Advertisement

Dolphin is Orion Publishing Group's Young Adult (YA) imprint. The Web was a well-received series from Dolphin, in which many different authors wrote original stories around the concept of virtual reality. The ultimate aim was to expose a younger audience to the joys of SF.

And now, it's time to bring the younger generation over to the Dark Side...

Dreamtime, like The Web, is a series of stories from various authors, each one based on an overall unified concept. This time, though, the genre is dark fantasy. The initial plans are for six short novels, each detailing the efforts of the Shadowman -- a sort of disgruntled Morpheus figure -- to extend his nefarious reach from the realm of dream into the waking reality. Behind the contemporary setting of each book is the influence of the myths and legends of the applicable culture -- Nordic, Greek, Polynesian, Native American, etc.

Shadowsong by Jenny Jones

Gilly is a teenage girl of many talents in a small town along the Welsh border. She has been cast in the role of Eurydice in her school's upcoming production of The Legend of Orpheus, to be done in mask. (For those who haven't clued in yet, we're now dealing with ancient Greek mythology.) When Gilly loses her mask in the river, Mr Wyatt, the eccentric and mysterious new drama teacher, informs her that it was a very expensive piece from his own private collection. Gilly is unable to pay for it and, being reluctant to ask her mother for the large sum, she agrees to repay Mr Wyatt by painting a mural on the wall of his new cottage.

Actually, it's an old cottage; it's only new to Mr Wyatt. He lives alone there. Gilly doesn't want her mother or her mother's new boyfriend to know what she's doing after school, so she doesn't tell them about painting the mural for Mr Wyatt. Oddly enough, Gilly doesn't see anything wrong with spending her evenings in the home of her teacher who lives in an isolated cottage, just on the edge of town. Thankfully, however, other people do find it a little disconcerting. Richard, a fellow student who is composing the music for the play, prefers to accompany Gilly so they can work on the music together while she paints. And thank goodness he does...

Meanwhile, Gilly finds pressures are mounting. Her mother is getting serious with the new boyfriend, whom Gilly resents; Richard is pressuring her to spend more time learning the words and music for the play; Richard's girlfriend is jealous of the time Gilly spends with Richard; rehearsals for the play are becoming more intense; and Mr Wyatt now wants the mural done even sooner, allegedly for a party he has planned for the end of the week. And if this all isn't enough, things a little out of the ordinary are beginning to happen in connection with both Richard's music and the mural Gilly is painting. Small things, at first. And then, by the time Gilly realizes it's more than just her mind playing tricks on her, the weirdness has taken on a life of its own and is completely out of control.

Shadowsong is perhaps more likely to appeal to a female audience, who would probably identify more readily with Gilly and her problems, particularly in the earlier portion of the book. The story is well-crafted with an exciting, surreal climax. There are some wonderful moments, such as when Gilly's mask is floating on the river, and the wind whistling through the hollows causes an eerie wailing, reminiscent of the severed head of Orpheus which, according to myth, continued singing as it drifted down the river. There are echoes of Greek myth throughout the story, but they are often so subtle that it's also possible to read the whole thing through without realizing there's more than a passing connection to ancient Greek culture.

The resolution, although credible enough in its fantastical aspect, is perhaps too pat with regard to the mundane affairs. The pieces of Gilly's life fall so smoothly and easily into place at the end that it seems Sarah (Richard's girlfriend) was correct at the outset: Gilly has all the advantages. Sure must be nice to be so nearly perfect.

In some ways, this was probably the most difficult book in the series to write, because it's the first one to offer a good look at the Shadowman, at his existence, at his motivation. I felt that the passages dealing with the Shadowman and his servant, although perhaps necessary for the plot, read a little too much like a depiction of a comic-book villain -- all evil; no substance. But then, that may be precisely what the author was aiming for in her portrayal of the Lord of Nightmares.