its a very hard thing to do, so it shows very good skills in writing to do so. Its especially impressive when someone who has learned about Japanese culture as well and knows many of the Japanese language words can feel this way. (One wrong use of Japanese language or culture in a novel kills it for me because its something I know more about then the average American reader.)
The story itself is very interesting and filled with mystery, action, monsters, heroes, soldiers, and more. You're pulled into their world and find yourself hoping for the same things they hope for, worried about the same things they're worried over, and rooting for them against the 'bad' guys.
Another thing that was great about this novel was that it wasn't just about one or two characters only and everyone else just served a purpose of getting them together or causing problems between them. You grow to have feelings for each individual character and learn they're own personal goals and feelings about the events. There's a cast of characters in this novel - both good and bad - not just the main two. There's also a decent amount of character growth, especially around the main character of Keno who grows from a timid, abused young man to a strong, more confidant fighter.
It was a very good read, and I was thrilled to find out that its only the beginning of the story.
Stories with Japanese themes sometimes can be very hard to do without it turning into an informative essay in places which greatly detracts from the reading (this isn't just found in stories that try to incorporate Japanese themes either I'm sure but I've only read other stories with Japanese themes to go by). I think the author did an excellant job with the way she worked in the ethnic sides and explanations without detracting from the story. Its a very hard thing to do, so it shows very good skills in writing to do so. Its especially impressive when someone who has learned about Japanese culture as well and knows many of the Japanese language words can feel this way. (One wrong use of Japanese language or culture in a novel kills it for me because its something I know more about then the average American reader.)
The story itself is very interesting and filled with mystery, action, monsters, heroes, soldiers, and more. You're pulled into their world and find yourself hoping for the same things they hope for, worried about the same things they're worried over, and rooting for them against the 'bad' guys.
Another thing that was great about this novel was that it wasn't just about one or two characters only and everyone else just served a purpose of getting them together or causing problems between them. You grow to have feelings for each individual character and learn they're own personal goals and feelings about the events. There's a cast of characters in this novel - both good and bad - not just the main two. There's also a decent amount of character growth, especially around the main character of Keno who grows from a timid, abused young man to a strong, more confidant fighter.
It was a very good read, and I was thrilled to find out that its only the beginning of the story.
January 28, 2016
“Dreamlands” is not a romance. It’s urban fantasy with a romance thread. It’s also the first in a series (currently three others follow) and has more of a “to be continued” feeling than a happily ever after. You also have four main points of view: Keno Inuzaka, Samojirou Aboshi, and two members of The Trust—Wolf and Mason.
I really loved the way that a lot of Japanese mythology/legend was brought into the story, despite the fact that The Trust is American, and how well the two were used to make the story more interesting. To be honest, I am seriously considering buying the next in the series just to see what happens next, since although Keno got a Happily For Now, there were many threads left unresolved. I really liked Mason and want to know if he ends up happy, too.
I would recommend “Dreamlands” for lovers of intrigue, conspiracy theorists, saga-lovers, and people who enjoy reading about cultures not based on Western civilization.
I really loved the way that a lot of Japanese mythology/legend was brought into the story, despite the fact that The Trust is American, and how well the two were used to make the story more interesting. To be honest, I am seriously considering buying the next in the series just to see what happens next, since although Keno got a Happily For Now, there were many threads left unresolved. I really liked Mason and want to know if he ends up happy, too.
I would recommend “Dreamlands” for lovers of intrigue, conspiracy theorists, saga-lovers, and people who enjoy reading about cultures not based on Western civilization.
September 6, 2010
Ok, so now that I've read the sequel, I remember the original plot a bit. I recall that the world-building was really good, though it'll probably be more interesting to those who have an interest in Japanese history. It'll probably be easier to follow who the players are as well. I remember not having a big problem with it because of that. (For those who think they might be confused by the characters and how they fit together, you might get the sequel, Back to the Dream, since it has a cast of characters in the front of it.)
I also like Samojirou and Keno together, but there's a lot of story written around this, and Keno's a bit hesitant on having sex (for reasons which will become apparent), so I thought it was excellent for all the right reasons.
I also like Samojirou and Keno together, but there's a lot of story written around this, and Keno's a bit hesitant on having sex (for reasons which will become apparent), so I thought it was excellent for all the right reasons.
May 10, 2013
ASAP a full review
Just some thoughts.
I liked it. It's a dark fantasy (IMO), with monsters and most of all... A traumatized main characters (Keno). He can even be touch without trigger in him memories of something horrible that happen . I liked it and I'm giving 4 stars because I had some problems with the forced cross dressing theme. Keno like it? Yes, he start to like to be Sakura, dressing and doing make up as a woman. But he was "forced" to do it, to don't be recognized as a man in dreamland. And it bothers me a little
Anyway. It's a great story with a lot of Japaneae references and I enjoy it a lot :)))
Just some thoughts.
I liked it. It's a dark fantasy (IMO), with monsters and most of all... A traumatized main characters (Keno). He can even be touch without trigger in him memories of something horrible that happen . I liked it and I'm giving 4 stars because I had some problems with the forced cross dressing theme. Keno like it? Yes, he start to like to be Sakura, dressing and doing make up as a woman. But he was "forced" to do it, to don't be recognized as a man in dreamland. And it bothers me a little
Anyway. It's a great story with a lot of Japaneae references and I enjoy it a lot :)))
September 6, 2015
Really enjoyed what was for me a different read. I thought Keno was a wonderful character. He is so broken in the beginning. I'm very interested in the second book to see the continuation on his character's growth. Samojirou is a oni or demon. He isn't as bad as I expected him to be, sure he had "removed himself from the game" but still, demon! Thought the world building was wonderfully done. There only seemed a few places where I was confused about info put out there that seemed to suddenly appear or make no sense to me that is why the 4 instead of 5 stars.
March 23, 2014
Outstanding. Amazingly crafted story with concrete and believable characters. My only problem with it is my beef with the editor. Whoever had charge of making sure this book was clean of editing typos should be ashamed of themselves. Missing prepositions, doubled words, and swapped homophones were rampant. What an awful thing to do to such a great story. But it's such an amazing story that they are easily ignored as one races through the adventure. An excellent and highly recommended read!
May 19, 2011
This book just didn't read well to me. It seemed more like a pre-draft version rather than a finished book. What's more I am one of those weird people that no matter how bad the book, once I've started it I just have to finish it. I'm sorry to say that I was forced to break this rule in regards to this book.
July 11, 2015
An ok read but I wasn't really drawn into the different areas like the dreamlands i just found it hard to picture the place. Plus i found most of the characters annoying and actually wish most would have been killed off. And what was with that ending? Disappointing.
March 30, 2010
Excellent world building and never at the expense of the fine, evocative characterisation. My attention was captured from the very beginning and the suspense never let up.
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