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Kij Johnson's haunting novella The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe is both a commentary on a classic H.P. Lovecraft tale and a profound reflection on a woman's life. Vellitt's quest to find a former student who may be the only person who can save her community takes her through a world governed by a seemingly arbitrary dream logic in which she occasionally glimpses an underlying but mysterious order, a world ruled by capricious gods and populated by the creatures of dreams and nightmares. Those familiar with Lovecraft's work will travel through a fantasy landscape infused with Lovecraftian images viewed from another perspective, but even readers unfamiliar with his work will be enthralled by Vellitt's quest. A remarkable accomplishment that repays rereading.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
The short novel The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe is Kij Johnson's 21st-century rejoinder to The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft. Johnson's story features a college professor who is tasked with a quest in which she must journey to the "waking world," so-called by its natives like
Although far from uncritical of Lovecraft's dreamlands, this story is also a fond homage to them, fully congruent with the narrative continuity established in Grandpa Cthulhu's own tales, although taking place in a later period. By making her protagonist a native of the otherworld in quest of our own, Johnson put me a little in mind of Katherine Valente's The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, but while that book offers its sojourn in the mundane quite early, Johnson's takes almost the whole book to achieve it for Vellitt Boe.
There are a couple of subtle digs at Lovecraft's racism, but the main conundrum of this Dream-Quest is gender: "Did women have dream lands? In all her far travelling, she had never seen a woman of the waking world nor heard of one" (50). Randolph Carter is supposed to have said it was on account of the "tiny," domesticated dreams of women. But again, this book is not picking a fight with Lovecraft, so much as collaborating with his shade to build a framework that can open onto "another dream land, built from the imaginings of more powerful women dreamers" (72).
And it holds to the love for crystal cliffs and luminous sea-deeps, zoogs and gugs, subtle priests and sapient cats.
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Randolph Carter, who consider Kadath, Ulthar and its environs, Hatheg-Kla, Serranian, and the like to be "the lands of dream." The titles are not perfectly parallel: Unknown Kadath is a place, but Vellitt Boe is a protagonist.Although far from uncritical of Lovecraft's dreamlands, this story is also a fond homage to them, fully congruent with the narrative continuity established in Grandpa Cthulhu's own tales, although taking place in a later period. By making her protagonist a native of the otherworld in quest of our own, Johnson put me a little in mind of Katherine Valente's The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, but while that book offers its sojourn in the mundane quite early, Johnson's takes almost the whole book to achieve it for Vellitt Boe.
There are a couple of subtle digs at Lovecraft's racism, but the main conundrum of this Dream-Quest is gender: "Did women have dream lands? In all her far travelling, she had never seen a woman of the waking world nor heard of one" (50). Randolph Carter is supposed to have said it was on account of the "tiny," domesticated dreams of women. But again, this book is not picking a fight with Lovecraft, so much as collaborating with his shade to build a framework that can open onto "another dream land, built from the imaginings of more powerful women dreamers" (72).
And it holds to the love for crystal cliffs and luminous sea-deeps, zoogs and gugs, subtle priests and sapient cats.
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LibraryThing member pwaites
In her youth, Vellitt Boe traveled the Six Kingdoms of the dream world before deciding to settle down as the mathematics professor of Ulthar Women’s College, a sanctuary of sorts for women who may not fit anywhere else. Now, she’s taking up her walking stick and pack to travel again, because
Basically, this is a novella about a woman in her fifties going on a quest. And that’s entirely as wonderful as it sounds.
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe is apparently related to/inspired by the work of Lovecraft but with an attempt to create a story with a focus on women and without the racism. As I haven’t read any of Lovecraft’s work, I can’t really comment on the influence, although I have heard that the setting of the novella belongs to Lovecraft’s mythos. I can testify that even if you’ve never read anything by Lovecraft, you can still love The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe.
“To him, she had been a landscape, an articulate crag he could ascend, a face to put to this place. When were women ever anything but footnotes to men’s tales?”
