When I first read this story it was before I set my chapter limits so for this, I kept reading until the end (at the time 9 or 10 chapters) mainly because I was hoping for something to happen.  While I really do like Sarah’s writing, I think this is one of the weaker pieces she has that I’ve read.

Yes, it’s a character-driven piece, something that she makes very clear but I read it because the concept of the duality of dreams I found wholeheartedly interesting, and still do.  However, through those chapters that I read, I was longing for something, anything, to happen.  To be fair, I’m not too big of a fan of character-driven stories but there are such works that don’t constantly dwell on the characters.  Not all pieces are consistent internal musings.

I found the conversations between Muse and Love rather boring and mundane and they traveled on for chapters and chapters, the same conversations that really progressed to nowhere.  I felt nothing for either of the two characters and I was rather sick of Muse about halfway into my reading.  I understand that she’s supposed to be perfection but its constant reiteration got redundant quickly and it had me thinking, "Ok, I get it, she’s perfect.  And then what?"  The beginning was very much stalled because of this.

I was much more interested in the worlds around the characters than I was about the characters themselves, especially the whole waking/dreaming concept that Sarah’s writing about.  I got an inkling of world building but that’s it.  The focus was solely on the characters internal thoughts about each other.  I could have settled for how they reacted to the worlds around them.  At least then I would have had a better grasp on the scenery.  But from what I read, I didn’t get that.  I wanted to know more about them, how they existed in these worlds, just what these worlds were like instead of what today’s piano lesson was about.  I was very much longing for a point as well as some better insight into the surroundings because I was finished with the characters before I stopped reading.

That’s not to say the writing’s bad.  I certainly know it’s not but it’s, to me, a very meandering story.  It’s not an action-type of story and while I’m not asking for cannons, maybe a cracker or two wouldn’t hurt.  I just got bored with it and kind of kicked myself when I got to the end because I knew that nothing was going to happen but I kept reading in the hopes that something would, and it didn’t.

This story is actually one of Sarah’s more popular pieces next to Alisiyad but it just didn’t do it for me.  I just couldn’t keep reading about a character that would wander on about how much of a drain being perfect was and how hard it was to not get any sleep because she was jumping from world to world.  Not to mention Love and his musings about his music shop.  Quaint but dull.

If you like character-driven stories, I’m sure you’ll love this.  Like I said, it’s pretty popular.  But if you’re looking for action, you’re barking up the wrong serial tree.  Fantasy its got, and some rather interesting concepts at that but it all depends on how you like it portrayed.

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