J. Kathleen Cheney introduces her latest series Palace
of
Dreams with DREAMING DEATH, an epic fantasy with hints
of
a mystery/police procedural. The closest comparison I can
come up with is Tamara Siler Jones's brilliant and haunting
Dubric Byerly series. Like Jones, Cheney has a strong
premise, but the execution doesn't have quite the same
panache. While the first chapter captures the reader's
attention, the author explains the world which means
introducing a number of different races and their history
which ends up being complicated and confusing. I read a
review copy, so perhaps the final version has a map and/or
a glossary which might help.
Nonetheless, Cheney has an intriguing story to share and
has developed unique characters to tell it. Shironne Anjir
is a touch sensitive which means she can learn people's
thoughts by touching them though she views it both as a
gift and a curse. Her abilities enable her to help the army
track down criminals and identify evidence by touching
corpses, but she also suffered emotional and physical
stress to the point of losing her sight. For example, her
tongue was so sensitive that she could barely eat until she
adapted to a degree, and her cook simplified her meals and
used purer ingredients. Shironne demonstrates courage and
moxie and certainly doesn't waste time feeling sorry for
herself.
Mikael Lee, a guard at the king's palace, has a more deadly
power of his own. A murderer has come to the city, and
Mikael dreams the deaths as they occur, but he can only
remember shattered images. Through a connection with
Shironne, she can see more of the deaths than Mikael can,
and together they hope to solve the unusual blood magic
crimes before being devoured themselves.
The plot has some complexities, some of which are explained
and some of which will likely be fleshed out in future
books in the series. I'm invested enough to read the next
book and hope that Cheney's writing talent will show
through more now that much of the foundation of her world
has already been laid. In this way, she can focus on story,
dialog and action and not get bogged down in details.
Shironne Anjir's status as a sensitive is both a gift and
a curse. Her augmented senses allow her to discover and
feel things others can’t, but her talents come with a
price: a constant assault of emotions and sensations has
left her blind. Determined to use her abilities as best
she can, Shironne works tirelessly as an investigator for
the Larossan army.
A member of the royal family's guard, Mikael Lee also
possesses an overwhelming power—he dreams of the deaths
of others, sometimes in vivid, shocking detail, and
sometimes in cryptic fragments and half-remembered
images.
But then a killer brings a reign of terror to the city,
snuffing out his victims with an arcane and deadly blood
magic. Only Shironne can sense and interpret Mikael’s
dim, dark dreams of the murders. And what they find
together will lead them into a nightmare...
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