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A review by jmcphers
Sleepless by Charlie Huston
3.0
This book isn't quite what I expected: I was imagining an introspective, world-gone-awry story with shades of the apocalypse and medicine, a quiet watch-the-world-burn sort of story. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic fiction and the premise--a disease that robs people of their sleep and, eventually, their life--was fascinating, conjuring up images of whole cities just staying up all night because they cannot sleep.
What I got was, unquestionably, pulp fiction. This book was written in January of 2010 and contains so many references to modern technology, down to specific model names ("I connected via Bluetooth to the Canon Pixma printer in my glove box! Pow!") that I cannot imagine it making much sense five years from now. It's an action-packed thriller, full of spies, martial arts, cops, and private security contractors.
The characters in the book are larger-than-life caricatures: the wealthy, elegant survivalist-assassin who listens to opera and eats cavier while contemplating his next kill, the independent feminist who says naughty words a lot and falls in love with someone who seems incredibly wrong for her, the incredibly likable cop who is trying really, really hard to do the right thing.
In the end I liked the story; it was free of the ambiguity and complexity that surround authors who are trying to write Literature with Meaning. It's just a story, and a well-told and tightly-researched story at that. I liked it, but not enough for a re-read--and isn't that what pulp fiction is supposed to be?
What I got was, unquestionably, pulp fiction. This book was written in January of 2010 and contains so many references to modern technology, down to specific model names ("I connected via Bluetooth to the Canon Pixma printer in my glove box! Pow!") that I cannot imagine it making much sense five years from now. It's an action-packed thriller, full of spies, martial arts, cops, and private security contractors.
The characters in the book are larger-than-life caricatures: the wealthy, elegant survivalist-assassin who listens to opera and eats cavier while contemplating his next kill, the independent feminist who says naughty words a lot and falls in love with someone who seems incredibly wrong for her, the incredibly likable cop who is trying really, really hard to do the right thing.
In the end I liked the story; it was free of the ambiguity and complexity that surround authors who are trying to write Literature with Meaning. It's just a story, and a well-told and tightly-researched story at that. I liked it, but not enough for a re-read--and isn't that what pulp fiction is supposed to be?