The dream world Vellitt Boe travels across is a vividly lush, beautiful setting, with chaotic gods who habitually wreck destruction and ninety-seven stars in the deeply patterned sky. Those from the waking world occasionally travel through, such as the man Vellitt’s student Claire ran off with. Yet all the travelers from our world Vellitt has met have been male, leaving Vellitt to travel through a world shaped by the dreams of men. She knows that her dreams are vast and powerful, so perhaps there is another world out there shaped by the dreams of women.
Vellitt is older than most female protagonists in fantasy, and I think her confidence and experience are a real asset to the story. She’s sure of who she is and in her mission. She’s gained some wisdom and self-knowledge over the course of her life.
While part of me wishes I could stay with Vellitt and her travels longer, I do think that the length was entirely suited to the story. All in all, The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe is a gorgeous, powerful novella that I heartily recommend.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC of The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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one of her students has run away with a man from the waking world, and it could mean the end of the college.Basically, this is a novella about a woman in her fifties going on a quest. And that’s entirely as wonderful as it sounds.
The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe is apparently related to/inspired by the work of Lovecraft but with an attempt to create a story with a focus on women and without the racism. As I haven’t read any of Lovecraft’s work, I can’t really comment on the influence, although I have heard that the setting of the novella belongs to Lovecraft’s mythos. I can testify that even if you’ve never read anything by Lovecraft, you can still love The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe.
“To him, she had been a landscape, an articulate crag he could ascend, a face to put to this place. When were women ever anything but footnotes to men’s tales?”
The dream world Vellitt Boe travels across is a vividly lush, beautiful setting, with chaotic gods who habitually wreck destruction and ninety-seven stars in the deeply patterned sky. Those from the waking world occasionally travel through, such as the man Vellitt’s student Claire ran off with. Yet all the travelers from our world Vellitt has met have been male, leaving Vellitt to travel through a world shaped by the dreams of men. She knows that her dreams are vast and powerful, so perhaps there is another world out there shaped by the dreams of women.
Vellitt is older than most female protagonists in fantasy, and I think her confidence and experience are a real asset to the story. She’s sure of who she is and in her mission. She’s gained some wisdom and self-knowledge over the course of her life.
While part of me wishes I could stay with Vellitt and her travels longer, I do think that the length was entirely suited to the story. All in all, The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe is a gorgeous, powerful novella that I heartily recommend.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC of The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member ElleGato
I loved this and I want more of it which I guess is the best compliment I can construct right now. This book is everything I've been looking for and for once--FOR ONCE--centers women in their own stories! So many books with a woman as a main character, with a charming and dangerous assassin, with a
I would read hundreds of books set in this place. I would read thousands. The writing itself--Lovecraftian but without the weak-chinned pretentiousness, Lovecraftian without the fastidious disgust of Lovecraft himself--a Lovecraft WITHOUT GODS. I would read thousands of books about brave women and foolish women and fierce women and older women and reluctant women who moved through worlds without the burden of love or men or anything but themselves. I'm so glad this was the first fiction I read in 2017 because even if everything else is awful I will at least know that books like this ARE POSSIBLE. And that will keep me moving.
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princess or a commoner or a warrior and yet still they were never the center of the story, never the pivot. Instead they existed surrounded by men and love and what man they would choose and what man they should choose and the endless debates and for once, here, a woman and a story that dispelled immediately with love and the need for love--I would read hundreds of books set in this place. I would read thousands. The writing itself--Lovecraftian but without the weak-chinned pretentiousness, Lovecraftian without the fastidious disgust of Lovecraft himself--a Lovecraft WITHOUT GODS. I would read thousands of books about brave women and foolish women and fierce women and older women and reluctant women who moved through worlds without the burden of love or men or anything but themselves. I'm so glad this was the first fiction I read in 2017 because even if everything else is awful I will at least know that books like this ARE POSSIBLE. And that will keep me moving.
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LibraryThing member Stevil2001
“Our world has no sweep, no scale,” Carter said. “No dark poetry. We can't get to the stars, and even the moon is hundreds of thousands of miles away. There is no meaning to any of it.”
“Do stars have to mean anything?”
In an alternate world, a world that is a dream of
“Do stars have to mean anything?”
In an alternate world, a world that is a dream of
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our world, a middle-aged professor at a women's college goes on a quest to find a runaway student, one who's run off with a man with the intention of getting into our world, and whose flight endangers the stability of the college. There are some bits of this that are quite good, as Johnson is an evocative writer, and I really liked how the end came together, but even for a journey narrative, there's a big chunk of the middle that is very free of incident. I may have gotten more out of it if I'd read the Lovecraft which it is reworking, but I still enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. Show Less
LibraryThing member jen.e.moore
I loved this: a quiet, fantastical travel-story, peppered with moments of revolutionary heroism. I would cheerfully read a 500-page epic just like this.
LibraryThing member fred_mouse
I was a little uncertain about this story going in. The title felt wrong, too amateur, to simplistic. And once I started reading, early echoes of Dorothy Sayer's "Gaudy Night" made me wonder whether I was going to enjoy it at all, particularly as it seemed darker, less optimistic. But as the story
It took me a long time to work out which work this is riffing off; from whence the transformative work started. And I won't discuss it here, although I note that other reviews take it as assumed that the reader knows what it is based on. While familiar with the source material, I was probably 2/3rds of the way through when it clicked. The ending was bittersweet, but probably not surprising -- the point of a quest is to find a new you, a different place to be.
This story hits all of the targets I expect of good fiction - good world building (even if based on someone else's ideas, the world as presented is much more Johnson's than the previous author's), good/believable plot, strong characterisation, and strong writing that I don't notice while devouring the story.
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developed, as the titular protagonist traveled across the lands of her world, I was pulled further and further into the beauty of the writing, the rightness with which each component followed the other. It took me a long time to work out which work this is riffing off; from whence the transformative work started. And I won't discuss it here, although I note that other reviews take it as assumed that the reader knows what it is based on. While familiar with the source material, I was probably 2/3rds of the way through when it clicked. The ending was bittersweet, but probably not surprising -- the point of a quest is to find a new you, a different place to be.
This story hits all of the targets I expect of good fiction - good world building (even if based on someone else's ideas, the world as presented is much more Johnson's than the previous author's), good/believable plot, strong characterisation, and strong writing that I don't notice while devouring the story.
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LibraryThing member nmele
An unusual interpretation of the Lovecraftian universe.
LibraryThing member questbird
A revisitation of HP Lovecraft's 'Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, this time with a female protagonist. It seems a bit harsh to call this enlightened fan fiction; it is a well-written and welcome return to a shared world. Vellit Boe, a professor at the Ulthar University for Women, needs to journey
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from the Dreamlands to the waking world to retrieve one of her pupils who has run away with a waking worlder. She retraces some of the path of Randolph Carter, and even crosses paths with him. Show Less
LibraryThing member adamwolf
I absolutely loved this book! This is the favorite thing I read from the Hugo '17 nominees that I hadn't already read before it was nominated.
I have not read The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. I read this in Hayward, WI, on vacation.... which is only a few minutes away from Shell Lake!
I have not read The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. I read this in Hayward, WI, on vacation.... which is only a few minutes away from Shell Lake!
LibraryThing member Shrike58
In this reply to and interpolation of Lovecraftian fantasy, the rhetorical question is what is the answer to the romantic dream of a world that bends to one's wiles, with at least one answer being that those who dwell in a dream would perhaps cherish a world where things are what they are. Thus is
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the quest of Vellitt Boe as she seeks to rescue a student whose absence from Kadath might bring the whole structure of the dream world crashing down; erudite, pointed and clever. Show Less
LibraryThing member jdifelice
This was quite a great adventure/journey story. Half way through I realized it was a response to an H.P Lovecraft story, so I read the synopsis for it, and the whole thing started to make a bit more sense. Overall, I enjoyed Vellitt as a character and I liked getting to know her and joining her on
Overall, this was quite enjoyable and I enjoyed the descriptions of all the places that Vellitt visited. A lot was crammed into this novella, but it was done well. At times it seemed a little dragging, but so do a lot of journeys.
3.5/5 stars
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her voyage to fins Clairie Jurat. The Dreamworld is a really cool concept and I liked how the world was described and laid out. Overall, this was quite enjoyable and I enjoyed the descriptions of all the places that Vellitt visited. A lot was crammed into this novella, but it was done well. At times it seemed a little dragging, but so do a lot of journeys.
3.5/5 stars
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LibraryThing member xiaomarlo
I have not read The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, although I have read many of Lovecraft's short stories. It's not essential to enjoying this work - think of it like the easter eggs they put in comic book movies for the comic fans. I really enjoyed this. I'd only ever read Johnson's collection of
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short stories before. I hope she does more longer works. I love her writing, settings, and attitude. She writes about the surreal and the fantastical in a very matter-of-fact way. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dr_Bob
Story with female protagonist set in H. P. Lovecraft's Dreamlands. Modern and appropriately feminist insights on HPL's world (dream and reality), the men of his time (and too often currently) in regard to male self-absorption. Also insights on capriciousness - men, gods/religion, existence -- which
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is the essential nature of the Dreamlands and makes, by comparison, our own world seem paradisiacally dreamy. Show Less
LibraryThing member cuentosalgernon
I read this novella without knowing that it was directly inspired by HP Lovecraft “The Dream-Quest Of Unknown Kadath”, and although I didn’t find the plot too engaging, I enjoyed the book mainly because of the nice prose and the detailed and interesting world-building, although now I’m
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wondering how much of this world-building was already in Lovecraft’s work. In any case, a pleasant short read engaging enough as to have stirred up my interest in Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle. Show Less
LibraryThing member Pepperwings
Man, this book took me ages to read!
A student goes missing from dream-land, they suspect into the world of the waking (humans on earth), and Professor Vellitt Boe, goes searching for the student. It seems the gods will be angered if they wake up and the student is gone, a relative or
Also, a cat shows up, for some reason.
I'm not sure why, aside from there was just, something very drawn out, and unknown about the whole story--and maybe because there was almost no humor? I just didn't feel drawn to pick it up very often. I did wind up enjoying the end, and I liked some of the interactions. Maybe it would have helped if I had read the H.P. Lovecraft story it was drawing from.
A student goes missing from dream-land, they suspect into the world of the waking (humans on earth), and Professor Vellitt Boe, goes searching for the student. It seems the gods will be angered if they wake up and the student is gone, a relative or
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something.Also, a cat shows up, for some reason.
I'm not sure why, aside from there was just, something very drawn out, and unknown about the whole story--and maybe because there was almost no humor? I just didn't feel drawn to pick it up very often. I did wind up enjoying the end, and I liked some of the interactions. Maybe it would have helped if I had read the H.P. Lovecraft story it was drawing from.
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LibraryThing member StuartEllis
This was amazingly good. Johnson brilliantly succeeds in layering a dream-like feel over evocative scenes of wonder, horror, and human relationships.
It does rely on the reader also having read HP Lovecraft's Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, but that is not a hardship.
It does rely on the reader also having read HP Lovecraft's Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, but that is not a hardship.
