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Dreamshadow
Marcus faces a punishing existence as an Indentured in the mines of BáHür, sustained only by the love of his mother and the dreams inspired by her tales of ancient kings and the Star Sailors. When an opportunity for freedom arises from nowhere, the boy feels hope for the first time -- until everything goes horribly wrong.
On the very edge of death, dodging slavers and the restless dead, Marcus is saved by the mystical Keshu, whose terrifying leader Takuri demands utter obedience on a journey across worlds and time itself. Amid war, sorcery, and intrigue, Marcus must choose just how far he is willing to go for a second chance.
An ambitious, fresh take on Science Fantasy and Horror, DREAMSHADOW explores the unrelenting power of the human will, the price of redemption, and the blurred line between good and evil.
CW: Mature Content and Themes
On the very edge of death, dodging slavers and the restless dead, Marcus is saved by the mystical Keshu, whose terrifying leader Takuri demands utter obedience on a journey across worlds and time itself. Amid war, sorcery, and intrigue, Marcus must choose just how far he is willing to go for a second chance.
An ambitious, fresh take on Science Fantasy and Horror, DREAMSHADOW explores the unrelenting power of the human will, the price of redemption, and the blurred line between good and evil.
CW: Mature Content and Themes
329 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 23, 2020
About the author
Daniel Sonderling
2 books25 followersAuthor also writes under Daniel Brown
"Blending elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and an occasional foray into horror, DREAMSHADOW... delivers a fun, sometimes frightening, read that engages from the very first page and never lets go." ~ IndieReader
"Sonderling brings his brutal, yet fascinating and oddly beautiful, vision of Hell to life with a vivid writing style that obliterates the boundaries between dream and reality." ~ Douglas Lumsden
Daniel Brown is a writer, editor, journalist, and media professional. He is the author of Novel Interventions, his second book, along with Dreamshadow (as Daniel Sonderling).
"Blending elements of sci-fi, fantasy, and an occasional foray into horror, DREAMSHADOW... delivers a fun, sometimes frightening, read that engages from the very first page and never lets go." ~ IndieReader
"Sonderling brings his brutal, yet fascinating and oddly beautiful, vision of Hell to life with a vivid writing style that obliterates the boundaries between dream and reality." ~ Douglas Lumsden
Daniel Brown is a writer, editor, journalist, and media professional. He is the author of Novel Interventions, his second book, along with Dreamshadow (as Daniel Sonderling).
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 13, 2022
Creepy Town read..
Thank you, Goodreads Giveaways for this ebook and to the author, for sponsoring this giveaway.
Won a copy of this book.
Thank you, Goodreads Giveaways for this ebook and to the author, for sponsoring this giveaway.
Won a copy of this book.
November 8, 2022
Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨(4,5 out of 5 stars)
Full review text: https://vueltaspodcast.wordpress.com/...
Interview with Daniel Sonderling: https://vueltaspodcast.wordpress.com/...
Dreamshadow is an interesting proposal by the American writer Daniel Sonderling. It blends several genres, resulting in a peculiar pastiche, mixing sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. And honestly, it's so addicting, being a book that I read in almost one sit, but having to slow sometimes because it's a quite unique novel, with some elements that require you to think about them.
In reality, Dreamshadow is a big experience, a journey in time and space, working better as an oniric travel than as a story per sé. Marcus' attempt to protect his mother from the cruel officials in the mines goes in the worst of ways, and after this, he ends up only finding hope after getting found by the mystical Keshu, leading Marcus to the enigmatic Takuri, and involving him in a power fight that he can't really understand, among two powers: Takuri and the Shadow Prince.
And this clash of powers is one of the main parts that drives Dreamshadow. Both of them consider themselves a benevolent force, wanting to destroy the other one; using whoever they need as disposable pawns, manipulating and gaslighting those pawns. Takuri's relationship with Marcus is a clear example of this, being, in reality, a vampiric demon whose main purpose is to shape the world to his own image. And The Shadow Prince also has secrets hidden under his sleeve.
And even if the main characters are something you should not admire, sometimes you end up thinking that maybe their vision is right, and just what Marcus is being presented is straight-up lies from the other part. Sonderling does an excellent job of giving incomplete information, making you question what is real and what is just a hallucination. The distinction between the Otherside, the space between Worlds, is really tenuous.
Again, the main strength of this book is how it starts playing with your mind. Hope is easily killed at the start of the book, sometimes gets introduced, but never stays for too much time. The figure of the girl is the way Marcus starts to get the real nature of what Takuri's asking him. Some of the scenes by themselves require further analysis, acting as what keeps together the whole experience of Dreamshadow.
