The mirrored realms of the Wake and the Reverie are intricately tethered. Very few beings possess the ability to bridge between them, except for dreambreakers, whose powers are coveted and whose very existence is deemed an abomination. Wren is a nightmare, a physical manifestation of the dark dreams of humans, and wholly at the mercy of her creator and jailer Para Warwick – the only creature in exception to dreambreakers that can cross the boundary between realms. Nightstrider and weapon, Wren has long yearned for revenge against the Para and finds a chance by aiding the rebellion. Back in the Wake, Ila, a young queen shoulders an arranged marriage to the son of the Warwick, a man who will eventually inherit his violent legacy under a crown of bone. But Ila is secretly a Weaver, responsible for patching the frays within the boundary of the dreaming and waking worlds. Her marriage to the naive Prince Caine comes after the loss of an important weapon – that in the wrong hands would give the Warwick untold power. Ila prepares to retrieve it at all costs, but unintentionally drags Caine with her into the Reverie. Across the realms, four individuals: nightmares, weavers, and one disgruntled member of royalty will come together to end the reign of the night creator Warwick before the very tapestry of their realities is torn asunder.
Nightstrider is an unfathomably good dark fantasy novel manifesting the rage of the controlled into something altogether sharp and devastating. Sophia Slade debuts a nightmare in book form, vicious and as long-lasting as any nightmare can be upon the waking mind. Tethering four unlikely allies across realms and slowly drawing them together to unite under a common struggle, Nightstrider feels like your classic fantasy novel but turned all the deeper with a core focus on the marginalized fighting back against an imperial power with untested limitations. Slade brings together an array of unique personalities but centers strongly on those who have had to harden themselves to become weapons in the face of hostility and the difficulties in entangling those lifelong practices of self-preservation. Complete with romance to balance out the darkness, Nightstrider is a comprehensive fantasy novel striking right at the heart of what I love about this genre. If I were to boil it down to one thing, Nightstrider is just reluctant allies to lovers core and so incredibly bisexual. Everyone say thank you, Sophia Slade!
Filled with dark and rageful energy coalescing inside a dynamic world, Nightstrider left me dazed as if caught up in my own bewildering dream. I love it when stories take their time to ground the external world-building and work to gain a foothold across a first novel and Nightstrider brings that into the forefront. Sophia Slade sets clear goals with this first installment to draw out the background of two unique realms and the conflict between the imperialist power centered around the figure of Para Warwick. Relationships are gradually brought into the centerfold, but Nightstrider mainly serves as a catalyst to bring our core four characters together, united in the fight to come. So much of what impressed me with this debut is how much everything is earned. Nightstrider is an amalgamation of so many favorite tropes that it felt like an indulgent feast made specifically with me in mind but made all the more impactful by the actual substance. The character work across four unique perspectives was especially well done and balanced out this integration into two worlds divided.
As a lover of soft female characters the world has molded to be cautious and cold Ila and Wren are my weakness. Ila is someone transformed by her reality, hard-natured out of necessity, and loth to trust anyone outside of her inner circle. Where Wren is the complete opposite, built to be a weapon in the hands of a frighteningly abusive and power-hungry man. Several sources of heartbreak are that with Caine, Ila saw someone sheltered and left unmolded by the world, unlike her, and how Wren is someone who wholeheartedly believes that she is too far gone to save. It broke my heart to see both of these women shoulder their burdens, but the kernel of hope that emerges towards the end made me feel all the more victorious. I love how Slade challenges these competing notions of good and evil and the idea that just because you are empowered to do good does not inherently make you a good person. This builds into an epic concluding act in the Reverie that will certainly carry through into its sequel. Nightstrider was at the top of my most anticipated reads for this year and it exceeded my expectations in every possible way. Filled with every kind of night terror imaginable, Nightstrider is a ruthless dark fantasy novel weaving together dream beings and nightmares on a path to unburden two opposing realms.
Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger warnings: violence, murder, attempted sexual assault, torture, emotional abuse, xenophobia, suicidal ideation, imperialism
Literaryrobin 