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* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: The Mesarthrim and their children all have vivid blue skin as their primary MarkOfTheSupernatural. [[spoiler: As does Lazlo, once his true heritage becomes clear.]]
* ApeShallNeverKillApe: There's an unspoken but firm rule amongst the godspawn to never use their powers against each other in a violent manner. [[spoiler: Which makes for two dramatic moments when Minya uses her ghosts to restrain Sarai and trap her in her room, and Sarai in turn later unleashes her moths on Minya in a rage.]]
* EmotionalPowers: All of the godspawn's gifts are at least partially linked to their emotions. Feral and Ruby's powers tend to manifest spontaneously in moments of high stress, while the behavior of Sarai's moths are often indicative of her current emotional state. During the climax of the book, [[spoiler: the trauma of seeing Sarai's dead body causes Sparrow's gift to invert and [[MakeThemRot decay all plantlife around her]], while the discovery of [[DivineParentage Lazlo's true identity]] gives Minya such a shock that she temporarily loses her grip on her ghosts.]]
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* GreenThumb: Sparrow's gift. She can nurture plants from a single seed and revive them at will.
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* GreenThumb: Sparrow's gift. She can nurture plants from a single seed and revive them at will.will -- she cannot, however, grow plants from nothing.
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* JerkassGods: Whether the Mesarthrim were ''truly'' gods or just [[AGodAmI saw themselves as such]] is left deliberately ambiguous by the narrative -- at the very least, they were all LongLived and possessed supernatural powers shared by no human -- but they were definitely monsters and assholes every single one, and terrorized the Unseen City for two hundred years before Eril-Fane ended their reign of terror.
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* OhAndXDies: [[spoiler: Remembering the details of the InMediaRes opening chapter and subsequently paying attention to the character descriptions makes it pretty clear that Sarai isn't going to make it to the end of the story.]]
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* PerceptionFilter: How the godspawn have remained hidden on the citadel just above Weep for fifteen years -- Sarai spends every night making use of her magic to implant a subconscious fear of the citadel into the citizenry's minds, effectively making it a collective TraumaButton that the people of Weep are reluctant to talk about or even ''look'' at. Eril-Fane was only able to muster up the courage to mount an expedition after an extended stay outside of the city left Sarai unable to affect his mind.
* PersonalityPowers: All of the godspawn's gifts are at least somewhat indicative of who they are as people, with [[ConversationalTroping Sarai's internal narrative]] [[LampshadeHanging actively alluding to this trope]] while also pondering if [[NatureVersusNurture the godspawn's powers come from their natures, or the other way around]].
** [[NiceGirl Sweet and nurturing]] Sparrow has the power to [[GreenThumb grow and revitalize plantlife]].
** HotBlooded Ruby is a [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinetic]].
** Feral is a daydreamer who longs to see the world, and has the gift of [[WeatherManipulation snatching clouds and rain from faraway places]].
** Minya's power to [[{{Necromancer}} bind the souls of the dead to her service]] can be seen as emblematic of her [[ControlFreak obsessive need for control]], as well as her mentality of being stuck in the past and inability to move past her own trauma.
** Sarai's own gift as a DreamWeaver, which enables her to cause horrific nightmares or bring pleasant dreams at her option, resembles how Sarai herself carries a dark and vindictive streak, but would really prefer to be a normal and kind person instead.
* PersonalityPowers: All of the godspawn's gifts are at least somewhat indicative of who they are as people, with [[ConversationalTroping Sarai's internal narrative]] [[LampshadeHanging actively alluding to this trope]] while also pondering if [[NatureVersusNurture the godspawn's powers come from their natures, or the other way around]].
** [[NiceGirl Sweet and nurturing]] Sparrow has the power to [[GreenThumb grow and revitalize plantlife]].
** HotBlooded Ruby is a [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinetic]].
** Feral is a daydreamer who longs to see the world, and has the gift of [[WeatherManipulation snatching clouds and rain from faraway places]].
** Minya's power to [[{{Necromancer}} bind the souls of the dead to her service]] can be seen as emblematic of her [[ControlFreak obsessive need for control]], as well as her mentality of being stuck in the past and inability to move past her own trauma.
