Mirror Wakes

Mirror Dreams #2

by Catherine Webb

Deadly spells are igniting across Haven, and the Queen of Dreams is in mortal danger. The court is pointing accusing fingers at Lord Rylam. One thing is clear—Haven needs Laenan Kite. He's the most powerful magician in all of Dreams, the bane of Nightkeep, the protector of Earth's sleeping souls. Queen Lisana wants him on the case fast, because if Rylam isn't the enemy, then the Realm of Dreams is in deep trouble.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Magic

314 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 2003

About the author

An English science fiction author, she is best known for her Carnegie Medal-nominated books, Timekeepers (2005) and The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle (2006). She wrote her first novel, Mirror Dreams, when she was only fourteen years old.
She began writing mostly in the young adult genre and has since begun authoring books for adults. Also a performing arts enthusiast, she graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2010. She also attended the London School of Economics.
She helped pioneer a new genre of writing called Urban Magic, which combines fantasy elements with modern-day city environments.
She grew up in London, England. Her father, Nick Webb, also had a career as a writer.

Catherine Webb also writes adult fiction under the pen names Kate Griffin and Claire North

Reviews

[Aditi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's something about finding the people one loved in their youth inside books. My school library only had the first book, which I read multiple times- so much so that after more than a decade of graduating high school, I still vaguely remembered plot points and details from that story as they cropped up in this one. This is at least a 3.5 read for me. Since it has been a long time since I last met Laenan, my love for the first book has possibly not affected my rating of this one. I continue to marvel that a 15 year old wrote this.

[Merel Huizer]

I can't find it in the library, because it's not translated! But i really want to read it, I love the first book.

[Elorin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read Mirror Dreams #1 as a kid. When I've re-read it as an adult : miracle, i was not disappointed.
Mirror Dreams #2 ?? It's even better. Maybe less kid/YA oriented, but I love it. I found back all the characters I loved, they had not changed, they were there and complex and satisfying and boy, i love the new one too. It was like slipping back home and it was amazing.

[Lync Lync · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 of the Mirror series. Her first series, and despite being a teenager at the time displays some remarkably mature insights into humanity, and a really likable protagonist.

[Martin Willoughby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't grab me. Got 30 pages in and gave up.

[Dynazrll · Rating 5 out of 5]

i was like 13 when I read this. I did NOT understand any of it at first. But slowly, I'm like, yk what, this is fire.

[Meike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mir gefiel das Buch mit dem Helden und Magier Leanan Milan sehr gut.
Leider konnte ich dem Buch nicht entnehmen, dass es sich um einen 2. Teil handelt, weshalb mir das Lesen bis etwa zur Hälfte des Buches wirklich schwer fiel. Danach konnte ich mit der gut ausgefeilten Geschichte aber doch noch etwas anfangen und mich auf den letzten Seiten so sehr begeistern, dass ich mir nun auch noch den 1. Teil kaufen werde.

Leider gibt es dennoch Abzüge, da ich zu Anfang einfach unheimlich schlecht hineingefunden habe.

[JL · Rating 3 out of 5]

46%

[Lucy Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sequel even more complicated and interesting than the first book.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like it as much as the first book, but it's a good addition and well-written.

[Jasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has an interesting and very captivating story. The first few chapters are a bit confusing if one has not read "Mirror Dream" but as the story progresses the story and the character of the protagonist gets clearer. With Laenan, Catherine Webb has created a very interesting protagonist that has never wanted to be a hero and does not regard himself as that. We see the story develop from his point of view, we understand what he understands. The story is part crime solving, part fighting. Intrigues, spying, Queens and Kings, magic and dreams. The world of thought of Laenan is what makes the story so interesting even though the reader can observe more than Laenan does by himself. The other characters that use him as puppets, expect Laenan to be someone he is or is not, the ones who admire him, who hate him or fight him, none of them is neglected in complexity.
Compared to the complexity of the story, ist characters and relations, the ending feels rushed. The enemy is defeated but I expected some conversations afterwards. Instead Laenan just heads home, which is something he would do, regarding his character, but as a reader I am still disappointed that he did not even talk to the queen and that after all the development their relationship had undergone during the story they would go back to their initial state of mistrust and neutrality.
All in all,I find it an interesting story with complex characters but a dissatisfying ending.