I Read: Early Riser

A couple days ago I finished Early Riser by Jasper Fforde. I mentioned this particular book in this post (TL,DR: Mr Fforde sent me that book at my sister's request!) and was extremely excited to get a start on it after finally finishing Lord of the Rings. I was not disappointed.

Here's the quick and dirty synopsis (click the above link for the less-quick version): Picture Earth as it is now except the winters are so harsh the majority of the world hibernates during it. Some people have to stay awake to keep the world running such as it is, a small amount of people choose to stay awake for various reasons, and some people wake up too early and in a zombie-like state because of a drug called Morphenox that stops people from dreaming thus stopping excess weight loss during sleep, which is one of the main issues with hibernation apparently. Those zombies are occasionally trained to do simple tasks but most are... dispatched.

The story follows Charlie Worthing, a man that has recently taken a job as a "Winter Consul" who's job it is to keep the sleepers safe. While trying to stay alive during the harsh winter (not easy) he discovers those zombie-ish early risers might not be so brain dead after all and the company that makes the Morphenox might not be as invested in the good of the people as they say they are. Sleuthing and intense dreaming ensue.

This may sound like a pretty grim story and at the heart of it I guess it is, but Jasper Fforde's humorous style shines though and takes any edge off. I've read a fair amount by him and his books always have a fantastic and compelling "our current world but with a twist" plot injected with a delightful humor that makes them extremely readable. I tend to happily blow through his books and Early Riser was no different. I found the whole hibernation scenario very interesting and would think about it often outside of when I was actively reading. He makes the massive undertaking of getting most of the world to sleep half the year sound effortlessly plausible without bogging you down with tons of explanation and technical detail. The background he gives you is just enough to carry you through the book.

If pressed for criticism, I would say that it ended more abruptly than I would've like. There was a grand climax that was wrapped up a little hastily I felt. Maybe though, it could just have been my disappointment at having finished this charming book so I'd still give it 4 out of 5 stars for sure.