Renee
Written on Jun 24, 2020
This fourth entry tells the origin story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should. When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well. For anyone...
- ISBN10 0765399296
- ISBN13 9780765399298
- Publish Date 8 January 2019
- Publish Status Unknown
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Tor.Com
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 208
- Language English
Reviews
annieb123
Written on May 19, 2019
In an Absent Dream is the fourth book in the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire. Released 8th Jan 2019 by Tor, it's 203 pages and available in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Despite not reading much YA literature, I have really connected with this series. The characters are well written and follow their internal motivations perfectly. The world building and atmosphere are where the series really shines. Each of the four novels (this one is a long-ish novella) are set in the same world, but can be read as standalones. This one fills out the backstory for Lundy, a returning character who works with Eleanor West at the school for wanderers. The plotting is well paced, and surprisingly for a YA novel, there are very few (none?) romantic drama subplots. If there is romance there, it's implied rather than explicit. The author's craft and control with character interaction and especially dialogue is sublime.
The writing is ethereal and superb. It is at places surreal and dreamlike. For readers who need to have everything explained to them 100% clearly by the end, this will annoy like having an unmovable piece of something stuck pushing your teeth apart.
I'm still thinking about this book a long while after finishing it.
Four stars. Very well written speculative fiction is a joy.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
luddite
Written on May 19, 2019
Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Written on Feb 2, 2019
It was so good! It follows Katherine Lundy, a quiet, lonely girl. One day on her way home from school, she comes upon a tree with a door in its center. Oooh, I love a good doorway story! This particular door leads to the Goblin Market, where Lundy (never give your full name in the Goblin Market) learns what it means to have friends, make important choices, and live with the consequences of not giving fair value.
This book was interesting in that it didn’t follow Lundy’s adventures as much as I would have expected. Instead, it focused on her as she changed and became who she was meant to be. I wish that some of those adventures that were merely mentioned were fully explored ( I want to see the battle with the Wasp Queen!), but I loved what the author did do with her book.
It was sweet and surprisingly sad. I didn’t expect things to end the way they did. I suspect that there were things that I would have appreciated much more if I had already read the other books in the series, but I still really liked this book. I’m now even more determined to read the rest of the series. Seanan Mcguire managed to write a book that was simple and accessible, while tackling the complex subject of becoming. Oh- and bonus points for having Lundy read the Trixie Belden books (I read all of those when I was young)!
http://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2019/02/02/in-an-absent-dream-by-seanan-mcguire/
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Feb 1, 2019
With her face stuck in a book she accidently takes a wrong turn on the way home from school and ends up in front of a tree with a door. Within the tree is a passage and posted on the path are rules. Rules that make little sense and so she continues. She soon finds herself in the Goblin Market and meets a young girl with strange attire and eyes.
McGuire pulled me into this whimsical world with its strict, yet simplistic rules that have serious consequences. A place where real names have power. Here Katherine goes by the name Lundy. The world of the Goblin Market is built on bartering and fair value. Katherine soon find she likes these logical rules but must decide if she will stay. She can come and go but must decide before she reaches her 18th birthday when the door will close completely.
Rule One – Ask for nothing
Rule Two – Names have power
Rule Three – Always give fair value
Be Sure.
The twist that occurs sent shivers up my spine and had me yelling at Katherine even as I knew she could not possibly hear me.
Cynthia Hopkins narrates, and she brought the characters and world to life. She captured all of Katherine/Lundy's emotions. I loved her voice for the old wise woman and her home filled with books. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
leahrosereads
Written on Jan 17, 2019
I loved following Lundy's journey in both the mundane world and the goblin market. I think it allowed for more growth in a character in this series so far.
The secondary characters were also exceptional, and I loved Moon and the Archivist so much.
This setting wasn't quite on par with Down Among the Sticks and Bones, but that may just be a preference on my part liking darker atmospheres.
Anyway, I just loved this. And I wish I had jumped on this bandwagon earlier.
