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Dreams of the Dying

by Nicolas Lietzau

A mystery carried into the mind’s darker terrain

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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    2021 IPPY Silver Award — Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror

    Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror, Silver (2021)

  • Bestseller

    Reported #1 Bestseller in German Literature (July, October, and December 2020)

    Reported as a #1 bestseller in German Literature in July, October, and December 2020.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A mystery carried into the mind’s darker terrain

Years after war, former mercenary Jespar Moreste accepts an invitation to Kilay, an archipelago nearing civil conflict. His assignment is to investigate the merchant king’s mysterious coma, but the inquiry reaches beyond the political crisis: it draws Jespar into the king’s nightmares and reconnects the mystery to trauma from his own past. The story combines dark fantasy and investigation with psychological horror, using the uncertain boundary between dreams and waking life to connect personal struggles with the fate of an empire. The source lists content warnings for profanity, violence, sex, death, suicide, rape, and substance abuse.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • For readers interested in dark fantasy that combines a political crisis with a mystery.
  • For readers drawn to stories involving dreams, psychological horror, and the effects of past trauma.

Themes

Trauma and mental healthDreams and realityMoralityPolitical conflict

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

If your mind is the enemy, where do you run?

Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR (Silver) (2021), The Selfies Book Awards U.S. Nominee for Adult Fiction (2021), Indie Ink Awards Finalist (2024)

#1 Bestseller in German Literature (07/2020, 10/2020, 12/2020)

Years after a harrowing war experience, ex-mercenary Jespar tre Moreste has taken to drifting. It's a lonely existence, but barring the occasional bout of melancholia, he has found the closest thing to peace a man like him deserves. Life is "all right."

Or so he believes. Hoping to turn the page, Jespar accepts a mysterious invitation into the beautiful but dangerous archipelago of Kilay-and everything changes. Plagued by boiling social tensions and terrorism, the tropical empire is edging ever closer to civil war. Kilay's merchant king is the only person able to prevent this catastrophe, but he has fallen into a preternatural coma-and it's Jespar's task to figure out what or who caused it. As the investigation takes him across the archipelago and into the king's nightmares, unexpected events not only tie Jespar's own life to the mystery but also unearth inner demons he believed to be exorcised long ago.

Battling old trauma while fighting for his life, his sanity, and the fate of Kilay, the line between dream and reality blurs until only one question remains: If your mind is the enemy, where do you run?

Described as "Inception in a Polynesian fantasy setting," Dreams of the Dying is a slow-burning, haunting blend of fantasy, mystery, and psychological horror, that explores mental illness, morality, and the dark corners of our minds.

"Masterful storytelling. Worldbuilding with worlds inside of worlds. It's a must-read and should be considered a classic in the making." - Amanda Castro, Bookstagrammer

 

CW: Profanity, Violence, Sex, Death, Suicide, Rape, Substance Abuse

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Customer reviews

M
AlbakiReads
Malaika Taylor

I highly recommend to for anyone looking for inner clarity

T
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Thomas DiMassa

Great service and fast service

Great shopping experience! The book arrived quickly, was well packaged, and matched the description perfectly. I would definitely shop with you again

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Olivia

Smooth.