** Sarai's own gift as a DreamWeaver, which enables her to cause horrific nightmares or bring pleasant dreams at her option, resembles how Sarai herself carries a dark and vindictive streak, but would really prefer to be a normal and kind person instead.
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* SiblingTriangle: Half-sisters Ruby and Sparrow are both attracted to Feral, the [[TheOneGuy lone boy]] among the five godspawn. [[spoiler: Feral is initially more interested in Sparrow, but Ruby's more... [[DoYouWantToCopulate direct]] style of flirting ultimately wins him over.]]
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Bishonen is Definition-Only fan-speak term used only for Japanese/East-Asian media. No examples allowed. Per TRS.
Moving In Universe acknowledgements/relevance to Pretty Boy.
Moving In Universe acknowledgements/relevance to Pretty Boy.Deleted line(s) 14 (click to see context) :
* {{Bishonen}}: Thyon Nero, the golden godson, whose beauty is frequently commented on by the narrative.
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* PrettyBoy: Thyon Nero, the golden godson, whose beauty is frequently commented on by the narrative.
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* OurSpiritsAreDifferent: In this story, spirit is a fluid that pumps from a second heart in Zeru humans and can be extracted like blood.
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* AdamAndEvePlot: Invoked in a variant form by Ruby, for recreation rather than procreation. [[spoiler: She and Feral start making out and eventually having sex with each other because they're sure they're going to die and Feral is the only boy among the Godspawn.]]
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* ColonyDrop: Three of the anchors dropped onto the Tizerkane barracks, the library and university, and the royal palace, taking out Weep's army, government, and intellectual center in one fell swoop and leaving them easy prey for the Mesarthim.
* DamagedSoul: Minya has poured so much of her soul into her ghosts that she's less of a person and more of a purpose.
* DamagedSoul: Minya has poured so much of her soul into her ghosts that she's less of a person and more of a purpose.
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* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Thyon Nero is unable to comprehend that Lazlo would help him just because he needed it and is convinced that it's all a part of some grand scheme.
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* HateAtFirstSight: [[spoiler:Minya hates Lazlo the instant she sees his gift, because she feels he cheated by just having a gift that should have been hers for all she sacrificed. Learning that he was the one who encouraged Sarai to defy her, and realizing that he is stronger than her after she's become a ControlFreak, just rubs it in further, and she enslaves Sarai just to spite him.]]
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* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler:At the end, Minya captures Sarai's soul and threatens to release it unless Lazlo does exactly what she says.]]
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* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Draven]] carelessly sets off an explosion with no thought as to the collateral damage, and is killed by it.
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* MotiveDecay: Minya originally started out trying to save the other four godspawn, but her desire for vengeance and control plus her DamagedSoul from maintaining ghosts for all those years whittle her down until control and power is all she can think about. [[spoiler:By the end, she's ''happy'' that Sarai is dead so she can enslave her and gain control over Lazlo, who she immediately hates because he has the power she wants]].
* MustNotDieAVirgin: [[spoiler: Ruby and Feral start making out and eventually having sex with each other because they're sure they're going to die soon and Feral is the only boy among the Godspawn.]]
* NightOfTheLivingMooks: [[spoiler:Minya has been stealing all of the dead from Weep for fifteen years, and unleashes a massive army of ghosts when Eril-Fane and the experts first come up to the Citadel. They barely survive thanks to Sarai warning them and flying outside of Minya's range.]]
* MustNotDieAVirgin: [[spoiler: Ruby and Feral start making out and eventually having sex with each other because they're sure they're going to die soon and Feral is the only boy among the Godspawn.]]
* NightOfTheLivingMooks: [[spoiler:Minya has been stealing all of the dead from Weep for fifteen years, and unleashes a massive army of ghosts when Eril-Fane and the experts first come up to the Citadel. They barely survive thanks to Sarai warning them and flying outside of Minya's range.]]
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* TrueBeautyIsOnTheInside: Sarai is attracted to Thyon Nero's beautiful face, but is repulsed by his ugly, small dreams. Lazlo looks plain, but has the most beautiful dreams of anyone she's ever seen.
