The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books: A Novel

Until now Moers’ books on the inhabitants of Zamonia have been self-standing novels with loosely coupled references to each other’s events and characters. This volume constitutes his first sequel within the world of Zamonia, a revisitation of Bookholm by Optimus Yarnspinner approximately 200 years after his original adventures there.While Moer’s fertile, world-creating imagination is once again present in this writing, it manifests itself in a different balance than in prior books. Less verbiage is dedicated to creating a visual image of Bookholm itself, and more given to illustrating its evolving society and artistic directions. Moers returns to his roots as a parodist in his exploration of Puppetism, attacking real-world theater and music; any reader who delighted in cracking the famous classical artist anagrams present in “The City of Dreaming Books” will be even more rewarded in this sequel. The illustrations that he provides are richer in detail and scope than any prior Zamonian novel. While still containing enough exciting imagery and action to entertain younger readers and humor to sustain prior general readers of Moers, this book is aimed for a slightly older audience with knowledge of the Western Classical arts.This slightly slimmer than typical book ends in a cliffhanger and a post-script apology from Moers; in short, a third book on Bookholm will follow soon. If you are a new reader to Moers, you are best advised to start with another of his books; if you are an existing Moers reader, the book will partially satisfy your reading-hunger until the second half of the sequel is published.

I am disappointed, not in the book, but in the reviews given by supposed fans of the authors work. This is not an action packed thrill ride like Rumo or even The City of Dreaming Books, it is a continuing story by Optimus Yarnspinner, setting the stage for the finale, which I am anxiously waiting for. Taking place some 200 years after the events of the previous book. He finds himself back in that infamous city, reborn after his hasty departure long ago, again drawn by some mysterious letter from an unknown author. He finds that a new art has taken hold of the city and sets out to learn all he can about it, which leads him somewhere he never imagined. I found this book very enjoyable. A little dry, but I believe it was all necessary to understand the story to follow.

I'll begin by saying that I *adored* _The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear_ and _The City of Dreaming Books_. _The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books_ is a sequel to the latter, and on that basis alone I bought the book. But I'm afraid it's not very good, and here is why.It is nearly entirely a nostalgia-fest: the book is a romp through Bookholm, but no one who read this book would be particularly charmed, I imagine, if they hadn't first read _The City..._ and fallen in love with Bookholm then. I've met characters from the previous book; they are lacklustre. Nothing seems to go anywhere. The protagonist details his stay in Bookholm in a manner that seems to me tedious; whereas in _The City..._ and in _...Bluebear_, the lists of fantastical names of things or places was funny, quirky and charming, now it feels like a shtick: oh hey, here's another kooky list, are you laughing yet?Then there is the matter of the prose. I haven't read the originals, and Mr. Brownjohn has translated all (I think) of Mr. Moers' work, so I have no point of comparison. The register is very slightly stuffy and old-fashioned; it works well in _The City..._ but here, accompanied by a plot that goes nowhere and a protagonist who does not really seem to develop, it just just feels heavy. There are, in places, words that are simply misused. In one sentence, Mr. Brownjohn uses "tacitly" where he means "silently"--this is not a trivial mistake. This particular kind of error in language makes for a prose style that feels just a little "off," like a melody played slightly sharper than it should be.We shall say nothing of the fact that the copy on the back of the book calls the protagonist by the name that Mr. Moers' probably used in the original; Mr. Brownjohn (correctly) chooses to use a different name, in order to convey the spirit of the original in the language of the translation, but it's odd that no one caught the error on the back cover.And finally, there is the matter of the ending. There is much more to a book than the ending, you might protest. Yes, yes indeed. But not in this one. The entire book does nothing but lead up to the cliffhanger ending, and is therefore terribly dull. I am left with the feeling of having been tricked: I expected a story, but after nnn pages, I realize that all I got was an unnecessarily long introduction to whatever book Mr. Moers and Mr. Brownjohn will release next in what is becoming the Bookholm series.Now: the writer--Mr. Moers, in translation--even addresses this at the end, in a note directly to the reader, saying that another book is to come, and everything so far has been "a prelude." No kidding. I feel annoyed and hoodwinked. I'd much rather have waited and read a nice, big, fat book the size of _...Bluebear_ than discover only at the end of my reading that the book I'd just read was, in fact, simply Part 1 of 2. I shall hold out hope that Part 2 is so delicious and enchanting that it will make my annoyance over Part 1 have been entirely worth it.

This is the third Moer's novel I've read. This author has a fantastic imagination. I loved this book, for it gave me a chance to catch up with Optimus Yarnspinner. Optimus is a returning character from City of Dreaming Books. Part of the fun is unscrambling the names of famous authors. In this novel he extends to composers and artists too.

Had to force myself to finish. An utter, utter disappointment from start to finish.I have now read 4 Walter Moers books - 2 were great, 2 I didn't like (Although Rumo was at least a bit better than this tripe). I have one more on my shelf. I may or may not read it.

Another brilliant book by Walter Moers

Favourite author, super high quality book! A pleasure to read! Super value for money. Only drawback is that the cover had some sticky dirt on it. Rest of the book is fine.

The book is in good condition with a plastic protector over it but there is glue residue on the plastic protector and stamps on every side so just be aware. The book is still 100% readable.

Walter Moers is a writer whos books create aliving image in your mind. Phenom!!!Reccomend his books for everyone from a 7-8 child to aldutls of all ages. Great read for a family book!!