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Sleepwalker
Richard Sparke has no trouble sleeping. It’s what he does after he falls asleep that gets him into trouble. There’s the nightmares, his dead mother coming to visit, and then the return of his daughter, who was only an infant when she died. Among all of this, the man in black tries to murder him in his sleep. Soon the waking world falls prey to nightmares, and the two worlds become very difficult to tell apart for a man who simply wants to live an ordinary life . . . if anyone will let him.
- GenresHorror
409 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 2004
2 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Michael Laimo
47 books336 followersMY NEW NOVEL, THE EROTIC THRILLER MISSED CONNECTION, IS NOW AVAILABLE!
Michael Laimo's novels include the erotic thriller MISSED CONNECTION, as well as the horror novels DEEP IN THE DARKNESS, RETURN TO DARKNESS, THE DEMONOLOGIST, SLEEPWALKER, FIRES RISING, ATMOSPHERE, and DEAD SOULS.
ATMOSPHERE & DEEP IN THE DARKNESS were nominated for a Bram Stoker Award.
DEAD SOULS & DEEP IN THE DARKNESS have been made into feature-length films.
His short fiction has found its way into the pages of A WALK ON THE DARKSIDE, LOST ON THE DARKSIDE, HOT BLOOD XII: STRANGE BEDFELLOWS, SURREAL MAGAZINE, INHUMAN MAGAZINE, LI PULSE MAGAZINE, plus many more anthologies and magazines. He has four short story collections, including the acclaimed DARK RIDE, from Borderlands Press.
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Michael Laimo's novels include the erotic thriller MISSED CONNECTION, as well as the horror novels DEEP IN THE DARKNESS, RETURN TO DARKNESS, THE DEMONOLOGIST, SLEEPWALKER, FIRES RISING, ATMOSPHERE, and DEAD SOULS.
ATMOSPHERE & DEEP IN THE DARKNESS were nominated for a Bram Stoker Award.
DEAD SOULS & DEEP IN THE DARKNESS have been made into feature-length films.
His short fiction has found its way into the pages of A WALK ON THE DARKSIDE, LOST ON THE DARKSIDE, HOT BLOOD XII: STRANGE BEDFELLOWS, SURREAL MAGAZINE, INHUMAN MAGAZINE, LI PULSE MAGAZINE, plus many more anthologies and magazines. He has four short story collections, including the acclaimed DARK RIDE, from Borderlands Press.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 21, 2025
ooooh this was so freaking good. I couldn't put it down. the way the story was written so well that it was easy to follow. My favorite chapter was chapter 61 titled knock and Leonard had me laughing and feeling the creepy feelings of an excellent paranormal novel. Highly recommend
September 9, 2024
*Sleepwalker* by Michael Laimo was a solid 4.5 star read for me. The book had a gripping paranormal thriller vibe that kept me turning the pages, especially with the eerie atmosphere Laimo creates. The twists and the dark, unsettling moments really stood out and made the story unique, the ending left me with chills. If you're into creepy, unpredictable reads with a good balance of suspense and horror, this one’s worth checking out!
April 7, 2025
First part of the book gave me supernatural vibes (love that show) which makes sense since this is a paranormal thriller. For the middle part of the book, I got terminator vibes. Finally, the ending vibes I got were Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty. I thoroughly enjoyed it as I love all the references I mentioned I feel the book gave me. I could definitely see this as a movie with the same exact ending; it was a nice outro!
March 31, 2021
💭 Se vi dicessero che c'è un modo per cambiare il corso delle cose, soprattutto quando queste non ci piaccono, cosa fareste?
Il protagonista, Richard Sparke, è vittima di una serie di eventi a cui non riesce a dare una spiegazione. Strani incubi, visioni e perdita di memoria gli rendono difficile la vita di tutti i giorni.
Il dottor Marcus Delaney, il suo psichiatra, li chiama sogni lucidi. Uno stato particolare che si verifica quando la coscienza è attiva durante il sonno.
La situazione degenera quando a queste si presentano altre visioni impressionanti e vivide relative a sua madre Julia e alla figlia Debra, entrambe morte da anni.
Inoltre, una strana luce blu gli fa vedere volti e corpi, a volte totalmente sconosciuti.
Cosa sta succedendo?
Il suo unico strumento per tastare la realtà, lì dove il ricordo misto a strane visioni offusca la mente, è un discorso diretto con la propria coscienza.
Tutto questo in un continuo e altalenante stato tra sogno e realtà, così labile da non riuscire a distinguerli.
