The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters

Viking

By Avalyn Beare

Described as an adult adventure, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters has a tasty mix of influences. Set with a distinctly Gothic feel in Victorian England, Dahlquist includes elements of Buffy style supernatural spiced with a gripping narrative similar to a good detective novel.

It starts simply with a letter; Miss Temple discovers that Roger Bascombe has unexplainably called off their engagement. With no explanation, Miss Temple is forced to discover the reason for herself.

From this seemly simple decision the world of the Process is opened to her, peppered with blue glass, sex, discovery and death. Along the way, she meets a variety of wicked and strange characters, including Cardinal Chang, the hired assassin and the malicious Cortessa. The adventure continues in rooftop battles, darkened corridors, airship flights and everything centrals on the glass books, capable of the most sinister of imaginings.

The plot would be impossible to relate in conversation. The intricate layers overlap seamlessly, allowing the novel to follow the three narratives without causing confusion. The style is clinical but thorough, leaning towards the tropes of the Gothic and refusing to romanticise the gore and depravity of the society. The characters are engaging and intriguing, the mysteries of their roles kept to the very last minute.

However, once finished, the adventure does seem to have stretched to the ridiculous. It is hard to be able to accept the fantastical events throughout. There are many, many slow and laborious coach trips through the London fog and time spent hidden and watching, without gaining anything new. The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters is an ambitious book. It is rare to find a novel that can so successfully create and adventure with an adult context. Your arm will ache with page turning.