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* BadPowersBadPeople: All the Mesarthim, who used their powers to abduct, torture, rape and terrify the inhabitants of the Unseen City. Played straight with Minya and subverted with Sarai, who uses her powers to torment humans but regrets it.
* {{Bishonen}}: Thyon Nero, the golden godson.
* {{Bishonen}}: Thyon Nero, the golden godson.
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* BadPowersBadPeople: All the Mesarthim, who used their powers to abduct, torture, rape and terrify the inhabitants of the Unseen City. Played straight with Minya Minya, whose ability to control ghosts has made her abusive and controlling and subverted with Sarai, who uses her powers to torment humans but regrets it.
* BigSisterBully: Minya may look like the youngest of the godspawn, but she's actually the oldest, and has emotionally and mentally abused the other godspawn all their lives by using her tantrums and guilt-tripping and powers to make them do whatever she wants and tormenting them whenever they defy her.
* {{Bishonen}}: Thyon Nero, the goldengodson. godson, whose beauty is frequently commented on by the narrative.
* BigSisterBully: Minya may look like the youngest of the godspawn, but she's actually the oldest, and has emotionally and mentally abused the other godspawn all their lives by using her tantrums and guilt-tripping and powers to make them do whatever she wants and tormenting them whenever they defy her.
* {{Bishonen}}: Thyon Nero, the golden
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* DemolitionsExpert: Drave. [[spoiler: His restlessness and jealously lead him to blowing up the earth underneath the north anchor and causing both Sarai's death Lazlo's Mesarthim heritage to emerge in full.]]
* DontYouDarePityMe: Uttered by Thyon Nero word-for-word.
* DontYouDarePityMe: Uttered by Thyon Nero word-for-word.
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* DemolitionsExpert: Drave. [[spoiler: His restlessness and jealously lead him to blowing up the earth underneath the north anchor and causing both Sarai's death and Lazlo's Mesarthim heritage to emerge in full.]]
* DontYouDarePityMe: Uttered by Thyon Neroword-for-word.word-for-word when Lazlo dares to compare their situations as abused boys.
* DontYouDarePityMe: Uttered by Thyon Nero
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* FreudianExcuse: Minya is a sadistic, abusive bully who wants to destroy all the humans of Weep for the deaths of the godspawn, but she was also heavily traumatized by the nursery massacre and her [[ItsAllMyFault failure to save more of the children]], and thanks to her frozen aging she's stuck feeling the same emotions she felt that day.
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* HopeSpot: Minya likes to give her ghosts a slight leash to make them think they can fight her, before crushing that hope.
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''Strange the Dreamer'' was released in March of 2017, part one of a planned duology.
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''Strange the Dreamer'' was released in March of 2017, part one 2017. Its sequel, ''Muse of a planned duology.
Nightmares'', was released in November of 2018.
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Lazlo found the secret to alchemy and shared it with Thyon Nero out of sympathy since they were both victims of abuse. In return, Thyon tried to destroy Lazlo's life's work and take his dream of going to Weep from him, because he couldn't handle the idea that a "nothing" like Lazlo would dare pity ''him''.
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%%* HalfHumanHybrid: Feral, Sparrow, Ruby and Minya are all human on their mother's side. Averted with Sarai, whose human side comes from her father.
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* HalfHumanHybrid:
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* KidsAreCruel: Minya has frozen herself at six years old, her age at the time of the god-slaying. Because of this, she's become a sociopathic bully who sadistically torments the ghosts she captures and her fellow godspawn whenever they displease her, which is most of the time.
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* HalfHumanHybrid: The Godspawn, who are half human and half Mesarthim.
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Deleted line(s) 30 (click to see context) :
* HumanMomNonHumanDad: Feral, Sparrow, Ruby and Minya are all human on their mother's side. Averted with Sarai, whose human side comes from her father.
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dewicking
Deleted line(s) 36 (click to see context) :
* MassiveNumberedOffspring: Skathis rules as TheCaligula over the city of Weep, kidnapping woman and raping them. Skathis has done this for centuries with the hundreds of children that have been produced by this then sold off by him to other worlds as slaves or weapons.