I really enjoyed the mix of horror and fantasy (and lightly sci-fi) that Dreamshadow is. There are so many things I can't explain because it will be blatantly a spoiler, but I recommend this book to anybody who wants something different, and something that will play with your mind. Daniel Sonderling wrote something really unique.
Full review text: https://vueltaspodcast.wordpress.com/...
Interview with Daniel Sonderling: https://vueltaspodcast.wordpress.com/...
Dreamshadow is an interesting proposal by the American writer Daniel Sonderling. It blends several genres, resulting in a peculiar pastiche, mixing sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. And honestly, it's so addicting, being a book that I read in almost one sit, but having to slow sometimes because it's a quite unique novel, with some elements that require you to think about them.
In reality, Dreamshadow is a big experience, a journey in time and space, working better as an oniric travel than as a story per sé. Marcus' attempt to protect his mother from the cruel officials in the mines goes in the worst of ways, and after this, he ends up only finding hope after getting found by the mystical Keshu, leading Marcus to the enigmatic Takuri, and involving him in a power fight that he can't really understand, among two powers: Takuri and the Shadow Prince.
And this clash of powers is one of the main parts that drives Dreamshadow. Both of them consider themselves a benevolent force, wanting to destroy the other one; using whoever they need as disposable pawns, manipulating and gaslighting those pawns. Takuri's relationship with Marcus is a clear example of this, being, in reality, a vampiric demon whose main purpose is to shape the world to his own image. And The Shadow Prince also has secrets hidden under his sleeve.
And even if the main characters are something you should not admire, sometimes you end up thinking that maybe their vision is right, and just what Marcus is being presented is straight-up lies from the other part. Sonderling does an excellent job of giving incomplete information, making you question what is real and what is just a hallucination. The distinction between the Otherside, the space between Worlds, is really tenuous.
Again, the main strength of this book is how it starts playing with your mind. Hope is easily killed at the start of the book, sometimes gets introduced, but never stays for too much time. The figure of the girl is the way Marcus starts to get the real nature of what Takuri's asking him. Some of the scenes by themselves require further analysis, acting as what keeps together the whole experience of Dreamshadow.
I really enjoyed the mix of horror and fantasy (and lightly sci-fi) that Dreamshadow is. There are so many things I can't explain because it will be blatantly a spoiler, but I recommend this book to anybody who wants something different, and something that will play with your mind. Daniel Sonderling wrote something really unique.
October 7, 2022
I've heard that the term "grimdark" comes from the Warhammer 40,000 quote: "Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim darkness of the far future there is only war." If that's the foundation of the grimdark genre, then Daniel Sonderling's Dreamshadow is an exemplary fit.
Dreamshadow is a hellish journey through time and space, incorporating elements of fantasy, science fiction, and liberal amounts of horror. It's not so much a narrative story as it is an elaborate nightmare from which the main character is unable to escape. When Marcus, destined for a short life of slave labor in the mines, attempts to protect his mother from a predatory company official, everything goes horribly wrong. Next thing you know, young Marcus is caught in a conflict between two horrible supernatural powers: Takuri and the Shadow Prince. Each believes himself to be a world-saving hero. Takuri styles himself as "God's Own," but, in fact, he's a vampiric demon determined to shape the world to his liking. The equally demonic Shadow Prince is determined to protect the world from Takuri, even if he has to destroy the world in the process. Both come to Marcus's aid in order to secure his help, and both are willing to punish and kill Marcus in order to keep him from helping the other. Their self-serving desires have pushed the world into eternal warfare. All Marcus wants to do is bring his mother back from the dead and find a safe place for the two of them to live. Preferably with the mysterious dead girl that he's encountered along the way.
I have to say that I have a soft spot for Takuri. Oh, sure, he's a vicious monster spills an incredible amount of blood in his quest to save the world, but he's also a delightful curmudgeon who can't understand why people don't appreciate the fact that--damn it--he's the good guy in this story!
Sonderling brings his brutal, yet fascinating and oddly beautiful, vision of Hell to life with a vivid writing style that obliterates the boundaries between dream and reality. My only complaint concerns the end of the story. Other readers may find it quite satisfying, but in my opinion it didn't match the tone of the rest of the story. Other than that, I was utterly fascinated by the dreamlike atmosphere of this grim, dark tale. So let's call it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
Dreamshadow is a hellish journey through time and space, incorporating elements of fantasy, science fiction, and liberal amounts of horror. It's not so much a narrative story as it is an elaborate nightmare from which the main character is unable to escape. When Marcus, destined for a short life of slave labor in the mines, attempts to protect his mother from a predatory company official, everything goes horribly wrong. Next thing you know, young Marcus is caught in a conflict between two horrible supernatural powers: Takuri and the Shadow Prince. Each believes himself to be a world-saving hero. Takuri styles himself as "God's Own," but, in fact, he's a vampiric demon determined to shape the world to his liking. The equally demonic Shadow Prince is determined to protect the world from Takuri, even if he has to destroy the world in the process. Both come to Marcus's aid in order to secure his help, and both are willing to punish and kill Marcus in order to keep him from helping the other. Their self-serving desires have pushed the world into eternal warfare. All Marcus wants to do is bring his mother back from the dead and find a safe place for the two of them to live. Preferably with the mysterious dead girl that he's encountered along the way.
I have to say that I have a soft spot for Takuri. Oh, sure, he's a vicious monster spills an incredible amount of blood in his quest to save the world, but he's also a delightful curmudgeon who can't understand why people don't appreciate the fact that--damn it--he's the good guy in this story!
Sonderling brings his brutal, yet fascinating and oddly beautiful, vision of Hell to life with a vivid writing style that obliterates the boundaries between dream and reality. My only complaint concerns the end of the story. Other readers may find it quite satisfying, but in my opinion it didn't match the tone of the rest of the story. Other than that, I was utterly fascinated by the dreamlike atmosphere of this grim, dark tale. So let's call it 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.
February 14, 2021
Here's what happens when you read this book.
You keep reading.
The hapless hero, Marcus, draws you in. You want to know what happens to him. You hold your breath and hope he will survive his ordeals.
And you want to know the back story of the characters he interacts with.
From Takuri, his arch nemesis, to Kyrrha, his potential love interest, you want to know their back stories and follow their journeys.
Daniel delivers on all of these things.
To read this book I had to go outside of my own comfort zone - and I'm glad I did.
This is his first novel and I can honestly say I look forward to reading more from Mr. Sonderling.
You keep reading.
The hapless hero, Marcus, draws you in. You want to know what happens to him. You hold your breath and hope he will survive his ordeals.
And you want to know the back story of the characters he interacts with.
From Takuri, his arch nemesis, to Kyrrha, his potential love interest, you want to know their back stories and follow their journeys.
Daniel delivers on all of these things.
To read this book I had to go outside of my own comfort zone - and I'm glad I did.
This is his first novel and I can honestly say I look forward to reading more from Mr. Sonderling.
September 20, 2021
Not a bad book to read.
June 19, 2022
I won this book on Goodreads. Thank you so much. I enjoyed this story. Kept me interested. I occasionally had to keep the characters straight, but it all worked out. Not a huge fan of the ending, but the worlds and monsters were quite fun. I would recommend this book to someone who enjoyed vampire type characters and was okay with a good amount of violence.
June 18, 2022
I don’t like to give spoilers on the books that I read. I believe the blurb on the back is enough for you to decide if you will read the book or not. If you choose to read, enjoy
September 4, 2022
A well written dark fantasy story that drags the reader into this new world. The story introduces us to well crafted characters and great world building skills.
October 26, 2021
Thank you Goodreads Giveaways for this book!
This book contains mature themes..violence, gore and sexuality..but if you watch Game of Thrones it is about along those lines.
I was actually pleasantly surprised by this book. I had not heard of this author before, but will look for more from him!
The story pulled me in quick and held my attention!
If you are a fan of Science Fantasy..this is a good choice for you!
This book contains mature themes..violence, gore and sexuality..but if you watch Game of Thrones it is about along those lines.
I was actually pleasantly surprised by this book. I had not heard of this author before, but will look for more from him!
The story pulled me in quick and held my attention!
If you are a fan of Science Fantasy..this is a good choice for you!
January 16, 2023
I struggled with this book. It was a Goodreads giveaway and it started out seeming like I would enjoy it. It is horribly graphic and not at all my thing. I kept thinking it would get better. And the ending, seriously, a dream???
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2022
I haven’t read a book this quickly in ages! The book was well written and I enjoyed the different characters in it. Happy to once again feel the magic of books.
Did Not Finish
August 28, 2023DNF @ 8% I received a copy of this ebook in a Goodreads giveaway. I didn’t really care for where the story was going.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews