I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire Series: Wayward Children #4
Published by Tor.com on January 8 2019
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 208
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Another weird and wonderful entry in one of my favorite series.
I should have expected that Seanan McGuire would once again draw me into her strange little world, a world where children who are different find doorways to other, magical places, and have adventures, both thrilling and terrible. In the fourth book in her Wayward Children series, McGuire takes a character from the first book, Every Heart a Doorway, and gives us the backstory of how she came to be living in Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children. I love the way each novella can be read as a standalone, and yet they all tie together in tenuous but surprising ways.
Katherine Lundy is only eight when she stumbles upon a large, twisted tree on her way home from school one day. In the center of the tree trunk is a door with a puzzling message carved into it—”Be Sure”—and when Katherine pulls it open, she walks into a strange and magical place that has no business being inside a tree. Katherine finds herself in the Goblin Market, ”a place where dreamers go when they don’t fit in with the dreams their homes think worth dreaming,” a land where strict rules must be followed, and everything a person desires must be paid for with “fair value.” In this world, your true name must be kept secret, so Katherine now goes by “Lundy.” Lundy soon meets an odd but friendly girl named Moon and a wise woman called The Archivist who explain the rules of the Goblin Market, a wonderful place where everyone gets along and does their fair share of work in order to keep balance.
Lundy is warned that you can go into “debt” if you don’t pay fair value for something, for example if you ask someone for a favor but you never repay them. Moon has incurred debts which is why her eyes are huge, orange orbs, and the reason she has feathers coming out of her scalp. But Lundy is a rule follower by nature, and the Goblin Market suits her perfectly.
But she also misses her family. She left without saying goodbye, after all, and according to the rule called Curfew, she has until she turns eighteen before the doors to the Goblin Market close forever. Lundy finds a door back home, but she’s not sure she can fit in at all. She’s able to find the door back whenever she wants, but does she really want to leave her family behind again?
McGuire touches once again on the theme of gender identity, although not as heavily as she did in Down Among the Sticks and Bones. Lundy is a child of the 1960s, when girls were still expected to behave in certain ways, grow up and get married, and live a life that has been planned for them. But Lundy does not want to hide her intelligence or her curiosity. She’s not sure she wants to get married someday. The Goblin Market allows her to be herself, as long as she follows the rules.
I won’t give it away, but I loved what happens to people who go into debt, I thought it was a very clever and magical idea. Both Lundy and Moon have debt at some point but because the people of the Goblin Market are so caring, that debt is usually paid off in various ways. McGuire’s stories always have different and interesting relationships, and in this book she gives us two wonderful ones between sisters—Lundy and Moon, her Goblin Market “sister,” and Lundy and Diana, her real sister back home. Lundy is forced to choose between them, which is agonizing for both her and the reader. Ultimately, this is a story about the choices we make, and how we react when those choices aren’t as clear-cut as they seem.
The twist at the end caught me by surprise, and if you’ve read all the books in the series up to this point, then you’ll understand McGuire’s ability to hit you with an emotional punch when you’re least expecting it. I’m still giving an edge to Down Among the Sticks and Bones, my favorite of the series so far, but this one was excellent. I can’t wait to see which character pops up in the next installment!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
After the partial disappointment represented by the previous book in this series, it looks as if McGuire is back in her best narrative form here, and I can’t wait to lay my hands on this one, indeed… Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Novella Review: ROGUE PROTOCOL (The Murderbot Diaries #3), by Martha Wells
Yes, she really is! I did not really enjoy the last book, but I think it was the world she explored. I was much more partial to the Goblin Market world, and I think that helped.
Yes, I also believe that cotton candy landscapes are not McGuire’s best backgrounds… 😉
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…Novella Review: ROGUE PROTOCOL (The Murderbot Diaries #3), by Martha Wells
I took a quick skim of your reviews on this series. It looks interesting so I’m adding it my TBR.
It’s a great series, and always fun to see where she takes each new book.
I’ve been thinking about trying this series and now I’m convinced I should!
Laura Thomas recently posted…Scream Muddy Murder ~ Review and Giveaway
You should, also each story is pretty short
Okay, definitely moving this series up on my to-read list! Thank you for the great review!
Thanks Bethany! Its sooo good
I’m so happy to see this book featured — but I’m not going to read the review at all until my copy arrives and I read it!!! I loved the first three, and I’m so excited for this one as well.
Ha ha, totally get it! I do the same thing, I love experiencing books without any info first.
I am pretty sure I have the first book or two in this series, Tammy, and clearly, I need to read them! I love hearing how much you’ve enjoyed them and how this one is living up to the rest. Wonderful review!
It’s such an interesting concept, and I love the way she explores different, important themes in each book.
Down Among The Sticks and Bones is my favorite as well, i’m glad you liked this one as well! I didn’t finish Beneath The Sugar Sky because I found the main character very annoying but I’m happy to see this one appears to be more interesting 🙂
Maryam recently posted…November Recap & December Reading Plans
I really didn’t care for Beneath the Sugar Sky either, it was a little too sweet and cartoony for me.
So excited you got to read this one early! I love this series. Honestly think Down Among the Sticks and Bones is one of the best things she’s ever written, can’t wait to get to this new one myself. 🙂
Glad you enjoyed this!
I agree, it’s going to be hard to top Down Among the Sticks and Bones!
Glad you had such an amazing time! This is a series I haven’t started yet, sadly. I wonder how many books are planned, because maybe I’ll just wait until she’s done to binge them all 😛
I heard six books somewhere, but I’m not sure. She could just keep going and going, since there are so many possibilities.
This sounds like a fun series
Lisa @ TenaciousReader recently posted…Excerpt: Dark of the West by Joanna Hathaway
It is, and Seanan McGuire always surprises me.
I loved the first book but haven’t continued yet. I still want to though 🙂 I like the fact that all characters from that first book seem to get their own story. Most of them were interesting 🙂
I came here to see your rating as I haven’t started the series yet and plan to very soon. I have a copy of book one just waiting to be opened. I’m glad to see you are still enjoying these so much.
I was already looking forward to this one but yer review makes me even more excited. Arrrr!