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    Dreams and Shadows: A Novel
    Dreams and Shadows: A Novel
    Dreams and Shadows: A Novel
    Audiobook13 hours

    Dreams and Shadows: A Novel

    Written by C. Robert Cargill

    Narrated by Vikas Adam

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    A brilliantly crafted modern tale from acclaimed film critic and screenwriter C. Robert Cargill—part Neil Gaiman, part Guillermo Del Toro, part William S. Burroughs—that charts the lives of two boys from their star-crossed childhood in the realm of magic and mystery to their anguished adulthoods

    There is another world than our own—one no closer than a kiss and one no further than our nightmares—where all the stuff of which dreams are made is real and magic is just a step away. But once you see that world, you will never be the same.

    Dreams and Shadows takes us beyond this veil. Once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, Ewan is now an Austin musician who just met his dream girl, and Colby, meanwhile, cannot escape the consequences of an innocent wish. But while Ewan and Colby left the Limestone Kingdom as children, it has never forgotten them. And in a world where angels relax on rooftops, whiskey-swilling genies argue metaphysics with foul-mouthed wizards, and monsters in the shadows feed on fear, you can never outrun your fate.

    Dreams and Shadows is a stunning and evocative debut about the magic and monsters in our world and in our self.

    Editor's Note

    Dark & imaginative…

    Visits to and from the otherworldly Limestone Kingdom as kids forever change the fate of two young men. An extremely dark, imaginative debut about the mixing of magic and humanity, childhood innocence and adult corruption.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateFeb 26, 2013
    ISBN9780062237767
    Author

    C. Robert Cargill

    C. Robert Cargill is the author of Dreams and Shadows and Queen of the Dark Things. He has written for Ain’t it Cool News for nearly a decade under the pseudonym Massawyrm, served as a staff writer for Film.com and Hollywood.com, and appeared as the animated character Carlyle on Spill.com. He is a cowriter of the horror films Sinister and Sinister 2, and Marvel’s Dr. Strange. He lives with his wife in Austin, Texas.

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    Reviews for Dreams and Shadows

    4/5

    162 ratings17 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 5/5
      Awesome. Read great
    • 5/5
      Great changeling story, very dark in all the right ways.
    • 4/5
      The story was fun and moved along very well. The only issue with the narrator was when he had to do the children's voices. Otherwise he helped to carry the story. Everything came together in the end as much as was needed, leaving some loose ends that left the reader/listener curious as to what could happen next.
    • 1/5
      Got 10 chapters in and had to stop. It’s a disjointed, slow, and uninteresting read so far. Not nearly as engaging as Cargill’s other works.
    • 4/5
      Good story wonderful and imaginative. The journal essays moved the story but I didn't like them very much. Journey was fun little Gaimen little Barker...
    • 3/5
      Decent book. A bit convoluted and repetitive in places.Main characters need more development I'll give the second one a listen.
    • 5/5
      Excellent compelling story. I was very entertained. Much like Neil Gaiman.
    • 5/5
      vvh
    • 4/5
      I loved this book, I really liked the pace and the way he broke up the chapters. The characters were great and it was a really unique story.
    • 1/5
      I did not enjoy this book at all and i'm pondering if it merits a full review. There was a lot wrong with it. It was gratuitously violent and uncomfortably written. The main characters were children in the first half and two of the most obnoxiously written children I've ever encountered in fiction. In the second half, when they're adults, Colby, at least, is interesting while Ewan remains to be just as obnoxious and unrealistic as before. There's only one main female character and she is a trope wrapped in a stereotype. The mythology was a weird hodge podge of Celtic, Native American, and Arabian and to be honest the mixing did not work at all, it just made it confused and overwrought.

