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Pawn's Dream
Roland Pritchard's dreams of being in a monastery in a fantastic world offer him an escape from his lonely existence as a convenience store clerk, although the monk has dreams of his own, nightmares of a future world. Original.
352 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 2, 2009
A fun book with neat ideas, Pawn's Dream has always been a favorite travel book. Dual universes make the backdrop for the book diverse and fun. Really the only thing I disliked about the book is that there has not been a sequal.
May 8, 2014
I became interested in Eric Nylund ever since I've read his Halo novels. If I remember correctly, they were the ones that started me on the Sci-Fi genre (and what a ride it has been so far!). Pawn's Dream caught my eye because it was Eric's first novel, and I'm quite surprised by its quality. While I'm not a big fan of the Fantasy genre, I found this story quite interesting and well done. The pace was good, and I really like the duality concept throughout the book.
I really wish I was able to get my hands on some of Eric's other novels, especially Game of Universe, but that one seems hard to come by for some reason.
I really wish I was able to get my hands on some of Eric's other novels, especially Game of Universe, but that one seems hard to come by for some reason.
April 8, 2016
While I rarely venture into adult sci fi/ fantasy, I make an exception for Eric Nylund. Ever since Game of Universe, I know I can trust Nylund to deliver an amazingly imaginative universe (or two) for me to get lost in.
Pawn's Dream is my favorite Nylund book. The fantasy and science fiction are balanced beautifully, the characters are intriguing and complex, and the plot moves fast. I would recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a well-told story, fantasy or otherwise.
Pawn's Dream is my favorite Nylund book. The fantasy and science fiction are balanced beautifully, the characters are intriguing and complex, and the plot moves fast. I would recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a well-told story, fantasy or otherwise.
October 2, 2022
Roland Pritchard lives in two worlds. On Earth he's a convenience-store clerk who cares for his mentally ill mother. When he sleeps he dreams that he's living in the fantasy world of Meredin, where his station is equally low, as a scholar in an abbey.
Roland discovers that he's one of a small number of people, "the families", who live in both worlds and can practice magic. He quickly acquires allies and enemies in both realms, and he has to make sense of who is truly on his side and what he should do. In Meredin this comes in the form of an adventure story where he travels the land, battles demons and searches for a lost artifact; and on Earth he has to survive and outwit his enemies.
The plot is ok, interesting enough even though it's a common one (pauper-to-prince). The magic system is novel and interesting: magic is reliant on "duality", on opposites. The families can practice magic because they live in two worlds; that is their duality. But their individual magic powers also rely on duality: life and death, fire and water, etc. Throughout the story, Roland often has to figure out how to find a duality in order to practice his magic.
The novel isn't too bad, but it has quite a few flaws. First, the prose is competent but not sparkling: there are no clever phrases or cutting remarks. Second, the world (both worlds) feels empty: only the members of the families have any substance to them, and other people are barely mentioned. This extends even to Roland's mother (who is not a magic user), who has no personality and is used only as a plot point. Third, Roland achieves success too often and too easily. Oh sure, he's challenged plenty, hounded, thrown in jail, and is often in peril. But he takes to his newfound magic powers like a fish to water, accomplishing everything he wants and surpassing the other magic users in just a few days. It feels like a power trip. Also, there's a showdown between the family members at the end of the book that ends in his favor too easily; better books have far more complicated political maneuvers.
The ending appears to set up a sequel, which was never written. I wouldn't have read it anyway: this book was just ok, and I don't want a second helping.
Roland discovers that he's one of a small number of people, "the families", who live in both worlds and can practice magic. He quickly acquires allies and enemies in both realms, and he has to make sense of who is truly on his side and what he should do. In Meredin this comes in the form of an adventure story where he travels the land, battles demons and searches for a lost artifact; and on Earth he has to survive and outwit his enemies.
The plot is ok, interesting enough even though it's a common one (pauper-to-prince). The magic system is novel and interesting: magic is reliant on "duality", on opposites. The families can practice magic because they live in two worlds; that is their duality. But their individual magic powers also rely on duality: life and death, fire and water, etc. Throughout the story, Roland often has to figure out how to find a duality in order to practice his magic.
The novel isn't too bad, but it has quite a few flaws. First, the prose is competent but not sparkling: there are no clever phrases or cutting remarks. Second, the world (both worlds) feels empty: only the members of the families have any substance to them, and other people are barely mentioned. This extends even to Roland's mother (who is not a magic user), who has no personality and is used only as a plot point. Third, Roland achieves success too often and too easily. Oh sure, he's challenged plenty, hounded, thrown in jail, and is often in peril. But he takes to his newfound magic powers like a fish to water, accomplishing everything he wants and surpassing the other magic users in just a few days. It feels like a power trip. Also, there's a showdown between the family members at the end of the book that ends in his favor too easily; better books have far more complicated political maneuvers.
The ending appears to set up a sequel, which was never written. I wouldn't have read it anyway: this book was just ok, and I don't want a second helping.
November 7, 2023
I absolutely loved this book when I first read it and parts of the story have always stayed with me. The concept of travelling to a 'real' world while dreaming might not be that original, but the author partners this with a concept of magic that is intriguing. A sorcerer needs to finely balance two opposing forces - fire and water, earth and wind, are ones we'd be most familiar with - but they also use life and death, good and evil, desire and hate - a really clever tweak that made for some interesting battles.
On it's re-reading though, I did find a few things bothered me more than they did before (or I'd just forgotten about them!). The casual use of death made me wince (even though the character's profess guilt, they don't exactly seek an alternative), especially in the last scene with Sabrina. I also hadn't really noticed just how open the story is left - maybe the author planned to write sequels or just ran out of steam, but it definitely had an unfinished quality about it.
Still a good read, but not one that blew me away as much as it did.
On it's re-reading though, I did find a few things bothered me more than they did before (or I'd just forgotten about them!). The casual use of death made me wince (even though the character's profess guilt, they don't exactly seek an alternative), especially in the last scene with Sabrina. I also hadn't really noticed just how open the story is left - maybe the author planned to write sequels or just ran out of steam, but it definitely had an unfinished quality about it.
Still a good read, but not one that blew me away as much as it did.
July 1, 2017
I loved this book. I truly wish there was a sequel. Sure, it is a young adult book, but I could not put the book down as it came to an end. Very entertaining and an enjoyable read.
November 14, 2017
This is sort of a proto Mortal Coils. It's not a bad story, but it's not as well written and structured as Mortal Coils. It strongly reminded me of the Amber Chronicles.
September 4, 2022
I thought this was great, really good way of using magic and elements. Quite sad that he didn't decide on sequels or more exploration of the world and characters.
November 5, 2015
So, Mortal Coils was one of the best books I've ever read. So good, I wanted to read every Eric Nylund book minus anything to do with Halo (I don't play, so I don't care). Unfortunately, unlike Mortal Coils, Pawn's Dream is boring. As far as I am in the book, the characters have fought demons, there was a cool tunnel escape, magic was being used all over the place...but I was bored. Maybe one day I'll finish it.
January 8, 2015
A nice easy fantasy read, the hardest part is finding a copy. I enjoyed the interesting take on the reality/fantasy worlds duality you see in other fantasy novels like "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and Pullman's "His Dark Materials." Overall, I'd recommend it to everyone but especially to people who enjoyed those two series or heard about Nylund from his Halo books.
May 3, 2010
Fantastic science fiction fantasy adventure novel.
August 23, 2009
loved this book!
August 30, 2009
This along with Nylunds A Game of Universe are among my favorite books
May 15, 2011
great concept, execution stumbles a few times though.
October 15, 2014
This is by far the best book I have ever read. The story is captivating, the writing is not too fancy or too boring. First book in my life where I read every word.
November 30, 2015
Из второй книги Mortal Coils могло бы показаться, что в семействе Притчардов все полные козлы, но надо же, среди них встречались приличные люди
November 24, 2015
Interesting universe but a lot is left unexplained. You really gotta just go with the book as to not be distracted by minor inconsistencies and major mysteries.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews