This book. This. Book. When I first picked up Dreamlander, it was with a small amount of skepticism. I wasn't sure if it was really my "type" of book; sounded a bit like high fiction, which is hit or miss for me. While it does have tones of fantasy to it, I was not at all prepared for this. It is such a bizarre combination of genres; steampunk, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy... and it worked! The steam guns blended seamlessly with the waking dream world, with the Cherazii and a Princess. 
 I love how nothing comes across as being too easy. Chris Redston is far from perfect, and he makes things more difficult than they need to be. He makes mistakes... LOTS of world-altering mistakes. He is responsible for all of the destruction in this book. The Princess Allara tries her best to hate him for all of his faults, but nothing is ever so cut and dry. Dreamlander is light on the romance, and I am pleased to report that there is no insta-love. The chemistry between Chris and Allara is bordering on hatred, but that's half the fun! 
 I'm not going to spoil the ending, but I will say this: the set-up for the finale wasn't in-your-face obvious, but was a long term plan, right from the first page. And while it wasn't all sunshine and roses, it felt right to me. 
 So, on more than one occasion I found myself thinking "Gee, a map sure would be nice"... I reach the end of the story and find out that there were online maps all along! When you read this book, I would suggest you start here: http://www.kmweiland.com/dreamlander-... There are tons of extra features (notes, maps, soundtrack) AND character dreamcast! I love when the author's description of a character is so precise that I can easily imagine actors in a role... and I find that the author picked the exact same ones!! :D 
 I'm so excited to see there are more books by this author! Now to pick which one will be next... Highly recommend!