Rachael Mills's Reviews > A Multitude of Dreams

{AD|GIFTED} [4.5 stars] After reading and loving The Poison Season I became part of Mara Rutherford's street team aimed at sharing news about and hyping her upcoming books. As such, I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of A MULTITUDE OF DREAMS, a retelling of Poe's The Masque of the Red Death.

This is a loose retelling as the source material is so short but all the main elements are there - a plague, nobility hiding in a castle from this plague, and a masquerade ball that takes place in rooms all decorated a different colour. The author though has expanded on this and fleshed out the story by exploring the world outside the castle and the devastating effects of the plague, as well as life inside the castle. She's even added zombie vampires to the mix who hunger for the blood of Immaculates (those rare people who have never contracted the plague).

Told in a dual POV, the story alternates between Princess Imogen, living in the boarded-up and reclusive castle, and Nico Mott, a survivor of the plague who is sent to see if any people remain alive in the castle after the plague seems to have passed. I loved the Jewish representation which is a central aspect of the book. The author touches on how Jewish communities have so often been unfairly blamed for tragedies such as the Black Death. The trauma of survivor's guilt and its wide-reaching consequences is another well-written aspect.

I had a couple of small niggles that knocked off half a star but nothing major. One was that a rare couple of modern phrases jarred me out of the reading experience. The other was the reveal that women zombie vampires tended not to live very long as they refused to drink human blood. I felt this perpetuated the gender stereotype of women as caring and nurturing whilst men were unable to stop themselves from succumbing to their hunger.

Overall, though, this was a sumptuous Gothic retelling, drenched in dread and tension.