In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Not going to lie, this sort of crushed my heart.
I found this story to be so sad, y’all. It truly hit me right in the heart.
The idea of childhood innocence and optimism being dashed on the rocks of reality.
You cannot outsmart the market; you cannot have it all.
In an Absent Dream, a prequel novella, tells the backstory of Katherine Lundy, Eleanor West’s Assistant.
Her world was a goblin market with the door first manifesting to her in a large, mysterious tree which appears in a place it had never been before.
Talk about every child’s dream!
A portal world accessed through a tree that probably only you could see.
The description of the goblin market itself, not just the vibrant atmosphere, but also the system’s function, was fascinating. I think a lot can be taken from that as a social commentary on our own economic system.
That’s one of the things I love about McGuire’s writing, the stories hold so many different layers depending on how far you want to look.
There’s something for every reader within the pages.
I thought this was a super solid addition to this series. I enjoyed the relationships and how Lundy got to travel back and forth between the two places.
I’m looking forward to continuing on my Wayward Children journey. I wish this series would keep going on forever and ever!