Sono ormai tre anni di terapia per Richard e sembra che non riescano a portare a nulla di buono. Delaney, infatti, decide di cambiare trattamento passando all'ipnosi.
Da questo momento la storia prende un'altra direzione.
Se finora si riconducevano le varie visioni e gli episodi di sonnambulismo di Richard a un caso di natura psicologica causato da un evento traumatico vissuto tre anni prima, si passa ora a ipotesi di eventi paranormali, a poltergeist che interferiscono con la vita del protagonista tanto da spingerlo a compiere delle azioni che per qualche oscura ragione non ricorderà.
Una realtà sconvolgente sta per cambiare radicalmente la sua vita e si troverà ad affrontare qualcosa dì indicibile.
Un misterioso scienziato qualche anno prima, ha dato vita a un esperimento utilizzando la materia oscura al fine di creare nuovi universi.
Un thriller pieno di colpi scena dove Michael Laimo introduce concetti fondamentali di fisica quantistica. Michael ci vuole presentare una possibilità, quella di vivere la vita "ideale" secondo i propri desideri attraverso la creazione di linee temporali alternative.
Una scoperta allettante che nasconde scenari ancora sconosciuti e inquietanti...
Resta da chiedersi: cosa ancora ci aspetta?
Il protagonista, Richard Sparke, è vittima di una serie di eventi a cui non riesce a dare una spiegazione. Strani incubi, visioni e perdita di memoria gli rendono difficile la vita di tutti i giorni.
Il dottor Marcus Delaney, il suo psichiatra, li chiama sogni lucidi. Uno stato particolare che si verifica quando la coscienza è attiva durante il sonno.
La situazione degenera quando a queste si presentano altre visioni impressionanti e vivide relative a sua madre Julia e alla figlia Debra, entrambe morte da anni.
Inoltre, una strana luce blu gli fa vedere volti e corpi, a volte totalmente sconosciuti.
Cosa sta succedendo?
Il suo unico strumento per tastare la realtà, lì dove il ricordo misto a strane visioni offusca la mente, è un discorso diretto con la propria coscienza.
Tutto questo in un continuo e altalenante stato tra sogno e realtà, così labile da non riuscire a distinguerli.
Sono ormai tre anni di terapia per Richard e sembra che non riescano a portare a nulla di buono. Delaney, infatti, decide di cambiare trattamento passando all'ipnosi.
Da questo momento la storia prende un'altra direzione.
Se finora si riconducevano le varie visioni e gli episodi di sonnambulismo di Richard a un caso di natura psicologica causato da un evento traumatico vissuto tre anni prima, si passa ora a ipotesi di eventi paranormali, a poltergeist che interferiscono con la vita del protagonista tanto da spingerlo a compiere delle azioni che per qualche oscura ragione non ricorderà.
Una realtà sconvolgente sta per cambiare radicalmente la sua vita e si troverà ad affrontare qualcosa dì indicibile.
Un misterioso scienziato qualche anno prima, ha dato vita a un esperimento utilizzando la materia oscura al fine di creare nuovi universi.
Un thriller pieno di colpi scena dove Michael Laimo introduce concetti fondamentali di fisica quantistica. Michael ci vuole presentare una possibilità, quella di vivere la vita "ideale" secondo i propri desideri attraverso la creazione di linee temporali alternative.
Una scoperta allettante che nasconde scenari ancora sconosciuti e inquietanti...
Resta da chiedersi: cosa ancora ci aspetta?
May 29, 2017
pecie prima di dormire, lo spauracchio dei bambini è sempre stato notoriamente il cosiddetto uomo nero da cui, peraltro, i piccoli possono difendersi nascondendosi sotto le coperte. Senza difese, invece, risulta il protagonista di Sleepwalker, l’adulto Richard Sparke, cui accade non solo di vedere dormendo un uomo nero, ma che questi si materializzi e lo assalga, cosicché le sue notti si trasformano in incubi non solo virtuali.
Naturalmente Richard Sparke è in terapia dal dottor Delaney che ritiene che il suo paziente soffra "di una gravissima forma di parasonnambulismo mai riscontrata prima. Crede che le sue illusioni siano reali, poiché interferiscono regolarmente con il suo sonno, creando situazioni altamente perturbanti."
Gli incubi di Richard sono sorti dopo la morte della figlia e hanno comportato il divorzio dalla moglie Samantha che lo ha anche accusato di aver tentato di ucciderla nel sonno, salvo poi ritrattare le accuse.
Continua su:
http://www.lastambergadeilettori.com/...
