The Dream Sanctum by Daniel Koeker

Imagine a world of magic, adventure and wonder. Imagine being able to control the world around you simply by using your imagination. Imagine being able to fly across vast skies, explore cities made of gold and experience the wonders of the world like you've never seen them before.

Now imagine that you only need to fall asleep to get there.

Kai and Lindsay stumble across the entrance to the Dream Sanctum, a dream world where people are limited only by their imaginations. Dreamers from across the globe can enter whenever they desire to enjoy a vast, epic world that predates the earth as they know it by centuries. A simple rule is kept in place to ensure that no harm comes to any dreamer: any action cannot affect another if they do not desire it, leaving everyone equal and content.

However, due to a mistake and an experiment gone awry, horrible creations are set loose into the Dream Sanctum - creatures of a faded shadow, known only to the dreamers as Nightmares. They are not bound by the laws of the Sanctum and create chaos, threatening to destroy everything Kai and Lindsay hold dear. Together, along with child prodigy Kwin, master swordsman Alastor and overconfident hero Hercules, Kai and Lindsay set out to destroy the Nightmares and their creator, which has only been seen as a terrifying black wolf with eyes of crimson.

This is an imaginative story that will drag you into the world the author has created and not let go until the last page.

There’s something really fun about reading about a completely make-believe world like this one. One of the things that make it stand out from some of the other fantasy worlds is that it all takes place in a dream, so there is a sense of still keeping things realistic, because, hey, it’s just a dream. Kai, the protagonist, is introduced to this world by accident, and like any of us would feel if this were to really happen, he can’t wait to go back and learn all about it. Kai is a fun character to follow, he has his funny moments and he definitely keeps the story moving along. Yes, there is what I feel is an unrealistic romantic relationship, but this is usually the case in young adult books, so it’s not too worrying.

There are a few grammatical errors that might bug some reads, but overall, the plot is captivating enough to make us forgive these just to see what’s going to happen next.

I do recommend this to all lovers of fantasy and young adult books.