Nicolas Lietzau

"In a tropical island empire where wealth defines worth, a troubled mercenary and a dying magnate's nightmares are the keys to preventing catastrophe."

Dreams of the Dying (Enderal, Book 1)

In a tropical island empire where wealth defines worth, a troubled mercenary and a dying magnate's nightmares hold the keys to preventing a catastrophe.

George

it's hard to put into words how good this book actually is

Betty

I don't know how to describe what i felt during reading this book! The world building and the fantasy here is AMAZING! It was fascinating, so so fascinating and the horror, it was really good and disturbing at the same time.
The author was really focused on main character.
This is the book i really enjoyed and just couldn't stop reading it so it was really good journey, plus Oh My God the author loves to give mini heart attacks by making us think that character died and died again but then you're shocked is alive! It was a rollercoaster of emotions i loved it!

Adeline

Such an incredible read ! 

I loved the tropical island setting with elements of Polynesian and Mesopotamian culture. One of the most original world building I’ve seen. 

The magic system was also very original, especially the dreamwalkers. All the moments taking place in the dreamworld were particularly great to read, the creepy and otherworldly atmosphere of it were superbly written. 

The MC Jespar himself was really well written, he did some shitty things yet had gone through some bad things himself; he had so many self hate yet there was something pathetic about him. He’s a complex character but I’m happy the way his arc ended. 

Judging by the authors acknowledgement at the end, mental illness was a theme he really wanted to address in the book. I’m not a specialist so I’m not sure how correctly this book portrays mental illness but I think it’s really nice thing to see it being talked about especially in a genre like fantasy. 

I also liked the fact that Jespar is bi, because it’s not something you come across regularly in fantasy books. 

The other characters were all very interesting and fleshed out! I loved Lysia, Kawu, Maadira and Agaam especially. 

The writing was really good too and the plot was well structured I didn’t feel bored or overwhelmed with info dumps. 

I’m looking forward to read future books from this series!

Anyaconda

Favorite book of the year 2021
Who would've thought that this book could take it away.
I can't wait for book 2.

Sade A

🖤
Apparently, the dark places of your mind are filled with social commentary. Loads and loads of social commentary. Who knew, right?

Anyways, I finally did it. I Jumped on the hype train aaaaannnnnd *deep sigh* i feel like i'm almost always riding against the current when it comes to popular books.

🖤🖤
A lot of the reviews for this book praise the social commentary. Personally, while it definitely gives a plethora of amazing quotes, at some point it just began to feel like meaninless rhetoric that people spout because well, that's what you're supposed to say🤷🏾‍♀️. The characters really began to feel like they were just parroting all these, albeit cool points on how really fucked up capitalism and the American Dream sorry Great Dream is without any heart to it.
Was everything connecting with me at first? Sure.. But with 700+ pages, it kinda gets old when you halt the story just to go on some long sociology lesson on Class systems. It felt trite and honestly this book would have fared a lot better if it were shorter but hey you have to get the message across somehow. Bet Karl Marx would get an orgasm from this book though.

🖤🖤🖤
Now, the story itself though, was chef kiss. The intrigue was solid. The build up to the reveal stunning. If anything, this was what made me keep going with this book. I definitely think Lietzau was smart to keep readers dangling for so long because honest to God if that had gotten resolved earlier, i would have given this book the middle finger and dumped it fast.

I have to say i immensely disliked the speech pattern the author decided to go with for this book but i seem to be in the minority with this opinion here i guess.

Finally, this book touches on depression. and *deep sigh* guys i'm not going to lie, I really for real thought, there was some sort of puzzle he had to solve to get rid of it. 
At least in the context of this book. I suppose the book succeeds in showing how totally overwhelming depression is. To be honest, i didn't really make this connection until the end + I kinda got tired of the whole thing.. I'm sorry.
It kind of, might, maybe, seem like i didn't care about this very important theme but honestly in the context of this book it just got unbelievably tiring at some point. 
🖤
Told between bouts of melachonia and lessons on the evils of rich people and society in general, Dreams of the Dying is certainly an ambitious book. I cannot in all honesty say i hated it because the story does shine through in some parts. 
Social commentary been used to death aside, i have to say, i equal parts like and dislike this book. Really have no strong feelings for it tbh. Probably going to dress up the quotes all cute with Canva app cos hey that's what they're there for right?

p.s: The last couple of chapters felt needlessly dragged on. I wonder if that is some sort of light on how mundane life is. Oh well.

tina

4.5 stars

show me the sunset trees when all this is over.

andrea

good and solid, a well-done debut novel. there is a lot of effort and detail put into this work, and it is noticeable from the very first page. 

the central theme of this book is, without a doubt, mental illness. i could tell the author had his own experience and knew what he was talking about and expressing: he makes jespar's struggles feel real. there is honesty and rawness in jespar's narrative voice. 

continuing with the author's prose, i was surprised by how vivid his descriptions can be. the body horror pieces, especially related to insects... gross, but it is something that has to be praised, in my opinion. i enjoyed the chaotic and confusing dream scenes as well, and the makehu language he creates was a great point, an amazing immersive element. 
'the man' interludes are one of the best things the book offers. they are interesting, well-written, engaging, just like the character known as 'the man' also is. 


