Dreamhunter is a very unsual and beautiful tale. It takes place in a place called Southland, a fairly undefined sort of world possibly set after the turn of the century somewhere in colonised Australia or New Zealand, although it could just as well be a world of its own. Within Southland there is a strange phenomena, known as The Place, it is an area of land that when some people walk in to, transports them to a strange dull landscape that seems far larger than the actual external area it covers. Within The Place are dreams, and these can be caught by Dreamhunters who fall asleep in the location of a dream and then leave The Place with the dream inside them.

Over the last twenty years since The Place was discovered, a trade in Dreams has sprung up. Healing dreams are performed at hospitals and more entertaining or pleasant dreams in large opera-like Dream Palaces. These beautiful buildings consist of elegant bedrooms where wealthy and fashionable folk may come (dressed in silk pajamas) to enjoy the dreams carried from the Place. It really is a fascinating concept and cleverly realised world.

The story centres around two young cousins, Laura Hame and Rose Tiebold, both from famous Dreamhunting families. They are about to undertake their ‘Try’ in which they will discover if they can enter The Place or not. One will and one won’t, but The Place and the dreams they discover within will change their lives forever. It is a very clever and moving story and so well written as to draw you in with curiousity and enchant you with dreams come to life. Elizabeth Knox has to be one of the most talented new authors I have discovered of late, her work is both beautiful and profound.

I have actually just finished the sequel to this book, Dreamquake, and I feel that I have been in sharing a dream myself!