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Dreamline #1
Reswyt
In this spellbinding new paranormal fantasy novel, Sabine Jahn has more than an average teen's share of problems. She’s been forced to leave behind everything she knew growing up in Oregon to start high school as a transfer student in California. She’s lost her father to an automobile accident, and her grandfather, preeminent Egyptologist Daniel Jahn, has mysteriously disappeared. She hasn’t slept in months, and no one can tell her why. And now, as she sits in detention for dozing off in class again, she finds herself drifting from her Cameron High detention hall to a vast, eerie forest where immense astral wolves roam past her. Sabine has discovered a way to enter a realm where dreaming minds appear nightly as noble hawks, fierce wolves, and stalwart bears. She learns that the wild, beautiful world she has found is slowly becoming corrupted by the acts of a dead mind trapped within it. Now, the fate of that realm – and our own world – rests in the hands of Sabine, a long-dead French soldier, an Egyptian god, and a mysterious, profoundly gifted boy trapped between worlds.Nekhet, the thrilling sequel to Reswyt, is available April 6, 2012 in the Kindle Store."I loved Reswyt...maybe it’s the lit-fiction quality writing; maybe it’s the research that’s clearly gone into backdropping [the] novel...Maybe it’s the innate charm of protagonist Sabine Jahn, who’s not waiting to be swept off of her feet (although she very nearly is, and by very much the wrong person). Or maybe it was the fact that Mayer has the cojones to run some tried-but-true fantasy tropes in reverse...It’s all got a deliciously haunting, innovative quality to it that pulled me along to the end." - Rebecca Hardy, Bibliotica"David Mayer is a storytelling genius! Not since the days of my first discovering E. Lynn Harris have I been sucked into an author’s world like this. This is a fresh take that we are offered in Reswyt; one part mysticism, one part adventure, one part heart tuggingly romantic storyline, Reswyt’s storyline is imaginative and thought provokingly deep all at once." - D.S. White, BookZone"...a crisply written blend of vivid dreamworld fantasy, contemporary romance, and history. ...Reswyt is an entertaining and intelligent read with a plot that grips. It’s great to see the Kindle taking terrific novels like this away from mainstream publishers, and giving them the audience they deserve." - David Haden, KindleBlog"...glimmering with delightful insight and historical detail...Egyptology opens the door to a magical dreamland in Mayer’s young adult fantasy novel." - Rebecca Cramer, Kirkus Reviews"It takes a lot for someone to come up with an idea that is unlike anything else that has been written, and even harder for them to tell that story well. Reswyt is different - and an interesting read. Too often I start reading novels and the rest of the read is not finding out what happens, but just sticking with it to find out how it is all going to happen…but Reswyt kept me reading; the story and characters kept developing as it went on. Fantasy readers, fiction readers looking for an original story, and young adults will all enjoy this book." - Opening Lines"Five stars! I highly recommend it!" - Crystal Newman, The Kindle Book Review"David Mayer is an accomplished storyteller that knows how to grab a reader and create enough intrigue and detail to keep the reader hooked to the last page." - Book Readers' Chronicle
316 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 28, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 21, 2012
Originally posted at A Little Bit of R&R Reviews
**I may be going back to add some things to this review. I haven't been feeling well and it has been impossible for me to form coherent sentences. lol **
Let it be said that I think it may be impossible for me to give you a review that will tell you the basis of the story. There is a lot of back and forth between reality and dream world and I obviously can't tell you everything that happens. The description above gives you a good gist of why she moved, so I will start with some of the character intros and the beginning.
Most of the book is written from Sabine's POV. I'm not going to introduce you to her just yet, you have the whole review for that. :-) Josh and Kim are Sabine's only friends since starting school in California. Josh is a star soccer player on the school's team and Kim is Sabine's best friend. Kim has a crush on the other star player of the soccer team, Dylan Court. Dylan is dating Bethany whom I'd like to call a high school mean girl. You won't hear much about them in my review, because frankly, I want you to read the book and they are part of the many twists and turns of the story.
