Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory

I have not had the privilege of reading other works by this author, including the short story that Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory was based on. After the adventure this novel sent me on, marrying some of the best elements of both science fiction and fantasy, I doubt it will be the last work I choose to read from Yaroslav Barsukov. Beautifully penned prose supports a fascinating and layered plot that kept me hooked to the end.

On the surface, much of the novel's broader tension boils down to a Cold War-esque conflict between two neighboring countries. Each side rushes to build giant towers that serve as both monuments of strength and strategic battlements for a possible invasion. An element not often seen in fantasy literature elevates the plot above what at first seems a simple culture clash that could lead to war: an alien race and the technology they've brought with them. How that technology is treated within the story best exemplifies how artful the author was in his weaving of it. The mechanical “tulips” are pretty but dangerous, simultaneously preserving the dream project of a desperate engineer, perpetuating a fear for the race who brought them, enabling a power hungry prince, and needling the protagonist as a constant reminder of a terrible personal tragedy.

The plot isn't the only thing that packs a punch. Strong motivations and emotional entanglements back most of the main characters and keep the building first sections of the novel from feeling slow. The aching yearning to make up for past mistakes or thirst to prove oneself are universal, acting as grounds for the fantasy and otherworldly elements of the story.

Most of the central cast being so wonderfully layered makes the few that aren't stand out more. Internal conflicts within the point of view characters and the external conflicts at the macro level overshadow the smaller conflicts between characters. The concrete antagonists can often feel like caricatures, more so when sharing scenes with those characters who were better fleshed out.

I recommend Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory to readers who enjoy science fiction or fantasy that makes them think. The novel will make you work, be at times both confusing and unsettling, but it will leave you satisfied in the end.