something that i didn't enjoy as much is the tendency to repeat many, many sentences, be it by writing the same thing several times letter by letter, or by copy-pasting and changing only one word. repetition is meant to be used to emphasise, but it was so recurrent that i found it a bit tiring. the use of modern language and slang disconnected me from the world a few times as well, until i got slightly used to the style. still, i think the language clashes with the world and the setting that is being presented to the reader. 

a big part of the dialogues and conversations that take place concern politics, social commentary, philosophy, and morality. i enjoyed them; each character has their own view, constructed by their life experiences and personality, and it was nice to get to know them through speech. even so, it was spoon-fed at times and some of the discussions and topics weren't naturally explored as the narrative progressed. that doesn't change that the content and the exposure of ideas was good, though. 

i would have liked this book to have a bit more of action, and to not have certain important events happening off-page. apart from that, it has been an entertaining read, never dull. 
 
and, finally, the characters. 
i really liked jespar, and the first thing i want to mention is how nice it is to read about a bisexual main character. i liked that his sexuality was never a big deal or a topic of discussion, and this contributed to my growing attachment to him. 
jespar is incredibly human and it's easy to identify with parts of his internal monologue, even if there were moments when it was hard to be inside his head. 

the side characters were not as prominent as jespar; this is expected but also a bit disappointing. i like lysia, the main female character, but i wish there could have been more of her in the story and she could have contributed more to the plot itself. at the beginning lysia's presence is very strong, but it slowly fades away along with jespar's interest in her. but she's a good enough character, just like kawu is. how much i was growing to appreciate kawu was a nice surprise until the very end; i enjoyed his role, and i think he's the most interesting after jespar and 'the man'. 

the dynamic between jespar and lysia, and then kawu... i do enjoy the idea of messy, complicated relationships, and jespar has his share of it in dreams of the dying with both of them. to me, they lacked a bit of depth and build up, as they grow close very fast in a mere few days. it's not 'love', of course, but i always think it's silly how relationships are there simply in the blink of an eye. this is somehow improved later on, and i do like jespar and lysia, then jespar and kawu, and the turn both dynamics take. 

this is a great book, with an interesting world and a very promising magic system and cast of main characters. i will be reading the sequel when it comes out.

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Dreams of the Dying

Author: Nicolas Lietzau

Book Series: Enderal Book 1

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: Many LGBT+ characters

Recommended For...: fantasy, horror, mystery, thriller

Publication Date: October 20, 2020

Genre: Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (romance, violence, gore, mental illness, horror)

Publisher: Indie Published

Pages: 728

Synopsis: Years after a harrowing war experience, ex-mercenary Jespar Dal’Varek has taken to drifting. It’s a lonely existence, but barring the occasional bout of melancholia, he has found the closest thing to peace a man like him deserves. Life is “all right.”

Or so he tells himself. Hoping to turn the page, Jespar accepts a mysterious invitation into the beautiful but dangerous archipelago of Kilay—and everything changes. Plagued by boiling social tensions and terrorism, the tropical empire is edging ever closer to civil war. Kilay’s merchant king may be the only one able to prevent this catastrophe, but he has fallen into a preternatural coma—and it’s Jespar’s job to figure out who or what caused it. As the investigation takes him across the archipelago and into the king’s nightmares, unexpected events not only tie Jespar’s own life to the mystery but also unearth inner demons he believed to be long exorcised.

Battling old trauma while fighting for his life, his sanity, and the fate of Kilay, the line between dream and reality blurs further and further, until only one question remains: If your mind is the enemy, where do you run?

A unique blend of fantasy, mystery, and psychological horror, Dreams of the Dying is a haunting exploration of mental illness, morality, and the dark sides of humanity.

Review: For the most part this was a well done book. The book did well with having an unique plot with many diverse characters. I loved the symbolism and I thought the plot was promising. The book also had well done world building.

However, I did think that the characters weren’t as developed as they could have been and some of them were not as personable as other characters. I also thought the book was a bit too slow and that that the way the story was written was a bit wonky.

Verdict: It’s really good!

Wiktoria Balcerak

#1 In German Literature (07/2020) "Enderal accomplishes total immersion in a story in a way I have not seen in a long, long time. There were moments where the emotional weight of what happened hit me so hard that all I could do was sit and stare blankly." - Joe Pishgar, Tom's Hardware Fantasy, mystery, and psychological horror converge in this gripping story that ventures deep into the dark corners of our minds. Jaaros Oonai, magnate, visionary, and master of coin, doesn't muse about whether the glass is half empty or half full-only about ways to fill it. Jespar Dal'Varek, drifter, veteran, and master of avoidance, doesn't muse at all. He'd rather just drink the damn wine. Two lives that could not be more different intertwine when a strange contract leads Jespar to the tropical island empire of Kilay, the wealthiest nation of the Illumined World. The mission turns out to be as bizarre as it is lucrative: Jaaros Oonai, the country's merchant king, knows something that could stop a catastrophe, but he has fallen into an inexplicable coma. Together with an ex-priestess and a psychic, Jespar must enter Oonai's dreams and find this secret. What should have been a fresh start quickly turns into a nightmare, as Jespar slides into a spiral of disturbing dreams, political intrigue, and clashing ideals, where not only the fate of Kilay but his own sanity are at stake. It's not long before he learns that sometimes only a spider's thread divides the sleeping and the awoken. And that there's no greater enemy than one's own mind. Dreams of the Dying is set in the universe of the award-winning, indie RPG "Enderal," but stands on its own. It doesn't require knowledge of the game in order to be read.

Dreams of the Dying (Enderal, Book 1)

Reviews