Scan barcode
valerie_kutcher's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
alongreader's review
3.0
It's a mixed review!
First off; I haven't heard the podcast at all, so I can't say how closely this book hews to that; it could be word perfect the same or just have the same general premise, I don't know. This review is just based on the book.
It's a fantastic premise! Everyone who falls asleep dies as soon as they start to dream. What a creepy idea. I found myself yawning and tired just reading it!
However, the execution wasn't great, for me. We'd get a chapter with one or another of our main characters, then a couple of vignettes of some random other people falling asleep - apart from twice, they never had any connection to the main characters, or if they did I missed it. It was just 'here's a person falling asleep, now they're dead.' Most of them didn't even know that anything was going on, they just went about their routine and then fell asleep.
Plus, the fact that just about the whole world went down in 24 hours? Ok, it happened between 4 and 5am in the US; most people would be asleep then. But that's 10am in the UK, 12pm in Moscow, 6pm in Bejing. We know there were survivors in the US tweeting and blogging about what was happening. No one in those other countries picked up on those messages and stayed awake? Everyone in Mission Control died before they could warn the ISS?
(I also didn't like the supernatural 'explanation' we were given, but that's just me.)
I liked the writing style, though, it's quick, concise and easy to follow. The characters were interesting as well and I enjoyed following along with them. On that level, I'd definitely recommend this.
But I have to ask - that ending?! Is there meant to be another book coming, or is it really just being left there?
First off; I haven't heard the podcast at all, so I can't say how closely this book hews to that; it could be word perfect the same or just have the same general premise, I don't know. This review is just based on the book.
It's a fantastic premise! Everyone who falls asleep dies as soon as they start to dream. What a creepy idea. I found myself yawning and tired just reading it!
However, the execution wasn't great, for me. We'd get a chapter with one or another of our main characters, then a couple of vignettes of some random other people falling asleep - apart from twice, they never had any connection to the main characters, or if they did I missed it. It was just 'here's a person falling asleep, now they're dead.' Most of them didn't even know that anything was going on, they just went about their routine and then fell asleep.
Plus, the fact that just about the whole world went down in 24 hours? Ok, it happened between 4 and 5am in the US; most people would be asleep then. But that's 10am in the UK, 12pm in Moscow, 6pm in Bejing. We know there were survivors in the US tweeting and blogging about what was happening. No one in those other countries picked up on those messages and stayed awake? Everyone in Mission Control died before they could warn the ISS?
(I also didn't like the supernatural 'explanation' we were given, but that's just me.)
I liked the writing style, though, it's quick, concise and easy to follow. The characters were interesting as well and I enjoyed following along with them. On that level, I'd definitely recommend this.
But I have to ask - that ending?! Is there meant to be another book coming, or is it really just being left there?
ishouldbewriting's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
meghan_readsbooks's review
3.0
Thank you St Martin's and Macmillan audio for review copies of this as ebook and audiobook. The Edge of Sleep is a book that has such a fascinating premise, I do love themes related to sleep and dreams and an edgy mood/vibe but this is a case of liked a book more for the idea than the execution. For me the limitation is not the idea or creativity of the idea or the characters/plot but what happens when different writers come together without perhaps a cohesive focus and cohesive writing style. The book works as a fun read but I think worked a little better for me as a multi actor audiobook, the audiobook was a fun one to listen to over a few days of commuting (though the issues of coherence were still present, the acting made the audio fun).
undertheradar's review
3.0
THE EDGE OF SLEEP
Jake Emanuel, Willie Block, and Jason Gurley
This book reads like a nightmare.
THE EDGE OF SLEEP stars Dave. Dave is a night watchman with sleeping issues who often goes days without sleeping. He has night terrors and nightmares and that’s just the beginning of where his trouble with sleep starts.
He has recurrent dreams of monsters who star in them like actors. He is well aquatinted with fear.
This book might not be for you. At times it is difficult to understand and the chapters move in and out of vignettes without a pattern or real direction. It’s disorienting.
A little like a bad dream.
I lost count of the characters. I lost track of names. The storyline is somewhat easy to follow once you let go of any structure you had in mind prior to reading.
The delight in the reading experience was living in that liminal space between the nightmares of our reality and the reality of our nightmares. It felt like experiencing a stream of unconsciousness. Are you ready?
Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies!
THE EDGE OF SLEEP…⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jake Emanuel, Willie Block, and Jason Gurley
This book reads like a nightmare.
THE EDGE OF SLEEP stars Dave. Dave is a night watchman with sleeping issues who often goes days without sleeping. He has night terrors and nightmares and that’s just the beginning of where his trouble with sleep starts.
He has recurrent dreams of monsters who star in them like actors. He is well aquatinted with fear.
This book might not be for you. At times it is difficult to understand and the chapters move in and out of vignettes without a pattern or real direction. It’s disorienting.
A little like a bad dream.
I lost count of the characters. I lost track of names. The storyline is somewhat easy to follow once you let go of any structure you had in mind prior to reading.
The delight in the reading experience was living in that liminal space between the nightmares of our reality and the reality of our nightmares. It felt like experiencing a stream of unconsciousness. Are you ready?
Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copies!
THE EDGE OF SLEEP…⭐️⭐️⭐️
brandy_reads's review
2.0
Thank you @stmartinspress, @netgalley and @macmillanaudio, for the complimentary ARC and ALC.
I was so excited by the premise of this book. The Edge of Sleep had a strong start and reeled me in straight away. However, by about 60% I was only still reading it because it was a buddy read, and the audiobook narrator Franz Drameh was excellent, so I didn’t mind continuing to listen. The dream scenes, or flashbacks I’m not even sure, were so weird and I kept trying to make sense of them but couldn’t. There were also some chapters detailing what was happening to various unknown characters as they fell asleep. While it was helpful, it also became too much… I just didn’t need that many scenarios and I felt like it took away from what was happening with our MC's. As for the ending… I had a feeling it would go in that direction, I hoped and crossed fingers that it wouldn’t…. but it did. It was just totally bizarre to me, and I can’t even say I fully understood it.
If you’re interested in this one, I highly recommend the audio.
I was so excited by the premise of this book. The Edge of Sleep had a strong start and reeled me in straight away. However, by about 60% I was only still reading it because it was a buddy read, and the audiobook narrator Franz Drameh was excellent, so I didn’t mind continuing to listen. The dream scenes, or flashbacks I’m not even sure, were so weird and I kept trying to make sense of them but couldn’t. There were also some chapters detailing what was happening to various unknown characters as they fell asleep. While it was helpful, it also became too much… I just didn’t need that many scenarios and I felt like it took away from what was happening with our MC's. As for the ending… I had a feeling it would go in that direction, I hoped and crossed fingers that it wouldn’t…. but it did. It was just totally bizarre to me, and I can’t even say I fully understood it.
If you’re interested in this one, I highly recommend the audio.
jamesdanielhorn's review
2.0
Interesting enough to keep me reading, but in the end not particularly satisfying, this novel based on The Edge of Sleep podcast (and soon to be a television show) is probably best for established fans of the podcast and those not looking for anything too deep.
I received an ARC of the Audiobook for an honest review, which I chose based on the premise, so thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley! Unfortunately, while there are hints of Stephen King throughout, the characters were a bit to one note and I wasn’t particularly invested in them. The writing here is also merely serviceable, but Franz Drameh’s performance of the material was excellent enough to keep me going. The mini vignettes that describe the beginning of the weird apocalypse were in my opinion the best parts, but the bonkers ending left me wondering why I bothered. I guess this is meant to set up a longer story; possibly akin the aforementioned Stephen King’s The Stand, but unfortunately this didn’t make me care enough to continue on. I personally have not listened to the podcast, but you can probably skip this and just listen to that or watch the upcoming show.
The book gets extra points though for mentioning in passing the band Generación Suicida, who are excellent and deserve any widespread attention they get!!
I received an ARC of the Audiobook for an honest review, which I chose based on the premise, so thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley! Unfortunately, while there are hints of Stephen King throughout, the characters were a bit to one note and I wasn’t particularly invested in them. The writing here is also merely serviceable, but Franz Drameh’s performance of the material was excellent enough to keep me going. The mini vignettes that describe the beginning of the weird apocalypse were in my opinion the best parts, but the bonkers ending left me wondering why I bothered. I guess this is meant to set up a longer story; possibly akin the aforementioned Stephen King’s The Stand, but unfortunately this didn’t make me care enough to continue on. I personally have not listened to the podcast, but you can probably skip this and just listen to that or watch the upcoming show.
The book gets extra points though for mentioning in passing the band Generación Suicida, who are excellent and deserve any widespread attention they get!!
rlqrosie's review
4.0
I’ll be honest, I don’t know how to rate this book. Some parts were so mind bending and interesting that I was thinking, THIS is a 5 star read. Then other parts I was thinking more along the lines of, “this takes away from the book. Now it’s a 3 star read.” The ending had me feeling like I wanted to go down to a two star based on how almost cheesy? it became. Then I honestly thought the epilogue was too drawn out. Personally, when I read an epilogue I want it to be one chapter summing up the story or adding that extra post note that further opens your eyes (an ohhhhh moment) to what you just read. I definitely did not expect 5 sub chapters within the epilogue. Sadly, this was my least favorite part of the book.
All in all, the story was very interesting! I found the storyline unique and fun to follow along with. I’m settling on 4 stars which was more of a 3.5 rounded up.
Thanks so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.
All in all, the story was very interesting! I found the storyline unique and fun to follow along with. I’m settling on 4 stars which was more of a 3.5 rounded up.
Thanks so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.
carmen_sw's review
4.0
La inmersión que produce el audiolibro es increíble, la historia te engancha desde el principio pero lo que más sorprende es la forma en la que te mete en el mundo.
Muy recomendable.
Muy recomendable.