SHORT LISTED FOR THE ARTHUR C CLARKE AWARD Dawn breaks over Vancouver and no-one has slept the night before, or almost no one. A few people, perhaps one in ten thousand can still sleep, and they've all shared the same strange, golden dream. A handful of children still sleep as well, but what they're dreaming remains a mystery. After six days of absolute sleep deprivation, psychosis will set in. After four weeks the , the body will die. In the interim, panic ensues and a bizarre new world arises in which those previously on the fringes of society take the lead. One couple experience a lifetime in a week as he continues to sleep, she begins to disintegrate before him, and the new world swallows the old one whole...NOD
NOD
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The apocalypse comes in many forms, but none stranger than that of the chronic sleep deprivation that leads to mass psychosis in Adrian Barnes's audacious novel Nod (Bluemoose, £7.99). Paul is a misanthropic hack writing a non-fiction book about obscure words when the world is afflicted and the majority of citizens begin to hallucinate solipsistic realities that Paul, as a Sleeper and a wordsmith, can influence. Barnes employs this brilliant idea to explore the nature of perception, redemption, and personal and social catastrophe. Outstanding. --The Guardian
About the Author
Adrian Barnes was born in Blackpool, England but grew up in Canada. He teaches English at Selkirk College, British Columbia. He lives in Rossland, near Vancouver, where he lives with his wife, Charlene and two sons, Liam and Ethan
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What if you couldn't sleep? Not for an hour or two, not for a night, or a few nights, or even a week. What if you could never sleep again? Scary prospect. Now, what if no one could sleep? What if, one night, the world's population could no longer seek refuge in the land of dreams?
This is the premise of Nod, by Adrian Barnes, and it's a dystopian waking nightmare.
What starts as a vaguely unnerving global phenomenon, quickly devolves into horror and madness, as the world's population is deprived of necessary sleep. Chronicling the lunacy, is Paul, Vancouver urbanite, introverted etymologist, and one of the few remaining Sleepers - a dangerous thing to be in this new reality. In a narrative that swings between gritty realism and philosophical exploration, Paul shows us the world, our world, stripped of the veneer of `civilization'. The Awakened roam (and own) the streets, lashing out in all directions with unpredictable violence. Groups of Sleeper children, all suddenly and inexplicably mute, flee to the safety of the forest (in this story, the woods of Stanley Park), and life as we know it grinds to a lurching halt. In the middle of the chaos, Paul decides it is up to him to protect the silent, innocent children from the increasingly predatory and murderous Awakened.
This book reads on two levels. Paul's journey and trials pull you through from the first day to the last in much the same way a traffic accident compels us to turn our heads and watch from the safety of our own vehicle - afraid of what we might see but equally unable to look away. On another level, Nod is a stark look at what it is to live in our modern world. Our lives are reflected in a fun-house mirror and Barnes forces the reader to ask that age-old question: "What does it all mean?... Read more ›
This is the premise of Nod, by Adrian Barnes, and it's a dystopian waking nightmare.
What starts as a vaguely unnerving global phenomenon, quickly devolves into horror and madness, as the world's population is deprived of necessary sleep. Chronicling the lunacy, is Paul, Vancouver urbanite, introverted etymologist, and one of the few remaining Sleepers - a dangerous thing to be in this new reality. In a narrative that swings between gritty realism and philosophical exploration, Paul shows us the world, our world, stripped of the veneer of `civilization'. The Awakened roam (and own) the streets, lashing out in all directions with unpredictable violence. Groups of Sleeper children, all suddenly and inexplicably mute, flee to the safety of the forest (in this story, the woods of Stanley Park), and life as we know it grinds to a lurching halt. In the middle of the chaos, Paul decides it is up to him to protect the silent, innocent children from the increasingly predatory and murderous Awakened.
This book reads on two levels. Paul's journey and trials pull you through from the first day to the last in much the same way a traffic accident compels us to turn our heads and watch from the safety of our own vehicle - afraid of what we might see but equally unable to look away. On another level, Nod is a stark look at what it is to live in our modern world. Our lives are reflected in a fun-house mirror and Barnes forces the reader to ask that age-old question: "What does it all mean?... Read more ›
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By RichardS
Format:Paperback
This was excellent. An intelligently written novel, you could call it horror I guess, but there's more to it than that. It's a clever twist away from the glut of zombie novels that seem to be everywhere at present. It reminded me a little of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend in feel and mood and it had a nicely ambiguous ending.
It's also wonderfully apt considering the state of the world at present, a little look behind the curtain at what might await us should we lose control.
It's also wonderfully apt considering the state of the world at present, a little look behind the curtain at what might await us should we lose control.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Steve
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Never reviewed a book before but this was so good that feel everyone should read it.... - a must read whether you like post apocalyptic novels or not.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Nod Review:
By Matthew McCormack
Adrien Barnes' first novel is a masterclass of humane insight and intelligent plotting, set during the last waking hours of human kind.
Except for a limited few, man has stopped sleeping. With no cure and the scientific promise of total body failure after four weeks of sleep deprivation, man slips into a psychotic stupor.
With no boundaries and no brigades to enforce people, mankind is a truly free race. Political and social boundaries are reset, no person is better off than their neighbour, they are all doomed.
Within a week of sleep deficiency, people's minds' begin to shatter, transforming them into deranged and carnivorous victims' of a life without sleep.
John, our narrator, can sleep; he is an introverted individual, and through his sight and mind, we read his narrative on the last days of humanity.
While this all appears distinctly post-apocalyptic, it would be rude to categorise it as such.
This is a deeply insightful look at what actually makes us human, explored through John and his thoughts, and the behaviour he witness from the depraved humans. In the author's own words, he describes this as, `Speculative Fiction', and this serves as a thoroughly appropriate term. The vision of a dystopian world is mere happenstance to what is affecting people's minds. To thoughts and feelings people carry every day; now released as once fenced minds crumble.
