Front Cover
The Dream Eaters and Other Stories is a collection of fantasy/xenofiction tales by Louise Searl, author of Kona's Song and The Way of Kings (2021). The book contains the titular novella plus nine short stories.
The stories included are:
The Dream Eaters — During an ongoing war between dragons and wyverns, young albino dragon Kalakri must take up the challenge of saving her colony.
"Sharazad" — In a future where humans are extinct, lions, hyenas and African wild dogs have evolved sapience.
"The Redfern Rats" — The rats of Redfern Wood attempt to unite the wood's inhabitants in defence of their home.
"Home" — A puma accidentally escapes from a zoo. With no idea how to fend for herself, will she manage to survive?
"Lightbringer" — The crew of a spaceship come across a planet with intelligent life. The natives need help, but the rules dictate the explorers must not intervene.
"The Long Walk" — A pair of zebra foals are separated from their mothers whilst on migration for the first time, and must try to reunite with their herd.
"Longtooth" — During the Ice Age, two different species of sabre-toothed cat find themselves competing for territory.
"Birth Day" — A seahorse prepares for the birth of his young.
"Beneath a Crescent Moon" — A married couple face a dilemma when the husband's best friend sees something he shouldn't.
"The Dragon's Claw" — Four teenagers on a school trip are transported to a world where mythical creatures are real.
The Dream Eaters and Other Stories contains examples of:
- Alien Non-Interference Clause: The crew of the Watcher in "Lightbringer" are not supposed to interfere with the cultures they visit. Protagonist Larion has broken this rule once already ...
- All Myths Are True: The world the four teenagers visit in "The Dragon's Claw" is filled with all the creatures of mythology.
- Ancient Astronauts: The premise of "Lightbringer".
- Animal Is the New Man: In "Sharazad", humans are extinct and social carnivores have evolved intelligence and bipedalism.
- Animal Naming Conventions:
- The rats in "The Redfern Rats" are named after plants, and the squirrels after trees.
- The lions in "Sharazad" have a compound name, the first syllable being their pride name (e.g. Ro-nar is from Ro pride). The hyenas have names that end in -ra. The male African wild dogs have names that end in -ak, whilst the females' end in -ik.
- Animal Religion: Appears in several of the animal stories — for example, the Smilodon in "Longtooth" worship the sun and moon, and the rats in "The Redfern Rats" venerate their ancestor Rattus.
- Baku: The titular dream eaters.
- Basilisk and Cockatrice: A basilisk appears in The Dream Eaters, and a cockatrice in "The Dragon's Claw".
- Beast Man: "Sharazad" has anthropomorphic lions, hyenas and African wild dogs.
- Been There, Shaped History: The events of "Lightbringer" cause the invention of religion.
- Bold Explorer: The crew of the Watcher in "Lightbringer".
- Breath Weapon: The dragons of The Dream Eaters and "The Dragon's Claw" breathe fire.
- Cat Folk: Anthropomorphic lions in "Sharazad".
- Data Pad: Appears in "Lightbringer".
- Delightful Dragon: Tal from "The Dragon's Claw", who is friend and guide to the four teenagers.
- Dragon Variety Pack: The Dream Eaters features dragons, wyverns and drakes as distinct species.
- Due to the Dead: The dragons in The Dream Eaters burn their dead.
- Earth All Along: Delta-473 in "Lightbringer".
- Emotion Eater: The baku in The Dream Eaters feed on negative emotions and bad dreams.
- Extinct in the Future: "Sharazad" is set in a future where humans are extinct, as well as elephants, rhinos, hippos, and giraffes.
- Faeries Don't Believe in Humans, Either: Inverted in "The Dragon's Claw" — the mythical creatures do believe in humans, but can no longer exist in our world because we've stopped believing in them. It's stated that if they stopped believing in us, the four kids wouldn't be able to exist in their world, either.
- Fantastic Racism: In The Dream Eaters, dragons and wyverns hate each other and have been at war for centuries. Each believes the other started it.
- Fantasy Keepsake: The dragon's claw in the story of the same name.
- First Contact: Aliens and humans meet in "Lightbringer".
- Hippogriff: Chirro in The Dream Eaters. Hippogriffs here are the hybrid offspring of a horse and a griffin (not a species in their own right).
- Human Aliens: Appear in "Lightbringer".
- Humanity's Wake: "Sharazad" takes place long after humans are extinct.
- Intellectual Animal: Intelligent lions, hyenas and African wild dogs in "Sharazad".
- Lunacy: Averted with the werewolves in "Beneath a Crescent Moon". As the title suggests, they can transform regardless of the moon phase.
- Magical Land: In "The Dragon's Claw", four teenagers are transported to a world where all mythical creatures are real.
- Mammal Monsters Are More Heroic: Inverted in The Dream Eaters. The reptilian dragons are the heroes, whilst the Big Bad is a mammal-mashup manticore.
- Menagerie of Misery: Averted in "Home" — the zoo is essentially a haven for animals, especially compared to the harshness of life in the wild.
- Mister Seahorse: A literal example in "Birth Day".
- A Mythology Is True: According to "Lightbringer", there really was a Lucifer — but he wasn't quite what the Bible tells us.
- Nature Is Not Nice: As Kemba the puma discovers in "Home", when she escapes a zoo and attempts to survive in the wild. Also applies to "The Long Walk" — life for two zebra foals separated from their mothers is fraught with danger.
- Numbered Homeworld: Delta-473 and Sigma-5 appear in "Lightbringer".
- One World Order: Implied in "Lightbringer".
- Or Was It a Dream?: The ending of "The Dragon's Claw".
- Our Dragons Are Different: The Dream Eaters features dragons, wyverns and drakes, all portrayed as different species.
- Our Werewolves Are Different: The werewolves in "Beneath a Crescent Moon" are not affected by the phases of the moon.
- Present Tense Narrative: Used in "Birth Day".
- Raised in Captivity: Kemba the puma in "Home".
- Resourceful Rodent: The heroes of "The Redfern Rats" are resourceful rats and squirrels.
- Talking Animal: Many of the stories feature these. In "The Redfern Rats", each species speaks its own language, though fortunately the gossipy squirrels like to learn those of others. In The Dream Eaters, intelligent species like the dragons and wyverns learn a common language to communicate with each other.
- Token Heroic Orc: Theeg the wyvern in The Dream Eaters.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Em and Charlotte in "The Dragon's Claw". Em wears jeans and T-shirts, has messy hair, and has a male best friend. Charlotte wears short skirts and make-up, has carefully groomed hair, and is horrified at the thought of wearing hiking gear. Neither is happy about being forced to share a room.
- Translator Microbes: Barchek in "Lightbringer" has an implant that helps him learn alien languages very fast.
- Unicorn: Valanar in "The Dragon's Claw" is the opposite of the typical, noble unicorn.
- Vertebrate with Extra Limbs: The dragons of The Dream Eaters and "The Dragon's Claw" qualify, having four legs and two wings. The former also has a hippogriff and manticore, and the latter a griffin and centaur.
- Wicked Weasel: Weasels are the antagonists of "The Redfern Rats".
- Wolves Always Howl at the Moon: Lucas in "Beneath a Crescent Moon" howls at the crescent moon of the title while in wolf form. Also qualifies as a Howl of Sorrow.
- World of Funny Animals: Sharazad is a future Africa inhabited by intelligent, bipedal carnivores.
- Xenofiction: Most of the stories are not from a human perspective.
- You Dirty Rat!: Averted in "The Redfern Rats" — the rat characters are brave and heroic. Them being clean animals is also mentioned.
