The Dreamers trilogy is a follow-on from the Raven Cycle quartet, by Maggie Stiefvater. In Greywaren, the third book in the trilogy, the saga of the Lynch brothers continues, all questions but one are answered and it’s all neatly tied up. There is really not much we can say about the book without giving away huge spoilers but we liked the way Maggie Stiefvater managed to tie up a lot of loose ends. The book jumps back and forth between the present and the time the Lynch brothers’ parents moved to America, bought their house, the Barns, and dreamt a life for themselves.
The series started with Ronan, who in the earlier series turned out to be a person capable of bringing objects and sometimes even people back from his dreams. In the Dreamers trilogy we are told there are a lot more people like Ronan and there are people as well as animals who have been brought into the world from dreams. There were also a group of people known as the moderators who are identifying dreamers and killing them because of a prophecy that a dreamer would end the world in flames. The first two books basically set out the entire underground society and eco system of the dreamers and the dreamt. When a dreamer dies, his or her dreamt people also fall asleep. The one way to keep them awake is through objects known as ‘sweetmetals’. These are basically extraordinary works of art imbued with considerable emotion by the artist and which have extraordinary powers.
Primarily, like we mentioned at the start, the trilogy is about the Lynch brothers. Declan is normal, Ronan a dreamer and the youngest, Matthew, a dreamt one. The character of the eldest sibling, Declan, whom we always thought was a bit too straight-laced, stiff upper lipped and cold is explained from the perspective of his childhood. We also got the feeling that this book is really Declan’s book and he is its hero. Unexpectedly there is a lot of interdimensional stuff which ties into the dreams. And there are many reveals about all the characters and of course about Ronan, leading to a completely new perspective.
The series as a whole is a wonderful allegory for art giving life to dreams. Not just any art but the kind of art which has that certain something or the ‘je ne sais quoi’ quality to it, making it inexplicably stand out or draw people to it.
Though the story wound up with fairly satisfactory explanations and conclusion, we did feel at the end as though something was missing. It lacked the usual Maggie Stiefvater flair and style. We were worried about what the conclusion of the series would mean for characters we have known and followed over the Raven Cycle quartet and the Dreamers trilogy and were worried about possible devastation, but the heartstrings remained intact.
Mostly Mondays 