Sabine has not had a whole nights rest following her move to California. Dozing in class lands her a date with detention. After speaking with her teacher, she heads off to her locker to exchange some items for her next class. While there, her hair is yanked by another student causing Sabine to unexpectedly slip backwards. Her necklace falls off during the gaffe and she scrambles to get to the pendant before someone steps on it. As soon as her hand reaches the pendant, a student steps on her hand crushing both to the floor. Sabine is a bit upset because the pendant appears to be ruined, the stones now moving freely around the loops. The pendant was a gift to her from her grandfather. She began wearing the pendant after her father died and her grandfather disappeared. Sitting in detention, she began to move the stones around the pendant and was transported to another realm where she lands near wolves that were speaking a language she didn't understand. She later seeks the opinion of a teacher for the translation of what the wolves had said to her.
Moving forward a bit...
Sabine uses the pendant again and encounters the wolves. They begin to chase her but are attacked by bears. After the wolves retreat, Sabine believes she is in danger from the bears as well and begins to run away. The bear tries to stop her and begins speaking. Well, Sabine does what everyone else would do if they hear a talking bear, she moves the stones around the pendant, taking her back to the real world. Her next trip to the realm fares a bit differently and she gets to know the bear named Brummbar. He tells her about the dream realm and the evil Black Queen that has been creating an imbalance. The Black Queen is what they call a "dead mind" in the dream world. Her essence remained in the realm after her earthly body has long since past. She is trying to take over the realm for herself, hence creating the imbalance. Sabine eventually believes that she can help the animals with the Black Queen.
Okay, really, I need to stop myself here. I think its close to impossible to give you a quick summary of this book.
Now, for what I thought of the book:
I have never read a book quite like this. If you want a book that really gets the gears in the noggin moving, this would be it! There is no way that my review does this book any justice. I am completely in awe of how David has written this book. I will admit that it was a bit to process for about 30% of the way through. I was puzzled to be honest. The POV's would alternate between 4 characters while alternating between the Earth and dream realm. It was a lot of explaining of why things happened the way they did in the dream realm, then switching back to Earth and reading about Sabine's relationship with her friends and Dylan. But then, like every puzzle, the pieces started to fall into place and my mind was BLOWN!!! The story was beautifully woven together. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, he throws a wrench in there! But then he goes and throws you a bone and makes everything better again lol. I am still at a loss for words to describe how utterly amazing this book was. There was a bit of action and some romance which makes for one happy Lauren! This book was positively addicting and I am seriously considering going into hibernation this weekend just so I can read the next one in the series. I am wholly convinced that David Mayer is a literary genius! This book definitely hits top 3 for best books that I have read this year! Oh, and don't tell anyone, but I cried only because I loved it, not because it was sad :-)
And yes, this was me several times during this book.
[image error]
You can find Reswyt on Facebook Purchase on AmazonAdd to your TBR shelf on GoodreadsWhile I have you there, the next book is titled Nekhet, which is available now!Nekhet on Facebook, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads
**I may be going back to add some things to this review. I haven't been feeling well and it has been impossible for me to form coherent sentences. lol **
Let it be said that I think it may be impossible for me to give you a review that will tell you the basis of the story. There is a lot of back and forth between reality and dream world and I obviously can't tell you everything that happens. The description above gives you a good gist of why she moved, so I will start with some of the character intros and the beginning.
Most of the book is written from Sabine's POV. I'm not going to introduce you to her just yet, you have the whole review for that. :-) Josh and Kim are Sabine's only friends since starting school in California. Josh is a star soccer player on the school's team and Kim is Sabine's best friend. Kim has a crush on the other star player of the soccer team, Dylan Court. Dylan is dating Bethany whom I'd like to call a high school mean girl. You won't hear much about them in my review, because frankly, I want you to read the book and they are part of the many twists and turns of the story.
Sabine has not had a whole nights rest following her move to California. Dozing in class lands her a date with detention. After speaking with her teacher, she heads off to her locker to exchange some items for her next class. While there, her hair is yanked by another student causing Sabine to unexpectedly slip backwards. Her necklace falls off during the gaffe and she scrambles to get to the pendant before someone steps on it. As soon as her hand reaches the pendant, a student steps on her hand crushing both to the floor. Sabine is a bit upset because the pendant appears to be ruined, the stones now moving freely around the loops. The pendant was a gift to her from her grandfather. She began wearing the pendant after her father died and her grandfather disappeared. Sitting in detention, she began to move the stones around the pendant and was transported to another realm where she lands near wolves that were speaking a language she didn't understand. She later seeks the opinion of a teacher for the translation of what the wolves had said to her.
Moving forward a bit...
Sabine uses the pendant again and encounters the wolves. They begin to chase her but are attacked by bears. After the wolves retreat, Sabine believes she is in danger from the bears as well and begins to run away. The bear tries to stop her and begins speaking. Well, Sabine does what everyone else would do if they hear a talking bear, she moves the stones around the pendant, taking her back to the real world. Her next trip to the realm fares a bit differently and she gets to know the bear named Brummbar. He tells her about the dream realm and the evil Black Queen that has been creating an imbalance. The Black Queen is what they call a "dead mind" in the dream world. Her essence remained in the realm after her earthly body has long since past. She is trying to take over the realm for herself, hence creating the imbalance. Sabine eventually believes that she can help the animals with the Black Queen.
Okay, really, I need to stop myself here. I think its close to impossible to give you a quick summary of this book.
Now, for what I thought of the book:
I have never read a book quite like this. If you want a book that really gets the gears in the noggin moving, this would be it! There is no way that my review does this book any justice. I am completely in awe of how David has written this book. I will admit that it was a bit to process for about 30% of the way through. I was puzzled to be honest. The POV's would alternate between 4 characters while alternating between the Earth and dream realm. It was a lot of explaining of why things happened the way they did in the dream realm, then switching back to Earth and reading about Sabine's relationship with her friends and Dylan. But then, like every puzzle, the pieces started to fall into place and my mind was BLOWN!!! The story was beautifully woven together. Just when I thought I had everything figured out, he throws a wrench in there! But then he goes and throws you a bone and makes everything better again lol. I am still at a loss for words to describe how utterly amazing this book was. There was a bit of action and some romance which makes for one happy Lauren! This book was positively addicting and I am seriously considering going into hibernation this weekend just so I can read the next one in the series. I am wholly convinced that David Mayer is a literary genius! This book definitely hits top 3 for best books that I have read this year! Oh, and don't tell anyone, but I cried only because I loved it, not because it was sad :-)
And yes, this was me several times during this book.
[image error]
You can find Reswyt on Facebook Purchase on AmazonAdd to your TBR shelf on GoodreadsWhile I have you there, the next book is titled Nekhet, which is available now!Nekhet on Facebook, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads
May 4, 2020
This story is definitely geared toward a younger crowd than I usually read about; however, it wasn't written to talk down to the reader or anything similarly frustrating.
My 4/5 rating stems from random inconsistencies, like the way a dying enemy/prey would release energy to be consumed... only for that fact to disappear for the second half of the story entirely!
My 4/5 rating stems from random inconsistencies, like the way a dying enemy/prey would release energy to be consumed... only for that fact to disappear for the second half of the story entirely!
May 19, 2012
Summary: Sabine Jahn just moved from Oregon to California. Her father died, her grandfather hasn't been seen in years, her brother's in college, and she has not been sleeping. When she receives detention one day, she fiddles with her necklace's pendant from her grandfather, and finds herself in a forest. Where is she? Sabine has found a way to enter the world of the dreaming minds who take the form of animals. The world was once peaceful and beautiful, but slowly is becoming a corrupted zone of chaos due to the actions of the Black Queen. All the while Sabine is trying to sort out her feelings with two boys, find a way to sleep, and find out what her grandfather was hiding...