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* MassiveNumberedOffspring: Skathis rules as TheCaligula over the city of Weep, kidnapping woman and raping them. Skathis has done this for centuries with the hundreds of children that have been produced by this then sold off by him to other worlds as slaves or weapons.
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Added image.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/strange_the_dreamer.png]]
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* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: In-Universe. Lazlo reckons that there must have been many more Godspawn created in the 200+ years of Mesarthim rule... but nobody knows where they are and if they even still live. It's implied that the Mesarthim themselves did ''something'' to Godspawn once they manifested their gift.
to:
* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: In-Universe. Lazlo reckons that there must have been many more Godspawn created in the 200+ years of Mesarthim rule... but nobody knows where they are and if they even still live. It's implied that the Mesarthim themselves did ''something'' to Godspawn once they manifested their gift.gift.
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''Strange the Dreamer'' is a Young Adult fantasy book written by Laini Taylor, author of the Literature/DaughterOfSmokeAndBone trilogy. The book centers around the adventures of Lazlo Strange, an orphan and apprentice librarian who has dreams of someday traveling to the Unseen City, a mystical metropolis where all wonderful things like magic exist. But when he actually comes to the city, known as Weep, he realizes that there is so much he doesn't know about this strange world. Meanwhile, a girl named Sarai lives a life imprisoned and away from humanity, but she longs to escape and be apart of the world... if only that was possible.
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''Strange the Dreamer'' is a Young Adult fantasy book written by Laini Taylor, Creator/LainiTaylor, author of the Literature/DaughterOfSmokeAndBone ''Literature/DaughterOfSmokeAndBone'' trilogy. The book centers around the adventures of Lazlo Strange, an orphan and apprentice librarian who has dreams of someday traveling to the Unseen City, a mystical metropolis where all wonderful things like magic exist. But when he actually comes to the city, known as Weep, he realizes that there is so much he doesn't know about this strange world. Meanwhile, a girl named Sarai lives a life imprisoned and away from humanity, but she longs to escape and be apart of the world... if only that was possible.
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None
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* AlchemyIsMagic: Subverted. Alchemy is a real science in this world, and is the field of expertise of Tyron Nero, who is a staunch believer in the scientific existence of reality. He's the first alchemist to successfully transmute gold and create a universal solvent.
to:
* AlchemyIsMagic: Subverted. Alchemy is a real science in this world, and is the field of expertise of Tyron Thyon Nero, who is a staunch believer in the scientific existence of reality. He's the first alchemist to successfully transmute gold and create a universal solvent.
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* {{Bishonen}}: Tyron Nero, the golden godson.
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* {{Bishonen}}: Tyron Thyon Nero, the golden godson.
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* DontYouDarePityMe: Uttered by Thyon Nero word-for-word.
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Just finished the book, feel free to add tropes that I missed
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''Strange the Dreamer'' is a Young Adult fantasy book written by Laini Taylor, author of the Literature/DaughterOfSmokeAndBone trilogy. The book centers around the adventures of Lazlo Strange, an orphan and apprentice librarian who has dreams of someday traveling to the Unseen City, a mystical metropolis where all wonderful things like magic exist. But when he actually comes to the city, known as Weep, he realizes that there is so much he doesn't know about this strange world. Meanwhile, a girl named Sarai lives a life imprisoned and away from humanity, but she longs to escape and be apart of the world... if only that was possible.
''Strange the Dreamer'' was released in March of 2017, part one of a planned duology.
'''WARNING: Due to the slowly-unraveling structure of this story, there will be unmarked spoilers ahead. Read with caution!'''
----
!! This book provides examples of:
* AdamAndEvePlot: Invoked in a variant form by Ruby, for recreation rather than procreation. [[spoiler: She and Feral start making out and eventually having sex with each other because they're sure they're going to die and Feral is the only boy among the Godspawn.]]
* AlchemyIsMagic: Subverted. Alchemy is a real science in this world, and is the field of expertise of Tyron Nero, who is a staunch believer in the scientific existence of reality. He's the first alchemist to successfully transmute gold and create a universal solvent.
