The city of Dreaming Books : a novel from Zamonia

"Where shadows dim with shadows mate in caverns deep and dark, where old books dream of bygone days when they were wood and bark, where diamonds from coal are born and no birds ever sing, the region is the dread domain ruled by the Shadow King."

This book was a complete impulse buy. I read the back

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and loved the idea of it. I mean sheesh, the books are ALIVE and the setting is a world created where books are the one and only important thing in life. You are a reader, a writer, or a publisher. A book seller or illustrator. There's dangerous books in the catacombs of this city too. They attack. They are real mean, yo.

Optimus Yarnspinner (haha, everytime I say Optimus in my head I immediately go retro to my 80's love and want to end it with Prime)...but I digress. Optimus (for short) has just lost his mentor and godfather. The last gift given was an unpublished manuscript. Optimus reads it and is blown away with how beautiful it is written, in fact, he claims it is the best piece of literature that he has ever read. Unfortunately, the manuscript is written anonymously. Optimus decides his mission is to leave his home and seek out the writer. He must go to Bookholm - the City of Dreaming Books.

This is where Optimus's life goes haywire. People are after him because of the manuscript. And people that he thinks he can trust, he can't. Which is how he ends up in the catacombs. And lurking amongst the terrifying books is the Shadow King, determined to kill all who enter his turf.

I really really REALLY want everyone of you to turn off your computer and run to your bookstore and purchase this book. It was that good.

The names are clever too. He anagrams famous writers. I don't want to give any away to see if you can figure them out. Or better thought, maybe I'll have a contest listing a few of my favorites. *scratching head* and *looking around* at my book loot.

This is also apart of a series (evidently). I think that the rest are published in the states but I don't get the sense that you have to read them in order. I didn't after all, and never felt lost in this book.

Oh and gosh, there are so many wonderful little tidbit quotes. My book is tagged EVERYWHERE.

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An ambitious - and in many ways successful - exercise in world building with wonderfully cute illustrations. Found the style difficult to read to start with (particularly as I rarely read in German these days) but got into it reasonably quickly. I remain unconvinced by the characters, particularly

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that of Hildegunst (Optimus for those who've read in translation) but also Smeik, whose motivation remain unclear until the end. Hildegunst himself is pompous, and that comes through in the writing, with the effect of preventing any emotional attachment the reader might develop for him and removing the reader from the action, so that at no point does one feel anything for him, be it sympathy or even fear for his life.

The Shadow King is a mixed bag of goods - a bit of a nutter at times, funny and entertaining at others. The booklings were probably by far the best characters in the novel.

Also, I not entirely sure what the moral of the story was - or whether there was supposed to be any. The Shadow King spends far too much time lamenting how he has turned into a monster and killed so many book hunters, before proceeding to murder quite a few more. I am not convinced that he was in any way redeemed at the end of the novel, and nor do I see any great development in Hildegunst's character apart from his alleged acquisition of the Orm.

Enjoyable in parts, great world building, could try harder on characters and plot. Then again, my own priorities in reading tend to centre around characters and plot, with world building only playing as a hygiene factor. I can see how someone who enjoysworld building for its own sake would absolutely love this.

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Fantastic book. Beautiful language. Original. Not only is it a work of astounding imagination and sparkling whimsy, but it's also a scathing satire on all things literary. Full of the darkest sort of humor, no one is spared -- not writers, critics, editors, agents, booksellers, or readers. As a

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writer myself, I found it hilarious, poignant, uplifting and humbling, all at once. It's also a rollicking good tale!

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A tale of a young reptilian author who sets off on an adventure and quest to Bookholm, a city filled with publishing houses, bookshops, authors, critics and everything else literary. He soon meets with danger, as all adventurers should.
It isn't easy to define my reactions to this book. At times it

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felt like Dante's Inferno, others it resembled Victor Hugo. What suspense and action there was, soon devolved into endless description or narrative. Clever description and narrative, but not compelling. That being said, I still enjoyed all the allusions and poking fun at literary devises, publishers, writers, readers and reviewers. I don't think there is much in the world of writing that Walter Moers didn't touch on.

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Optimus Yarnspinner is an aspiring author and a dinosaur living in Zamonia. As an inhabitant of Lindworm castle, he has had the best training under the tutelage of his authorial godfather, Dancelot Wordwright. On his deathbed, Dancelot bequeaths a manuscript to Optimus, a brilliant short story by

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an unknown author, and commissions his godson to go to Bookholm to discover the writer.

This is an endlessly inventive tale that mixes the ridiculous (literary dinosaurs) with smart bookish humor (author names that Optimus lists are anagrams of famous authors in our world). The odd mixture puts me in mind of the Thursday Next series, though in many ways the stories themselves are completely different. But if you have a good imagination, enjoy discovering literary references in unexpected places, and didn't mind the footnoterphone or the Cheshire Cat as librarian in The Well of Lost Plots, then I would recommend Moers' creative yarn. Though the fourth in a series, The City of Dreaming Books was the first that I read and I had no trouble reading it as a standalone. It runs a little long towards the end, but it was such a fun ride that I want to check out the rest of the series.

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I don't often read fantasy -- and I'm not really sure what made me pick up this cross between Lord of the Rings and Shrek. But, I'm glad I did.

This is the story of Optimus Yarnspinner, born to be an author, but unable to find the inspiration to actually write anything. He goes off in search of an

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unknown author who has written a perfect manuscript. And, that's where the adventure begins, full of quests (heroic and otherwise), fascinating, and imaginative creatures (one-eyed booklings who memorize texts as nourishment; animatomes or living books, bookhunters and more). It's a universe where all things revolve around books.

Great story, wildly imaginative, intriguing use of language.

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Moers's third Zamonia book is full of his terrific cartoon illustrations, his love of puns, and all the delightfully odd characters he's known for. It is also a better book that Captain Bluebear. While Bluebear is at times a fast-paced travelogue of Zamonia, trying to cram in every possible place

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and every possible species, The City of Dreaming Books uses a more limited palate.

We follow Optimus Yarnspinner, a Lindworm (dinosaur) from his home in Lindworm Castle to Bookholm, and the catacombs underneath. Compared to Bluebear, Optimus spends incredibly amounts of time in one place, helping us get to know the place and the people who live there - Bookholm, the bookhunters, the booklings, and the Shadow King particularly. A few times it reverts to a catalog-like listing of places, events, and creatures, as when Optimus meets a half dozen of the worst denizens of the catacombs in short order or the made-to-order Disney/Indiana Jones ride through abandoned tunnels on a rickety mine car, excuse me, I meant book shelf.

And, if you enjoy puzzles there are a few thrown in. On two pages not too far in to the book is everything you need to decipher the bookholm numbering system (though there are plenty of hints elsewhere) and the booklings really are all named after real authors. Some are more obvious than others, but everything you need to know is right there in the name. The illustrations are good. The story is entertaining. Does it flow with the Orm? Maybe not, but it is worth the time.

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I don't have time to write a proper review, but I wan to add to previous reviews. The journey of Optimus Yarnspinner (the aurian narrator) has mythic qualities to it in the subterranean Bookholm. Part of his journey on an underground train has aspects of steampunk to it. The ending is Nordic with a

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bookish 'Ragnarok'.

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I really liked this one. It was the perfect adventure for a book-a-holic.

Moers returns with his third book to be translated into English. Endlessly inventive, Moers directs this tale at a more adult audience. Although I had some trouble with the literary devices that he unashamedly employs (he even makes The Shadow King joke about this), I still had fun and found myself

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rather involved in this book - albeit after a slow start. (In fact, if I had not read other Moers books, I would most likely have abandoned this work.) Quite fun overall.

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Moers makes the common fantasy author's mistake of getting too carried away with his own creation, and his story becomes a dark, tiresome, cumbersome labyrinth resembling the world it describes. It amounts to not much more than a stack of descriptions of dozens of nightmarish creatures with too few

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or too many legs, a list of horrible ways to die, and an encyclopedia of psychotic conditions with not much story in between. Although technically laden with plenty of "action," it's of the never-ending-hence-never-occurring-climax variety. Add to this monotony the constant use of the phrase "dear reader" (occasionally "faithful reader") by a narrator who takes the form of an egotistic, slow-witted dinosaur, and you have a thoroughly boring book about books.

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In the tradition of Jansson's Moomintrolls and Juster's Phantom Tollbooth, here we have a story told by Optimus Yarnspinner, a dinosaurish creature whose entire life revolves around books. As our tale opens, Yarnspinner's authorial godfather, Dancelot Wordwright, is on his deathbed. He gives

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Yarnspinner a short story that is so good that it caused him to stop writing. Yarnspinner then journeys to Bookholm, a city entirely devoted to writing and bookselling, to track down this amazing writer. This book is a real treat for bibliophiles. The illustrations are darling and the literary references are fun to spot. Not a book I probably would have picked up on my own; I'm glad I gave it a try.

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To be more accurate, The City of Dreaming Books is translated into German by Moers from Optimus Yarnspinner's original Zamonian (and I then read the English translation). This gives an early sense of the fun and fantasy in the Zamonia series.

The City of Dreaming Books is the 3rd (or 4th) of the

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Zamonian fantasy/adventure books, and far and away my favorite; in fact, it is a new favorite book in general. As with the others in the series, this one can be read on its own without having read any of the others. This one recounts the adventures of Optimus Yarnspinner, a young Lindworm dinosaur, a Zamonian species that has a strong appreciation for literature and writing. Each lindworm has an authorial godfather. On his deathbed, Yarnspinner's leaves him an unpublished story, the most incredible piece of writing by an unknown author. Yarnspinner heads off to Bookholm in search of the author, and in search of his own authorial voice. Once in Bookholm, Yarnspinner encounters adventures and dangers both above ground and in the labrynthine catacombs below Bookholm.

