Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor utterly consumed me within this past week. Like its protagonist, Lazlo Strange, I am enraptured by the fabled city of Weep and its stories. In the novel, Lazlo collected all of his findings on Weep into a little book – it was the symbol of all of his dreams and his yearning.
In a little more than two weeks, Strange the Dreamer will be released and you’ll find out whether Lazlo ever got to see his beloved city. For now, I wanted to share a teaser to whet your appetite. This is what I think a couple of pages from The Complete Works of Lazlo Strange might look like…
As a boy at the abbey, stories had been Lazlo’s only wealth. He was richer now. Now he had books.
In the stories, Weep is populated by a multitude of strange and wondrous creatures. Above are some of the ones Lazlo heard about growing up in the Zemonan Abbey. He was particularly taken by the legends about the Tizekane warriors.
Note that Lazlo never calls Weep by this cursed name, he prefers to think of it as the Unseen City – because he’s an adorable and sentimental cinnamon roll ❤
The world of Strange the Dreamer is rich in myths and legends, and this is especially true when it comes to The Unseen City. As in Laini Taylor’s previous works, there’s hints about seraphs and monsters, so fans of her Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy should be delighted.
Not only is Laini Taylor a wordsmith in English, she’s also one in a language she invented on her own. Above are some of the terms you can expect to come across in Strange the Dreamer, and I wish to one day see an entire dictionary of these.
Intrigued? You can preorder Strange the Dreamer (UK/AUS edition) below. If you preorder the UK hardcover, you’ll be guaranteed to receive a limited edition book with blue edged pages and an illustrated/signed title page! The tale will be revealed on March 28th 2017.
Dymocks | Booktopia | Bookworld | Book Depository
Note: There’s no question that I love this book with all my heart, but I wanted to add a trigger warning as some of the content in Strange the Dreamer may cause distress to certain readers. The book contains implied sexual violence, and while it’s never explicit or sensationalised, it’s alluded to numerous times.
Have you ever wished you could read a fictional book? Personally, I would love to be set loose in the Hogwarts library and The Great Library of Zosma! How about you?
Read at Midnight 
I am sooooo excited about reading this book!!!! I have heard such wonderful things about it, and knowing that it is Laini Taylor I know I won’t be disappointed! Awesome post 🙂
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I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did, it’s such a wondrous book!
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Well, I was looking forward to this already, but I like your unique post about Lazlo’s journal. 😀 I can’t wait to get my UK copy.
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I am glad you liked the post! I hope you’ll love Strange as much as I did!
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This awesome! I love your images! It would be amazing if there was a book like this made to go with Strange The Dreamer! I finished reading Strange The Dreamer and posted my review yesterday! It was soo damn good!! I wish it wasn’t going to be probably another 12 months or more until the next book comes out! 😫
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This book already has so many cool merchandise, I was so envious that we could not get them in Australia so I made some myself! I will check out your review of Strange soon! And I know the second book will definitely be worth the wait 🙂
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I really need to get onto reading my ARC! Beautiful designs An and so good to hear you enjoyed it! I’m very much excited to read my copy!
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Thank you Anisha, hope you enjoy the book!
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Omg these pages are gorgeous!!!! 😍 definitely enticing me to pick up a copy! But I think I should finish the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy first 😂
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Thank you!! I think this series is better than DOSAB so you could even skip that one and look here first 😜
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That amazing?! I’m soooo tempted to go buy the book 🙈 but I’m not allowed anymore physical copies at the moment 😢
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I CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS BOOK SO MUCH. 😍😍 I have the audio pre-ordered because I heard it was quite slow and I don’t want to accidentally skim so…audio it is.😂 But your graphics are gorgeous and I can’t waaaaait!!
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Omg yesss I need that audiobook in my life! I can’t wait to relisten! And thank you Cait 💕💕
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This is so cool! I love it! I started this one last month, but I had a rough time getting into it because I wasn’t in the mood. But I’m giving it another shot and can’t wait.
I hope you’re doing well, Aentee!
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NICKKKK I MISS YOU! I do agree the beginning is slow paced but I think it’s worth it. So worth it!! Hope you like it more on your second attempt.
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I can’t wait until this is published and I can borrow it from the library! By the way, your graphics are gorgeous!
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Thanks so much Ashley! Glad you liked the graphics.
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You always have the best graphics!
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I loved seeing your mock pages! That’s such a fun idea 🙂
I loved this book, and can’t wait until the final copy arrives (I preordered a UK edition the day the specialness was announced!) so I can share this book with the world!
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I’m glad you enjoyed the post! I can’t wait for the special UK edition to arrive. It looks so stunning!
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I couldn’t stick with The Daughter of Smoke and Bone series because the story didn’t engage me, but I always thought Taylor’s writing was beaaautiful. I might give this series a go. I love your post! 🙂
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I think the characters in this book are a lot more well fleshed out than the ones I. DOSAB so give this a go! I would love to hear what you think.
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Love this post and the amazing images! They made me more excited for this book! 🙂
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Thank you so much!! I hope you get to read the book soon.
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See, I’ve always been hesitant on picking this one up because Daughter of Smoke and Bone was “meh” for me and the blurb wasn’t that intriguing. But now that I’ve heard all the rave reviews and this awesome spotlight, I’m certain it’ll be my next fantasy ARC read! Lazlo sounds like an extremely creative and whimsical character (although Joey said he reminds him of… well, him lol. So we’ll see how that goes 😛 ) and the entire world just seems so dreamy. Love the graphics!
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This one is better than DOSAB! The pacing is slow but I liked it that way. Plus, everyone needs to love Lazlo, my newest son.
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Ooh, this is so fun and pretty! I just preordered this and I am SOOO excited to read it. Great post!
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Thanks Lenna! Glad you enjoy the post and I hope you like the book!
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THE HYPE IS REAL. Can’t wait to read it omgggg.
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The hype is so real for this. I thought it was going to be impossible to beat the hype but she did it 😭💕
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Laini’s prose and worldbuilding is exquisite – can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of her latest. But I know it will be well worth the wait!
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I think you’ll love this if you’re already a fan of Laini!!
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AH MY GOD. YOUR GRAPHICS ARE GOOLLD ❤ Teach me senseiiii -Trang
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Thank you so much ♥️you are too kind!
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AHHH THIS POST! As someone who’s been steadfastly avoiding any and all info on Strange the Dreamer (I don’t even really know what it’s about) because I want to go in blind, this post is perfection! It gets me super hyped for the book without really giving anything away, so kudos. And by the way: your images are even more flawless than usual Aentee! Like…dang, girl. Well done!
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Ahhh I had hoped it served as a non spoilery teaser! And you’re absolutely right, this book is best approached completely blind. I missed you,Danya! Thanks for stopping by ♥️
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This post is my favourite! I love the illustrations and the artwork for Lazlo Strange’s diary. For some reason the 2nd image of the Bestiary appears blurry to me though. Please do moreee
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