* AnimalMotifs: Sarai's dream powers manifest in the shapes of velvety black moths, through which she can [[AnimalEyeSpy experience the world in full sensory detail.]] Moths are on the cover of the hardcover edition of the book.
* BadPowersBadPeople: All the Mesarthim, who used their powers to abduct, torture, rape and terrify the inhabitants of the Unseen City. Played straight with Minya and subverted with Sarai, who uses her powers to torment humans but regrets it.
* {{Bishonen}}: Tyron Nero, the golden godson.
* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The Citadel, made of Mesarthium, shaped like a seraphim, and hovering above Weep. It gets weirder inside, with all the doors being either permanently open or closed as they were at the time of Skathis' death.
* CloudCuckoolander: Lazlo. His obsession with the Unseen City and all its stories and ancient documents is seen as silly and wasteful by the other librarians and the scholars.
** TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Lazlo makes a bet on what the "problem" of Weep is, going for the most bizarre guess possible. [[spoiler: He's right, of course.]]
* DemolitionsExpert: Drave. [[spoiler: His restlessness and jealously lead him to blowing up the earth underneath the north anchor and causing both Sarai's death Lazlo's Mesarthim heritage to emerge in full.]]
* DreamTeam: The outsiders that the Tizerkane bring into Weep all have special expertise that make them experts in their fields. Among the assembled are a mathematician, a natural scientist, a renown architect, a couple who invented a flying machine, twin brother geologists, and a girl who is really good at climbing.
* DreamWeaver: Combined with DreamWalker, this is Sarai's gift. She can enter human's dreams and conjure up [[FlashbackNightmare nightmares and horrors to terrify them,]] without the dreamers ever knowing she was there.
* ExtraOreDinary: Skathis, known as the God of Beasts, was the Mesarthim with the ability to create and manipulate Mesarthium. He even had the power to turn the metal into living things, hence the epithet. [[spoiler: Lazlo, as his son, inherits this power.]]
* FadeToBlack: '''Averted.''' There are numerous sex scenes in this book. Of course, being a YA book, they're more metaphorical than literal, but they're definitely there.
* FantasyMetals: Mesarthium. Created by the Mesarthim, it's completely adamant, frictionless, and otherworldly. Even the universal solvent fails to dissolve it [[spoiler:until Lazlo's spirit is added to the concoction.]] Finding a way to destroy the metal is a large part of the novel.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Sarai feels as if the ghosts under Minya's control experience this. [[spoiler:When she herself is rescued from evanescence by Minya, she changes her mind - briefly.]]
* GildedCage: Downplayed. The Citadel isn't a particularly lavish prison, but the Godspawn have food, water, beds and clothes to wear, and a staff of ghosts to do all the chores. They're also free to use their powers as long as they don't reveal themselves to the humans below.
* GreenThumb: Sparrow's gift. She can nurture plants from a single seed and revive them at will.
* HalfHumanHybrid: The Godspawn, who are half human and half Mesarthim.
* HeartwarmingOrphan: Lazlo, who grows up in an oppressive monastery and finds his true calling at the library.
* HumanMomNonHumanDad: Feral, Sparrow, Ruby and Minya are all human on their mother's side. Averted with Sarai, whose human side comes from her father.
* HumanOutsideAlienInside: A strange (no pun intended) case where the humans of this world have two hearts: one that pumps blood, and one that pumps spirit, a phlegm-like fluid that provides the body with vitality.
* IAmWho?: [[spoiler: Combined with [[AmnesiacGod Amnesiac Godspawn.]] Lazlo discovers at the end of the book that he is the son of Skathis.]]
* InMediasRes: The opening scene of the story is [[spoiler: Sarai's]] death. The actual event doesn't happen until the last few chapters of the novel.
* KillTheGod: Fifteenth years ago, Eril-Fane killed the Mesarthim and murdered their half-human children. He's called the Godslayer in the present day.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The Mesarthim with power over secrets wiped the minds of humans that were kidnapped by the Mesarthim once their service was done. When she died, she made the ''entire world'' forget the true name of the Unseen City, which is how it came to be known as Weep.