This is a book about the magic of books and writing. Bookholm, the Catacombs & Unholm are teeming with writers, booksellers, bookhunters, antiquarians, and critics of all stripes. Writing is a mystical, magical art - the best authors rumored to have experienced the "Orm".

As with the rest of the series, this is one character's journey of discovery - of new worlds, new creatures, and most importantly of himself. Along the way, I was constantly reminded why I love books - that discovery of new worlds, real or imaginary; the excitement of learning; and the beauty and power of a well-written book.

Finally, a brief excerpt which captures how I often feel about reading and language:
"I've read and long forgotten many books in my life, but their important features have lodged in my mental net, ready to be rediscovered years or decades later. The incorporeal books of the Weeping Shadows were another matter. They had passed through me like water trickling through a sieve. I thought I'd forgotten them within seconds, but I noticed the next day that some of them had lodged in my mind after all. /I suddenly knew words I'd never read before. I knew, for example, that 'plumose' was an archaic synonym for 'feathered'. Although this knowledge may at first sight seem useless, whenever I visualise a young chick the word plumose strikes me as far more appropriate, somehow, than the humdrum word feathered."

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Without a doubt the most bizarre story I've ever read; however, as utterly alien as I found the lizard-like protagonist and his book-obsessed world (a fantasy milieu of shady, desperate, vengeful and mysterious nonhumans that I suspect might be more recognizable to readers better acquainted with

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the Earthly publishing business than I), it held me fast, and with every further descent below the surface of its eponymous city, drew me deeper - and served well as a palliative across many sleepless nights during a stressful time. As in The Name of the Rose and Shadow of the Wind, the author subsumes its mysteries under the grand allegory of a labyrinthine library, which seems to stand for both inner mind and outer world.

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This book was like riding a roller coaster for me. Some parts were slow and almost dragged on, especially the beginning, then I would read parts that were almost genius. Overall, it was a fantasy story that I felt mirrored what it must be like for aspiring authors. Although, a fantasy world, it

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brought to life the cut throat world of publishing a story. Would the young writer, a lindworm dinosaur be able to write his first book after his amazing adventure in the catacombs, or would he be slaughtered before he could find his inspiration. I think that question is what kept me reading even through the slower parts of the book. The ending was far superior than the beginning, but my favorite part was his time with the cute little booklings who devoted their lives to reading and memorizing their favorite authors.

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I worked in, ran, or owned a bookstore for 15 years. When you do that, you see a lot of the same thing. You start to long for things that are not only good, but have a sort of quirky je ne sais quoi. So for those like me, HERE is a book worth reading!
People seem to love to compare Moers to all

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kinds of writers, but to me he falls into the rather slim category with *The Phantom Tollbooth* and the Moomintroll books - though I'm not sure what to call that category. "Young adult, somewhat conceptual, occasionally metaphysical, with illustrations in a cartoon-like style and an occasionally bizarre sense of humor?"

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What a fantastic book! I absolutely loved it.

I really liked "The City of Dreaming Books" by Walter Moer. It is fanciful story with lots of cute illustrations by the author.

This is the story of Optimus Yarnspinner a "Lindworm" (dragon) from Lindworm castle, of course. All Lindworms come from Lindworm Castle and all Lindworms are natural born

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Authors. After the death of his godfather, Optimus Yarnspinner goes to "The City of Dreaming Books" to find the author of a mysterious manuscript that he inherited. The City of Dreaming Books is full of bookshops, publishers, agents, authors, and book hunters. He meets lots of strange creatures, eats strange food, and goes on a bit of an adventure.

It is a very literary story, in the sense that it is about books and authors. It has a lot of references that adults will enjoy, such as literary agents who can not tell good writing from bad and famous authors disguised by scrambling their names (and some of their most famously quoted words). I was reminded of "The Phantom Tollbooth".

Unfortunately the writing is a little heavy handed in places. The author occasionally repeats himself as if afraid we will miss a plot point. The main character is a bit pompous and unlikable at times. Altogether the writing is not as inspired as the author would like it to be. Which makes it a good book rather than a Great one. Although one can not be sure how much of this is a fault of the translation.

