"This gothic fantasy sequel tingles with sublime storytelling, political corruption, and the blazing courage and wit of two unforgettable characters"
With an undeniable knack for coming up with unique concepts and story worlds, writer Richard Lambert also has a talent for presenting said concepts through fascinating characters in supremely witty style, and we’re thrilled to report that his latest novel, The Republic of Dreams, does exactly that.
Sequel to Shadow Town, this glorious gothic fantasy is an absolute corker of a story. Pulsating with tension, conspiracies, corruption and distrust, it has political resonance, and a duo of compelling characters at its exhilarating heart.
Though Toby has returned to the normal world from the kingdom of Balthasar — a realm in which Dreamers can envision things into existence — his life is far from normal. Power- crazed Malladain has fallen from the sky, from Balthasar, set on revenge, and set on seizing control of the kingdom before Toby’s friend Princess Tamurlaine is crowned queen.
Meanwhile, back in Balthasar, Tamurlaine is suffering: “If only she had someone to talk to, it might have been bearable. But she didn’t. The friend who mattered most, Toby, wasn’t even in Balthasar.” In essence a prisoner in her own castle, with an assassin on her tail, Tamurlaine is also held responsible for the hunger of the kingdom’s citizens. She was compelled to ban the Dreamers from dreaming to stop a succession of devastating natural disasters, and now a crisis has come in the wake of the disasters – with no crops to harvest, “the kingdom had no food and its people were starving.”
Playing out in two worlds, through two principal characters, The Republic of Dreams unfolds as a heady hotbed of political drama, high-stakes decisions, and the notion that messing with nature has catastrophic consequences.
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