Search for the Shadow Key ~ Review

Search for the Shadow Key
Dreamtreaders Book 2
By Wayne Thomas Batson

Some doors should never be opened...

As the only surviving Dreamtreader Archer Keaton is losing the nightly battle to seal all the breaches in the Dream Fabric.  And if Archer can't stop the breaches the Dream Realm and the Waking World will merge and reality will be lost to the dream.

But Dreamtreaders can't be found easily and they need training but time is a luxury Archer doesn't have and neither do we.  Master Gabriel has promised Archer that help is coming, but Rigby and Kara aren't about to close the doors of Dream Inc.  After all they don't believe that Lucid Walkers will cause the damage that Archer is warning them about.

But Rigby has opened a door that he never should have.  And in opening this door Rigby has unleashed a force that can cross from the Dream to the Waking World.  And Rigby is determinrd to use them to destroy Archer by taking that which he holds dearest - family and friends.

But there is another force within the Dream who seems to have sided with Archer and the Dreamtreaders.  Can the Windmaiden help them stop the Scath and prevent a new Nightmare Lord from taking the throne?

Search for the Shadow Key is an excellent follow-up to Dreamtreaders.  Wayne Thomas Batson doesn't disappoint as he further explores dreaming in an epic and entrancing series that tweens and teens will love reading and sharing.  Fantasy fans too will delight in a series that captures their imagination from cover to cover.  Woven throughout are subtle messages about the importance of withstanding temptations even though such a choice can be difficult.  Another aspect is family and the importance it plays in each individual's life and what we will do to protect it.

In my opinion there is only one drawback and that is that I now have to wait for the concluding book in this trilogy. 

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher through the BookLook blogger program in exchange for my honest review.   

Book Description:

Book #2 in a trilogy from fantasy author Wayne Thomas Batson explores the concept of dreams and their effects on us.

Fourteen-year-old Archer Keaton discovers he has the ability to enter and explore his dreams. He is a dreamtreader, one of three selected from each generation. Their mission: to protect the waking world from the evil lurking in the Dream.

The Nightmare Lord has been thrown down, but his throne is no longer empty. Rigby Thames has taken up the evil mantle with Kara Windchil as his queen. Now the only living dreamtreader, Archer Keaton finds himself on the outside of two worlds looking in. Dream Walking Inc. is taking the world by storm, allowing Rigby to build an unstoppable empire. Worse still, Rigby has unleashed the Tendrils, shadow people who can cross over into the waking world. As Archer's family and friends begin to disappear, unexpected help comes in the form of the Wind Maiden, a mysterious angelic being who seems to know how Archer can rescue his loved ones and defeat the new Nightmare King. But the cost may prove too dear for Archer to pay.

Steeped in epic fantasy and intrigue, this second book in the Dreamtreaders series teaches kids important Christian values such as being a light in the darkness, resisting temptation, and keeping your faith, even when you feel like you're standing alone.

About the Author:

Wayne Thomas Batson is the author of several bestselling novels, including The Door Within trilogy, The Isle series, and The Berinfell series. As a middle school reading teacher, Wayne writes adventures set in imaginative locales because he believes that we all dream of doing something that matters.