Review of "Dreamweaver," a short story by Benjamin Goshko



Summary:
Tonight, Somnus, God of Sleep, has tasked Dreamweaver to craft a happy dreamscape for a little girl named Abigail. The assignment seems routine at first, but, no matter what webs he spins, Dreamweaver cannot please the child. The only thing Abigail wants is to be reunited with her father. Failing to grant her this one wish will forever banish Dreamweaver to the dark netherworld.

Review:
This was a simply delightful story.  I want to say bordering on a fairy tale...?  Sort of...?  It didn't start with a "once upon the time" but for some reason it just struck me as belonging to that category.

Goshko does a fantastic job exploring the depth of pain and loss without attempting intentional heart string pulling.  It was a brilliant touch telling the story from the Dreamwaver's point of view.  The Dreamweaver is a spirit and therefore provides a sense objectivity as he explores each person's dream to try and get the complete story.

There were a few loose ends here and there that I wished had been tied up a little neater.  For example, the story starts with the Dreamweaver explaining that Abigail's happy dream was a special request from  Somnus, the God of Sleep.  Yet, Abigail's relationship with Somnus was never explained.  Why does he care so much about one little girl when there are millions of suffering children?

But none of this was enough to ruin the compelling plot told in this short story.  The Dreamweaver is almost naive when it comes to human emotions which makes his discovery of anger and abandonment bittersweet.   Definitely worth picking up a copy to read.

4/5 stars
Reviewed by Alain Gomez

Buy this story on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

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