Dreams and Shadows by C. Robert Cargill, Dreams and Shadows #1 There is another world than our own—one no closer than a kiss and one no further than our nightmares—where all the stuff of which dreams are made is real and magic is just a step away. But once you see that world, you will never be the same.
Dreams and Shadows takes us beyond this veil. Once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, Ewan is now an Austin musician who just met his dream girl, and Colby, meanwhile, cannot escape the consequences of an innocent wish. But while Ewan and Colby left the Limestone Kingdom as children, it has never forgotten them. And in a world where angels relax on rooftops, whiskey-swilling genies argue metaphysics with foul-mouthed wizards, and monsters in the shadows feed on fear, you can never outrun your fate.
Who doesn't like a good fairy tale? I recently read Sarah Pinborough's Beauty and was taken by just how evocative a good fairy tale could be, when I was younger I could read those for hours. Beauty used exisiting fairy tales to drive it's story, in Dreams and Shadows C. Robert Cargill invents his own. But just a careful note up front though the this is your new kind of fairy tale it's by far one with a lot of joy, C. Robert Cargill takes it's reader to the dark reaches of the Limestone Kingdom where dark forces hide in every shadow and no one is to be trusted. Though the book starts of with "Once upon a time" it doesn't end with "and they lived happily ever after".
The first thing that felt to note was the tone of the story. Dreams and Shadows is set in a contemporary setting, takes place in our own day and age, but C. Robert Cargill managed to give his story the classic fairy tale spin. Readily allowing the reader to dream off into all the magnificence of his world. Perhaps the first sentence of the book kicked off this feeling but it is uphold all throughout the book and the story of Dreams and Shadows is carefully layered and grows almost after each page in complexity. Furthermore the story is divided into two different parts, in the first part you follow Ewan and Colby in their young boyish years and in the second part they have all grown up.
The story of Dreams and Shadows picks directly with a very happy part and a much dark part that sets the plot into motion. Ewan is born and soon after taken away and replaced by a changeling. Ewan as a baby didn't make a sound, but the changeling drives his parent crazy. Ewan was taken beyond the veil to the land of the Limestone Kingdom and grows up amongst the faeries and sees this way as the most normal thing in life. Ewan never new any better. He has a lot of fun playing about with the other faeries and constantly dreams about what kind of faerie he will turn into. Soon after Ewan the story centers around Colby, he is the same age as Ewan but grew up as a normal human boy. All that Colby wants to do is have an adventure and soon he gets exactly this when he meets up with the djinn Yashar and as logical when you meet a djinn you get to do some wishes, and one thing that Colby wishes is that he can see everything as it is. This allows Colby to see beyond the veil and starts of one great adventure. Though their stories start up separately but come together nicely halfway in. During both the adventures of Ewan and Colby you are introduced to many a magnificent and sometimes horrid creature but they all feel truly enhancing and give a very rich atmosphere to the story. At the end the first part Ewan and Colby do say goodbye but they will both remember each other. In the second part of the book you see Ewan and Colby all grown up, here everything collides all the tension that was build up in the first part of the book leads to one unavoidable confrontation. Both Ewan and Colby haven't led the magical world beyond the veil behind. Just a small note, the story of Dreams and Shadows is far more than just two boys having an adventure in the realm of the fae, it's a complicated story of love, friends, trust and finding yourself.
As for the characters of Dreams and Shadows, two have already been mentioned the boys Ewan and Colby. I really liked reading about them, in their younger years they are acting exactly as young boys should, no care in the world, having their own adventures, though this does lead them into some precarious situations. I do have to say that Colby was my most favorite how he goes about with his new djinn friend Yashar it comes to show that Colby knows how to ask the intelligent question. Next to Ewan and Colby there is also the focus on Knocks, the changeling with who Ewan got swapped when he was a younger boy. Showing the conniving and scheming of Knocks gave a nice insight into just how treacherous these changelings are, not to be trusted. You also have the djinn Yashar who accompanies Colby. Yashar already has quite a history back on Earth, C. Robert Cargill showed Yashar just as you want to see a djinn, even though they grant you wishes, you have to be very careful with just how to phrase them. Also the interplay between Yashar and Colby, though sometimes with dark tones but often with humor added a nice flavor to their characters. And last but definitely not lately you have the Coyote, he is the trickster of the story making sure that he has a part in everything that goes on, when I first read about him I knew I couldn't trust his person and later he proves this double and double, however each time I did read about his scheming plots it did put a grand smile on my face. Each and every character be it fae or human is well developed and they really stand-out.
One thing that I was pleasantly suprised with were the interludes in the story. In essence Dreams and Shadows is an fairy tale but you thrown a bit in the depths when it comes down the the different types of mythical and fae creatures that you meet along the way. In order to make everything clear there are interludes told by Dr. Thaddeus Ray, PhD, who explains the way of the dreamfolk. This gave a much better grip on just what kind of creature you were dealing with, some also delve deeper into the background the characters bolstering their personalities, like that of the Coyote only more. Defintely a plus as this wasn't written to be an information dump and mess up the pacing, instead they were placed behind events where you could use them.
I just have one more thing to address and those are the creatures that you are introduced to in Dreams and Shadows. Just wow. How rich and intriguing these were. There is the more common changeling able to take on the guise of a human, the blood thirsty red caps, small gnomes who need to keep on killing and put blood on their heads else they dry up and die. You also have the participants of the Wild Hunt where the members ride black goats into battle to hunt down specific people. You also get a nice introduction to the politics of the fae and the seelie and unseelie court. C. Robert Cargill has created a great foundation of the world and the inhabitants, I will be eager to see how the story will be expanded in Queen of Dark Things.
With Dreams and Shadows C. Robert Cargill has immaculately woven the classic fairy tale element with that of a contemporary setting creating a evocative, one-of-a-kind story. Considering that Dreams and Shadows is C. Robert Cargill debut makes this even better. Being able to write such a powerful story on your first go makes you an author to watch out for. Though the start of the story might lets you to make certain assumptions, you will be abandoning them once you are only a few pages further, the story that you read in Dreams and Shadows is in constant motion and treacherous plot twists are behind every tree in the forest. The characters like Colby and Ewan and ofcourse the Coyote really stand out of the story and will stick with you even longer. C. Robert Cargill has invented on of those worlds that you would wish to be able to live in it feels magical and beautiful but on the other hand one that would give you nightmares with the dark and disturbing inhabitants. Truly amazing. Not to be missed.
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