Mirror Dreams is a comedic fantasy duology by Catherine Webb, that takes place in the Kingdom of the Void. This is where all the dreams you have happen to be, both the good ones and the nightmares to maintain balance. In the first book, the nightmare dwelling lords of Nightkeep are keen to take over Haven, the very centre of dreams, and it's down to legendary mage and master of snark Learnan Kite to stop them. The second book, Mirror Wakes, has trouble occur within Haven itself with Kite being called on, again, to solve the problem while dealing with his own personal issues.
The duology provides examples of:
- Adventures in Comaland: Renna has been in a coma for ten years so her presence in the Realm of Dreams is this. The same is true for Mariam in the second book. Both die in their comas but get to continue their adventures in a higher form because they have found their respective paradises.
- Always Someone Better: Saenia has a bit of a complex regarding the fact her little brother is a legendary hero and one of the most powerful mages in the Realm of Dreams. She gets over this when she evacuates the entirety of Haven when Serein's forces take over, something that confounds even Kite.
- Balance of Good and Evil: Haven and Nightkeep have to exist side by side to maintain the balance between the light of good dreams, and the darkness of bad ones. Too bad the lords of Nightkeep don't like following rules.
- Big Bad: Serein, King of Nightkeep in the first book. Malkovich in the second.
- Cessation of Existence: Anything or anyone created inside a kingdom by a mage ceases to exist if they step out of it and into the Void. Anything created within the Void can also exist within any kingdom, but elementals will tend to be a bit worn down after a while.
- The death of a mage can cause their creations to fade out of existence. Kite practically dangling from the gallows causes his elementals to start flickering in and out of existence.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The second book employs this at the climax. Those loyal to Malkovich wear red, while those loyal to Kite wear blue. Mariam is at the centre of this confrontation, threatening to cut Kite down with a sword. Initially she wears red but her outfit changes to purple to indicate her shifting loyalty. At the end of the confrontation, she wears white, indicating her only loyalty is now to herself.
- A map the Silverhand Consortium keeps marks out which kingdoms are truly loyal to dreams. Those marked in black are nightmares, those in red are dream kingdoms where dissent is brewing, the truly loyal ones are marked in blue.
- Doppelgänger: David Kiteler is one for Laernan Kite. Serein has one in the form of 'Slimy Doc' who wants to switch off Renna's life support because keeping her alive is expensive. In the second book Malkovich from Firepoint has one in the form of Mariam's abusive boyfriend.
- Domestic Abuse: Heavily implied with Mariam from the second book as Malkovich closely resembles her boyfriend on Earth who doesn't treat her very well, and Malkovich himself is horrible to her. Tellingly, Mariam's personal paradise is getting away from him and reclaiming her freedom and independence.
- Dreams of Flying: Skypoint is built entirely around this trope. It is composed of mostly sky and high cliffs, and everyone is given wings to fly with. Kite considers it one of the best places for dreamers to visit and recommends it to a young Earth boy he sees in the Void.
- Dreams vs. Nightmares: The first book has nightmarish realm of Nightkeep attempt to conquer the hub of dreams Haven. They succeed for a brief while.
- Flashback: Kite has one in Westpoint when he's told to wear a blindfold as he passes through. The last time he was blindfolded in captivity in Nightkeep so it is not a pleasant experience.
- Foreshadowing: When Kite first meets Renna, she outflies him while they are in Skypoint. At the very end, Renna has sprouted wings of her own and saves Kite from falling to his death.
- The High Queen: Lisana becomes Queen of Dreams at the very end, due to Kite acknowledging her claim to the throne and handing her the key to Haven.
- Instant Awesome Just Add Dragons: Invoked at coronations in Haven. The questioner who represents the Fifth Element is expected to ride in on one before questioning the prospective king.
- Somewhat deconstructed by Kite's friend with benefits Idrina, who points out dragons tend to leave very large messes behind when they "go."
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kite, by his own admission, is not the nicest of people, but he's willing to fight on behalf of dreams and protect Earth's sleeping population from the interference of Nightkeep.
- As it turns out Lisana. Kite uses a magic mirror to ascertain her true nature and motivations, and the mirror shows her as a 'serene angel.' Even Lisana is shocked by the mirror showing she's a lot better person than she thought she was.
- Jock Dad, Nerd Son: A villainous example with Serein and his father. Kite admits his battle with the previous King of Nightkeep was down to luck and the fact he was not the brightest bulb in the box. The more intellectual and strategic Serein is a far more dangerous opponent and comes very close to actually killing Kite.
- Lemony Narrator: Both books are narrated by Kite and filled to the brim with his snarky opinions.
- Mercy Kill: Kite recollects his time in a nightmare kingdom, where one lord created a lady purely for his own satisfaction but treated her so badly, she lived in absolute terror and was desperate for escape. Because leaving the kingdom she was created in would have meant ceasing to exist, Kite stopped her heart to end her pain.
- Neat Freak: Kite doesn't like there being a land of darkness in addition to a land of light- because the former is so messy. He also took over Stormpoint because its previous ruler was a little loopy and left his lands a colossal mess.
- Oh, Crap!: When Kite learns the old king died defending Haven from Serein's forces and realizes he's going to be up against someone who's a lot smarter and effective than his last opponent.
- Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Kite and Lisana do this every time they meet in court. This even continues after they've set their differences aside and become staunch allies. Kite narrates their first argument as if it is a tennis match.
- Power Perversion Potential: Mages who run their own kingdoms can literally conjure anything to live inside it. Kite outright states more than a few, on both sides, conjure ladies for 'things best not mentioned.'
- Pragmatic Hero: Kite is established as early on when it's revealed he created a werewolf to protect the fairy tale forest that composes his kingdom. Why a werewolf? Because fairies and elves are terrible at keeping threats out due to being distracted by love potions and fashion magazines. It's that sort of story.
- Rightful Queen Returns: After retaking Haven from Serein, Kite hands the key over to Lisana due to her having a legitimate claim to the throne. (That, and the state his head was in after a number of brushes with death would have meant Haven would have become a complete madhouse within days.)
- Secret Police: The Silverhand Consortium acts as this for the Realm of Dreams, ensuring dreamers from Earth are kept safe and not being abused by the many lords, mages and creatures within its many kingdoms. They're not so secret by the end of the story due to the large role they play in retaking Haven.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Smug, snarky Laernan Kite is the Manly Man. His best friend Windsight is the quiet, mild mannered Sensitive Guy to the point where Kite wishes he would settle down and marry so he would be happy and have someone to share his life with.
- Smug Super: Kite is an insanely powerful mage, and he really likes to show that part off.
- Theme Naming: All the kingdoms of the Void have 'point' at the end of their name. (eg: Stormpoint, Skypoint, Silverpoint and so on.)
- Toilet Humour: Kite conjures a dragon to protect Stormpoint while he's gone. This exchange occurs.
- Idrina: Do you have any idea how big their crap happens to be?Kite: Excellent fertiliser, though. The garden could use a little natural oomph.
- Undying Loyalty: David Kiteler, Renna's husband and Kite's doppelganger, has stayed at his wife's side for the whole ten years she's been in a coma, and begs the doctors to do what they can to save her or at least keep her alive. In the end he's forced to let her die.
- Unreliable Narrator: Kite admits he probably this at the end, remarking that he has probably exaggerated some elements of his story and missed out others to make himself look better than he actually is.
- You Killed My Father: Serein doesn't bring it up too often, but when they first encounter each other, his change from Smug Snake to Tranquil Fury indicates he really doesn't like the fact Kite killed his dad.
