What is the scary first step of writing a review? Getting started.
Where does one start with a review? There are many aspects of reviews that are to be addressed, but which does one address first? Which last? Do I include negative aspects? How much negative? These are questions which I have had to battle through, but, alas, I had no one to answer my questions, so I just began at the beginning...
K.M. Weiland is a very eloquent and beautiful writer who knows how to weave together a story that keeps the reader interested and Dreamlander is no exception. This multifaceted story brings together the world that we view as reality and the world of our dreams as Chris Redston gradually slips into this dream realm and finds he is “the Gifted”. The Gifted is one special person, selected by God, who can travel, in their sleep, between both earth and the world we consider to be our dreams. The Gifted is one who brings about change in the dream realm, for that is their destiny in entering the “other side”. K.M. Weiland explores the land of our dreams along with Chris as she leads in a tale which leaves you, the reader, considering the possibility that your dreams may be reality in another dimension… Chris, upon his entry into the land of his dreams, encounters trouble in the form of a war in which he was a catalyst in starting, love in the King’s beautiful, headstrong daughter, and loss as he struggles to reconcile the his families from both worlds, especially his mother who is alive in this dream world but has long since passed away on earth. The story is so provoking that I found myself balling as I read the last few pages (it certainly didn’t help that I was listening to some instrumental music that suited the scene almost too well).
Now, a review isn’t much of a review without critique, I should suppose. I was thrilled with the language which Ms. Weiland employed because it grew my vocabulary on a few occasions. However, I must add that there were more than a few typos. I found at least half a dozen, which, for someone like me who has long been considered the spelling/grammar police by friends and family, this was a little trying. Also, I was really glad that God was incorporated into the story because I haven’t found too many Christian authors who can write a tale as wonderful as this. But, I was disappointed that God appeared so incredibly distant. He was mentioned as being sovereign and in control of all, but I found myself wondering, “Why does He not appear more within their lives? Does no one have a relationship with God? Is He merely cold and aloof, giving gifts and abilities and leaving the recipients alone to figure the rest out on their own?” I would have liked to see God written in on a more personal level because I have found God to be the opposite of detached, withdrawn, and vague.
To say much about the ending would leave no suspense for readers who have not yet indulged upon Dreamlander, but, I can say that after reading such an intense, adventuresome book, I wanted more. In summation, this novel BEGS a sequel. (Or perhaps it is the readers who beg for the sequel... perhaps one shall never know.)
