Shattering Dreams is a high fantasy by Catherine M. Walker, and I had the good fortune to chat with her about it at the Conflux 2018 convention.
Her “War Stories” were far better than mine, and totally legit (of course), even the one about the dragon who nearly got her. I think the dragon could have been a metaphor for someone, but obviously not me because my Evil Overlord days are well behind me (pfft!).
After comparing War Stories for about half an hour, we swapped books.
I have to admit I was getting a little worried as I held my new prize. Catherine seemed to be using a lot of concepts I use in my own story universe, but after reading it I found there’s very little, if any, crossover. The cloning factory wasn’t contracted, and consequently the stories are very different in both content and tone.
Shattering Dreams is Catherine’s first novel. It’s also the beginning of a trilogy (she’s writing books 2 and 3 now).
Catherine had the book professionally edited (twice) before publication, which tells me a lot about herself as she builds a career as a professional author. She has big plans, and they begin with this trilogy.
Shattering Dreams is an exploration of the lives of three youthful nobles, their world, and the magic they’re learning to use.
It sets up strong internal conflicts for the characters while building the story’s main threat – most people with magical power go mad when they reach adulthood, and when that happens they use their tainted power to destroy and kill the people they care about the most.
The three protagonists, Alex, Kyle and Jess, fear such a fate themselves, and this problem largely drives the story. They desperately need guidance as they face the possibility they’re going to go insane and kill everyone they care about, but there’s not a lot of guidance to be had, and dark forces are beginning to align against them.
Additionally, their youth and inexperience is clearly against them. As powerful as they are, they don’t even know what they’re up against.
Shattering Dreams is a slow burn; a story about the characters and the issues they face. There’s also plenty of action (interspersed with a lot of alcohol, bar brawls, court events and angst), and a huge amount of intrigue. I’m looking forward to the next installment.
You can get Shattering Dreams on Amazon or wherever else you buy good books.
