THE LOST DREAMER

The Songs of Indir and Saya are intimately linked, but how and why remain a mystery through much of this opening salvo from Huerta in which a world of Dreams, Songs, prophecy, and chaos are introduced.

Worship through the ancient traditions of Song and especially Dreaming forms the rituals of daily life in the Temple of Night and is all Indir has ever known. A world away, young, isolated Saya also knows the world of the Dream despite being separate from the rituals and traditions of the Dreamers in the city of Alcanzeh. This story with Mesoamerican influences unwinds in chapters of alternating first-person perspectives from Indir and Saya as they grapple with their identities as Dreamers, struggle in their relationships with the women who raised them, and discover their roles in the larger story as chaos threatens to destroy both the Dream and the Waking World. Huerta conjures a deep, sensual world in which many cultures share fragments of a larger tradition based on the myths of the Dream and told through Song and story. It is evident through their shared ties to the Dream that Indir and Saya are linked, but the revelation of their true relationship provides the climax, leaving readers hanging on what the symbols and prophecies discovered on their journeys mean for the Waking World. Those who crave intentional worldbuilding and deep knowledge of characters will find that this slow and intimate build leaves them longing for more.

Sensual fantasy with a feminine gaze and intimate worldbuilding.