Dreamquake (The Dreamhunter Duet, Book 2) (Dreamhunter Duet)
by Elizabeth Knox
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Book Summary Information
Author: Elizabeth KnoxEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-02-20
ISBN: 0374318549
Number of pages: 464
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Book Reviews of Dreamquake (The Dreamhunter Duet, Book 2) (Dreamhunter Duet)
Book Review: one of the best fantasies I've ever read
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't make a habit of rereading because there are enough books that I feel I should spend my time on new material instead of rehashing something I've read before. (Usually I also remember enough details to make a second reading boring.) Even rarer, for me, is wanting to reread a book almost immediately after finishing it. And yet I have wanted to reread not one, but two books in the past month almost as soon as I completed my first reading. The books were that good.
The first of these two extraordinary books was "Dreamhunter" by New Zealand author Elizabeth Knox (alternately known as "The Rainbow Opera" in the UK). The second, and perhaps this isn't a great surprise, was "Dreamquake" also by Elizabeth Knox.
"Dreamquake" (which I believe is more appropriately called "The Dream Quake" in England) is the second book of Knox's Dreamhunter Duet and was chosen as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults in 2008.
There is a lot I want to say about this book, but first I think I first have to say a bit about how the duet actually works. Some readers feel rather strongly, and fairly, that the Duet cannot be read in isolation (that is the two books cannot stand alone). Other readers, also fairly, feel that the books can and do work well as individual pieces of prose. I actually agree with both viewpoints.
At first I thought that "Dreamhunter" worked really well on its own. The characters and plot developed well, everything sort of tied up at the end. Then I read a review saying that the first book ended on a cliffhanger with no kind of resolution and, after thinking about it for a bit I realized she was kind of right.
Personally, I think both books stand alone. Knox is a good enough writer that either book feels like a complete read. The opening of "Dreamquake" adequately explains the events of the first book so that readers won't be lost while doing so from new viewpoints so that readers also will not be bored. At the same time, having seen both parts of the Duet in person, I have to say they really are one book. Just looking at the book design-the first book has a prologue while the second includes the epilogue and a glossary-I realized that "Dreamhunter" and "Dreamquake" are more like two parts of one story (what I often call companion books in this blog) than two stories directly following each other (what I would call sequel books). Much in the way that Tolkien initially wanted the Lord of the Rings to be one book, Knox's Dreamhunter duet also works as one book (though not with a cliffhanger ending anywhere near as painful as "The Fellowship of the Ring".) But I also feel obligated to say that, even if it's out of order and not close together, BOTH books must be read to get the full impact and beauty of either book.
Just a bit about the basic plot of "Dreamhunter": I'm not all that familiar with New Zealand but a review from the New Zealand Listener tells me that Knox's novels are set in "something like the New Zealand of a century ago, but with a twist, in that social life revolves around a traffic in dreams." The rare people who can catch dreams, dreamhunters, perform them for the social elite at dream palaces like the Rainbow Opera. Dreams are also often used for the public good in hospitals around Southland. Some dreamhunters also capture nightmares which readers learn in "Dreamhunter" are used for the public good, but in a much more sinister way. Laura discovers this fact when she begins investigating the disappearance of her father, one of the greatest dreamhunters Southland has ever seen. Outraged by what she has seen, Laura sets out to inform the public of the governments use of nightmares. "Dreamhunter" ends with the disastrous results of this attempt.
It is therefore no surprise that "Dreamquake" opens with the chaos following the execution of Laura's plan as Southland and Laura's family are thrown into a state of disarray. Adrift with only her creation, Nown, and a nightmare Laura has to find a way to earn back her family's trust while negotiating an entanglement with a fellow young dreamhunter. All this while continuing to investigate the corruption of the sinister Dream Regulatory Body created to control the Place and its invaluable resources.
I could actually talk for hours about the nuances of this novel's plot and how Knox ties everything together at the end, but if you read the book you'll probably see what I mean for yourself.
"Dreamquake" is every bit as good as "Dreamhunter" while also being even better because it expands on characters who don't get as much chance to shine in the first novel. Sandy and Rose (and to some extent Nown) are back and much more engaged in the central plot than they were in "Dreamhunter" to great effect.
Knox's prose is unique in that it is well-paced while also being high action. Knox takes her time to explain terms like "Soporif" and "Novelists" but never to the detriment of the story. The action here is so intense and gripping that, at several points in the novel, I found myself skimming ahead just to make sure that everything would turn out all right in the end.
The Dreamhunter Duet is a rare thing in contemporary literature. Both books are rich enough that, were the main characters not teenagers, no one would question its place as an adult book-but I've made that argument about other books on this site. More to the point, Knox is an amazing righter. "Dreamhunter" and "Dreamquake" are populated by a wide variety of characters, each unique and fully realized on the page. Instead of creating a world and characters and even this story, it feels instead like Knox is introducing readers to old friends, reciting a familiar story-everything within these novels seems so real, the details are so concrete, that it feels like folly to consider it fantastic or even fiction. And that is why "Dreamquake" (and "Dreamhunter") will surely take their rightful places among the canon of great fantasy novels.
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