What I Liked: The originality of the story. I read a lot, and this type of Egyptian mythology does not show up often in many books, especially young adult books such as this one. I also liked the heroine Sabine, who was strong yet human, fearless yet still afraid. I liked the idea of dreaming minds in another world, and the manifestation of animals. The romance in the story was a little obvious, but simple and beautiful. There are descriptive scenes of the dreaming world, which allowed the story to flow in a supple and intricate manner. Sabine's emotions and thoughts are so like a real teenager's, which made the story so much more believable. The plot was swift and creative, the characters dynamic and well rounded. I'm a huge soccer fan, so the addition of the sport of soccer in the school, and not football, was a nice change. I liked the development of the protagonist and supporting characters. Sabine grew into a better protagonist with every page.
What I Did Not Like: There wasn't much that I didn't like. The descriptions were lengthy, but that isn't necessarily a "bad" thing. There are a few typos here and there, but it was nothing to detract from the flow of the story. Some characters are a little obvious to pick out. I would have liked to know more about the prologue, but that didn't affect my opinion too much.
Would I Recommend It: Highly. I'm a teenager, and I loved this book, but I believe that adults would enjoy it too. A good age range is probably 14 and up. Apart from a few kisses and some minor minor swearing, this book is clean.
Rating: 5 stars. This book truly deserved every star. I finished this book in one sitting; I could not take myself away. I was happy with this book's end, but I can't wait for the next in the series.
All in all, an excellent read!
What I Liked: The originality of the story. I read a lot, and this type of Egyptian mythology does not show up often in many books, especially young adult books such as this one. I also liked the heroine Sabine, who was strong yet human, fearless yet still afraid. I liked the idea of dreaming minds in another world, and the manifestation of animals. The romance in the story was a little obvious, but simple and beautiful. There are descriptive scenes of the dreaming world, which allowed the story to flow in a supple and intricate manner. Sabine's emotions and thoughts are so like a real teenager's, which made the story so much more believable. The plot was swift and creative, the characters dynamic and well rounded. I'm a huge soccer fan, so the addition of the sport of soccer in the school, and not football, was a nice change. I liked the development of the protagonist and supporting characters. Sabine grew into a better protagonist with every page.
What I Did Not Like: There wasn't much that I didn't like. The descriptions were lengthy, but that isn't necessarily a "bad" thing. There are a few typos here and there, but it was nothing to detract from the flow of the story. Some characters are a little obvious to pick out. I would have liked to know more about the prologue, but that didn't affect my opinion too much.
Would I Recommend It: Highly. I'm a teenager, and I loved this book, but I believe that adults would enjoy it too. A good age range is probably 14 and up. Apart from a few kisses and some minor minor swearing, this book is clean.
Rating: 5 stars. This book truly deserved every star. I finished this book in one sitting; I could not take myself away. I was happy with this book's end, but I can't wait for the next in the series.
All in all, an excellent read!
August 24, 2012
3.5 stars
I really enjoyed Reswyt, the first installment of the Dreamline series. In some ways, it reminded me of 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'. I also felt like there was a spiritual aspect to the book (though not blatant) partly because the author's voice was one of reverence and partly because of the underlying themes of good vs. evil and free will. Though Reswyt is a YA novel, it certainly has the potential to challenge readers of every age group to deep thinking and personal reflection. Not sure if this was Mayer's intent or not, but it certainly did that for me.
There were some timeline and editing issues in the book that should be addressed, but nothing that will keep you from progressing forward with the story. And an interesting story it is! The story alternates between point of views, though our main narrator is a young girl named Sabine, and realms. At first, these shifts were difficult to navigate as there was a lot of history up front and world-building taking place. The concepts were pretty abstract and not easily understood and it took a while for them to sink in. On one hand, it's fine because Sabine is having the same experience as the reader and you're learning right along-side her. On the other hand, I kept re-reading things to try and wrap my head around it which took me out of the book completely - at least for a small period of time. I found that the plot picked up and was the most engaging around 50-60%. At that point, I was excited and eager to get home from work to finish the rest of the book.
What I liked most were the elements of ancient Egypt that were incorporated into the book - gods, beliefs, artifacts. It was very cool. The whole idea of the dream state (reswyt), the subconscious, and the rules while there were very imaginative and fun to read. I am loving the potential for a love triangle between Sabine, Josh, and Dylan. I'm hoping that gains some traction in the next book. Finally, Reswyt has some underlying mysteries which add depth to the story and will carry on into the next books. There are many questions that I'm looking forward to finding the answers to.
I really enjoyed Reswyt, the first installment of the Dreamline series. In some ways, it reminded me of 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'. I also felt like there was a spiritual aspect to the book (though not blatant) partly because the author's voice was one of reverence and partly because of the underlying themes of good vs. evil and free will. Though Reswyt is a YA novel, it certainly has the potential to challenge readers of every age group to deep thinking and personal reflection. Not sure if this was Mayer's intent or not, but it certainly did that for me.
There were some timeline and editing issues in the book that should be addressed, but nothing that will keep you from progressing forward with the story. And an interesting story it is! The story alternates between point of views, though our main narrator is a young girl named Sabine, and realms. At first, these shifts were difficult to navigate as there was a lot of history up front and world-building taking place. The concepts were pretty abstract and not easily understood and it took a while for them to sink in. On one hand, it's fine because Sabine is having the same experience as the reader and you're learning right along-side her. On the other hand, I kept re-reading things to try and wrap my head around it which took me out of the book completely - at least for a small period of time. I found that the plot picked up and was the most engaging around 50-60%. At that point, I was excited and eager to get home from work to finish the rest of the book.
What I liked most were the elements of ancient Egypt that were incorporated into the book - gods, beliefs, artifacts. It was very cool. The whole idea of the dream state (reswyt), the subconscious, and the rules while there were very imaginative and fun to read. I am loving the potential for a love triangle between Sabine, Josh, and Dylan. I'm hoping that gains some traction in the next book. Finally, Reswyt has some underlying mysteries which add depth to the story and will carry on into the next books. There are many questions that I'm looking forward to finding the answers to.
November 25, 2015
Unfortunately, Reswyt hit all of my YA turnoffs. Rather than enhancing the narrative, I felt the long strings of inane high school drama detracted from it. (I didn't like to read about that stuff even when I was in high school.) It reads very much like an adult trying to sound like a teenager which results in some extremely awkward moments. It didn't help that, while the author has clearly researched the Egyptian aspects of the novel, he seems to have neglected research on lucid dreaming and the long-term effects of not sleeping and chronic sleep illnesses.
Reswyt starts out strong, which may be one of the reasons I was so disappointed by the end. There are some brilliantly written scenes, but they eventually become overshadowed by the constant mistakes; left out words, double punctuation, and narrative inconsistencies. (At one point the main character says she doesn't have time to do her math homework in 'the hour and a little' before the bus arrives. About twenty minutes later in the same scene, she says it's 1:20 in the morning and goes to do research on the Internet. When does this bus come?!) By the end of the novel it felt like the author stopped caring, especially when he started head-hopping after an entire novel of consistent third person limited POV.
At the end of the day, I'm willing to accept this one simply might not have been for me. But a little bit of extra editing could have made a big, big difference for this novel.
Reswyt starts out strong, which may be one of the reasons I was so disappointed by the end. There are some brilliantly written scenes, but they eventually become overshadowed by the constant mistakes; left out words, double punctuation, and narrative inconsistencies. (At one point the main character says she doesn't have time to do her math homework in 'the hour and a little' before the bus arrives. About twenty minutes later in the same scene, she says it's 1:20 in the morning and goes to do research on the Internet. When does this bus come?!) By the end of the novel it felt like the author stopped caring, especially when he started head-hopping after an entire novel of consistent third person limited POV.
At the end of the day, I'm willing to accept this one simply might not have been for me. But a little bit of extra editing could have made a big, big difference for this novel.
April 18, 2012
It's no secret that I enjoy reading young adult novels. I find a lot of times that the plots are fresher and more enjoyable then books written for adults. RESWYT happens to be one of those novels.
There is the usual teenage drama about romance and high school that one finds in this genre. What makes it unique is the mixture of Egyptian mythology and dream interpretation that is added to the pot. I found that adding in those additions really made for a unique storyline.
Mr. Mayer also did a wonderful job on his characters. I enjoyed watching Sabine deal with her issues surrounding her father's death and the maturity that she increasingly shows in dealing with problems that I keep cropping up. I don't want to say more about this issues as that would give too much away about the book.
I was very impressed by this book and recommend it to readers of all ages. I plan on picking up the next book as soon as I can.
I rate this book a 4.5.
**I purchased this book thru Amazon.
There is the usual teenage drama about romance and high school that one finds in this genre. What makes it unique is the mixture of Egyptian mythology and dream interpretation that is added to the pot. I found that adding in those additions really made for a unique storyline.
Mr. Mayer also did a wonderful job on his characters. I enjoyed watching Sabine deal with her issues surrounding her father's death and the maturity that she increasingly shows in dealing with problems that I keep cropping up. I don't want to say more about this issues as that would give too much away about the book.
I was very impressed by this book and recommend it to readers of all ages. I plan on picking up the next book as soon as I can.
I rate this book a 4.5.
**I purchased this book thru Amazon.
June 6, 2012
Reswyt is a good read that gets better the more you read. Sabine is a great character that you can't help be drawn to. You feel sorry for all she's been through and cheer her on when she finds herself in battles in the dreamworld. I love how she gets to the dreamworld and enjoyed how Sabine figures out how to use the magic device. She isn't your typical fictional teen girl even if she cant choose which boy to pick, she still seems different. The other characters in both worlds are no less fascinating.
The plot of Reswyt is a very nice mixture of Egyptian history, dreamworld, high school drama and action that actually comes together and blends nicely together. It is very well written but a few times to me it got slow paced and I had to put it down and come back to it. Still all in all a nice book. 3.5 bats rounded up to 4 for goodreads
The plot of Reswyt is a very nice mixture of Egyptian history, dreamworld, high school drama and action that actually comes together and blends nicely together. It is very well written but a few times to me it got slow paced and I had to put it down and come back to it. Still all in all a nice book. 3.5 bats rounded up to 4 for goodreads
June 6, 2012
Reswyt is a good read that gets better the more you read. Sabine is a great character that you can't help be drawn to. You feel sorry for all she's been through and cheer her on when she finds herself in battles in the dreamworld. I love how she gets to the dreamworld and enjoyed how Sabine figures out how to use the magic device. She isn't your typical fictional teen girl even if she cant choose which boy to pick, she still seems different. The other characters in both worlds are no less fascinating.
The plot of Reswyt is a very nice mixture of Egyptian history, dreamworld, high school drama and action that actually comes together and blends nicely together. It is very well written but a few times to me it got slow paced and I had to put it down and come back to it. Still all in all a nice book. 3.5 bats rounded up to 4 for goodreads
The plot of Reswyt is a very nice mixture of Egyptian history, dreamworld, high school drama and action that actually comes together and blends nicely together. It is very well written but a few times to me it got slow paced and I had to put it down and come back to it. Still all in all a nice book. 3.5 bats rounded up to 4 for goodreads
June 30, 2012
It was slow-moving at first and I almost gave up on it. I'm glad I didn't though, because it ended up being pretty good. The only problem is, it ended on a cliffhanger. If the author makes more books in the series, I'm not sure I'll want to read them. Lastly, it had sooooo many typos! I was able to correct them in my mind but it honestly bothered me at times and made the author seem unprofessional. He should have spent more time editing it or something.
March 5, 2012
LOVED IT!
May 9, 2012
It was alright. Not one of my all time favorites. I sort of had to make myself finish it.
purchase-considering
May 12, 2012Not free in the UK :(
July 6, 2012
This was a great spin on dreams and the dream world with some Egyptian mythology mixed in. Fun book.
September 29, 2012
Review coming soon...
January 16, 2013
Great book! Intelligent writing and wonderful character development.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews