A My Chronicle Book Box review: Early Riser by Jasper Fforde.

This is a new standalone novel by bestselling author Jasper Fforde set in an alternate world in which humans hibernate over winter to survive.

This book was included in our November 2018 scifi & fantasy book box.

Read on for the full My Chronicle Book Box review...

My Chronicle Book Box Review: Louise's thoughts...

I'm a big fan of Jasper Fforde's bestselling Thursday Next series and I saw this new standalone novel as the perfect opportunity to introduce subscribers who had not yet discovered Jasper, to his work.

As with all Jasper's books, it is brilliantly inventive and funny but this is a proper thriller. In this alternate universe the majority of the population hibernates through winter with a small contingent of guardians (the Winter Consul) remaining awake to keep an eye on the sleepers. The book is written from the point of view of Charles Worthing, the newest volunteer to the Winter Consul, who it falls to to investigate an outbreak of viral dreams. The situation escalates when the dreams appear to start killing people and then becomes personal as Charles himself starts to experience the dreams.

This is a real page turner; the plot is intricate and twisty, and it is not clear who are the good guys and bad guys are right to the end.

 

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date: 20  August 2018

Publisher Synopsis:

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.

Hi, I'm Louise the founder of My Chronicle Book Box and I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog post.

Here at MCBB we are proud to have put in the hours reviewing, shortlisting, considering publishing schedules and ultimately selecting what we think are the best books for your book box. From our rural Yorkshire base we curate stunning book boxes filled with the latest novels signed by the authors, exclusive author interviews and top quality bookish goodies, which we send to our wonderful customers all across the UK and indeed the world!

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Louise

Hi, I’m Louise and I am the driving force behind My Chronicle Book Box. I am a busy working Mum, with three gorgeous daughters and a very supportive husband. I spend much of my spare time reading and reviewing a wide variety of books and love the whole idea of subscription book boxes.

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