Stephanie
Written on Jan 16, 2019
inlibrisveritas
Written on Jan 14, 2019
Spoiler Warning for all previous books! This review may have spoilers for the first two books in the Wayward Children series, if you are interested in starting the series I recommend checking out my review of Every Heart a Doorway of that book instead. There are no spoilers for Absent Dream, however.
Since book one I have wanted to know more about Lundy, who is one of the few that have a physical appearance that has been permanently altered by her life in another world. She was such a quiet force in the few scenes she was in but she had a bit of a cloud of sadness about her, and it just felt like her story was one that needed telling.
This dives right into Lundy's story, taking us back to the time when she first discovers her door to the Goblin Market and moves us all the way up to the point that she meets Eleanor. It covers a lot of time in such a short period, but never once did it feel rushed or bare bones. In fact, it was quite easy to picture the Goblin market with its bustling streets and unique array of characters. If I had to pick one world that we have been introduced to thus far to visit, it would be the Goblin Market. I loved Nancy's Halls of the Dead, with its quiet ambiance and stillness, but as much as I love silence I also love vibrancy. It's such a complex place with its seemingly jumbled group of people from a wide variety of places, cultures, and species but it has a structure to it and it seems so freeing. Everything banks on Fair Value, everyone knows what they want/need and the market makes sure it's never cheated or taken advantage of. I love how much character that McGuire provides to the worlds themselves, and how they move and shape themselves over time becoming something wholly other.
Lundy's story is much like her in a way, a quiet force that has a bit of sadness running throughout. I loved getting to see a young Lundy work around Fair Value, trading and bartering for her and her friend, Moon. They have such a passionate friendship of intense highs and deep lows, that fit the vibrancy and sharp edge darkness in the story. I loved that this series focuses so much on relationships and how natural it can be, but also how strained they can become due to the odd circumstances of world jumping.
Honestly, this series is probably my favorite take on portal fantasy in general. It deals with the fantastical and how returning to a normal life can be both welcome and jarring, but more importantly, it shows the dark side to walking away from one life into the next. It's an odd little collection of stories, so if you find yourself kind of meh on one I'd encourage you to give another one a shot. Books one and two are storyline based, but two and four are kind of their own little stories centering around characters you have meet in those two with some spoilers to the central story. I'd be hesitant to say read them out of order, but if you plan to then you can go forward knowing that info.
I received this book from the publisher. I received no compensation, and all opinions are my own.
sa090
Written on Jan 8, 2019
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Do you know that wonderful feeling when you pick up a book and you KNOW that it’s going to be amazing? This is how I approach any book in this series after reading Every Heart A Doorway and the best part? I haven’t been disappointed yet! Unlike the previous installments, this book has completely new characters for us to learn about which is something I always appreciate in standalone sharing a universe. It’s not that the previous characters were bad, not at all, they’re all wonderful in their own way, but it’s always interesting to see more of her creations.
In all of the installments, Seanan McGuire had lessons to teach either about tolerance or a certain point of view. This book took that to another level in my opinion, the entire thing felt like I’m following a character trying to find their place in their world, but a new more suitable one comes along and now they’re stuck with a very difficult choice; leave or stay. For an oppressed individual, or rather someone who’s not able to live their lives as they wish, the choice to leave to a more suitable place is a no brainer, but this book shows that even its not that easy of a choice to make. This back and forth between the choices and in turn what it made Lundy feel and experience was a very interesting journey of self growth, understanding oneself, greed and prioritizing. The more impressive thing when taking this into perspective comes from the page count of this book, it’s astonishing that she can do all this in less than 200 pages.
The Goblin Market is a place we’ve never seen before yet in the series, which can honestly fit without issues thanks to the impossibility huge world she created. In Every Heart A Doorway, we learn about the world compass, which is basically a compass that tells you how logical or how crazy the hidden worlds are. We’ve already seen beyond crazy, so it’s very interesting that this book took us to the opposite of that in bigger details. I really enjoyed seeing this new world and it’s rules, more importantly, how the concept of being fair is applied. It might not seem all that to an outsider’s perspective, but when you really read this book and see Lundy’s journey in the Goblin Market, her trials and what she had to go through, it makes me think a little more about my real world and this fictional world.
