Dreamer's Pool / Juliet Marillier

Dreamer's Pool
(Blackthorn & Grim #1)
by Juliet Marillier

fantasy

copyright 2014
read in January 2015

rated 9/10: really, really good

Chick lit. Fantasy. Romance. Grown up.

I know of two books in this series and I read the second one first. In that review I suspected that the terrible suffering -- a defining fact for the main characters -- was only hinted at, even in book one. Sure enough, this book one begins at the end of the physical torment.

The book is about the mental torment which follows long suffering. Withdrawal, self doubt, desire for revenge.

It is also a happy, romantic fantasy. With -- I admit it -- strong support for the efficacy of rule by fairness and niceness and willingness to listen. A bit unrealistic -- to a cynical reviewer. Unrealistic, yet so much more enjoyable than starkly realistic politicking and misrule.

There is a message in the way that the prince rules: If only we use our powers for niceness rather than for evil, the results will be so much better. Yes, it's laid on a bit thick. Still, I'd rather end a book with a smile than with a feeling of despair.

This is a very adult chick lit romantic fantasy.

Adult, because the themes are serious and well presented. Chick lit romantic fantasy because, well, it is ! Romance, love, magic. Sex, suffering, deceit. With the darker material presented in sufficient detail. Without forcing the reader to wallow in the violence and despair.

Although, again, the messages of power misused and the need for gender equality are laid on a bit thick. I enjoy a book with a message. These messages could -- I believe -- have been spread more subtly. Or maybe not... Perhaps I am already sensitised :-)

I enjoyed the second book, enough to actively seek out this first. Did it spoil the enjoyment, to read the two books out of order ? No, no really.

There was some loss of surprise at the central, magical problem. Book two had suggested what had happened. I still enjoyed watching the characters work it out for themselves.

An author's postscript to book two told me that the main characters were suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. So this was no surprise in book one. Probably just as well... I can miss the obvious and was glad to be reading book one with foreknowledge that this was PTSD. Some people may object to labels. In real life they may form a halo which hides other factors. In a book, a clear label allows me to better understand -- and appreciate -- what is happening.

I've rated this book as being better (even better) than the follow-up book. I'm not sure how true that is. The main difference -- in my rating of my own enjoyment -- is that the first book could stand alone. Why are the characters as they are ? This is explained in book one. Book two includes some healing. Yet it is largely, another adventure of the likeable duo of ...

Both are excellent books. If you can read only one -- read Dreamer's Pool.