What do you think?
Rate this book
The Second Sleep
THE LATEST NOVEL FROM ROBERT HARRIS
'A thoroughly absorbing, page-turning narrative in which the author pulls us ever deeper into the imaginative world he has created.' NICK RENNISON, SUNDAY TIMES
'Harris is rightly praised as the master of the intelligent thriller. Genuinely thrilling, wonderfully conceived and entirely without preaching, it probes the nature of history, of collective memory and forgetting, and exposes the fragility of modern civilisation.' HARRY SIDEBOTTOM, DAILY TELEGRAPH
_____________________________________
All civilisations think they are invulnerable. History warns us none is.
1468. A young priest, Christopher Fairfax, arrives in a remote Exmoor village to conduct the funeral of his predecessor. The land around is strewn with ancient artefacts – coins, fragments of glass, human bones – which the old parson used to collect. Did his obsession with the past lead to his death?
As Fairfax is drawn more deeply into the isolated community, everything he believes – about himself, his faith and the history of his world – is tested to destruction.
_____________________________________
'[Harris] takes us on a thrilling ride while serving up serious food for thought . . . I doubt there is a living writer who is better at simultaneously making readers’ adrenaline pump while their brains whirr.' CHARLOTTE HEATHCOTE, SUNDAY EXPRESS
'A truly surprising future-history thriller. Fabulous, really.' DAVID SEXTON, EVENING STANDARD
'A thoroughly absorbing, page-turning narrative in which the author pulls us ever deeper into the imaginative world he has created.' NICK RENNISON, SUNDAY TIMES
'Harris is rightly praised as the master of the intelligent thriller. Genuinely thrilling, wonderfully conceived and entirely without preaching, it probes the nature of history, of collective memory and forgetting, and exposes the fragility of modern civilisation.' HARRY SIDEBOTTOM, DAILY TELEGRAPH
_____________________________________
All civilisations think they are invulnerable. History warns us none is.
1468. A young priest, Christopher Fairfax, arrives in a remote Exmoor village to conduct the funeral of his predecessor. The land around is strewn with ancient artefacts – coins, fragments of glass, human bones – which the old parson used to collect. Did his obsession with the past lead to his death?
As Fairfax is drawn more deeply into the isolated community, everything he believes – about himself, his faith and the history of his world – is tested to destruction.
_____________________________________
'[Harris] takes us on a thrilling ride while serving up serious food for thought . . . I doubt there is a living writer who is better at simultaneously making readers’ adrenaline pump while their brains whirr.' CHARLOTTE HEATHCOTE, SUNDAY EXPRESS
'A truly surprising future-history thriller. Fabulous, really.' DAVID SEXTON, EVENING STANDARD
432 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2019
2421 people are currently reading
12855 people want to read
About the author
Robert Harris
62 books8,789 followersROBERT HARRIS is the author of nine best-selling novels: Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, Imperium, The Ghost Writer, Conspirata, The Fear Index, and An Officer and a Spy. Several of his books have been adapted to film, most recently The Ghost Writer, directed by Roman Polanski. His work has been translated into thirty-seven languages. He lives in the village of Kintbury, England, with his wife, Gill Hornby.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,654 reviews
November 25, 2019
***It is impossible to discuss this book with any level of intelligence without revealing aspects that some of you will deem spoilers. Ye have been warned. Any childish rants on my thread and ye will be cursed for all eternity. Thy spawn will also be cursed until the end of days. (Which frankly isn’t that far in the future, so as curses go, it is not as dire as it sounds.)***
”We know that almost every person, including children, was issued with a device that enabled them to see and hear one another, however far apart in the world they might be; that these devices were small enough to see and hear one another, however far apart in the world they might be; that these devices were small enough to be carried in the palm of ones’ hand; that they gave instant access to all the knowledge and music and opinions and writings in the world; and that in due course they displaced human memory and reasoning and even normal social intercourse--an enfeebling and narcotic power that some say drove their possessors mad, to the extent that their introduction marked the beginning of the end of advanced civilization.”
