In Laini Taylor’s Muse of Nightmares, Grief, Godspawn, and Learning to Forgive

In Strange the Dreamer, Laini Taylor introduced us to Lazlo Strange, an orphaned junior librarian obsessed with the lost city of Weep, and Sarai, a blue-skinned goddess girl who haunts the city’s dreams each night. When a delegation from Weep, led by the Godslayer Eril-Fane, arrives in Lazlo’s city looking for help, Lazlo jumps at the chance of a lifetime, traveling to Weep to help solve the mystery of the Citadel: a giant angel-shaped temple hovering over Weep, a remnant of the blue-skinned, godlike tyrants who terrorized Weep for centuries—until the day, fifteen years ago, when Eril-Fane killed them and led a bloody revolt against the gods and their children, the godspawn. Now, Weep is a broken city, literally living in the shadow of its torment.
Except Eril-Fane didn’t kill all the godspawn. Sarai and her companions have spent their entire lives in the Citadel, hiding from the people below and following the rules set out by Minya, their tiny but vengeful de facto leader. When Lazlo and Sarai meet in dreams, hope they can build a better future for Weep, the godspawn, and each other. The trouble: the people of Weep hate the godspawn for their blue skin, unworldly powers, and the way they serve as a reminder of all the horrors that came before.
Muse of Nightmares picks up where Strange the Dreamer left off. Lazlo and Sarai are reeling in the face of unexpected tragedy, and their relationship is looking more star-crossed than ever. Minya, true to her nature, is using the unexpected turn of events to blackmail anyone and everyone who gets in the way of her complete revenge. Eril-Fane is struggling with regret over his past actions, and unexpected arrivals in Weep present new mysteries to be solved. As pieces of the puzzle come together, it becomes clear that the real story behind the gods, the godspawn, and what they’ve done to Weep is much darker than any living person knew.

In Muse of Nightmares, Laini Taylor constructs a world of grey areas: Lazlo, Sarai, Minya, and Eril-Fane are struggling to handle the consequences of actions outside their control, and their responses are somehow both problematic and as good as could be expected. After all, what wouldn’t you do to stay alive?
But is survival really worth it if you can’t live with yourself after the fact? Can you heal without seeing justice served? Most importantly, how do you forgive yourself for something that wasn’t your fault? These are the questions Lazlo attempts to help his friends answer. With the figure truly responsible for all of Weep’s pain long dead, everyone is looking for someone new to blame. As each of our heroes attempts to come to terms with decisions they made in the past—in some cases hidden away behind layers of mental blocks and denial—they each portray a different response to grief: Lazlo’s optimism, Minya’s anger, Eril-Fane’s depression, and Sarai’s determination to do better. Together, they make a beautiful study of human nature and morality that’ll have you questioning what it means to love someone else, and to love yourself. All of this struggle is couched inside a book full of the narrative magic and firecracker prose Taylor’s readers know to expect from all her books.
It’s hard not to rush toward Taylor’s stunner of an ending, but trust us: take your time and enjoy every heartbreaking moment of Muse of Nightmares. You’ll be glad you did.