As with any world, there are rules and those rules must be followed if one truly wants to stay (and stay human). It is an eminently fair world, though certainly not an easy one. Lundy's doorway takes her to the Goblin Market, a world where each and every transaction must offer 'fair value' else a debt is owed, and in that world a debt has a physical manifestation. World chose to shift in its foundations, widening itself, rebirthing Society, and would not be readmitted unless something fundamental in the Understood that she had, for whatever reason, been rejected from their 'She understood now, that the other children weren'tĬoming that they would always be shadowy voices on the other side of aįence, refusing to let her through, refusing to let her in. Astute readers may remember that we first met the grown up Lundy in Every Heart a Doorway as the therapist and second in command at Eleanor West's, except that 'grown up' means that Lundy was at least in her sixties but had the physical appearance of an eight year old girl. In an Absent Dream tells the story of Katherine Lundy. Each novella has explored one of the perhaps uncountable number of possible portal worlds. With Every Heart a Doorway ( my review), Seanan McGuire introduced readers to the idea of doorways and the portal worlds in which these children more truly belonged. At some point everybody at Eleanor West's went through a doorway, had an adventure, lived a life in a world that isn't our own but which is also so much better suited for who they truly were, and then come home and had to figure out how to cope with living a mundane life in a world they don't truly belong.

Each novella of the Wayward Children series has told the story of one (or more) of the children at Eleanor West's School for Wayward Children, though perhaps 'children' is the wrong word to use here.

In an absent dream seanan mcguire