“…Mid-Wales is the cradle of fable…”
Imagine a world where humanity hibernates for the winter. Where being “beach-body ready” is unthinkable (you don’t consume enough calories over the Summer, you die) and industry and infrastructure are dominated by a shady mega conglomerate known as Hyber Tech. But hibernating is also dangerous: not only is there the risk of never waking up at all, there’s also the possibility of becoming a “Nightwalker (*cough* zombie *cough*). There’s a chance you may retain a skill or two – playing the bouzouki, for example – but otherwise you’re doomed to a craving for human flesh that’s only matched by a craving for comfort food; until you’re rounded up by Hyber Tech to be “redeployed.”
So, although essential, hibernation is dangerous, who protects the sleeping populace through the maddeningly lonely four months of snow and ice? Well, that would be the Winter Consul: a dedicated but, some might say, slightly mad group of misfits. Their latest recruit is Charlie Worthing, an orphan whose prospects up until now were not promising and don’t look as if they’re going to improve.
Stranded in remote Sector 12, the prospect of a long, boring stay – with only rounding up the occasional Nightwalker or the possibility of an incursion from the local band of Villains, who are members of the former English Aristocracy and their hobbies include roaming the countryside, kidnapping people into servitude and stamp collecting, to break up the monotony. Along with only his colleagues and the occasional Winsominiac to talk to, this is shattered when the discovery that his boss has a literal split personality and the outbreak of what looks like a viral dream. But surely that’s impossible. Until the dreams start to kill people. Then Charlie starts having the same dream. Then they start to come true…
Early Riser is Fforde’s first new book since 2014 but it’s well worth the wait. A stand-alone rather than a continuation of any of his previous series’, it’s also more a sci-fi thriller with comic elements than a full-on comic fantasy. It still has all the hallmarks of Fforde’s writing: incredibly detailed world-building around a central concept; quirky characters and creations as well as the Villains and Nightwalkers, there’s also a group of mythical creatures – that may turn out to be not so mythical – known as the WinterVolk. Within the WinterVolk, most prominent of which is the Gronk, an entity that is always preceded by the strains of Rodgers and Hammerstein and after spiriting away its victim, it always leaves the washing neatly folded.
There’s also the voice and sense of humour that is unapologetically British. There are abundant references and allusions that may leave non-anglophiles scratching their heads. For instance, Mrs Nesbit: the rosy-cheeked, gingham wearing face of a chain of tearooms and an integral part of the “viral-dream” that’s tormenting the denizens of Sector 12. It’s a great image on its own but those who know the brand this is most likely based on probably won’t be able to look at Aunt Bessie in the same way again for quite a while.
The story moves along at a good pace, full of twists and turns, with footnotes providing witty asides and further world building, gradually peeling back the layers to reveal a sharp, (though still playful), socio-political edge in the form of a commentary on modern capitalism and the abuses of big business, in the form of Hyber Tech, managing to do what all the best stories do: make you think as well as entertain you.
So, even though it’s ostensibly spring, get ready for winter. Remember to wrap up warmly, and bring a supply of biscuits and the like in case of wandering Nightwalkers, and you should be fine.
Early Riser is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
The new standalone novel from Number 1 bestselling author Jasper Fforde.
Every Winter, the human population hibernates.
During those bitterly cold four months, the nation is a snow-draped landscape of desolate loneliness, and devoid of human activity.
Well, not quite.
Your name is Charlie Worthing and it’s your first season with the Winter Consuls, the committed but mildly unhinged group of misfits who are responsible for ensuring the hibernatory safe passage of the sleeping masses.
You are investigating an outbreak of viral dreams which you dismiss as nonsense; nothing more than a quirky artefact borne of the sleeping mind.
When the dreams start to kill people, it’s unsettling.
When you get the dreams too, it’s weird.
When they start to come true, you begin to doubt your sanity.
But teasing truth from Winter is never easy: You have to avoid the Villains and their penchant for murder, kidnapping and stamp collecting, ensure you aren’t eaten by Nightwalkers whose thirst for human flesh can only be satisfied by comfort food, and sidestep the increasingly less-than-mythical WinterVolk.
But so long as you remember to wrap up warmly, you’ll be fine.
