Sleepless

A Novel

By: Charlie Huston

Narrated by: Ray Porter, Mark Bramhall

Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

The world is in the grip of an epidemic of sleeplessness, and one man will risk everything to find out what caused it. In his signature style of fast-paced action, outrageous violence, and graphically described scenes, we are tossed into a dramatic turbulence unlike anything you've ever read or heard.

Every day, more and more people have been found to have contracted the illness - they simply cannot sleep. The illness arrives slowly, usually revealing itself in a stiff neck. Then it blooms, keeping one from sleeping altogether, eating away at one's mind, birthing panic and confusion until, finally, one enters into the last few months before death, known as the suffering. Similarly, the disease took hold of the globe slowly and now has infected one in every ten people.

In Los Angeles, a straight arrow cop named Parker T. Haas is posing as a drug dealer, working undercover to prevent the black market trade of a drug known as Dreamer, a drug known to be the only thing that offers relief to people who are sleepless. He only knows so much about the drug itself: It is manufactured by pharmaceutical giant Afronzo-New Day; it is in small supply; it is in impossibly high demand. But in his darker moments, he admits to himself that his interest in the drug goes beyond the professional. His wife, Rose, has been sleepless for months, and they haven't yet found the courage to find out if their infant daughter is also sick. With Rose unwell and behaving erratically, Park's long hours are weighing on him, but he feels like he's on the cusp of learning something crucial. He feels like he's a few steps away from making the world a better place. So he presses on.

©2010 Charlie Huston (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

This book really stuck with me

Would you listen to Sleepless again? Why?

I've only listened to it once but I've thought about listening to it again.

What did you like best about this story?

I don't know what it is about this book but it has definitely resonated with me. I think it's the feeling of desperation that permeates the story and it really got to me and I haven't been able to forget it. I will definitely listen to this story again!!

Worthwhile

I enjoyed this. Yes, the two different narrators make for some confusion at first, but there's a good reason for why it's that way. And no, there isn't much in the way of a happily ever after-- it's an apocalypse story! It's a good one, though-- an all-too-pertinent infectious disease apocalypse, with well-fleshed-out characters and unexpected turns.

an intriguing plot

I first chose a Huston novel because of the fascinating title of his "The Mystic Art of Erasing All Signs of Death", which in turn provoked me to want to read more of his writing. I went on to the Joe Pitt series which were great. This one sounded unusual and it was. He did not fail to deliver.
The down sides for me were 1) it took me a couple of chapters to get the the hang of the narrator changes since they weren't exactly tied to the characters, but after that it went smoothly. And 2) the gritty noir-ishness of Huston's writing wasn't highlighted as much by these narrators as were the previous novels I "read", but I got past that easily enough; however those two points did keep me from giving it 4 stars. That and the fact that Huston's books just aren't "great" literature, but they are inventive and very well done.
I know Huston's style isn't going to appeal to everyone, but it does to me. and I am looking forward to more of his work and wish more of them were on Audible (preferably with Scott Brick).

amazing and thought provoking

I own the book and read it. I've listened to this story at least 3 times over the years, it is hard and heartbreaking.

Enough ideas here for 10 novels

This dystopian novel of a virus run amok in near-future Los Angeles holds a mirror up to our society and makes us look at ourselves in new ways. Do people who play video games solve problems in new and amazing ways, or are they just addicts? If I thought the world was ending, would I try to sell all my stuff on Craig's List? Is there a difference between being "wealthy" and being "rich"? There are enough ideas in this novel for ten books. And more than enough laugh out loud moments to make you forget the torture scenes. My entire scifi book club loved this book and you will too. I listened to this as an audio book and the narrators (Ray Porter & Mark Bramhall) were wonderful.

decent, but hated 2 diff readers

It was a little twisted and odd, so it was a nice change. However, I counldn't stand the 2 readers changing constantly. There were basically 2 main characters, so it would have made sense if each reader did 1 main character. Nope. All of a sudden, the tone and accent would change but it was the same character thinking and doing. weird way to listen to a novel, IMO.

I'm "All In" for Huston Novels...

...but I'm now all out as this was his last on my "unread list." After having stumbled across the first of the Joe Pitt series, I became a fan of his dark style, "noir-ish" as a previous reviewer aptly labeled it. Huston is very skilled and has a keen way with words, particularly when it comes to details which may, at first glance, seem to be trivial but lend flavor and spice to the overall scenario he is developing. Unlike a few other reviewers, I appreciated the two-narrator design of this audiobook, as I think it went a long way toward demarcating the two points of view presented. Not even the skillful Scott Brick could have pulled that off as well.

More impactful during these times.

I’ve read and listened to this book many times over the years. However during our current landscape, it became so much more enjoyable and terrifying if I am being honest. Wonderful book if you’re into this sort of thing.

WOW, just WOW,

Slow to start the story is a very interesting tale that may soon become more than a story but actually fact , When conspiracy theories become fact , are we currently sowing the seeds of our own destruction?

A new, fantastic take on the "zombie" apocalypse

Not sure how you can be bored or disappointed in the story but it is a different delivery. I didn't understand the need for two different voices but as they come together, it makes more sense more sense.

I was already a fan of Charlie Huston's stuff having read the whole Joe Pitt series and was insta of how anything would be as good or could take the place of another book in that line. For that reason, I had a hard time choosing a next novel from him. - partly for great if being let down.

This is no let down. I lived the story, loved to hate the characters, and thought the whole idea was a new, imaginative twisty on my favorite genre.

One of the things I loved must read being driven to ask, "what would I do" as the story progressed. Not only about the overarching theme but the little things too.

It's easy to say you'd buy a bunch of guns and hole up in a bunker when the story had an unlikely plot. We might puff up and proclaim how hard we'd fight when the zombies come, knowing it's unlikely they every will. But it's impossible to say how we'd react to the nature of the apocalypse described here and it's impact on those we love.

Loved the book, really loved the ending, and hoping for a follow up. Although, at the same time, maybe not.

Maybe we should leave a little the the imagination, a little something to dream about. :)

Another great story - thanks Charlie!