Dreamsurfer: Warhound Series Book Two

by Catrina Prager

Though individual loyalties have rearranged and shifted, the battle for Amagiraea rages on.



There is tell of raids across the Amagiraean coast; an army waxes and wanes to the south, while the capital’s defenders sleep under a tempestuous kylight. Long-limbed, and strange-bodied, Seadwellers roam the plains, serving their own masters, to bring home a great sacrifice.



Across the Long Sea, a wizened, old woman and a young girl pass their days together in bitterness and confinement, their fates impossibly entwined.



One man faces the waters with a foreign face, another, the ardent heat. his weary face much the same, but donning a new robe.



Of our initial cast of eight, none goes forth in their original place. Adelras of Amagiraea, a brave prince, but green and unripe, must navigate new alliances with Amagiraea’s once-masters. Will the young prince stand his ground, or walking in the footsteps of his ancestors, kneel?

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 4, 2023

Reviews

[Rebecca Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Just finished reading Dreamsurfer and I'm still reeling from the forceful ending. The writing is beyond beautiful, it's masterful. To say the sentences are well-crafted would be inaccurate, as they don't seem crafted, but rather flow effortlessly. While the story is told from multiple POVs, Catrina Prager manages to become one with each of them, diving into their very souls.
The battle for Amagiraea rages on, with Theomas now the de facto ruler at the mercy of the Seadwellers, his creepy, yet fascinating allies. Even if the city is saved, the price for the Seadwellers' help is outrageous. It's not just Theomas who is struggling. All the characters set out with good intentions in the first volume of the Warhound trilogy. Now, they must reckon with the choices they made. Sacrifices must be made. Even the tormented Overseer of this strange world must come to terms with his decisions. So far, what sets the Warhound trilogy apart from other books in this genre is that it doesn't follow the traditional plot of the hero on a journey to accomplish a certain task and defeat the villain. It's impossible to say who the villain is if there is one. They are all heroes and it will be fascinating to see who is left standing by the end of book three.

[Izabela Stanescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read the first book of this series, Hearthender, I was quite excited – it obviously had a lot of potential, so I wanted to see where it went, and I’m glad to report I was not disappointed.

While Hearthender is a promising debut, you can definitely see a level-up in the writing. Perhaps the writer felt more confident in her skill, because there’s a tonal shift. Prager writes with confidence, and steers the story beautifully in this second instalment.

If the first book set the scene, Dreamsurfer launches into the second act with poise and guts. Don’t get me wrong, I was at times confused, shocked and angry, but in all the good ways fiction can sometimes make you be. Personally, I prefer this book to the first one, since again, the writing’s more on point. But overall, this is shaping up to be a pretty good fantasy series. It’s got me rooting for certain characters (ahem, *Eryk*), got me asking questions about God (or should I say gods?) –
what more can a girl need?

All in all, looking forward to March.

[Max Pryce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start by saying I was able to read Dreamsurfer over the holiday break (as opposed to the first one, which I read mostly during commutes), and boy, am I glad I did. If Hearthender acts as a nice, subtle appetizer, Dreamsurfer lands you straight in the thick of it. I see some people are saying it was more complex than the first one- too much so, even. And yeah, I can see where they’re coming from, though honestly, for me, it was the other way around. Now that I know the characters a bit better, following along with the story became much easier, even though the pace itself does step up a bit in this one.

It does certainly sorta lack that “big reveal” vibe that Hearthender had, but with it being a middle-book, I suppose that’s fair enough. It does not compromise on story one bit, though. I really loved Mei’s progression in this one - though honestly all of them are really great, none of the threads feel like flops - and while I don't really wanna spoil anything, many of the characters' endings do come as shocks. It introduces some really interesting concepts that I’m hoping the author expands in the third book. I for one really want to see more of the fourth world. And the third - like for real, what's up with that?

Anyway, all in all, I think I liked Dreamsurfer better than the first one. Maybe it’s just ‘cause I could focus better on this one, but I dunno, it's just a really great escalation of everything that happened in the first book.

[Stella Vaughn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is incredible! It has everything you'd want in a fantasy book - fast-paced action following several threads, magic (not just Abiny the witch in the first volume Hearthender: way to go Mei!), mysterious creatures like the Seadwellers, characters that grow up much stronger than you'd expect in the first part of the trilogy (Theomas and Mei, yes, her again)... and one of the most beautiful love stories ever (Fyrsten and, obviously, Mei). OK, I'll admit Mei is my favorite character and if you read the book you'll understand why.
Catrina Prager weaves a beautiful tale that warps time and space, while also pulling heavily on your heartstrings. Some of the characters deserve their fate, some don't, but, hey, that's life.
The central question of the whole trilogy -what did these people do to deserve the wrath of the Universe unleashed against them is still unanswered. Understandable as this is only the second installment. Can't wait till March when the final part is released! My secret hope is that it's not the final book set in this world. I'd be down for a book on the Seadwellers or one exploring the Travellers' culture...

[Jan Köhler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well... That was *not* a neat, friendly book. Being honest, I’m having a bit of trouble describing Dreamsurfer. After finishing the first book, I was really looking forward to the follow-up, except here’s the thing. I was not expecting things to go like this. There’s quite a change of tone from Book One to Book Two. Then again, you look at the author’s age, and I suppose it makes sense. Both books have got this wonderful freshness about them, but with Dreamsurfer, Catrina certainly comes into her own.
I loved the progression, though arguably, again, she didn’t take the book where I quite expected it to go. I did *not* see some of the twists coming down the line -- like what the hell happened to the Raconteur’s eye?!
Honestly, I don’t wanna spoil too much, so I won’t go into too much detail. The book is excellently written, though, personally, I feel a couple of the storylines could’ve gone... differently. This is just, a reeaaally sad book, and I guess I'm too much of a baby to take that. That's really the only thing holding me back from giving it a five.