The Second Sleep

The concept of this novel is great, but the execution is middling and the ending a bit anti-climatic. Decent enough read.

It's giving The Long Tomorrow. Cool idea but the prose is so workmanlike, I wish I could read the, like, Gene Wolfe version of this. Which I guess is just BOTNS.

What a strange, strange book. I can't even decide if I loved it or not. 5 stars for world-building, everything else will need contemplation.

Okay, here's the thing, I liked reading this book. But upon completing it I am left to wonder: what was the point of all this?

First of all, I picked this book up thinking it was a historical fiction and then around chapter 3 I discovered that it is actually a post apocalyptic fiction (I wouldn't call it science-fiction as there's not much science going on). Which was such a nice surprise and I was so ready for it.
The book discusses some very interesting ideas and speculates on possibilities that surely trouble a lot of us.
And it was all done in a setting so remote to what we are used to associate with these subjects - I was very intrigued.
There was also this spirit of discovery and adventure, plus mystery, combined with certain archetypes that reminded me somewhat of The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (minus the dinosaurs).
Needless to say, I was enjoying myself quite a lot.

But upon reaching the conclusion of this story, I am left underwhelmed and quite disappointed. The ending frankly leaves the impression of directionlessness.

There were so many plot points that lead nowhere For example, what was the point of Rose not speaking or being Tom Lacy's daughter at all? The book would've been way better if Rose was not in the book at all and Agnes carried her plot points. What was the point of the Piggeries trip? Of the blacksmith's son taking so much money to deliver a letter. What was the point of the letter at all?? What was the point of the drama with Captain Hancock? So many things were injected and overdramatised creating anticipation, only to end up nowhere.
So many questions remained unanswered. Like what's with the two sleeps? Why is there a first and a second sleep as a tradition? We discovered nothing of how the world actually "ended". We learned close to nothing really.

Basically, the author had a great idea and in the confines of writing, executed it quite well. But his story ended up lacking direction and, in my opinion, general meaning in the end.

Still, as the book made me think quite a lot and I generally enjoyed my reading experience, I am giving it 3 ⭐️.

Eerder geplaatst op Hebban op 28-12-2019

Harris heeft met het idee achter dit boek potentieel goud in handen. De verrassing van het boek zit al in de eerste drie hoofdstukken. Een plottwist zie je zelden zo vroeg in een boek.
Vanaf dat moment wilde ik weten hoe Harris dit verhaal zou gaan ontwikkelen en nog belangrijker, wat wordt zijn onderbouwing voor het concept? Dit kan natuurlijk niet fout gaan, zeker niet met de schrijver van de “ De officier” en de Cicero trilogie...

Helaas, het idee en de eerste drie hoofdstukken zijn het enige goede aan dit boek. Het plot, wat zich zou kunnen ontvouwen tot een waar epos, blijkt flinterdun te zijn. Uiteindelijk lukt het Harris niet om het verhaal geloofwaardig te doen lijken. Daarbovenop blijkt de spanning ook nog eens ver te zoeken.
Als debuutroman zou het nog een verdienstelijk boek zijn geweest, een belofte voor de toekomst, maar een gevestigde auteur van “ “historische romans met een twist” heeft een naam hoog te houden.

Conclusie: lees de eerste drie hoofdstukken en laat de rest van het boek links liggen, maar ja, niemand koopt een boek voor alleen de eerste drie hoofdstukken.

No spoilers - a good read. As always, with Harris. A dystopia of sorts. I see many people hete are a little disgruntled with the ending, but I thought it fitting. We would not want the whole thing to start over again now, would we?