A Passion for Books: Book Review: Dreams of the Dead

Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall

Released: September 29, 2009

Pages: 304

Series: The Waking #1

Rating: 4 stars

Kara’s afraid to go to sleep—until the nightmares come when she’s awake . . .

Sixteen-year-old Kara Foster is an outsider in Japan, but is doing her best to fit at the private school where her father is teachin English for the year. Fortunately she’s befriended by Sakura, a fellow outsider struggling to make sense of her sister’s unsolved murder some months ago. No one seems to care about the beautiful girl who was so brutally murdered, and the other students go on as if nothing has happened.

Unfortunately, the calm doesn’t last for long. Kara begins to have nightmares, and soon other students in the school turn up dead, viciously attacked by someone . . . or something. Is Sakura getting back at those she thinks are responsible for her sister’s death? Or has her dead sister come back to take revenge for herself?

When first hearing about this book, I was automatically intrigued by the setting. I haven’t read, or even know of, many books that are set in Japan. Although I was a little worried (mainly because of the unique setting) and also excited, I was not disappointed. I really liked the way Japanese culture was mixed in too – made the story less boring, plus I learned some new things about Japan’s history along the way.

It was a little slow getting to learning about Kara’s nightmares, but this is the first book in a trilogy, so there is going to be some extra background details. Once the horror and action started, it was very interesting and exciting. I really liked the Japanese legends that were incorporated. It can be quite refreshing for something new and different every now and again.

Dreams of the Dead was a great read and a good start to a new series. I’m looking forward to reading the next books.