Nod

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Because odds are a lot of readers won't be familiar with the effects and timeline of sleep deprivation psychosis, but you can bet your ass that a book marketed to the SF/fantasy/horror crowd will be read almost entirely by People Who Have Seen Star Wars. While I was expecting a different story, Nod delivers in establishing a truly atmospheric semi-dystopian infused survival horror. I'm warning you that you might not like it because it is more literary than most fantasy you're likely to pick up. If you're looking for help with a personal book recommendation, consult our Weekly Recommendation Thread, Suggested Reading page, or ask in r/suggestmeabook. There is a plot, of course, but I found it so sparse on actual story and so heavy with experimental tangents that I couldn't connect with what was going on.

Initially, I thought I had found what I was looking for in the previous two books within this volume. It’s sad, but then again those plump collies and German shepherds don’t seem too weighed down by nostalgia for bone-shaped vegan treats and belly rubs from the opposably-thumbed as they wander about, licking their chops.I didn't really connect with Paul that much--he's pretty detached and rarely experiences strong emotions about what is happening around him. As the end of the world begins he is working on his next book, the eponymous Nod, which focuses on words and phrases that have fallen out of common usage and understanding. This novel is a debut, poignantly so — Barnes died of a brain tumor shortly around its release, and my paperback copy included a moving afterward by the author talking about his diagnosis and how it related to the novel. Otherwise, I didn’t really like the MC, and I didn’t like how his girlfriend was portrayed/how he viewed her at times. Nod chronicles the devastating side effects that occurs in the Awakened , with the world changing into something unrecognisable.

January 13, 2018 October 2, 2023 whatrebeccasread 3 Stars, Book Reviews, January 2018 3 Star Reviews, Adrian Barnes, Arthur C.Paul is finally calm, and the narrative cuts off halfway through a sentence, indicating that he has fallen asleep for good.

There is so much going on under our world of words and societal constructs, but we accept the surface as it is presented to us. On their journey, the couple come across this story’s villain, a cult leader claiming the new world. Nod is a must for every insomniac because it shows you that no matter how bad your night of no sleep is, things could be a lot worse. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

Taking a post-millennial jab at the zombie apocalypse trope, Adrian Barnes first novel ‘Nod’ pitches us into a world of the terminally sleep-deprived. My reading of this was a little altered by an awareness of his death, possibly in a daft sentinel way, as I pondered how us readers will never get to sample another dose of his very fucking full-on style. Because at heart, Nod isn't just an apocalyptic novel, it's a novel about the human condition: the relationships we forge with others, whether they are because of sheer politeness or social conformism ; the need to sleep, to abandon ourselves to this temporary death of our consciousness and sensations for a few hours every day ; the way we always, always, try to "rationalise" incomprehensible events through mysticism and how we so easily veer into fanaticism and mob behaviour, once you take away the very thin veneer of civilisation ; the need for stories and hope too, even if this hope means saying goodbye to what was and not knowing what will be.

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. The book ends with a poignant footnote/essay where the author shares that around the same time that the book came out he was diagnosed with a terminal and swift-acting cancer of the brain. It's such an out of body experience to read it and I really want to know if others enjoyed it, their thoughts, just wanna discuss it. Sometimes the main character seemed to have thoughts that were a bit too philosophical and non essential to the story which lost me quite a few time.Please bear in mind that this is my own point of view, and maybe other readers may find themselves enjoying Nod. The veneer of civility is thin and threadbare, after just a few days of no sleep for 99,9% of the world's population, all is chaos. There she is on the bed, assuming the doggy style position, and the MC happens to notice she has shit smeared around her anus. It succeeds only in being pretentious and forgettable, and in reminding the reader that they could be reading something actually good right now instead of this. But Nod was also a very worthy contender and if you feel like reading an apocalyptic novel with something more than just a survival tale, it's definitely worth your time and money.