Published By: Angry Robot
Pages: 400
Released On: 10/06/2025
Science has stolen sleep and awakened a world of horror.
“I’ve been an insomniac all of my life, but I’m not Sleepless and I won’t become Sleepless, just as long as the chips that were put into their heads never get put into mine. There’s little chance of that, since I won’t put the machinery into my brain and neither will Edgar and neither will the Professor, and we’re the only three left who could. I don’t want to be Sleepless…”
Civilisation has ended. In a bid to make us more productive, to give us more time, science took sleep from humanity. But sleeplessness turned people into feral monsters and now a small group of scientists are trapped in the Tower of London, consumed by guilt at what they have done and desperately searching for a cure. And then one day, as the last ravens circle, two miraculous survivors walk into the Tower.
Are they the answer or a terrible question?
*****
Thanks to Angry Robot for the gifted proof of this title in return for an honest review.
This had such short chapters – hallelujah! Some are a paragraph long, others a page, and others a few pages, but they’re so short and fast-paced and lovely.
This was billed as a horror novel, and I was a little concerned because I am a complete wuss, but I think I’d call it more of a psychological thriller or fantasy rather than horror, which I’m glad about.
This is set in the 2050-60s, which sounds way futuristic, but then you think it’s only 30-40 years away, and it’s rather worrying when the futuristic escapades of fictional characters start to creep in real time.
Whilst it is a piece of entertainment, this book does ask some very poignant questions, some I’ve never thought of before and now feel so obvious to question.
I often think life would be better without the need for sleep, but that’s because I get frequent bouts of insomnia and I get frustrated that I need to sleep but I can’t. But the alternative, living awake, every single minute, to up production and performance sounds equally hellish.
It’s hard to like any of the characters, for a wide range of reasons, and yet at the same time, I did like them. They’re entirely unlikeable and immoral but I still cared for them.
On a personal note, as someone with a chronic illness and disability, I really do love to support authors who also have an illness, because books have no accessibility requirements and to see my issues represented, at least partially, in mainstream book is amazing.
I’m not a huge fan of books referring to COVID, because I feel I lived it and so I don’t want to read about it too. And whilst Laura has referred to a virus 30-odd years ago – making it the 2020s – and she doesn’t really name it, but one can assume, and she’s handled it well. It’s not the main story, it’s there in the background but still has some underlying relevance.
She’s also added some facts about viruses, about M.E, historical figures in medicine that seem to have been forgotten – and I found them really interesting.
I did think this would be another sort of zombie type novel, of which there is nothing wrong with, but it’s more nuanced and detailed and human than that.
It’s less plot and more character development and introspective thoughts, which sounds quite dull but I promise you, it’s as thrilling as any full-on, fast-paced thriller, and for someone who prefers character over plot, I was very happy with that.
I believe this is Laura’s debut novel and it is so fantastic that I am really excited about her future.
Books By Your Bedside 