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The Dream Merchant by Isabel Hoving
01/08/2006 . Source: Sue Davies 
pub: Walker Books. 640 page paperback. Price £7.99 (UK). ISBN: 1-406301825. Buy The Dream Merchant in the USA - or Buy The Dream Merchant in the UK  check out website: www.walkerbooks.co.uk
A telephone rings in the night and only Josh can hear it. He speaks to Max at Gippart International who has a proposition for him, an invitation to join a trading company. It appeals to his vanity and greed as he is already an accomplished thief or re-homer of mislaid articles. His friend, Baz, is also invited and they commence adventures. There trips are to dream worlds and they are sent to trade. But what is the real agenda of Gippart?
After a particularly dangerous visit, Josh determined that he won't go back but is talked into it by Baz and new friend Teresa. Something goes wrong and they are all trapped in Imaya. He also has to cope with his twin sister Jericho but she died at birth...It's an awfully long way home.
Aimed at young adult readers, this is everything an epic novel should be with strongly drawn characters, vivid landscapes and dark and dangerous adventures. This has really been a superb read and compared to many so called adult fantasies is infinitely more developed.
This novel has enormous scope. Its dramatic backdrops feel entirely real and the children who experience all the twists and turns of the plot are, by turns, sympathetic and objectionable. They are not heroic in the mythic sense but have the ability to grow and develop through the novel in an entirely believable way.
The premise of this novel is refreshingly different. No wizards here and the scenarios are both huge and domestic leading to an overall sense of completeness.
Truly a page-turner in every sense, this ranks alongside Phillip Pullman's 'Dark Materials' for its breadth of vision. Its darker aspects will appeal to the older reader and there is much to be made of the choice of characters from the dreamer Josh to the warrior Theresa.
I would have no hesitation in recommending this book for anyone over the age of eleven.
Sue Davies
July 2006
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