
Dreamstalkers: The Night Train
by Sarah Driver
Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 10+
Published by Farshore, 2024
About this book
When everyone’s dreams disappear, and dark, shadowy nightmares slither across the moors, Bea discovers her mother used to be a Dreamstalker. Dreamstalkers are warriors and performers who work inside dreams. Now the evil Queen who Bea’s mother ran from years ago is growing more powerful, and she has the other Dreamstalkers under her control. Nightmares are taking over, and villages across the land are being abandoned. Then a mysterious Night Train steams into Bea’s life, and takes her, her owl Pip and an erstwhile friend, Martha, to the city of Silvervein. There, they must find a way to defeat the powerful Queen. But how can two girls do this if scores of powerful mages can’t?
This complex fantasy is the first in an exciting new series. It is fast-paced and full of action, with short chapters to encourage the reader to keep turning the pages. The descriptive writing is beautiful, and there are some incredible imaginative details in this fantasy world, such as blot dragons and the Night Train itself. Pip the owl is a memorable character, too. Due to the complexity of the magic and the dream worlds, this is a novel for confident readers.
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