THE DREAM HUNTER by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Let me start this off by noting I've been a Sherrilyn Kenyon fan since she first started writing about Dark Hunters. While I can honestly admit that I've read some books in the series that stretched the premise a bit thin, by and large I have to say I've enjoyed these books...some more than others. I've also enjoyed the off shoot books about Were Hunters as well. Again, some more than others.

However, as more and more mythology seems to be creeping into the books I'm finding myself less and less interested. This is not a commentary on Ms. Kenyon's writing ability. This is about my own interest in a particular subject. Am I the only one who has to constantly remind myself who everyone is in the god families and how they are related to one another in these books? Ms. Kenyon does make references and leaves bread crumbs in each book reminding us of connections, but I still find myself getting confused and have sometimes found myself stopping my reading and going to her website to get sorted out. Sadly my knowledge of Greek mythology is so poor that I don't even know how much license Ms. Kenyon has taken with the actual facts.

THE DREAM HUNTER has a wonderful premise and I must admit I was anxious to give it a try. To have a flesh and blood man just show up when you've only known him in a very up close and personal way in your dreams would be pretty startling and freaky. I also thought it would make for a very interesting story premise.

Not only is Arikos a guy who walks through human dreams, he is a god. While the mixing of real life and those of the "gods" takes a leap it's no worse than the leap we take when reading about werewolves or vampires. However, I do think here that the real life characters accept the existence of these gods a little too readily. Even so, that wasn't my problem with this book. Frankly, I just felt mired down by all the mythology. While Ms. Kenyon made attempts with humor and character devices to teach us about the world of ancient Greece that she obviously loves and finds intriguing I was just not interested. I didn't feel it gave the story gravitas or progressed the plot in anyway. It seemed like a way for her to show off her knowledge and how she was cleverly weaving it into her story.

This isn't a bad book by a long stretch. I did finish it. I just felt disappointed and dissatisfied when I was done. I found myself more interested in the secondary characters than the main characters in this book. Go figure...like that's never happened before. Those that like all things mythological and fantasy will probably love it. For me...not so much.