      Honestly, I spent the whole book thinking 'Melissa Marr and Maggie Steifvater write dangerous faeries so much better.'
    • 4/5
      This was a free book that I got for signing up to Sci-Fi and Fantasy Newsletter from Amazon. I wasn’t expecting much, but it was the best of the four choices. Wow! Was I pleasantly surprised! The writing style was excellent, just the way I like it, poetic in parts and full of surprises. I enjoyed the first half of the book even though it was pure “dreamstuff” and no “tech”, but that’s what it claimed to be, fantasy. But then the second half starts ... an explanation of “fairyland” that entranced my imagination, full of physics and logic, dark matter and energy flow. Great! My only complaint, and it might just be me since the writing was still well done, was the action finale. It would make a great movie, but left me a bit outside of the spell. Now, what else did this author do?
    • 4/5
      The comparison to Neil Gaiman and Guillaermo Del Toro is apt. This book is dark, often creepy, and completely mesmerizing. It paints a vivid picture of fae, jinn, and Coyote in the modern world--in the Hill Country of Texas and nearby Austin--with all their dark magic and manipulation. It's one of those book that I was sorry that it ended, but at the same time I felt like I could breathe and relax again.
    • 5/5
      ‘If you remember one thing, even above remembering me, remember that there is not a monster dreamt that hasn’t walked withing the soul of man.’Dreams and Shadows tells the tale of two young boys: Ewan, who was stolen from his family by fairies when he was a baby, and Colby, who befriended a djinn that granted wishes which changed his life forever. The fates of both become entwined the second they meet and a battle between magical forces ensues.This could have honestly been a disastrous affair what with the strange mixture of fairies and changelings, angels and the Devil, sorcerers and genies, and the list goes on. But it’s far from a disaster. This was an absolute delight and the exact type of fantasy that I yearn for. I have to make note that despite the inclusion of angels and the Devil this is far from religious and never digs in deep to that aspect; they were just supporting characters of a sort. The characters were fictitious and fanciful but managed to be extremely well-crafted and developed. The male characters were at the very least. It didn’t occur to me until later that the female characters all seemed to be incredibly weak and only described in terms of their looks with the one exception to that statement being Ewan’s scary-as-hell mother. All in all, it’s easy to overlook because of the thrilling plot.My least favorite aspect of the book ended up being my favorite. In addition to the story being told from three separate points of view, there are excerpts from a book titled ‘A Chronicle of the Dreamfolk’ by a Dr. Thaddeus Ray, Ph.D. They are surprisingly informative pieces on the factual aspects of this fantasy world but it’s initially unclear as to why they’re included. It’s a vital piece of the puzzle that becomes clear late in the novel so don’t skip these sections.Dreams and Shadows is a story full of magic and mystery but also full of outlandish horror. I so enjoyed the rawness and twisted darkness of this tale and the unique and unusual world-building that fortunately isn’t lacking in detail. Dreams and Shadows possessed a plot with room to grow and is one instance where I’m thankful for it being a series. Queen of the Dark Things is the next installment which is due out in mid-2014. I cannot wait.
    • 5/5
      I loved reading this book; I guess we can start with that. Like most books I’ve been reading lately, I spotted this on the “new” shelf at the library. The cover looked really cool and the description sounded good, so I went for it. I know we’re not supposed to judge books by their covers, but I think it’s okay to do so sometimes, especially when the cover is awesome and the text is awesome too.I would describe this book as probably urban fantasy or, perhaps, a modern fairy tale. And yes, it’s a fairy tale with all the nasty, brutish implications of one told by the Brothers Grim, not the Disney adaptation. I know I am not the first person to say this, but it definitely reminded me of a Neil Gaiman novel—it’s kind of American Gods-esque. Like all great fantasy, it deals not just with the fantastical, but also with how humankind’s fantasies reflect its true nature. I’ll get into that in a minute.Before we go any further: a summary. The first part of Dreams and Shadows alternates between two characters. There is Ewan who is kidnapped by fairies as a baby and replaced by a changeling who wastes no time compelling Ewan’s parents to kill themselves. There is also Colby, the son of an alcoholic, negligent mother who encounters a genie. Part of the excitement of reading this book was that I immediately knew that the characters were going to cross paths (because, duh, that is how stories work), but I couldn’t wait to find out how. Ewan and Colby are both eight years old during the first part of the story (with the exception of the part of the exposition that involves the changeling) so even though they are operating in realms that would seem illogical to adults, they inhabit this madness readily.Ewan is being raised by the fairy folk of the Limestone Kingdom (near Austin, Texas—and when was the last time you read a fantasy set in Texas?) and is being slowly transformed into a fairy. Unfortunately for him, he is not being turned into a fairy just for fun, but he is the tithe child. Fairies, it is explained, have an ongoing pact with the devil that requires them to sacrifice one of their own every seven years in order to maintain their longevity. Rather than sacrifice their proper kin, they often steal children, turn them into fairies, and sacrifice them as soon as they’ve turned.Colby meets the cursed genie (djinn, to be more accurate), Yashar. Yashar has an interesting backstory that involves a jealous vizier, the genocide of the djinn, and years of lonliness. He selects Colby for wish-making because djinn are unable to survive unless someone remembers them. Although Yashar is reluctant to grant Colby’s wish (cursed djinn, remember?), he does eventually grant it. Colby, somewhat unfortunately, wishes to “see everything.” By everything, he means all the supernatural things that no one else sees. This wish is eventually what makes him cross paths with Ewan.I won’t go into the rest because I don’t want to ruin it, but suffice to say, Colby and Ewan do cross paths. Colby also wishes to become a wizard in what I found to be a hilarious display of child-logic. One thing I will also say about the progression of the narrative is that I appreciated Cargill’s inclusion of faux-scholarly texts on the matter of the fey. There is a series of excerpts from the work of Dr. Thaddeus Ray, Ph.D. Some of them explain different types of fairies (djinn, for one), or fairy custom (like the tithe). The best explained where fairies came from. Fairies are essentially the result of whatever ambient emotion there is to be found in an area. If a city radiates misery and hatred, fairy folk are created who feed off these emotions. A region full of goodwill is likely to engender fairies who feed on those emotions instead. In this way, the fey are a true reflection of humanity. Miserable people beget miserable creatures.One of the themes that I found in Dreams and Shadows is that monsters aren’t the real monsters; people are. When Colby first meets Yashar, the djinn, he asks if monsters are real. His response was to tell Colby: “Monsters are real. Very real. But they’re not just creatures. Monsters are everywhere. They’re people, they’re nightmares … They are the things that we harbor within ourselves. If you remember one thing, even above remembering me, remember that there is not a monster dreamt of that hasn’t walked once within the soul of a man.”So, even though most of the villains in this story are fairies, we must remember that the fairies are, effectively, created by humans. It’s easier to understand and contextualize our own humanity when we see it in another group of beings.Another piece of the ‘monsters aren’t the monsters’ trope is Yashar’s behavior. After Colby and Ewan meet, the local fairy council decides that Colby and Yashar have to go because they pose a threat to the tithe child, Ewan. Yashar’s response to the fact that Ewan is going to be brutally murdered for the sake of the Limestone Kingdom: “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Yashar displays a much higher degree of humanity than almost anyone else in the story, despite being a djinn.But don’t worry, this story isn’t preachy, I just like analyzing literature. Dreams and Shadows is also hilarious. One of my favorite exchanges is between young Colby and Ewan. Colby finds out that Ewan has never seen Aladdin because he’s been busy being raised by fairies. When Ewan thinks Colby is an idiot for not knowing something basic about fairies, Colby shoots back, “At least I’ve seen Aladdin!” Cargill does a great job of representing what children find to be critically important and incorporating it into the story. Another part that I laughed out loud over was Colby wishing to be a wizard. Yashar insists that he can’t “just make [Colby] a wizard.” Colby just keeps wishing, insisting that Yashar promised he would grant any wish as long as they left the Limestone Kingdom and Ewan behind. Obviously, describing jokes out of context is not that funny, but trust me, there are some pretty funny bits in this story.There is a lot more to this story than I’ve written about here because I don’t want to spoil it. I really loved this book and it was one of the best fantasies I’ve read in a while. If you’re looking for a modern, hilarious, but poignant story, definitely check out Dreams and Shadows.----------------------------To read more reviews or to leave a comment, visit digitalmanticore.com
    • 5/5
      A brilliantly dark fairy tale for our times Cargill mixes folklore, myth and fairy stories with a smattering of Dante and Milton in his narrative to great effect. Much more Grimm than Disney, this is both a morality tale - the trickster Coyote is possibly the only character, fairy, human, angel or demon, who has a perspective on the struggle for existence - and bildungsroman as we follow Ewan and Colby as they travel, and battle, from childhood to adulthood. This is a great debut novel and I look forward to reading more of Cargill’s stories in the future.
    • 4/5
      This was a very good, but very dark, book. Very well-written in surprising ways, with a lot of depth. I love stories of the "Otherworld" and "changeling"-type things, and this captured that depth, the magic, but also the grimness that is in fairy tales. The darkness of dreams and of wishes and of growing up. Characters resurface, over and over again, sometimes unexpectedly. Definitely an adult book. People who like Gaiman will love this. It is a similar "flip side of the world" story. A hidden edge behind every wish, every promise....
    • 4/5
      What happens when a wish comes true? What happens when that granted wish is cursed? Colby Stevens and Ewan Thatcher meet as children, and what seems on the surface to be a needed friendship for both, actually turns out to be a harbinger of death and destruction. When Colby and Ewan reach adulthood, the world hidden behind a magical veil appears for a battle on the streets of Austin, Texas.In Dreams and Shadows, Austin, Texas is a strange place. A place where the magical and non-magical worlds collide and where knowing where a path will lead is invaluable knowledge. This version of Austin is where we pick up the story of Ewan Thatcher and Colby Stevens, two children who meet at the fairy court in the Limestone Kingdom and whose lives are forever changed by a wish Colby made.Ewan Thatcher was the perfect baby, wished for and loved like no other --- his doting parents wanting only the best for him. When Ewan is kidnapped and replaced with a magical child doppelganger, his parents’ lives come to a dramatic close on Earth. Ewan, safely stolen away and cared for in the fairy realm, is meant to live out his fate as a sacrifice for the everlasting lives of the fairies that rule in the Limestone Kingdom.Colby Stevens is a forgotten child of an alcoholic mother and long gone father. With no friends to speak of and little family life, he spends his days playing by himself in the nearby woods. It’s in these same woods that he meets a djinn named Yashar, and a cursed djinn at that, and makes a wish to see all there is to see. After much discussion and unsuccessful convincing by Yashar that another wish would be better, Colby gets his way and a whole torrent of problems rain down. Colby wants to meet a fairy and as it turns out Ewan is that fairy. When the powers that be in the Limestone Kingdom find out about Yashar and Colby’s visit, they ban them from the realm but not before Colby finds out that Ewan is to be sacrificed. Going back to rescue Ewan sets off a battle that will be played out long in the future on the street of Austin. A time in the future when Colby is a hardened 22 year-old wizard working in a vintage bookstore and drinking his evenings away with fallen angels in a basement bar and shortly after Ewan finally meets the girl of his dreams and becomes the rock star he always wanted to be. Colby starts off so innocent, but with a cursed wish, all that is gone and he spends the rest of days attempting to protect Ewan from a fate he doesn’t know about. The mythical world fears Colby not only for what he knows but what he can do and has done. Those fears have kept Austin, Texas and the Limestone Kingdom separate but that could all change with thought and a bit of meddling. And Ewan, he’s a shadow of his former magical fairy self, a self he didn’t even know existed until he was told about it. The intersection of these two lives becomes a battleground where no one is willing to concede.To readers of fantasy I say, read this now. If you don’t think you like fantasy, read this because it will change your mind. Dreams and Shadows is thoroughly engrossing. It’s fantasy full of all the gritty details you want and need from a story like this. The setting, which seems ordinary on the surface, is perfect because it allows reality to seep into a story that brings together so many mythical elements and characters that it feels grounded. That might sound odd, but I happen to like my fantasy mixed with reality. It makes it more enticing for me as a reader. Really, I want to tell you all about this story, but this is one you need to read to see how brilliant it is.