Prince of Dreams

The Prince of Dreams continues the quest of young Prince Llesho to find his brothers and reclaim the kingdom of his royal birth. Benjamin has breathed vivid life into an exotic setting that calls to mind the cultures and legends of ancient and mediaeval Asia; it is a place where gods take many forms in which to interact with man, magic is a potent force for both good and evil, dragons and similar fantastic creatures do exist, and all knowledge seems to come with a price. Llesho has come a long way since the beginning of The Prince of Shadow. Enslaved since the age of seven, he believed his brothers had been killed alongside his parents and sister by the Harn raiders who conquered Thebin, the lofty realm which lies at the very foot of the Gates of Heaven. Then, at age fifteen, fate took a strong hand in his life, embarking him on a quest to find his brothers and take Thebin back from the Harn. As this novel, the second in the Seven Brothers series, opens, Llesho has found two of his brothers and won assistance from the great emperor of Shan. He and his cadre begin a trek meant to take them through the extensive kingdom of the dangerous Harn on their way toward Thebin. Among his companions are ChiChu, the trickster god whom Llesho came to know as a teacher and laundryman, loyal friends of his youth, a young witch who can boast of dragon blood in her veins, and the witch and witch's daughter of the Great Goddess herself. Master Markko, Llesho's greatest enemy, is still out there searching for the young prince, his powers over man and magic increasing daily. Llesho oftentimes wonders how he can possibly do the job the gods expect of him, especially when things only seem to get worse instead of better. A group of his most important friends and allies fall into the hands of the evil magician, while Llesho himself is spirited away to Ahkenbad and its dream readers - who do much to greatly increase the weight of the world on his shoulders. In time, he crosses over into Harn territory, picking up some dangerous and unlikely allies in his mission to save his captured friends and then find and kill Master Markko, the dark magician who haunts his dreams - only then can he hope to make his way home to Thebin. There will be even more required of him than that, however, as it now becomes clear that the fate of both heaven and earth depends upon his success against overwhelming odds. This novel delineates the maturation process that turns Prince Llesho into the coming king of Thebin; incredible danger, legendary heroics, and the sacrifice of good and true friends can only make him wiser than his sixteen summers. It finally becomes apparent to him that he did indeed receive the favor of the Great Goddess on his sixteenth birthday, and he learns to hone some of the incredible gifts she blessed him with - foremost among them the ability to take control of his dreams. He struggles with guilt over those who die fighting for him, resorts to periodical

I really loved how the author focused all his narrating on the one main character, Llesho. I often find that when the author attempts to have a thousand different stories going on within the novel, that the book loses my attention. The author's style of writing was descriptive, & still flowed nicely. All 512 pages of this book are packed full of imagination, and adventure. A great fantasy that will keep you turning the pages well into the night.

This second book in the Seven Brothers series does not disappoint - Benjamin once again has created a fascinating landscape with complex and utterly human (well, mostly human!) characters. But beware: from a mysteriously appearing city to a playful god and a crafy emperor, very little is as it seems! Disguises abound, along with intrigue and adventure. The wait is too long for book number 3!