266. The Dreamland Chronicles

The Dreamland Chronicles, Book 1 by Scott Christian Sava (Canada ) - (US)

Pages: 300 pgs.
Ages: 10+
Finished: Dec. 23, 2009
First Published: Oct. 29, 2008
Genre: graphic novel, fantasy
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

Tell me about the last dream you remember having...

Acquired: Received a review copy from the publisher.

Reason for Reading: book is nominated for a cybils award.

Summary: When Alexander was a little boy he used to dream every night that he was in Dreamland with his friends: Nastajia the elf girl, Kiwi the fairy and Paddington Rumblebottom the third, a rock boy. Ah, the adventures they had but after a particularly frightening episode the dreams stopped until one day in his college dorm Alexander receives a care package from his mom with a necklace of a sword, he mysteriously brought back from Dreamland that fateful night, and when he puts it on his dreams start again and not only he but his friends have grown up and things are not as peaceful in Dreamland anymore.

Comment: This is a brilliant graphic novel. Touted as being for all ages, I certainly agree, though not for the very young because of the love story angle. Dreamland Chronicles is a breath of fresh air in the graphic novel format. The plot is exciting, fun, cute and humourous, while this volume lets us get to know all the characters it also sets up the great quest typical of mainstream fantasy tales and ends with a shocker leaving you ready to buy book two. And buy the books I want to indeed! The cgi illustrations are absolutely fabulous. I forgot I was reading at times and felt like I was watching a movie or playing an RPG. I haven't seen anything like it in all the graphic novels I've read this year (which is a LOT). It introduces an exciting new medium to graphic novels and will appeal to the gamers out there who may be otherwise reluctant readers. I will most certainly be continuing on with this series. Up to Book 3 are available with Book 4 coming out in the Spring of 2010. For those who like this sort of thing this is a webcomic that can be found here, Book 1 covers Chapters 1 to 4. While it is tempting for me to continue reading online I much prefer reading from paper pages so will treat myself to the books instead. Simply loads of fun!