In an Absent Dream | |
---|---|
Author | Seanan McGuire |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Wayward Children |
Genre(s) | Fantasy |
Publisher | Tor.com |
ISBN | 978-0-7653-9929-8 |
Publication date | January 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.
In an Absent Dream introduces Katherine Lundy, a quiet, polite young girl growing up in the 1960s. Katherine is the daughter of her school's principal, and between that and her bookishness, she hasn't many friends. On the last day of school, when she is eight years old, she fails to rejoice with the other children when the school bell rings. Instead, she remains in the classroom reading. After the teacher forces her to leave, Katherine walks home, her feet carrying her as she keeps her nose in her book--that is, until she comes upon a tree where a tree shouldn't be, which provides a door to an unusual world: the Goblin Market.
In the Goblin Market, everything is bartered based on what may be considered "fair value", recognizing that what may be fair to one person is not fair to another, as the Archivist informs Katherine. Upon arrival, the Archivist informs Katherine of the rules, including that "names have power", which prompts Katherine to then go by "Lundy".
Unlike other worlds where people from our world can only come and go once, children may leave the Goblin Market and return multiple times until they turn 18. By the time they turn 18, they will not be permitted to stay in the Market unless they have completed the citizenship ceremony, at which point they will not be able to return to the world in which they were born.
From the age of 8 until her teenage years, Lundy travels back and forth from the Goblin Market to the place of her birth, always thinking of the Market as home with its strict sense of logic and her best friend, Moon. However, as she approaches her 18th birthday, she faces a choice that results in the Lundy readers meet in the series's first book, Every Heart a Doorway .
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 's Regina Schroeder called In an Absent Dream "a lovely installment of the series, with pitch-perfect fairy-tale logic". Schroeder also noted that the whole series, including this installment, "has wonderful, internally consistent world building and characters, no matter how far in the background, with complexity and depth". [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]
Sarah Elizabeth Monette is an American novelist and short story writer, mostly in the genres of fantasy and horror. Under the name Katherine Addison, she published the fantasy novel The Goblin Emperor, which received the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and was nominated for the Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.
Seanan McGuire is an American author and filker. McGuire is known for her urban fantasy novels. She uses the pseudonym Mira Grant to write science fiction/horror and the pseudonym A. Deborah Baker to write the "Up-and-Under" children's portal fantasy series.
Lynne M. Thomas is an American librarian, podcaster and editor. She has won eleven Hugo Awards for editing and podcasting in the science fiction genre. She is perhaps best known as the co-publisher and co-editor-in-chief of the Hugo Award-winning Uncanny Magazine with her husband, Michael Damian Thomas. With her eleven Hugo Award wins, Thomas is tied with Connie Willis for most wins among women, and sixth all time for most wins amongst all Hugo Award winners.
InCryptid is a series of urban fantasy novels by American author Seanan McGuire, published by DAW Books. They follow multiple generations of a family of cryptozoologists who protect supernatural beings from discovery by humankind.
The Goblin Emperor is a 2014 fantasy novel written by the American author Sarah Monette under the pseudonym Katherine Addison. The novel received the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and was nominated for the Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. It was well-received by critics, who noted the strength of the protagonist's characterization and, unusual for fantasy, the work's warm and understated tone.
October Daye is a New York Times Best Selling series of urban fantasy novels by American author Seanan McGuire. They follow October "Toby" Daye, a half-fae changeling and reluctant hero of the realm.
Every Heart a Doorway is a fantasy novella by American writer Seanan McGuire, the first in the Wayward Children series. It was first published in hardcover and ebook editions by Tor.com in April 2016.
Nebula Awards Showcase 2018 is an anthology of science fiction and fantasy short works edited by American writer Jane Yolen. It was first published in trade paperback and ebook by Pyr in August 2018.
Lee Harris is a British editor of science fiction, fantasy and horror. He is the only British editor ever to have been nominated in the Hugo Awards "short form" editing category, and the first British editor ever to have been nominated in the editing "long form" category.
Middlegame is a 2019 science fantasy/horror novel by American novelist Seanan McGuire. It was well-received critically, winning the 2020 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and garnering a nomination for the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Bibliography of speculative fiction writer Seanan McGuire and her pseudonyms Mira Grant and A. Deborah Baker.
Wayward Children is a series of fantasy novellas by American author Seanan McGuire. It takes place at a boarding school for children who have journeyed to magical lands and been forcibly returned to the real world. The volumes alternate between being set at the school versus showing the lives of the children while they were in their alternate worlds.
Down Among the Sticks and Bones is a 2017 fantasy novella by Seanan McGuire. It is the second book in the Wayward Children series and explores the history of two characters, Jack and Jill, from the previous book, Every Heart a Doorway.
Beneath the Sugar Sky is a 2018 fantasy novella by American author Seanan McGuire. It is the third book in the Wayward Children series and introduces Rini Onishi, the child of Sumi, who was murdered in the series's first book, Every Heart a Doorway.
Come Tumbling Down is a 2020 fantasy novella by American author Seanan McGuire. It is the fifth book in the Wayward Children series and focuses on the Wolcott twins, who were centered in the first book in the series and the second. This time, the children from the School for Wayward Children must venture into the Moors to save Jack Wolcott and the Moors themselves.
Where the Drowned Girls Go is a 2022 fantasy novella by American author Seanan McGuire. It is the seventh book published in the Wayward Children series and follows the character Cora.
Across the Green Grass Fields is a 2021 fantasy novella by American author Seanan McGuire. It is the fifth book published in the Wayward Children book series and follows Regan as she learns about her true nature then travels to a world of centaurs and unicorns, where she finds family.
Lost in the Moment and Found is a 2023 fantasy novella by American author Seanan McGuire. It is the eighth book published in the Wayward Children book series and follows Antoinette (Antsy) as she escapes her step-father's abuse and finds the Shop Where the Lost Things Go.
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known is a 2024 fantasy novella by American author Seanan McGuire. It is the ninth book published in the Wayward Children book published in the series and Antsy and other children from the School for Wayward Children as they travel to multiple worlds.
The Up-and-Under is a series of novellas by Seanan McGuire, writing under the pen name A. Deborah Baker. It currently comprises four novellas. Baker is a fictional character in McGuire's Alchemical Journeys series, which began with 2019's Middlegame. Sections of Over the Woodward Wall were quoted in Middlegame and were later expanded into a full story in their own right.