Adriens' writing is smooth, accessible and intelligent.... Read more ›
By Matthew McCormack
Adrien Barnes' first novel is a masterclass of humane insight and intelligent plotting, set during the last waking hours of human kind.
Except for a limited few, man has stopped sleeping. With no cure and the scientific promise of total body failure after four weeks of sleep deprivation, man slips into a psychotic stupor.
With no boundaries and no brigades to enforce people, mankind is a truly free race. Political and social boundaries are reset, no person is better off than their neighbour, they are all doomed.
Within a week of sleep deficiency, people's minds' begin to shatter, transforming them into deranged and carnivorous victims' of a life without sleep.
John, our narrator, can sleep; he is an introverted individual, and through his sight and mind, we read his narrative on the last days of humanity.
While this all appears distinctly post-apocalyptic, it would be rude to categorise it as such.
This is a deeply insightful look at what actually makes us human, explored through John and his thoughts, and the behaviour he witness from the depraved humans. In the author's own words, he describes this as, `Speculative Fiction', and this serves as a thoroughly appropriate term. The vision of a dystopian world is mere happenstance to what is affecting people's minds. To thoughts and feelings people carry every day; now released as once fenced minds crumble.
Adriens' writing is smooth, accessible and intelligent.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By C. Wallwork
Format:Paperback
Nod is a novel that only comes around every five to ten years. It takes that long for a writer to create a piece of fiction that actually has something say and is unique. Nod is that book. It tells the tale of Paul who finds himself an unlikely prophet after his manuscript on the etymology of words becomes a surrogate bible to a city who cannot sleep.
Vancouver is the backcloth to this insomnia epidemic, one that has gripped nearly every one of its inhabitants, save for a few individuals, like Paul, who go by the collective noun Sleepers. The Awakened are zombie-like insomniacs shuffling around the city, wanting sleep, slowly going crazy and dying, or killing themselves just to fall into eternal darkness. One of these Awakened is a local vagabond called Charles, known by Paul, who comes into possession of the manuscript, and as such, sees himself as a sort of apostle, a person who believes within the construct of its words and phrases hides hope, a kind of instructional manual for a new world. Charles convinces the Awakened that this disease is only to purge the world of society's flotsam, and that soon, there will be a uprising, a new beginning, and the Nod manuscript will govern their lives forevermore. The destruction and breakdown of civilization is only part of the story, a necessary sacrifice to deliver a narrative rich with religious, ethic, and philosophical dichotomies, in particular, "good and evil". The desire of sleep is the catalyst to behavioural explosions where being morally positive is consumed by the morally negative.
Adrian Barnes has successfully delivered a very simple dystopian story here; a nation in the throes of panic, frenzy, poverty, collapse and psychosis.... Read more ›
Vancouver is the backcloth to this insomnia epidemic, one that has gripped nearly every one of its inhabitants, save for a few individuals, like Paul, who go by the collective noun Sleepers. The Awakened are zombie-like insomniacs shuffling around the city, wanting sleep, slowly going crazy and dying, or killing themselves just to fall into eternal darkness. One of these Awakened is a local vagabond called Charles, known by Paul, who comes into possession of the manuscript, and as such, sees himself as a sort of apostle, a person who believes within the construct of its words and phrases hides hope, a kind of instructional manual for a new world. Charles convinces the Awakened that this disease is only to purge the world of society's flotsam, and that soon, there will be a uprising, a new beginning, and the Nod manuscript will govern their lives forevermore. The destruction and breakdown of civilization is only part of the story, a necessary sacrifice to deliver a narrative rich with religious, ethic, and philosophical dichotomies, in particular, "good and evil". The desire of sleep is the catalyst to behavioural explosions where being morally positive is consumed by the morally negative.
Adrian Barnes has successfully delivered a very simple dystopian story here; a nation in the throes of panic, frenzy, poverty, collapse and psychosis.... Read more ›
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4.3 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nightmarish Horror
Nod is set in Vancouver and has an interesting premise. One night everyone in the world doesn't sleep, one percent of the population do but the rest have a sleepless night. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Syriat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really enjoyed this. Get a good night's sleep when you can...
This book appeared in my Amazon-recommended-for-you-type-list, and I've been working through a few of the titles. To be honest, it's one of the best books I've read for a while. Read more
Published 21 days ago by garethlsl
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad
Well written, interesting post-apocalypse novel, but, for me, lacked a degree of definition. In the end it just petered out, but may be that is the way the world will end - with a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Maccrat
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very good read
Could not put it down. Thought provoking, depressing, interesting and very different. Definitely worth reading.
No more words needed ok.
No more words needed ok.
Published 1 month ago by K. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars
Imaginative and stirringly-written take on a familiar theme
Rarely have I found a book to be honestly "unputdownable", but this novel was truly compelling. Read more
Published 1 month ago by njd
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intelligent, thoughtful thriller
I downloaded this book a few days back because it was up for the Clarke Award. I was not disappointed. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ian Hocking
5.0 out of 5 stars
Short listed for The Arthur C Clarke Award
Adrian Barnes 's writing is being compared to John Wyndham, JG Ballard and Anthony Burgess and you can see why. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kl Duffy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brutal and brilliant
I read many dystopias and this is one of the best - its premise is clever and horrifically plausible. It's also well-written and structured.
Published 2 months ago by Sharpie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sleep no more
I'm always impressed when someone comes up with an original premise for a story. These days that's hard to do. Read more
Published 3 months ago by brit
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surreal nightmare
This book was given to me through goodreads.I like the concept of this book and how quickly you get drawn into this disjointed world. Read more
Published 4 months ago by njhsmee
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