Dreams of the Dying - (The Twelfth World) by Nicolas Lietzau

About the Book

A bizarre mission to enter a dying man's nightmares forces a drifting veteran to confront his own trauma.

Book Synopsis

If your mind is the enemy, where do you run?

Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for BEST SCI-FI/FANTASY/HORROR (Silver) (2021), The Selfies Book Awards U.S. Nominee for Adult Fiction (2021), Indie Ink Awards Finalist (2024)

#1 Bestseller in German Literature (07/2020, 10/2020, 12/2020)

Years after a harrowing war experience, ex-mercenary Jespar tre Moreste has taken to drifting. It's a lonely existence, but barring the occasional bout of melancholia, he has found the closest thing to peace a man like him deserves. Life is "all right."

Or so he believes. Hoping to turn the page, Jespar accepts a mysterious invitation into the beautiful but dangerous archipelago of Kilay-and everything changes. Plagued by boiling social tensions and terrorism, the tropical empire is edging ever closer to civil war. Kilay's merchant king is the only person able to prevent this catastrophe, but he has fallen into a preternatural coma-and it's Jespar's task to figure out what or who caused it. As the investigation takes him across the archipelago and into the king's nightmares, unexpected events not only tie Jespar's own life to the mystery but also unearth inner demons he believed to be exorcised long ago.

Battling old trauma while fighting for his life, his sanity, and the fate of Kilay, the line between dream and reality blurs until only one question remains: If your mind is the enemy, where do you run?

Described as "Inception in a Polynesian fantasy setting," Dreams of the Dying is a slow-burning, haunting blend of fantasy, mystery, and psychological horror, that explores mental illness, morality, and the dark corners of our minds.

"Masterful storytelling. Worldbuilding with worlds inside of worlds. It's a must-read and should be considered a classic in the making." - Amanda Castro, Bookstagrammer

CW: Profanity, Violence, Sex, Death, Suicide, Rape, Substance Abuse

Review Quotes

"A sense of pure evil suffuses Lietzau's utterly complex high fantasy universe, which is almost as complex and immersive as that of Tolkien. His acute analyses of mental illness, self-doubt, and guilt combined with the subtlety and nuance of his evocative storytelling makes it a treat for readers weary of formulaic dark fantasy. This novel deserves a wide audience." - ThePrairiesBookReview

"I have nothing but praise for Dreams of the Dying. It's simply a masterpiece." - Petrik Leo, Top Goodreads Reviewer

"Enderal accomplishes total immersion in a story in a way I have not seen in a long, long time. There were moments where the emotional weight of what happened hit me so hard that all I could do was sit and stare blankly." - Joe Pishgar, Tom's Hardware

"Dreams of the Dying is a dark and wonderful epic fantasy that draws you in from the very first page." - San Francisco Book Review

"This book has a mix of humor, amazing details and descriptions of this world, while also dealing with some serious moral issues that can be hard to read about but, still, enlightening. (...) I am absolutely fascinated by this world after reading this." - Jesse Ruth, Bookstagrammer

"Dreams of the Dying is at once a very dark but also incredibly beautiful, hopeful, intelligent, and highly ambitious debut novel that pushes the limits of what fantasy can be and serves as a testament to everything that I love about this genre. It's damn near criminal that Nicolas Lietzau isn't being talked about as one of the rising stars of sff. " - Goodreads Review

"Amazing. This is more than just another fantasy novel - it's a deep and thoughtful exploration of morality, determinism, mental illness and how generally fucked up humanity can be." - Goodreads Review

"I'm terrible at reviews, I suck at giving praise and I'm even worse at not dropping books all the time. Yet here I am at 3AM, having blazed through this book in a day and a half, telling whoever needs to hear that I want nothing more than to forget it all just so I can read it AGAIN. Yes, it's that good." - Goodreads Review