* MentalWorld: Lazlo's dream image of Weep, which looks just like how the old monk described the city.
* TheOneGuy: Feral is the only boy among the otherwise female Godspawn.
* OutsideContextProblem: The Mesarthim, who arrived one day in the Unseen City and promptly took it over. The Mesarthium as well, which requires a team of outsider experts to tackle the problem of destroying it.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The Seraphim, which are without a doubt the same Seraphim from the author's [[Literature/DaughterOfSmokeAndBone previous series,]] with fiery wings and the ability to kill demons.
* PlayingWithFire: Ruby's gift. She can light herself and objects on fire, and she is immune to burning.
* PurpleProse: Laini Taylor's writing style, in full force here. YMMV on whether this is enjoyable or annoying.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Among all the evil acts the Mesarthim committed, the one that pushed them over the brink in the eyes of the humans was their wanton abduction of teenage boys and girls, many of whom were raped or coerced magically into sex.
* SoulPower: Minya's gift. She can pluck ghosts before they dissolve into nothingness, and force them to do her will without question.
* TalkingInYourDreams: How Lazlo and Sarai meet and correspond. [[spoiler:They get up to more... ''intimate'' things in the dreams as well.]]
* TitleDrop: "Strange the Dreamer" is an epithet of sorts that the librarians give to Lazlo for being obsessed with fairy tales.
* WeatherManipulation: Feral's gift. He can draw clouds from different places around the world with a thought. He cannot, however, generate storms from nothing.
* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: In-Universe. Lazlo reckons that there must have been many more Godspawn created in the 200+ years of Mesarthim rule... but nobody knows where they are and if they even still live. It's implied that the Mesarthim themselves did ''something'' to Godspawn once they manifested their gift.
''Strange the Dreamer'' was released in March of 2017, part one of a planned duology.
'''WARNING: Due to the slowly-unraveling structure of this story, there will be unmarked spoilers ahead. Read with caution!'''
----
!! This book provides examples of:
* AdamAndEvePlot: Invoked in a variant form by Ruby, for recreation rather than procreation. [[spoiler: She and Feral start making out and eventually having sex with each other because they're sure they're going to die and Feral is the only boy among the Godspawn.]]
* AlchemyIsMagic: Subverted. Alchemy is a real science in this world, and is the field of expertise of Tyron Nero, who is a staunch believer in the scientific existence of reality. He's the first alchemist to successfully transmute gold and create a universal solvent.
* AnimalMotifs: Sarai's dream powers manifest in the shapes of velvety black moths, through which she can [[AnimalEyeSpy experience the world in full sensory detail.]] Moths are on the cover of the hardcover edition of the book.
* BadPowersBadPeople: All the Mesarthim, who used their powers to abduct, torture, rape and terrify the inhabitants of the Unseen City. Played straight with Minya and subverted with Sarai, who uses her powers to torment humans but regrets it.
* {{Bishonen}}: Tyron Nero, the golden godson.
* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The Citadel, made of Mesarthium, shaped like a seraphim, and hovering above Weep. It gets weirder inside, with all the doors being either permanently open or closed as they were at the time of Skathis' death.
* CloudCuckoolander: Lazlo. His obsession with the Unseen City and all its stories and ancient documents is seen as silly and wasteful by the other librarians and the scholars.
** TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Lazlo makes a bet on what the "problem" of Weep is, going for the most bizarre guess possible. [[spoiler: He's right, of course.]]
* DemolitionsExpert: Drave. [[spoiler: His restlessness and jealously lead him to blowing up the earth underneath the north anchor and causing both Sarai's death Lazlo's Mesarthim heritage to emerge in full.]]
* DreamTeam: The outsiders that the Tizerkane bring into Weep all have special expertise that make them experts in their fields. Among the assembled are a mathematician, a natural scientist, a renown architect, a couple who invented a flying machine, twin brother geologists, and a girl who is really good at climbing.
* DreamWeaver: Combined with DreamWalker, this is Sarai's gift. She can enter human's dreams and conjure up [[FlashbackNightmare nightmares and horrors to terrify them,]] without the dreamers ever knowing she was there.
