October 5, 2015
Former Blink-182 lead vocalist DeLonge teams up with Young (The Remedy) for a trilogy opener in which factions battle for control of the Dream and Waking worlds. In his everyday life, Jonas Anderson is dealing with the aftermath of a car accident that left his brother in a coma; in another world, he's Poet Anderson, a "Lucid Dreamer" capable of controlling the dream state around him and caught in a struggle between the Dream Walkers, who act as guardians, and the Night Stalkers, soulless tools of the malevolent REM. As this first book unfolds, Poet works to master his abilities, understand the scope of the brewing war, and attempt to save his brother's life. The ambitious story is filled with well-worn tropes, and the core romance happens with the speed of dream logic. The stylistic visuals, which work well in a tie-in animated short film, Poet Anderson: The Dream Walker, lack the same impact on the page. The storytelling is solid, and the setting is intriguing, but the novel suffers from thin character development and overfamiliar elements. Ages 12âup.