LibraryThing member LibroLindsay
Giving it 2 stars because I liked that Vellitt was a 50-ish woman traveling on her own, but that's about the extent I see the supposed feminism in this Lovecraft update. I got halfway through before I had to put it down. I enjoy journey/road novels--fantasy or not--so even when I felt a little
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suspicious as the premise was presented, I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. But all the knowledge keepers were men. And Vellitt didn't seem all that interested in the emancipation of women even though she herself was a "far-traveler." When a reference to rape was made no big deal, I was out. If I'm going to read Euro-centric fantasy nowadays, it needs to feel fresh, but the overly floral language was tedious, and the magical beasties didn't feel new or threatening. Over and out. Show Less
LibraryThing member jennybeast
A dream quest for the reader, as well as for Vellitt Boe, because we echo her every footstep across landscapes rich and strange. It's beautifully written, but has a certain slowness to the adventure. There were things about it that disturbed me, but also many interesting ideas for the mind to
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ponder. Solid. Show Less
LibraryThing member sturlington
Like The Ballad of Black Tom, this novella is a response to H.P. Lovecraft, his genius and his deficiencies--in this case, his erasure of women from his work. I have not read the Lovecraft novella that inspired this work, but I didn't feel it was necessary. Johnson tells a wonderful quest story
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about an independent, older woman who must travel through the Dreamlands in pursuit her student, the granddaughter of one of the Old Ones, who has absconded to the Waking World. The writing is really fantastic (much less muddy and confounding than Lovecraft himself), and the female characters are inspiring. A good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I bought this on ebook for my Kindle
Thoughts: I did not realize that this was a retelling of Lovecraft's "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" until I had already started reading this book. I plan to read the original Lovecraft story shortly. This was a
I really enjoy Boe's journey through the strange dream lands and the intriguing characters she meets along the way. There is a heavy theme throughout of women not being as prevalent or worthwhile as men in the dream world and Boe fights these prejudices on her journeys. It was imaginative and well done and I enjoyed both Vellitt Boe as a character and the intriguing worlds she journeyed through.
I think I originally put this on my wishlist to read because it was a fantasy adventure featuring an older protagonist. The fact that Vellitt Boe is in her 40's is addressed throughout. I like that the author discusses both how traveling is harder at that age but also how much more life experience Boe has, so she makes better decisions and has better resources. This does a great job of explaining the benefits and detriments of getting older.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed the characters and the amazing worlds we venture through. Watching Vellitt Boe get to see the waking world and experience it for the first time was amazing as well. I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy fantasy adventure/questing types of stories. I will be reading the Lovecraft novella that this story is based off shortly and can comment on that how it compares to this after I do that. I will definitely be keeping an eye out to see what books Kij Johnson writes next.
Thoughts: I did not realize that this was a retelling of Lovecraft's "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" until I had already started reading this book. I plan to read the original Lovecraft story shortly. This was a
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decently done fantasy adventure story about a professor, Vellitt Boe, who goes on a journey to retrieve a student who has run off with a waking world man. Boe has worked tirelessly to provide the women of the dream world with an opportunity to attend college and losing a student to the waking world could result in the closure of the school.I really enjoy Boe's journey through the strange dream lands and the intriguing characters she meets along the way. There is a heavy theme throughout of women not being as prevalent or worthwhile as men in the dream world and Boe fights these prejudices on her journeys. It was imaginative and well done and I enjoyed both Vellitt Boe as a character and the intriguing worlds she journeyed through.
I think I originally put this on my wishlist to read because it was a fantasy adventure featuring an older protagonist. The fact that Vellitt Boe is in her 40's is addressed throughout. I like that the author discusses both how traveling is harder at that age but also how much more life experience Boe has, so she makes better decisions and has better resources. This does a great job of explaining the benefits and detriments of getting older.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I really enjoyed this. I enjoyed the characters and the amazing worlds we venture through. Watching Vellitt Boe get to see the waking world and experience it for the first time was amazing as well. I would definitely recommend this if you enjoy fantasy adventure/questing types of stories. I will be reading the Lovecraft novella that this story is based off shortly and can comment on that how it compares to this after I do that. I will definitely be keeping an eye out to see what books Kij Johnson writes next.
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Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novella — 2017)
Nebula Award (Nominee — Novella — 2016)
Shirley Jackson Award (Nominee — Novella — 2016)
Locus Award (Finalist — Novella — 2017)
World Fantasy Award (Nominee — Long Fiction — 2017)
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (Finalist — 2017)
NPR: Books We Love (2016)
Original publication date
2016-08-16
DDC/MDS
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