In an Absent Dream

Last updated
In an Absent Dream
In an Absent Dream.jpg
Cover of first edition
Author Seanan McGuire
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Series Wayward Children
Genre(s) Fantasy
Publisher Tor.com
ISBN978-0-7653-9929-8
Publication dateJanuary 8, 2019
Preceded by Beneath the Sugar Sky
Followed by Come Tumbling Down

In an Absent Dream is a 2019 fantasy novella by American author Seanan McGuire. It is the fourth book in the Wayward Children series and follows Lundy, the in-house therapist at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children.

Contents

Plot

Reception

In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews indicated that "Lundy’s adventures will feel sadly inevitable to readers of the previous books in the series, [...] but readers will assuredly not regret going on this journey". They further highlighted how McGuire "beautifully portrays the overwhelming experience of being on the threshold of maturity, convinced (sometimes correctly, unfortunately) that the choices one makes now will affect one’s entire adult life, struggling to balance obligations to oneself and to others, and feeling paralyzed on that brink." [1]

Booklist also reviewed the novel. [2]

AudioFile reviewed the audiobook, writing, "Cynthia Hopkins narrates this fantasy in a detached tone that fits the serious and logical perspective of Katherine Lundy". [3]

In 2020, In an Absent Dream was a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novella [4] [5] and the World Fantasy Award for Novella. [6]

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References

  1. "In an Absent Dream". Kirkus Reviews . Archived from the original on 2024-01-17. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  2. "In an Absent Dream". Booklist . 2018-12-01. Archived from the original on 2024-04-12. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  3. "IN AN ABSENT DREAM by Seanan McGuire Read by Cynthia Hopkins | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine . January 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  4. "2020 Hugo Awards". The Hugo Awards . 2020-04-07. Archived from the original on 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2022-04-22.
  5. "2020 Hugo, Lodestar, and Astounding Awards Winners". Locus Online . 2020-08-01. Archived from the original on 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  6. "World Fantasy Awards Winners". Locus Online . 2020-11-02. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2024-04-12.