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Don't you love the title of this book? I decided to name my home The Dwelling of Dreaming Books. Although it is obviously not a whole City, it also has hundreds of books "sleeping/dreaming" away on shelves and in stacks and piles all around waiting to be woken up by someone picking them up or

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pulling them down off the shelf and opening them to read. I enjoyed this book enough to keep plugging away to the end, but the author could have used a good editor. He tended to get very long-winded in certain passages. I think he may have even realized that as the "translator's note" (it is written as if translated from the original Zambonian Language"), pleads that the original book was several thousand pages longer than what was included here but if he had included it all, the reader would be reading for a very long long time. I myself wondered if I would ever finish. Not sure that I will be rushing to pick up another Zambonia book in the series, but I might. The need to learn more about this wonderful place, might override my caution, I will just be prepared to dig in for a long haul.

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Imagine a world where books are valued – not like we appreciate books in our society, but really valued. A place where authors are celebrities, first editions are coveted, people memorize and recite famous excerpts, and even crimes are committed over rare books. This is the world of Zamonia, a

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mythical lost continent, created by German author Walter Moers. The story features an unlikely hero, Optimus Yarnspinner, a naïve dinosaur-like creature from Lindworm Castle, a self-proclaimed author who has yet to be published. The tale begins with the death of Dancelot Wordwright, Yarnspinner’s authorial godfather. He leaves Yarnspinner his most prized possession, a manuscript that is so well written that it can evoke both tears and laughter from the most stoic critic. It is the most brilliant piece of writing – the absolute best of Zamonian literature with one major flaw … the author is unknown. Yarnspinner goes on a quest to Bookholm, the legendary City of Dreaming Books to find this author and hopefully get inspiration to launch his own masterpiece. In Bookholm, innocent and blundering Yarnspinner is no match for the fast paced and smooth talkers of this city and he quickly falls victim to the cruel and slimy villain Pfistomel Smyke. He is poisoned with a hazardous book and left to an unfortunate fate in the catacombs that lie beneath Bookholm. But in the catacombs, Yarnspinner meets some colorful characters, from dastardly book mercenaries to adorable Booklings, that both help and hinder his journey back to the world of the surface.

If you love to read, then this is the book for you. Moers has created an imaginative vibrant fantasy world that both pays homage and makes fun of books and the literary world. The story is filled with subtle references to all things literary, from creating characters whose names are anagrams of famous authors (Asdrel Chickens is Charles Dickens for example) to making irreverent fun of our book industry. Very fun!

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I. Loved. This. Book. It was so fun, creative, imaginative and absorbing! Walter Moers has a great imagination and created a fantastic adventure in a city built on books. Thumbs up!

Words really do not sum up this book.
The tale begins with a flawless piece of writing--which Mr. Moers gleefully withholds for the entirety of the novel, before you get your hopes up--and turns into a shameless, over-the-top, completely enjoyable celebration of books and everything about them. It

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captures the joy of reading like nothing before, in all its many forms; from studying poetry to touring bookshops, from unlikely attachment to so-called inanimate objects, to the desperation to write. And it does so while at the same time leading our giant dinosaur narrator (no lie) on an epic, terrifying, impossible quest which he very likely won't survive except he does and it is brilliant, brilliant brilliant.
The sheer imagination that went into this book cannot be described without questioing Mr. Moer's sobriety. I cannot begin to fathom how he created the world we stumble through--you truly do have to read to understand. It's a book about loving books, taking that passion in hand, and turning it into an entire city housing good, evil, and dozens of shades in between. It's funny, it's dark, it's sad, it's exciting, and it is so fantastically quirky I dare anyone to read this and walk away saying the world isn't full of impossible things.
Here's the simple answer:
If you read, then read this darn book.

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This was really great. Moers's world is richly built, and his prose flows with a generally light touch. He captures both humor and tension to create a thoroughly enjoyable read. In addition, his charming illustrations become critical parts of the narrative, creating a wonderful piece of

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characterful booksplotation.

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A very interesting fantasy story, full of gentle humour. The protagonist Hildegunst has a pleasant, distinct voice, and the various denizens of Moers' world are novel and enjoyable to encounter (well, not for the protagonist). He's created a world with a believable veneer of history, and

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illustrated it himself with lively and characterful drawings. On the other hand, this is a long book. My edition is 476 of dense German, which I've spent who-knows-how-many hours reading during two full weeks (and those holiday weeks); the sheer size of the book weighed on me (physically and literally) throughout, and I think the knowledge of just how much was left was diminishing my pleasure in it. I think you could probably have cut down the word count somewhat. There were various sections that didn't really add much to the story - fine in themselves, but just expositing more of Moer's world which was already getting plenty of screentime in this mammoth book. And despite ending up fitter and more paranoid, Hildegunst doesn't really develop much despite his adventures.

Just in passing, I get the impression that Hildegunst ("Optimus" - why'd they change the names for the English?) seems more pompous in the translation. I found his voice pleasant enough.

I don't think I'll be hunting down more of Moers - while I'm glad to have read this one, I don't think the length-to-entertainment ratio was far enough in my favour.

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