Home

Explore the best Christian fantasy.

articles | news | library | reviews | podcast
Advertise Seek Review Questions?

‘One Piece’ Manga Reaches Chapter 1000: How Did This Pirate Become King?
Articles | L. Jagi Lamplighter, Jan 20, 2021

To Shape a Story is to Shape a Soul
Articles | L.G. McCary, Jan 18, 2021

Author Ted Turnau Finds The Hidden Grace of Pixar’s ‘Soul’
News | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 15, 2021

Introducing Thriller Novelist and New Lorehaven Writer L. G. McCary
News | Lorehaven, Jan 15, 2021

Join Our Jan. 21 Livestream: How Can We ‘Terraform’ the Church to Enjoy Fantastic Fiction?
News | Lorehaven, Jan 14, 2021

How Political Punditry Has Taken Over Christian Popular Subcultures
Articles | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 14, 2021

TheOneRing.net Reveals Synopsis for Amazon’s Middle-Earth Streaming Series
News | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 13, 2021

One Month Left Until the Realm Makers Virtual Retreat, Feb. 11–13
News | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 11, 2021

Thomas Kinkade Studios Now Making ‘The Mandalorian’ Products
News | E. Stephen Burnett, Jan 8, 2021

Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’ Collides with Itself
Articles | Josh Hugo, Jan 8, 2021

Library

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy | sci-fi | supernatural and beyond
All novels Search Add a novel
Explore all: Middle-grade books | Young-adult books | Adult books
Seed: Judgment, Joshua David
The Rooster and the Raven King, John Paul Tucker
Brimstone 1, Jasom William Karpf
The Horse Queen, Lavay Byrd
King of Aethon, Lavay Byrd
Tales of Elhaanai, Nicole Thomas
Still Small Voice, Allen Brokken
The Guardian, Lavay Byrd
Salvare's Mountain, D. P. Rowell
Fear No Evil, Allen Brokken
Love Costs, E. B. Roshan
Power Unimaginable, Michael J. Harvey
Kingdom Above the Cloud, Maggie Platt
Nomad, R. J. Anderson
Reviews

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review Share review

Flight of the Raven
“Exciting twists make Morgan L. Busse’s Flight of the Raven, book 2 of the Ravenwood Saga, a very enjoyable read.” —Lorehaven

The Eternal Struggle
“Esther Wallace’s novel The Eternal Struggle forms a dark sequel that brings hero and heroine into close fellowship with loss and brutality.” —Lorehaven

Dark is the Night
“Mirriam Neal’s vampire novel Dark is the Night keeps the punches and the fangs rolling.” —Lorehaven

Blood and Bond
“This book is brilliant and engaging, expanding on the series’ world and characters while building its own plot.” —Lorehaven

Podcast

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Apple | Google | All subscribe links
Archives Feedback

48. What Were the Top Seven Issues for Lorehaven Readers in 2020?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 19, 2021

47. Why Do Some People Long for Escape to a Galactic Community?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 12, 2021

46. Ten Years Later, Why Did ‘Dawn Treader’ Sink the Narnia Movies? | with Rilian of NarniaWeb
Fantastical Truth, Dec 22, 2020

45. How Can a Wingless Piskey Learn to Fly? | The Flight and Flame Trilogy, with R. J. Anderson
Fantastical Truth, Dec 15, 2020

Webzine

Browse back issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!
SpecFaith

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

site archives | statement of faith
New articles Questions? Pitch to us

What Tolkien Taught About Fighting Evil
Travis Perry, Jan 21

The Messages of Black Horror Films
Parker J. Cole, Jan 20

The Worldview of Biocentrism–You Are One With The Force
Travis Perry, Jan 14

Who Can Put a Price on Daring Love, Loyalty, and Swordsmanship?
Azalea Dabill, Jan 12

Beyond

Find more from Christian creators

Order the book! E. Stephen Burnett

Get exclusive shirts and beyond
in the Lorehaven store

Explore the book The Pop Culture Parent: Helping Kids Engage Their World for Christ

Does ‘Engaging Popular Culture’ Include Right-Wing Talk Radio?
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 9

Join My Livestream This Thursday: Seven Ways to Find Truth in Fantastic Stories
E. Stephen Burnett, Oct 6

Home
Library
Reviews
Podcast
Webzine
SpecFaith
Store
Beyond Edit content
Lorehaven serves Christian fans by finding the best of Christian fantasy. Our free webzine, an online library, positive reviews, a thriving blog and community, and weekly podcast episodes help fans explore fantasy, science fiction, and other fantastical genres for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ Articles

Dream Treaders: A Review

I think Dream Treaders is a triple (with nobody out), if not a home run. It’s a great book for middle grade boys, a reading group that is highly under served, in my opinion. I applaud Wayne Batson for such a wonderful story (and Thomas Nelson for publishing it).
Rebecca LuElla Miller on Feb 29, 2016 | 2 comments |

cover_DreamTreaders
The Story. Archer Keaton is an apparently normal though conscientious student by day. By night he is a dreamtreader, one of three tasked to patrol the world of Dream, standing in opposition to the Nightmare Lord.

When a new boy comes to school in the last month of the school year, everything in Archer’s daily life changes. His best friend, Kara Windchil, seems smitten by Rigby Thames, but so do most of the rest of the students. Still, it smarts that Kara no longer sits with Archer on the bus or talks with him or texts him.

Things in Dream are not so great either. An increasing number of tears in the fabric separating Dream from the Temporal—the real, though temporal world, as opposed to the real, though eternal world of the hearafter—have begun to appear. What’s more, the other two dreamtreaders are missing.

And off the story goes.

Strengths. There’s much to like in Dream Treaders. For one, Wayne Batson has a wonderful ability to portray young teens truthfully and accurately. He does not treat his teens in a condescending way or write as an adult who is living through his characters or, with one exception, create teens based on how an adult expects teens to act. Rather, they seem to come alive and each is a unique individual. The quirks and foibles of one are completely different from those of the other characters.

The premise of this story is also fresh and interesting. Yes, as noted in an earlier post, there are dream stories or stories centered on the fight to control the mind, but this one takes a different approach and gives it some really strong elements—people capable of lucid dreaming, with the ability to think into being whatever they need, but also with rules they must follow if they are to avoid dire consequences.

The plot of this story is not particularly new, but it is well executed. It’s apparent from the beginning what Archer wants, and it’s easy to pull for him, to hope he succeeds, to worry when he makes a bad decision. The pace is fast but not dizzily so.

The theme is expertly woven throughout the story, not in a subtle way exactly, but naturally so that the important truths arise from the characters and not as an aside the authors tells the reader. And the truths are important. In yesterday’s post I dealt with the concept of an anchor—a thing that ties a lucid dreamer to reality. The point becomes clear that those in the real world also need anchors—solid, reliable constants to keep us from drifting away from truth. Coupled with the fight to overthrow the Nightmare Lord, there’s a lot of grist for the reader to digest.

Lastly, the worldbuilding in Dream Treaders is stellar—both that of Dream and of Dresden High. They seem like real places and are easy to visualize without having the action come to a stop while paragraphs of description paint the picture. Rather, Wayne Batson skillfully incorporates the details of setting with the events of the story.

Weaknesses. When I read the first chapter, I closed the book and realized I’d been entertained but didn’t really care. When I came back to the book and read chapter two, everything changed. The fact is, chapter one takes place in Dream and chapter to in the real world. Chapter one is immediate action; chapter two shows the main character in relationship with others. In short, once I got to know the character, I cared.

I don’t know if switching the order of the chapters would work or not. I do know, for me as a reader, getting to know the character was like throwing a switch from not engaged to engaged and caring.

There was one character, though, I think Wayne Batson missed—Archer’s brother Buster who supposedly was in love with all things Best Coast (though I think he called it West Coast 😉 or maybe even California). The problem was, he used slang that was fashionable in the 1980s or ’90s at best. I (living on the West Coast) haven’t heard a lot of those slang terms he used for a generation. His character, in other words, seemed forced and artificial—an adult’s idea, gleaned from old TV shows, most likely, of what a kid in California must be like. Fortunately, Buster had a very small role, and most people not living on the West Coast may not even notice the weirdness of his portrayal.

Recommendation. I think Dream Treaders is a triple (with nobody out), if not a home run. It’s a great book for middle grade boys, a reading group that is highly under served, in my opinion. I applaud Wayne Batson for such a wonderful story (and Thomas Nelson for publishing it). I think this one is a MUST READ for the target audience. I think readers of all kinds will enjoy it.

This post first appeared at A Christian Worldview of Fiction in June 2014.

Rebecca LuElla Miller
Best known for her aspirations as an epic fantasy author, Becky is the sole remaining founding member of Speculative Faith. Besides contributing weekly articles here, she blogs Monday through Friday at A Christian Worldview of Fiction. She works as a freelance writer and editor and posts writing tips as well as information about her editing services at Rewrite, Reword, Rework.
Website |
  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Print
  • Pocket
  • WhatsApp
  1. Lauren Lynch says:
    February 29, 2016 at 5:10 pm

    Is it petty of me to be irked by the “10th Kingdom” cover knock-off? (As a designer, I can’t help it … not the author’s fault, I guess)

    Reply
  2. Rebecca LuElla Miller says:
    March 3, 2016 at 4:27 pm

    Hey, Lauren, I wasn’t aware of the 10th Kingdom cover until you mentioned it. Certainly looks like the designer used that one as a template for this one. But keep in mind that the author writes the book before a cover is ever thought up, so don’t hold your irked feelings against the story. I actually can see why they thought that would be the perfect concept for this book, and it’s 15 years after that book came out. But still . . . for people like you who know, I can see why you’d be a bit put off.

    Becky

    Reply

What do you think? Cancel reply

  • CSFF Blog Tour - Curse Of The Spider KingCSFF Blog Tour - Curse Of The Spider King
  • Fiction Friday: Dream Treaders By Wayne Thomas BatsonFiction Friday: Dream Treaders By Wayne Thomas Batson
  • Reading Is Worship 8: Source Of All StoriesReading Is Worship 8: Source Of All Stories
Lorehaven magazine, winter 2020

Wear the wonder:
Get exclusive shirts and beyond

Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

Authors: Reach new fans with Lorehaven