Dreamstrider

Lindsay Smith's Dreamstrider is a high-concept, fantasy spy novel set in a world where dreams are the ultimate form of political intelligence.

Livia is a dreamstrider. She can inhabit a subject's body while they are sleeping and, for a short time, move around in their skin. She uses her talent to work as a spy for the Barstadt Empire. But her partner, Brandt, has lately become distant, and when Marez comes to join their team from a neighboring kingdom, he offers Livia the option of a life she had never dared to imagine. Livia knows of no other dreamstriders who have survived the pull of Nightmare. So only she understands the stakes when a plot against the Empire emerges that threatens to consume both the dreaming world and the waking one with misery and rage.

“The imagery of dreams and nightmares is unusual and vivid, and a web of romances and arranged marriages among the spies adds emotion and intensity. Tense action and rich worldbuilding make for thrilling reading.” —Kirkus Reviews

“With its intriguing world, taut narrative, and complex heroine, this well-wrought fantasy charms from the start.” —The Bulletin

“The Barstadt Empire's very distinct social stratification is well developed, as are all the characters, with the villains being particularly intriguing. Gender diversity is organically worked into the text, and several of the main characters are gay or bisexual. Livia's a very appealing protagonist . . . [who] will engage readers and leave them rooting for her to succeed. . . . An engaging, stand-alone, fantasy spy thriller.” —School Library Journal