Dream of the Jet-Black City, by Pablo Valcárcel Castro

Dream of the Jet-Black City is the imaginative dark fantasy debut novel of Pablo Varcárcel Castro, published by Zaffre Books. A proposal set in a richly depicted world, partly inspired by Zafón, which examines the role of creators regarding the own creations and the own challenge of the established classes while gifting the reader with a diverse and excellently fleshed cast of characters, setting up all for more adventures in this magical land of Onyxia.

A multilayered story that will show us the lights and shadows of Onyxia through three different POVs, starting with Ash, a lightning hunter who stumbles across a nightmare, saving his life by dreaming a panther conjured of shadows and light. A talent that means he must be conscripted by the Academy or find a wealthy patron who can train him, getting into a lifetime debt.
Meanwhile, Daerna, one of the singing sisters who pacify the storm, is losing her faith in the order; a mysterious sickness is spreading across the city, especially affecting the poor people, and the order is letting them die. Together with more rebel sisters, they will risk punishment trying to find the cause of the sickness, a journey that will take them to the very heart of the city.
And finally we have Gail, daughter of Ash's patron, a Dreamer that survived the Academy, but not without getting deeply scarred; while nightmare hunting, she finds a young girl with the dreaming gift. Compelled to save her from the same fate she faced, she will be forced to return to Onyxia and play the political game if she wants to change things.
Three different threads that Pablo Válcarcel Castro manages to masterfully weave together through their shared goals, which will eventually put them in the same boat.

I found particularly enjoyable how well fleshed the three main characters are, especially regarding how their past has affected them and how it influences their current decisions: the Ash that is not shy of gambling all and get a lifetime debt with a patron just to keep Omen, his panther, his companion, safe, while still trying to understand more of dreaming. He's not afraid of risking his own conscription if that means helping his friends, and I firmly believe that part of that self-risk mentality comes from how his father sacrificed himself to allow Ash to escape from the library in the past. In the same way, Daerna is risking punishment with her actions, but we can see how she will still continue if that means there's a possibility of helping stop the sickness; it's not a surprise to see how natural the relationship between Daerna and Ash felt, even if we were introduced to it after it already started.
And what to say about Gail. The cruelty she experienced in the Academy forced her to bound to Drake form in order to survive the training; we discover more about her past while we see her returning to the political game she hated, to that life she abandoned in favour of hunting nightmares, just because she wants to spare the young girl of the horrors she passed. When I say Válcarcel Castro makes you deeply care about the characters he created, this is what I'm talking about.

And as the cherry on top, we have an imaginative setting like is the city of Onyxia, which we explore through Válcarcel Castro's quasi lyrical prose, creating really descriptive and vivid images of a clearly layered city, classes created mostly by wealth and the ability to dream; a setting that contains a richly created lore that is, at all times, part of the story, paired with a magic system that the writer manages to keep ethereal but powerful. I wouldn't mind getting lost in Onyxia's streets and buildings for another adventure.
Despite the complexity of this story, I never felt the pacing to be excessively slow; au contraire, it was relatively fast, maintaining us on the edge of the seat while the characters try to survive the rather unfortunate situations they land on, all while building towards the great finale.

Dream of the Jet-Black City is a rather excellent and explosive debut novel, a perfect choice if you are looking for an imaginative, richly layered proposal that will engulf you with its worldbuilding while gifting you with a cast of characters you will end up deeply caring for them. A debut that puts Pablo Válcarcel Castro on that list of authors whose next books I will read the moment it is released!