The Dream Gatherer contains a novella and two short stories in the Green Rider universe. The novella follows Estral Andovian (after the events of Firebrand), mute, due to a magical curse, as she journeys to Selium to take her father's body for burial and to reluctantly assume her position of the new Golden Guardian. On her journey, she becomes separated from her caravan and finds herself at Seven Chimneys, the odd and magically whimsical home of the two very eccentric Berry Sisters, Bunch and Bay, whom she's only heard of in stories from her friend, Karigan.
Her diversion from her journey seems to be a much needed break, allowing her to reflect on the events that have led up to her current point in her life and offering a chance for a brief respite, especially since the Berry sisters decide to throw a party to celebrate Estral's arrival as well as the sisters' recent return to Seven Chimneys. I mentioned above the odd and magical nature of Seven Chimneys and they don't disappoint with their party, making use of their late father's "Draugmkelder" (or "Dream Gatherer"), which magically summons guests to their party from their slumber.
Through the magic of the draugmkelder, Estral is reunited with her lover and, through the magic of Seven Chimneys, itself, somehow regains her voice temporarily during her stay, making the party that much more pleasant.
However, dreams can be dangerous things and the party takes a dangerous turn when a nightmare manifests itself from Estral's worst memories and fears, threatening all of the attendees in a very real way.
One of the short stories, Wishwind, tells of Danalong, a Green Rider, and his experience when he washes up on an island after his ship, the Windswift, had run afoul of a great storm on its way to a military engagement of upmost importance. Danalong would have been lost, were it not for being nursed back to health by a strange woman who lives on the island. As soon as he's able to stand, he wishes to rush to the beach, to search for survivors, to continue his journey... but the wise woman of the island intends to heal his injuries, beyond those he's endured from the shipwreck, including those of his mind and spirit, before allowing him to return to the "civilized" world.
I enjoyed the Dream Gatherer and Wishwind on their own, but both of these are presented as sort of "asides" or "side-quests" that almost occur outside of a normal timeline, in each case seeming to magically have lasted longer than either Estral or Danalong were missed. I also quite enjoyed Linked, on Lake of Souls, but instead of this story being an "aside" or "side-quest", it is actually the telling of a fictional story that was referenced in the Green Rider series as having been told to Karigan as a distraction after she had been tortured.
True fans of certain bodies of fiction work to get their hands on everything they can, whether it be a reproduction Iron-Man helmet, a book all about the Bat-Mobile or The Silmarillion from J.R.R.Tolkien's Middle Earth. The Dream Gatherer is a book that is intended to give true fans of the Green Rider series that extra something to add to their collection. In addition to the novella and the two short stories, it also features "About a Friendship", by Julie E. Czerneda, about her friendship with Britain, "The Story Behind the Story (or It's Been Twenty Years Already??? UGH.", in which Kristen recounts how the series came to be. Additionally, the book contains a map of the Realm of Sacoridia, along with twelve pencil drawings scattered throughout, all drawn by Kristen Britain. The Afterword in the back of the book provides some interesting insight into the included stories. This truly feels like a book a fan of Kristen Britain's Green Rider series would love.
As a reader unfamiliar with the Green Rider series and Kristen Britain's other works, I can say that, even as an uninitiated reader, I found The Dream Gatherer to be an interesting and entertaining read, while I can only imagine how fascinating this would be for existing fans. Still, as odd a place to start the series as The Dream Gatherer may seem, I may have to pick up the Green Rider series and give it a read...