Naturalmente Richard Sparke è in terapia dal dottor Delaney che ritiene che il suo paziente soffra "di una gravissima forma di parasonnambulismo mai riscontrata prima. Crede che le sue illusioni siano reali, poiché interferiscono regolarmente con il suo sonno, creando situazioni altamente perturbanti."
Gli incubi di Richard sono sorti dopo la morte della figlia e hanno comportato il divorzio dalla moglie Samantha che lo ha anche accusato di aver tentato di ucciderla nel sonno, salvo poi ritrattare le accuse.
Continua su:
http://www.lastambergadeilettori.com/...
October 10, 2017
Romanzo solido e gradevole, come thriller fa il suo lavoro in maniera non stupida.
Limite principale è l'originalità complessiva ma questo arriva davvero quasi a fine romanzo.
Limite principale è l'originalità complessiva ma questo arriva davvero quasi a fine romanzo.
January 5, 2025
3.5/5 Reminded me of Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Unfortunately I read that one first.
April 7, 2025
Once again, I'm questioning why it has taken me this many years to find Michael Laimo's plethora of books! You know, when I read his books it's like a blue light goes off and I'm taken to another place. Do I love this place...sometimes. Is it terrifying, ABSOLUTELY. Is it hard to remember things? Yup! It's like I have a twin that just won't stop reading, won't leave me alone....it's like his books are coming to me in my DREAMS! What is reality? Sometimes it makes me question my own name. Maybe you should just read Sleepwalker to decipher this....in the end, it will all make sense.
December 19, 2015
‘Sleepwalker’ is about Richard Sparke who suffers from nightmares that don’t seem to end even when he’s awake. The question is, was he truly dreaming or did everything actually happen? This is because despite always waking up in bed, things tend to be in disarray.
The explanations behind all of the confusion blanketing Richard were incredibly detailed and certainly thought-out. They were also well-explained and that wasn’t an easy feat due to the complexity hence I appreciated that. However, I found it quite difficult to be fully absorbed in the book due to the author’s writing style which was long-winded. There’s no doubt he has a great vocabulary but sometimes less is more. There’s no need to describe how someone’s voice floated “like a thin wisp of smoke” and that’s just one of the many examples present in the story.
As for Richard, he was a truly boring character. With this sort of troubled, possibly mentally unstable character, there are a myriad of ways to make him interesting such as portraying him as someone mysterious or perhaps sinister but none of this was executed. Instead, Richard was just helpless and didn’t attempt to solve the mystery apart from going for therapy. There was never any character growth. Meanwhile, the other characters were just as forgettable and for the women, too much emphasis was placed on their looks thus making it worse.
The policemen were completely laughable as they made the dumbest decisions and behaved more like rookies rather than experienced men. For instance, they stumbled upon what appeared to be a crime scene but they didn’t bother to take any photos or collect evidence. That was ridiculous and I knew then whatever they did from that point on, none of it would matter. The chapters featured different characters’ perspectives such as Richard’s and the police’s but the latter was unnecessary as explained above.
Overall, ‘Sleepwalker’ had the potential to be a fast-paced, exciting mystery-horror story but it was bogged down by excessive words and cardboard characters. The one good thing about it was the fact that the mystery was fully explained.
The explanations behind all of the confusion blanketing Richard were incredibly detailed and certainly thought-out. They were also well-explained and that wasn’t an easy feat due to the complexity hence I appreciated that. However, I found it quite difficult to be fully absorbed in the book due to the author’s writing style which was long-winded. There’s no doubt he has a great vocabulary but sometimes less is more. There’s no need to describe how someone’s voice floated “like a thin wisp of smoke” and that’s just one of the many examples present in the story.
As for Richard, he was a truly boring character. With this sort of troubled, possibly mentally unstable character, there are a myriad of ways to make him interesting such as portraying him as someone mysterious or perhaps sinister but none of this was executed. Instead, Richard was just helpless and didn’t attempt to solve the mystery apart from going for therapy. There was never any character growth. Meanwhile, the other characters were just as forgettable and for the women, too much emphasis was placed on their looks thus making it worse.
The policemen were completely laughable as they made the dumbest decisions and behaved more like rookies rather than experienced men. For instance, they stumbled upon what appeared to be a crime scene but they didn’t bother to take any photos or collect evidence. That was ridiculous and I knew then whatever they did from that point on, none of it would matter. The chapters featured different characters’ perspectives such as Richard’s and the police’s but the latter was unnecessary as explained above.
Overall, ‘Sleepwalker’ had the potential to be a fast-paced, exciting mystery-horror story but it was bogged down by excessive words and cardboard characters. The one good thing about it was the fact that the mystery was fully explained.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews