Added to my virtual bookshelf ... Dreamweaver: Book 2 of the Dream Cycle by Najeev Raj Nadarajah

DreamWeaver is a good enough read for fans of swords-and-sorcery and other stories that fall within the realm of 'fantasy fiction.' I read my e-copy from cover to cover, and I enjoyed the experience. But I can't help but think there's something familiar about it ... something that I've read somewhere and somewhen else, by someone else.

DreamWeaver is the second installment of the 'Dream Cycle' by Najeev Raj Nadarajah, and it follows the journeys of young Weaver - not only physical journeys across a landscape ravaged by conflict, but personal journeys through Weaver's mind, heart and soul as he grows and matures, and seeks his place in a chaotic world.

Weaver is a young man with powers abilities beyond those of ordinary humans - and perhaps even beyond those of other empowered individuals. How far beyond? Hard to say, because Weaver doesn't know himself, and each of those steps in those aforementioned 'journeys' are part of the learning process. Fortunately, Weaver is accompanied by an elder - bound by vows and paternalistic feelings - who protects him and guides him as best he can through those journeys.

But that's only part of the process. Weaver finds himself in school where he will not only study reading and writing, but exclusive classes to help him better command and control his powers. Some of his instructors are warm and encouraging, while others are cold and appear to hold him in contempt. And while he finds antagonists among the other students, he also has a growing circle of friends, companions who will play a significant and supportive role in his journeys.

He'll need that support because there is an evil Lord in this world, one responsible for much of the conflict that has ravaged the land through the exercise of his own powers and the actions of his agents among the people, and one who has a growing interest in young Weaver.

Sound familiar? Oh, and did I mention that there is also some fun and exciting diversion from all this in the form of a sport played by Weaver, his friends and antagonists, and the matches are VERY popular at the school and the community at-large?

I'll admit, this HAS become a crowded genre since the success of J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter' ... I remember something like this happening forty years ago, during a resurgence of interest in J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Middle Earth.'

Which is why I give Nadarajah credit for carving-out his own niche, one that has elements all its own ... the story, it's characters, their motives, their powers, the media for getting in touch with those powers and the means for expressing them and taking them to the next stage.

DreamWeaver does have an ending. But in the tradition of serials past and present, it leaves some questions unanswered, some issues unresolved ... and some material for the third installment of the 'Dream Cycle.'

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NOTE: I received a free e-copy of this work through LibraryThing in exchange for a review.