The characters she wrote are also interesting to follow, Lundy comes from a background where there is only one way for girls to exist and she doesn’t fit that mold. It’s not in the same way as most YA trope of “not like other girls”, but a lot more subtler than that without shaming the other characters fitting said mold. The others she meets in the Goblin Market have their own fair share of characteristics and more importantly, lessons to learn. There has been instances where some adventures were relayed to us as results only, but with the direction the story took, coupled with the topic views she wanted to discuss, Seanan McGuire easily compensates one thing for another.
The utter lack of enforced romance or similar tropes in this book is another thing I really appreciated as well. This is further proof that you can write a wonderfully engaging book without the need to needlessly add those in when they’re clearly not needed. There are way more important things to care about, focus on and discuss than who likes who and as always I believe this quote of hers sums up the book quite nicely:
”The Market doesn’t punish us for having limitations. It only reminds us that fair value applies to everyone.”
The real best part??? Seanan McGuire is going to hopefully grace us with many many stories in this beautifully written verse.
https://twitter.com/seananmcguire/status/1082362464036040706?s=20
Final rating: 5/5
Quirky Cat
Written on Jul 5, 2018
In An Absent Dream is the fourth novel in the Wayward Children series, and like all of the others it has an absolutely striking cover. In some ways I love this one the most. I love the colors and the image itself. Actually, I think I’ve said that I’ve loved the colors for every one of them so far, but it’s too. The colors really do a wonderful job of portraying the world inside the door, and that fact becomes clearer and clearer and you read on. It’s wonderfully done.
If you’re read the description of this book, you probably already have a good idea of which character In An Absent Dream focuses on. If you’re like me, and you felt a certain sense of sadness or foreboding about reading this one, let me assure you it is absolutely worth it. Sure, you’ll feel that loss all over again, but it adds so much dimension to the character, it really made me appreciate her all the more.
If you haven’t read any of the other Wayward Children books, I strongly urge that you stop now and read them in order first. Technically you could read them out of order, if you were feeling really determined. But I think that these tales were written in a specific order, with the intent of us reading them this way. Plus the emotional impact is so much stronger when read this way, I promise.
I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am that there’s another Wayward Children novel. Better yet, we have another one on the way as well (Come Tumbling Down) so we don’t have to say goodbye just yet. I don’t know if there will be any more planned after that one…but honestly I sincerely hope so!
As with all the others in the Wayward Children series, this one starts one with a sad sense of serenity. That sounds contradictory, but it actually fits quite well with our peculiar children. Our main character hasn’t yet found her door, and thus doesn’t know the pain or loss at all yet. Like the other stories we’ve read, she doesn’t really seem to fit into this world, not in a jarring sense, or in any manner that would make a stranger stop and look twice at her. It’s the subtleties that are key here.
While I have loved every other novel that’s come out so far, I think in many ways this one was my favorite. This actually surprises me, as I was nervous that this one would only break my heart. The Goblin Market and its rules is what ultimately sold me on the tale and its world. How can I resist reading about something like this?
I loved the rules of the Goblin Market. To me this world has felt the closest to a true fae tale – and now I can see the connection to all of those cautionary tales one hears about them. They’re fair sure, but there’s many different levels of fairness, isn’t there? Fair can be kind, it can be cruel, it can be harsh or it can be lenient. It’s all in the interpretation of the law, isn’t it?
I am so in love with Seanan McGuire’s writing style. From her character development to her world building – it’s all exquisite. I went into this novel with trepidation and came out in completely in love.
I’m grateful that this isn’t the end. I know it’ll come someday, but to be honest I don’t think I could handle it right now. I know I shouldn’t wish my time away, but I can’t help looking forward to Come Tumbling Down and everything it’ll carry with it.
Check out more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks