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Dream of the Jet-Black City
Not yet published
Expected 14 May 26Strange the Dreamer meets The Shadow of the Wind in this exciting and innovative fantasy with intricate worldbuilding, political twists and turns, a magic system based on dreams and nightmares being twisted into reality, a mythic storm overshadowing a dark and shaded city - and secrets from the past that threaten an entire nation. Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson, Mark Lawrence and Adrian Tchaikovsky.
All such Nightmares were born out of Dreamers' minds - angry, cruel, terrible Dreamers, yes, but still men and women. Here, in the Library, the Nightmares have sparked from dying stories, from the anguished echoes of poets and scribes carved into the crevasses of codexes.
Ash and his crew race across rooftops in pursuit of living lightning from the perpetually raging Motherstorm. This energy the jet-black city of Onyxia depends upon is all that stands between them and starvation. When a monstrous nightmare attacks, death is all but certain - until Ash dreams a shadow panther into existence to protect himself. But this new power comes with a either conscription to the harrowing Academy or indebtment to a wealthy patron.
Daerna belongs to a devout sisterhood who sing canticles to pacify the eternal storm. When she learns of a mysterious sickness spreading through the city's populace, she feels it is her duty to help, even though her order has abandoned the afflicted to their fate. With fellow rebel sisters, her search into the root cause will lead her away from the light into the dark heart of the city where danger lurks.
Geil is a creature born of Dream and bound to the Drake form she conjured to survive her Academy training. While nightmare-hunting she encounters a young girl with the dreamer gift and feels compelled to save her from enduring the same cruel fate she faced. But this means returning to the jet-black city, home to the past she has tried to outrun and navigating the political turbulence in the wake of an election.
As each pursues their own ends, they soon discover that they share common goals. But can they find a way to learn from the secrets the city has buried within its past before their whole world turns into a living nightmare?
All such Nightmares were born out of Dreamers' minds - angry, cruel, terrible Dreamers, yes, but still men and women. Here, in the Library, the Nightmares have sparked from dying stories, from the anguished echoes of poets and scribes carved into the crevasses of codexes.
Ash and his crew race across rooftops in pursuit of living lightning from the perpetually raging Motherstorm. This energy the jet-black city of Onyxia depends upon is all that stands between them and starvation. When a monstrous nightmare attacks, death is all but certain - until Ash dreams a shadow panther into existence to protect himself. But this new power comes with a either conscription to the harrowing Academy or indebtment to a wealthy patron.
Daerna belongs to a devout sisterhood who sing canticles to pacify the eternal storm. When she learns of a mysterious sickness spreading through the city's populace, she feels it is her duty to help, even though her order has abandoned the afflicted to their fate. With fellow rebel sisters, her search into the root cause will lead her away from the light into the dark heart of the city where danger lurks.
Geil is a creature born of Dream and bound to the Drake form she conjured to survive her Academy training. While nightmare-hunting she encounters a young girl with the dreamer gift and feels compelled to save her from enduring the same cruel fate she faced. But this means returning to the jet-black city, home to the past she has tried to outrun and navigating the political turbulence in the wake of an election.
As each pursues their own ends, they soon discover that they share common goals. But can they find a way to learn from the secrets the city has buried within its past before their whole world turns into a living nightmare?
- GenresFantasy
Kindle Edition
Expected publication May 26, 2026
186 people want to read
About the author
Pablo Valcarcel Castro
5 books29 followersPablo Valcarcel grew up in a bilingual household in the Canary Islands. He studied law but currently teaches entrepreneurship and innovation in Madrid. In 2016 he attended the Odyssey Writing Workshop in New Hampshire. Dream of the Jet-Black City is his first novel.
His short fiction has previously appeared in Metaphorosis, and his larps have been selected for the Make A Scene and Berlin: WOD festivals.
His short fiction has previously appeared in Metaphorosis, and his larps have been selected for the Make A Scene and Berlin: WOD festivals.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 4, 2025
FIRST! I'm just gonna reuse the blurb I offered :3
Beautifully lyrical and darkly romantic, Valcárcel's DREAM OF THE JET-BLACK CITY imagines an adventure full of diverse characters and an expansive world that would be a pleasure to get lost in. Challenging class and the role of the creator, this dark fantasy questions whether the dreams of the powerful are worth the nightmares of the powerless.
Beautifully lyrical and darkly romantic, Valcárcel's DREAM OF THE JET-BLACK CITY imagines an adventure full of diverse characters and an expansive world that would be a pleasure to get lost in. Challenging class and the role of the creator, this dark fantasy questions whether the dreams of the powerful are worth the nightmares of the powerless.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
“In Onyxia, even dreams must pay a price, and nightmares always collect first.”
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to read and review the ARC "Dream of the Jet-Black City" by Pablo Valcárcel Castro.
Stepping into a haunting and unforgettable experience. The atmospheric depth and the unique blend of "New Weird" surrealism provided a truly immersive journey that lingered in my mind long after the final page. Thank you to Zaffre for championing such evocative, boundary-pushing speculative fiction, and to NetGalley for facilitating the connection to this striking piece of literature.
I look forward to sharing these reflections and following future releases from both the author and the imprint.🙏
“Bleeding and crying are the price of living on. Blood can be replenished, tears can refill the eye. Cry to your heart’s content, for it is breath that can’t be replaced.”
— Old Remaker proverb
That single proverb perfectly captures the soul of Dream of the Jet-Black City a world where survival is costly, dreams are dangerous, and every breath feels earned.
This is a dark, immersive fantasy that genuinely feels like Strange the Dreamer collided with The Shadow of the Wind, then got struck by lightning (literally). The jet-black city of Onyxia is one of those settings that immediately sinks its claws into you: storm-powered, starving, secretive, and dripping with atmosphere. The world feels alive, hostile, and fragile all at once.
In my exploration of Dream of the Jet-Black City, I wanted to craft more than just a story; I wanted to build a sensory experience that mirrors the suffocating beauty of an internal collapse. This work is a descent into a world where the sun never rises, and the architecture of the soul is laid bare in shades of obsidian and charcoal. As the creator of this narrative perspective, I invite you to walk through a city that functions on the logic of a fever dream, where every street corner is a confrontation with the self.
The Souls Within the Shadows. The narrative is driven by three hauntingly realized characters:
1. Ash is a rooftop runner surviving in a city powered by living lightning harvested from the endless Motherstorm. His life is already brutal, but things escalate fast when a nightmare creature attacks and Ash discovers he can dream things into reality. The moment he conjures a shadow panther to save himself is a turning point that instantly raises the stakes. Ash is scrappy, desperate, and deeply human, and his arc explores survival, fear, and what it means to wield power you don’t fully understand.
2. Daerna belongs to a devout sisterhood whose role is to sing calming canticles to keep the eternal storm at bay. She’s quiet, disciplined, and driven by faith but not blind faith. When a mysterious sickness spreads through Onyxia and her order chooses to abandon the afflicted, Daerna’s moral conflict becomes impossible to ignore. Her storyline brings emotional weight and ethical tension, asking hard questions about duty, obedience, and compassion in a collapsing society.
3. Geil, easily one of the most compelling characters in the book. She is a creature born of Dream, bound to a Drake form she created during brutal Academy training. She now hunts nightmares, a job that feels both terrifying and tragic, until she encounters a young girl with the dreamer gift. Seeing the same fate looming for this child forces Geil to confront her own trauma and the cruelty of the system that shaped her. Her arc is raw, emotional, and deeply haunting.
Why You Should Read This:
1. Masterful World-Building: If you love atmospheric settings like Sunless Sea or the dark urban grit of Perdido Street Station, the city of Onyxia and the Motherstorm will fascinate you.
2. High-Stakes Character Arcs: The intersection of Ash’s newfound power, Daerna’s moral crisis, and Geil’s tragic transformation creates a narrative tension that never lets up.
3. Themes of Agency and Exploitation: Beyond the "lightning and shadows," this is a deep dive into how societies use (and discard) the dreams of the marginalized to keep their lights running.
4. Visceral Magic: The "dreamer gift" is unique, terrifying, and visually stunning, moving far beyond traditional fantasy tropes.
If I had one small critique, it’s that the density of the world-building may feel overwhelming at first. There’s a lot to absorb terminology, lore, systems but once it clicks, the payoff is absolutely worth it.
My Final Verdict:
Dream of the Jet-Black City is a haunting, cinematic, and deeply emotional journey. It’s a book for those who want to feel the chill of the storm and the heat of a dream turned real. Pablo Valcárcel Castro has created a new classic of the "New Weird" genre that demands to be read with the lights on or perhaps, given its nature, completely in the dark. It is a striking, imaginative fantasy with complex characters, a vividly realized setting, and a haunting exploration of dreams as both salvation and curse. If you love dark, thoughtful fantasy with emotional depth and a slow-burn sense of unease, this one is 100% for you.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to read and review the ARC "Dream of the Jet-Black City" by Pablo Valcárcel Castro.
Stepping into a haunting and unforgettable experience. The atmospheric depth and the unique blend of "New Weird" surrealism provided a truly immersive journey that lingered in my mind long after the final page. Thank you to Zaffre for championing such evocative, boundary-pushing speculative fiction, and to NetGalley for facilitating the connection to this striking piece of literature.
I look forward to sharing these reflections and following future releases from both the author and the imprint.🙏
“Bleeding and crying are the price of living on. Blood can be replenished, tears can refill the eye. Cry to your heart’s content, for it is breath that can’t be replaced.”
— Old Remaker proverb
That single proverb perfectly captures the soul of Dream of the Jet-Black City a world where survival is costly, dreams are dangerous, and every breath feels earned.
This is a dark, immersive fantasy that genuinely feels like Strange the Dreamer collided with The Shadow of the Wind, then got struck by lightning (literally). The jet-black city of Onyxia is one of those settings that immediately sinks its claws into you: storm-powered, starving, secretive, and dripping with atmosphere. The world feels alive, hostile, and fragile all at once.
In my exploration of Dream of the Jet-Black City, I wanted to craft more than just a story; I wanted to build a sensory experience that mirrors the suffocating beauty of an internal collapse. This work is a descent into a world where the sun never rises, and the architecture of the soul is laid bare in shades of obsidian and charcoal. As the creator of this narrative perspective, I invite you to walk through a city that functions on the logic of a fever dream, where every street corner is a confrontation with the self.
The Souls Within the Shadows. The narrative is driven by three hauntingly realized characters:
1. Ash is a rooftop runner surviving in a city powered by living lightning harvested from the endless Motherstorm. His life is already brutal, but things escalate fast when a nightmare creature attacks and Ash discovers he can dream things into reality. The moment he conjures a shadow panther to save himself is a turning point that instantly raises the stakes. Ash is scrappy, desperate, and deeply human, and his arc explores survival, fear, and what it means to wield power you don’t fully understand.
2. Daerna belongs to a devout sisterhood whose role is to sing calming canticles to keep the eternal storm at bay. She’s quiet, disciplined, and driven by faith but not blind faith. When a mysterious sickness spreads through Onyxia and her order chooses to abandon the afflicted, Daerna’s moral conflict becomes impossible to ignore. Her storyline brings emotional weight and ethical tension, asking hard questions about duty, obedience, and compassion in a collapsing society.
3. Geil, easily one of the most compelling characters in the book. She is a creature born of Dream, bound to a Drake form she created during brutal Academy training. She now hunts nightmares, a job that feels both terrifying and tragic, until she encounters a young girl with the dreamer gift. Seeing the same fate looming for this child forces Geil to confront her own trauma and the cruelty of the system that shaped her. Her arc is raw, emotional, and deeply haunting.
Why You Should Read This:
1. Masterful World-Building: If you love atmospheric settings like Sunless Sea or the dark urban grit of Perdido Street Station, the city of Onyxia and the Motherstorm will fascinate you.
2. High-Stakes Character Arcs: The intersection of Ash’s newfound power, Daerna’s moral crisis, and Geil’s tragic transformation creates a narrative tension that never lets up.
3. Themes of Agency and Exploitation: Beyond the "lightning and shadows," this is a deep dive into how societies use (and discard) the dreams of the marginalized to keep their lights running.
4. Visceral Magic: The "dreamer gift" is unique, terrifying, and visually stunning, moving far beyond traditional fantasy tropes.
If I had one small critique, it’s that the density of the world-building may feel overwhelming at first. There’s a lot to absorb terminology, lore, systems but once it clicks, the payoff is absolutely worth it.
My Final Verdict:
Dream of the Jet-Black City is a haunting, cinematic, and deeply emotional journey. It’s a book for those who want to feel the chill of the storm and the heat of a dream turned real. Pablo Valcárcel Castro has created a new classic of the "New Weird" genre that demands to be read with the lights on or perhaps, given its nature, completely in the dark. It is a striking, imaginative fantasy with complex characters, a vividly realized setting, and a haunting exploration of dreams as both salvation and curse. If you love dark, thoughtful fantasy with emotional depth and a slow-burn sense of unease, this one is 100% for you.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews