is the first in a duet of books about the Dreamhunters of Southland (a sort of fictionalized-alternate universe of New Zealand). The book is set in the early twentieth century and centers around a wealthy family, half of whom are dreamhunters.The dreamhunters are people who are able to enter a transdimensional space, called simply The Place, and literally "catch" dreams and share them, almost as one would a cold. A dreamhunter falls asleep in The Place and catches a lucid dream. They then go back to Southland and sleep in close proximity to others, and the others will share the same dream. You can imagine the implications: troubled patients are soothed, those who have lost loved ones see them again, celebrations are shared through happy unconsciousness. Then again, what do they do with the bad dreams? Interesting, no?
Tziga Hame is the first and greatest dreamhunter. He accidentally discovered The Place, has the largest circle of influence and can dream the most graphic and detailed dreams of any other dreamhunter. He's suffered physically and emotionally over the years; widowed when his daughter was just a toddler, a debilitating leg break that never properly healed (this was the late 1800s, remember) and other afflictions. He's a haunted man with reminders of his former handsomeness still hanging around his battered features. I saw Jeremy Davies right from the start.
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| nymag.com |
Laura Hame is his daughter. She's often wrapped up in her own little world and simply follows the lead of her cousin who is only a few weeks older than she is. Laura is moody and contemplative but not insolent. She's everything a young lady of that era should be; quiet, respectful and intelligent. She turns out to be one powerful young lady, so I think there needs to be something, especially around her eyes, that suggests there is more to her than you might first expect. I see somebody like Emily Browning. (Side note: Suckerpunch anybody?)
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| movies.yahoo.com |
Rose Tiebold is Laura's cousin, Tziga's niece. She's less ladylike than her cousin, more independent and self-sure. She's tall and beautiful, the object of nearly every young man's attention. She's also rude and cocky and impulsive. She just doesn't believe there's anything in this world that should not be hers. I have to say that I found her refreshing. I know that sounds odd, but I've seen so many female characters, particularly the leads and their closest friends, who are just so squeaky clean that it hurts. It is refreshing to see a young female character behaving the way a young woman in her shoes would actually behave, without being vulgar and revolting. She is simply human and flawed. It's wonderful. Anyway, since she is the beauty and the snob, I pictured somebody like Annalynne McCord or Aly Michalka. Although, why aren't there girls out there today who could at least pretend to be able to blend into a more chaste time period?
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| zap2it.com |
Grace Tiebold is Rose's mother and the most famous and wealthy dreamhunter in Southland. She is not quite as powerful as Tziga, but she performs only to the elite, while Tziga has government contracts instead. She is poised and proper, but espouses some of the romanticism that often comes with artistry. She loves dreamhunting, more than anything. At one point, she even suggests that she might love her dreams more than she loves real people. That's called job dedication, folks. I know this woman is a bit on the young side to have a 15 year old daughter, but I saw Dagmara Dominczyk's face right from the beginning (the girl from The Count of Monte Cristo- I had to look it up, I didn't know her name offhand, but I saw her face, for sure.) She's young, but not impossibly young; this was the birth of the twentieth century, and it was not uncommon for a young woman to have her first child at 19.
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| domincczyk.webpark.pl |
Chorley Tiebold is the father of Rose, husband of Grace, best friend of Tziga and brother of Tziga's deceased wife. He's the rock of the family. Mr. Under-appreciated, you might say. He practically raised the girls by himself, as his wife and Tziga were always off either hunting or performing dreams. He is a man of many hobbies, but his life's work is holding the family together. I just feel like this has John C Reilly written all over it.
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| nndb.com |
NOWN is spell-bound sandman brought to life by Tziga Hame. He is sculpted of river sand, and as such has no particular face. His voice, I believe is the most important thing. He is intelligent, but not wise, as he has no ability to reason. He sees the world in a literal, black and white way, sort of profoundly simple. I really, really want to hear Liam Neeson do this.
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| liamneeson.net |
Please post your ideas in the comments- whether you agree with me or not!
You can read my review of this book on Goodreads.com
