Steve V Cypert

Dreams are things most of us deal with. We wake up grasping at wisps of images, and usually shake them out of our heads with our morning shower. Scapemaker poses a different kind of scenario: what if dreams aren't just in our heads? What if there's a dream world, and it's real?

The idea for this story is as fascinating as it is exciting. Matthew is thrown into a surreal world where dreams are real, even more real than the waking world, all while trying to save his innocent father from a show more lifetime in the dream-world prison. Battling night-terrors, extraordinary creatures, and his own past full of secrets, Matthew finds himself in a fantastic adventure against evil and darkness. While he tries to win the heart of his dream girl, he learns to use his new-found powers, and with the help of his new friends, he will help protect the future of dreams.

Mr. Cypert created an awesome story with this book. His attention to detail was wonderful, creating a well-rounded and complete alternate reality. I look forward to the sequel, and would certainly recommend this book to any fan of paranormal/supernatural adventure stories.

*I was given an eCopy of this book, from the author, to read in exchange for an honest review. show less

Scapemaker takes place in a world were some people, known as “Dreamscapers”, are born with the ability to enter a dream world in which monsters and myths are real. Although Matthew’s father teaches dreamscaping, Matthew is unaware of the existence of Dreamscapers until his father’s mysterious descent into a coma forces him to learn. He quickly finds that his father’s coma was caused by events in the dreamworld, events which have left a powerful talisman his father was guarding show more unprotected. Now Matthew must act as guardian and try to free his father before it’s too late.

I really liked the premise behind Scapemaker. The mythology built up in the story was fairly novel, but included enjoyably recognizable elements. The plot was a standard one, with a purely evil bad guy and a chosen hero who must stop him. I think there’s a reason that sort of story is the standard though. It’s just so enjoyable to watch an underdog hero grow into his powers and take out a bad guy you can love to hate!

The execution, unfortunately, was not as good as the ideas. The dialogue often felt stiff and unnatural to me, while the exposition was done by having the characters give unbelievably long back stories. There was also a lot of showing instead of telling. For example, Matthew’s mother is introduced as “Matthew’s loving mother” when she could instead be shown to act in a loving way. I also felt like the ending only worked because of a lack of internal consistency, with the bad guy only losing because he didn’t use all the tools at his disposal. However, I’m sure the writing for the next book will be more polished and there was a lot to like in this book. The world is creative and I can’t wait to learn more about it. The characters are believable and act realistically – plus, a male protagonist! I don’t feel like we get enough of that in middlegrade and YA books. Overall, I’m definitely excited to see where the next book goes.

This review first published on Doing Dewey. show less

Scapemaker takes place in a world were some people, known as “Dreamscapers”, are born with the ability to enter a dream world in which monsters and myths are real. Although Matthew’s father teaches dreamscaping, Matthew is unaware of the existence of Dreamscapers until his father’s mysterious descent into a coma forces him to learn. He quickly finds that his father’s coma was caused by events in the dreamworld, events which have left a powerful talisman his father was guarding show more unprotected. Now Matthew must act as guardian and try to free his father before it’s too late.

I really liked the premise behind Scapemaker. The mythology built up in the story was fairly novel, but included enjoyably recognizable elements. The plot was a standard one, with a purely evil bad guy and a chosen hero who must stop him. I think there’s a reason that sort of story is the standard though. It’s just so enjoyable to watch an underdog hero grow into his powers and take out a bad guy you can love to hate!

The execution, unfortunately, was not as good as the ideas. The dialogue often felt stiff and unnatural to me, while the exposition was done by having the characters give unbelievably long back stories. There was also a lot of telling instead of showing. For example, Matthew’s mother is introduced as “Matthew’s loving mother” when she could instead be shown to act in a loving way. I also felt like the ending only worked because of a lack of internal consistency, with the bad guy only losing because he didn’t use all the tools at his disposal. However, I’m sure the writing for the next book will be more polished and there was a lot to like in this book. The world is creative and I can’t wait to learn more about it. The characters are believable and act realistically – plus, a male protagonist! I don’t feel like we get enough of that in middlegrade and YA books. Overall, I’m definitely excited to see where the next book goes.

This review first published on Doing Dewey. show less

This novel is about a boy who discovers he has magical powers and is taken to a school for the gifted. It is a testament to Cypert's world-building that I did not think of the comparison to Harry Potter until I was over three-quarters of the way through the book.

This is the first volume of the Scapemaker series. The story opens with a series of unusual events which reveal that Matthew Namely has the power to enter the dream world. His powers can be dangerous, to both himself and others, so show more he is enrolled in Scapemaker, one of a several schools for those capable of interacting with dreams. While he is still attempting to come to terms with another world parallel to the mundane his best friend is killed and his father left in a coma. When his father is blamed for murder and the loss of a mystical artefact, Matthew sets out to prove him innocent.

The magical system in this book is interesting and internally consistent, and is placed within a believable adaptation of the modern world; while there are fantastical elements such as gremlins and dragons, they are only part of magical society, and there are sound reasons for them not to interact with the mundane world.

The plot is engaging with a good balance of serious magical threats and mundane teenage problems. It advances at a good pace without seeming rushed.

The characterisation is mixed. Most of the main characters have distinct believable personalities; the two potential love interests are particularly well realised, and make full use of the potential of a world in which a person's physical appearance can vary between the mundane and dream worlds. However, Cypert often tells the reader what a character is like instead of letting their dialogue and actions show their character. Combined with heavy use of adjectives and complex speech verbs, this counteracts the effect of otherwise solid work.

The point of view is often centred on Matthew but sometimes strays between several other characters within the same scene, or adopts an entirely external view. In some scenes the narrator is omniscient, and some early scenes use divine irony, whereas in others even a character's words are hidden from the narrator. Along with the didactic style of the writing this often makes Cypert's choice to share information or not very obvious to the detriment of immersion.

As an additional consideration for British English speakers, these stylistic issues made the use of American English more than usually noticeable.

Overall I enjoyed this novel, and will probably read the rest of the series. However, the ideas were let down by a lack of editing.

I received a free copy of this book from the author. show less