Kindle Price:	$4.99
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

E.P. Clark

+ Follow

More books from this author

The Dreaming Land I: The Challenge (The Zemnian Series Book 8) Kindle Edition

by E.P. Clark (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 43 ratings

Book 8 of 10: The Zemnian Series

See all formats and editions

All’s fair in war. But what about love?

If you liked the Kushiel series or The Priory of the Orange Tree, check out this sweeping epic starring a bisexual warrior princess with a taste for dominance!

Valya is a warrior. It is her strong will that holds the steppe, the freest, wildest, most war-like of the provinces of Zem’, and it is her strong sword that defends it from raiders. But now, as a growing demand for Zemnian slaves threatens her people, a call from the Empress in Krasnograd requires Valya to leave her native land behind and take up her other duty, as unpopular heir to the Wooden Throne.

In order to save her beloved Zem’ from the enemies both outside and inside its borders, Valya must find out what secrets her sister princesses are keeping, face up to her scandal-ridden past, and woo the son of the woman she hates most in the world. Valya believes that all is fair in war, but in love she’s not so sure. With the fate of her family and her country riding on her shoulders, though, there may not be time for scruples.

A continuation of the story begun in the award-winning novels The Midnight Land and The Breathing Sea, The Dreaming Land I: The Challenge is the first installment of the concluding trilogy of this epic saga about the matrilineal world of Zem’, where trees walk, animals talk, and women rule. This subversive blend of high fantasy and literary fiction will appeal to fans of classical Russian literature and contemporary fantasy alike.

With discussion questions at end.

Reading order of the Zemnian Series:

The Zemnian Series: Slava’s Story
The Midnight Land I: The Flight
The Midnight Land II: The Gift

The Zemnian Series: Dasha’s Story
The Breathing Sea I: Burning
The Breathing Sea II: Drowning

The Zemnian Series: Valya’s Story
The Dreaming Land I: The Challenge
The Dreaming Land II: The Journey
The Dreaming Land III: The Sacrifice

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

The premise behind The Dreaming Land mini-series was simple: what if I were to show back up in the life of a former lover, child in tow?

This happy little revenge fantasy (completely not based on reality, I hasten to add) eventually expanded into something much bigger, in many senses of the world. The Dreaming Land is the most epic of my stories, which is why it ended up being published as a trilogy, even though I originally wrote it as one complete work. So it's physically larger, but it's also emotionally, morally, and spiritually larger than just a story of revenge on a faithless lover. At its heart it's about forgiveness and healing.

The Dreaming Land is set in summer, but I began writing it in Midwinter. I had recently become seriously ill with a mysterious malaise that I couldn't seem to shake. And my computer was away being fixed after being dealt a mortal wound by an operating system update. But the call to write The Dreaming Land was so strong that I painstakingly typed out the first five chapters on my iPad, while snow piled up around me.

Healing, therefore, was on my mind as I worked on the story. I had wanted to write some kind of corrective or rebuttal to the story of Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings for a long time, and this turned out to be my chance. The Dreaming Land thus features a horse-riding warrior princess who is pushed to learn the healing arts--but in her case, it is something done voluntarily, an empowering move against a backdrop of a world where women rule by right.

The title of the book was inspired by one possible origin for the word "Siberia." According to some sources, the Mongol-Tatar hordes of Genghis Khan's descendants called Siberia "the sleeping land" because it appeared to be fast asleep in winter. In my mind that was transformed into "The Dreaming Land," which, as I worked on the book, took on all sorts of meanings. The most obvious is probably the connection between the themes of the book, with its fight against slavery and all forms of exploitation of others' flesh, and the famous "I Have a Dream" speech. That was not something that I had originally intended to put in there, but by the time I was done, I found it there.

Like all my books, The Dreaming Land is heavily influenced by other works of literature and culture, especially Russian ones. Although the title is Siberian in origin, the heroine and her culture are modeled loosely off the Don Cossacks, mixed with the Scythians who once populated the area. There are several passages in which I deliberately pay homage to works of Russian warrior culture, ranging from The Tale of Igor's Campaign to And Quiet Flows the Don. You don't have to know these other works to enjoy the book, but if you are familiar with them, you may enjoy finding these "Easter Egg" surprises, and if you are not familiar with them, perhaps this will inspire you to read a few of them.

As always, I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!Elena

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07H8VXDHV
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Helia Press (September 11, 2018)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 11, 2018
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2770 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 459 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #2,376,529 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #4,330 in Metaphysical Fantasy eBooks
- #8,297 in LGBTQ+ Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #9,143 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 43 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

E.P. Clark

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

E.P. Clark starting writing fiction as soon as she deigned to learn to read, which was not particularly early--she spent a good deal of her childhood doing more important things, such as pretending to be a unicorn. Slightly later, she wanted to be a world-class equestrian. But, much to her surprise, the heavy finger of fate pointed her way and she ended up moving to Russia, which led, very circuitously, to her earning graduate degrees in Russian from Columbia University and UNC-Chapel Hill, and her current employment teaching Russian at Wake Forest University, along with some odd travel opportunities. The picture, for example, was taken in Finnish Lapland, shortly before she was almost trampled by stampeding reindeer. She continued writing fiction throughout all this, however, and has published multiple short stories and novels. She loves hearing from her readers and can be found at https://epclarkauthor.net/.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5

43 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Joseph pierce

Absolutely fantastic.