* ExtraOreDinary: Skathis, known as the God of Beasts, was the Mesarthim with the ability to create and manipulate Mesarthium. He even had the power to turn the metal into living things, hence the epithet. [[spoiler: Lazlo, as his son, inherits this power.]]
* FadeToBlack: '''Averted.''' There are numerous sex scenes in this book. Of course, being a YA book, they're more metaphorical than literal, but they're definitely there.
* FantasyMetals: Mesarthium. Created by the Mesarthim, it's completely adamant, frictionless, and otherworldly. Even the universal solvent fails to dissolve it [[spoiler:until Lazlo's spirit is added to the concoction.]] Finding a way to destroy the metal is a large part of the novel.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Sarai feels as if the ghosts under Minya's control experience this. [[spoiler:When she herself is rescued from evanescence by Minya, she changes her mind - briefly.]]
* GildedCage: Downplayed. The Citadel isn't a particularly lavish prison, but the Godspawn have food, water, beds and clothes to wear, and a staff of ghosts to do all the chores. They're also free to use their powers as long as they don't reveal themselves to the humans below.
* GreenThumb: Sparrow's gift. She can nurture plants from a single seed and revive them at will.
* HalfHumanHybrid: The Godspawn, who are half human and half Mesarthim.
* HeartwarmingOrphan: Lazlo, who grows up in an oppressive monastery and finds his true calling at the library.
* HumanMomNonHumanDad: Feral, Sparrow, Ruby and Minya are all human on their mother's side. Averted with Sarai, whose human side comes from her father.
* HumanOutsideAlienInside: A strange (no pun intended) case where the humans of this world have two hearts: one that pumps blood, and one that pumps spirit, a phlegm-like fluid that provides the body with vitality.
* IAmWho?: [[spoiler: Combined with [[AmnesiacGod Amnesiac Godspawn.]] Lazlo discovers at the end of the book that he is the son of Skathis.]]
* InMediasRes: The opening scene of the story is [[spoiler: Sarai's]] death. The actual event doesn't happen until the last few chapters of the novel.
* KillTheGod: Fifteenth years ago, Eril-Fane killed the Mesarthim and murdered their half-human children. He's called the Godslayer in the present day.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The Mesarthim with power over secrets wiped the minds of humans that were kidnapped by the Mesarthim once their service was done. When she died, she made the ''entire world'' forget the true name of the Unseen City, which is how it came to be known as Weep.
* MentalWorld: Lazlo's dream image of Weep, which looks just like how the old monk described the city.
* TheOneGuy: Feral is the only boy among the otherwise female Godspawn.
* OutsideContextProblem: The Mesarthim, who arrived one day in the Unseen City and promptly took it over. The Mesarthium as well, which requires a team of outsider experts to tackle the problem of destroying it.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: The Seraphim, which are without a doubt the same Seraphim from the author's [[Literature/DaughterOfSmokeAndBone previous series,]] with fiery wings and the ability to kill demons.
* PlayingWithFire: Ruby's gift. She can light herself and objects on fire, and she is immune to burning.
* PurpleProse: Laini Taylor's writing style, in full force here. YMMV on whether this is enjoyable or annoying.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Among all the evil acts the Mesarthim committed, the one that pushed them over the brink in the eyes of the humans was their wanton abduction of teenage boys and girls, many of whom were raped or coerced magically into sex.
* SoulPower: Minya's gift. She can pluck ghosts before they dissolve into nothingness, and force them to do her will without question.
* TalkingInYourDreams: How Lazlo and Sarai meet and correspond. [[spoiler:They get up to more... ''intimate'' things in the dreams as well.]]
* TitleDrop: "Strange the Dreamer" is an epithet of sorts that the librarians give to Lazlo for being obsessed with fairy tales.
* WeatherManipulation: Feral's gift. He can draw clouds from different places around the world with a thought. He cannot, however, generate storms from nothing.
* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: In-Universe. Lazlo reckons that there must have been many more Godspawn created in the 200+ years of Mesarthim rule... but nobody knows where they are and if they even still live. It's implied that the Mesarthim themselves did ''something'' to Godspawn once they manifested their gift.
