Strange the Dreamer

Laini Taylor balances lore and exposition with action and mostly relies on the reader to use context clues to construct their own understanding of the fantastical world. Few key terms are explicitly explained, and the reader must rely on inference to put the pieces together. The indirect worldbuilding creates a deeper sense of immersion for the reader; the reader is expected to understand most things in the world as though they were part of it themselves, instead of being external to it and thus requiring many asides to explain its elements.

Taylor draws on both fairy tale and mythological motifs to construct the worlds of Zosma, Weep, and the gods in the novel. The two framings are often used in conjunction with each other to reflect differing perspectives of events. For example, Lazlo primarily understands Weep through the context of fairy tales; his initial image of Weep is therefore whimsical, lyrical, and magical in the traditional sense. Meanwhile, perspectives from other characters like Eril-Fane, Azareen, and even Sarai reflect a more mythological understanding of Weep. In Eril-Fane and Azareen’s memories, the gods behave like the Greek gods of myth; they are arrogant, self-centered deities who take from the humans as they please. Skathis’s kidnapping and rape of Weep’s citizens recalls some of Zeus’s actions in Greek mythology. By drawing on these two separate forms to construct her world, Taylor portrays a multi-faceted society whose dualities reflect the multiple perspectives of its inhabitants.

A key element of Taylor’s worldbuilding is the magic system in the novel. For the most part, the rules and consequences of using magic in the novel are clear: only the godspawn and gods are granted the power of magic, and each magical gift has limitations. For example, although Sparrow can use her gift to encourage plant life to flourish, she cannot create new life; she can only coax what already exists into continued growth. Similarly, Sarai can use her moths to warp dreams into nightmares, but if she does not swallow her moths by the time the sun rises, she loses the ability to speak until the following nightfall. The magical gifts are often also reflections of the individual character’s psyche. Sarai’s is the most obvious; her dark ability represents the conflict she has in herself to embrace monstrosity or humanity. Ruby and Sparrow’s gifts are explicitly compared to their personalities: Ruby’s flame symbolizes her “heat and volatility” and “passion” (194), and Sparrow’s gift for growing reflects her ability to “feel the pulse of life in things and nurse it forth to make them grow,” making her like “springtime distilled into a person” (98). Minya’s ability to bind ghosts represents her cruel nature and inability to release past griefs.

Taylor also uses the magic system to suggest themes of oppression. While in fantasy novels magic is typically portrayed as exciting and whimsical, the citizens of Weep view magic as a tool of coercion and enslavement. Only the gods have magic, and they used their powers to dominate the people of Weep, rendering magic a terrifying force to the citizens of Weep. It is why Sarai wishes she could reject her gift, because she knows it marks her as a monster and a godspawn. Through this worldbuilding strategy, Taylor subverts the standard depiction of magic in high fantasy to reinforce the novel’s themes of oppression and the complex interplay between perceptions of good and evil.