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2021

Verified Purchase

A deeply immersive world.
Relatable and well fleshed out characters.
A tale of adventure, romance, political intrigue, and just a dash of the mystical.
This book takes you on a journey you won't want to end, and when it does, you will probably do what I did and immediately purchase the next in the series.
I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of fantasy fiction and who is interested in seeing where the genre can go next.

Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2018

Verified Purchase

The Dreaming Land series picks up the story of the matriarchal empire of Zem' a couple of generations after The Breathing Sea leaves off. Valya is next in line for the throne of Zem', but prefers to stay out of the capital, away from court intrigues, and at home in the steppe. She'd rather be training with her sword and riding her horse, Zlata, than arraying herself in precious clothing and dining with the other princesses. Then her sister, the tsarina, summons her to the kremlin, and the adventures begin.

Valya and her daughter are fascinating, compelling characters. The threats to the realm could not be greater. I raced through the book, and can't wait to get started on part 2.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

G.L.

Doesn't have a conclusion.

Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2019

Verified Purchase

The storytelling is good, but some of the sentence structure is lacking. Had was in one sentence five times, and that was in another sentence four times (or vice versa). Another sentence had to in it four times. Also, book one ended in a bit of a cliffhanger.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Ashok Pimpale

A great book

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2019

Verified Purchase

This is a worthy book in the series. The description of blushing young men is rather intriguing. It just brings to my mind how much our responses are conditioned.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Victor

Excelent writer, waiting for more

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2018

Verified Purchase

Great read, , great characters and excellent writer, I read 2 books and enjoyed both.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Scarolet Ellis

Amazing read by a new author for me.

Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2018

This is an amazing story writen by abrand new amazing author I found. I am so glad I read this story and I can't wait to what the author writes next. I loved it.
This is my honest and unbias opinion of the story.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Cole's Mom

A truly excellent, exciting and enjoyable read!

Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2018

I love the sweeping story of Valya in The Dreaming Land. The Russian influence in environment, mythology, names and politics makes this a fascinating read. Although Valya is currently next in line for the throne, she has no interest. She prefers to serve the Tsarina, preferably out on the steppes. Circumstances, however, require Valya to wed and bear more children (she has a daughter). She must cope with the politics of this situation while also riding out in an attempt to stop slavers, who have been selling Zemnian children. Valya must also face personal challenges as both she and her daughter begin to show signs of "gifts" such as healing and telepathy. This is my first encounter with Zem. I have already started the next. A truly excellent, exciting and enjoyable read.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

richard joesten

The Dreaming land 1

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2018

This is a great read. I love all the different Characters name they are so unique. Valya is a warrior. She has a very strong will. She has to leave her native land to help fight with her Sword. Plus as her sister has srnt for her she must also lean what her sister is hiding. Valya faces adversities. This is a very Adventurous story. That will gave you on the edge of your seat. And there are twists and turns. It is a long read. But this is a Fantastic story. I was given this read.
Shauna Joesten

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Colin kenneth Checkley

If you like page turning books, Get it, because it is great.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2018

Verified Purchase

Brilliant book, thank you, have not finished it yet, by I am sure it will be a great exciting end.

Becca

Great main character

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 2, 2021

Verified Purchase

I had not read this author before and as I had the chance to read this for free I wanted to give it a go. I love the title and thought the front cover was eye catching!
This book is well into the main series so it did mention things that previously happened but did not affect this story.
I found some of the conversations long with the characters jumping between points or getting distracted. Sera is a prime example. Valya is trying to talk to her about something serious (such as the children being taken) and Sera would start asking things like "what happened to your arm?" "How is it going with Ivan?" Etc.
I really did not understand the hierarchy, all these different princesses and second sisters, third sisters. There was nothing really to explain what that meant. So are Sera and Valya actually siblings, or like Mirochka and Sera's children who are actually cousins but call themselves siblings?
I found Mirochka very needy, not that this is a bad thing. The author was creating an 8 year old Princess and did it brilliantly.
I love Valya and her loyalty to her sister as well as not caring that she is not like the other princesses. She is very passionate about what she does, loves her daughter and I think would make an excellent Tsarina.
I like the swap with genders, that women were important and inherited. Not the men. Just as some of the things Ruslan said like "why cant I have the throne?" Pointed out how ridiculous this is in real life when women use the same arguments.
I am intrigued by this story and concept. I want to know what happens to Sera. Do Valya and Ivan end up together? I will definitely be reading more of the series.

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

The Dreaming Land I: The Challenge (The Zemnian Series Book 8) Kindle Edition

Popular titles by this author

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Product details

Videos

About the author

E.P. Clark

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries