After almost losing his sister to the Requiem, Webb Thompson is ready to take a break from the chaos of the Dark Lands, and settle into life at Glorian. However, Webb has started having a reoccurring dream about a large and formidable tree, which transforms into the Dark Man, Glorians most feared enemy. Webb soon wonders if it really is just a dream, or if it's something more. Webb soon discovers the Not-Where, a place where your nightmares become reality. If he is to ever stop the nightmares, Webb must enter the Not-Where, and come face to face with the Dark Man himself.
So I may have jumped straight into this book after finishing the first one. The book continues to follow on from where the first one left off, where we discover that Webb has started having nightmares about the Dark Man emerging from a tree. Webb discovers that someone known as the Mind Stalker is manipulating his dreams, which esculate into him hallucinating while awake. He finds out that the Dark Man is behind it, attempting to lure him out into the Not-Where. Although this series has been compared to Harry Potter, I didn't see too many similiarites in the first book. However, I did feel as if the plot of this one was very similar to Order of the Phoenix, where Voldemort manipulated Harry's dreams to get him to go to the Department of Mysteries. Once I saw this similarity, I did find myself subconciously comparing things to Harry Potter, such as the tree being similar to the Whomping Willow, and the Dark Man being similar to Voldemort.
I loved how the characters were developed in this book, particularly the characters who had a more minor role in the first book, such as Kane. I loved learning a little more about Kane's past, and how Webb started to see him on a deeper level, eventually changing his opinion on him. I also loved how Raven became more important to the story rather than just being there to serve as the love interest. I continued to feel bad for poor Caleb, who has still yet to purposfully do something wrong, but who has now been accused of betraying Glorian, and been forced by Webb to explain something that was clearly an upsetting topic for him. I honestly just want to give this poor boy a hug!
The idea behind the Not-Where was really interesting, and I found having a place where your nightmares became a reality a unique idea. I loved learning about the origins of the Whoop-Dingers, and how they were created from a childs nightmare. As there was less backstory to go through in this book, I felt as if the story flowed better, and there wasn't too many needless filler chapters.
Something that did continue to irk me was the relationship between Webb and Raven. The instalove was explained away with the revelation that they were “soulmates”, which although was a valid explanation, continued to make me roll my eyes. I did try to give this relationship a chance, but instalove and soulmates just really aren't my cup of tea. Relationships where the characters are “destined to be together” are just a little too cliché fo me. Although I do love both the characters seperately, I just can't make myself care about their romantic relationship, and I much prefer Webb's interactions with Sundown and Caleb.
Without spoiling too much, I want to talk a little about the ending. I have grown up adoring battle scenes, from the battle of Hogwarts to the battle of five armies. This one was no exception, and I was completely hooked for the last few pages. Also, I can't believe it ended on such a huge cliffhanger! I was not expecting it to end the way it did at all, and I'm excited that the next book will potentially have more focus on Sundown, as she has been my favourite character throughout the series so far. I feel as if this series is just going to continue to improve, and I am looking forward to reading the rest of it!
Dark Lands: The Not-Where is now available to purchase!
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