The end of the world rests in the palm of your hand. It is probably sitting right next to you at the moment, waiting patiently for you to stroke it and make it come to life, or maybe you are holding it right now as you read this review on the screen. We have the most amazing creation that has ever been invented on this planet resting between our ears, yet we choose to cede control from our own organically grown (they charge extra for that in vegetables and fruit) to a flat, impersonal (just to be clear, you really don’t have an intimate, personal relationship with your device, despite the amount of attention you give to it) rectangular device.
I used to be a fan of Steve Jobs, despite his assholish tendencies. Now I’m becoming more and more convinced that the era of Homo Sapiens might be coming to an end, and it isn’t Death riding on the pale horse, but the man from Apple.
That is where we are today, but I really need to take you 800 years in the future to meet a young priest named Christopher Fairfax, who has been dispatched to the ass end of nowhere by the Bishop to oversee the funeral arrangements of a heretical (rumored) priest. Fairfax is not happy about these circumstances. He enjoys his life at the Bishop’s court, and being sent on this errand makes him feel like he is actually being punished. He is not going by train, plane, or automobile. Those conveyances are long buried in the past, so buried that most don’t even know they ever existed. He is making this journey Middle Ages style, by horse.
The world has “evolved” to the zenith of human capabilities, but because we have become so reliant on computers and other devices to run our lives, we are incapable of picking up the pieces when a catastrophic event happened that turns our electronic devices into expensive paperweights . ”Our purpose is not to propose counter-measures to avert any of these potential catastrophes...but to devise strategies for the days, weeks, months and years following such a disaster, with the aim of the earliest possible restoration of technical civilisations.”
Good thought, right? If you can’t stop the speeding train from heading for the chasm, maybe you can unhook a car or two to have something to rebuild with. Something goes very, very wrong, and the age of electronics is over. Those who have curiosity about how the ancients (us) did this or that are risking being branded a heretic. Whenever there is a bobble in the universe, the church is always ready to leap into the breach, and this time they intend to keep control. No more worshiping of idolatrous devices. The plan is to keep the population as ignorant as possible so that they never question the supremacy of the church ever again.
Books are burned by the millions. What need do thee have to even know how to read?
Fairfax is away from the Bishop a matter of days and suddenly finds himself becoming obsessed with knowing the truth about the past. He is also struggling to resist some very present temptations that could be referred to as the same “apples” that led to Adam’s downfall. ”Faith that cannot withstand the truth is not a faith worth holding.” The problem is, of course, that rarely can faith hold up when faced with the temptations of the flesh or real truth. Fairfax is frankly doomed or maybe finally finding liberation, depending upon what you believe to be the best path for the pursuit of happiness.
Ignorance is bliss?
I love time travelling forward to go backwards in history. Harris, as always, writes a fast, page turning plot that had me zipping through the book. I do find that his ending is a bit convoluted, or maybe I got distracted by the same “apples” that are so distracting to Fairfax. I actually enjoy spending time with heretics or any people who are questioning the way things are. Is this really the way things should be? What can be learned from the ancients that could make lives better without leading to another downfall of man? Can we stop the inevitable?
Take a bite out of the apple. My head is spinning a bit here. By using that symbol for his company, was Steve Jobs revealing his true intentions? Was he opening our eyes to reality or was he barring us from ever obtaining a Garden of Eden? Will the pale horse feast upon the roasted apples in the flames of our own demise?
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
”We know that almost every person, including children, was issued with a device that enabled them to see and hear one another, however far apart in the world they might be; that these devices were small enough to see and hear one another, however far apart in the world they might be; that these devices were small enough to be carried in the palm of ones’ hand; that they gave instant access to all the knowledge and music and opinions and writings in the world; and that in due course they displaced human memory and reasoning and even normal social intercourse--an enfeebling and narcotic power that some say drove their possessors mad, to the extent that their introduction marked the beginning of the end of advanced civilization.”
The end of the world rests in the palm of your hand. It is probably sitting right next to you at the moment, waiting patiently for you to stroke it and make it come to life, or maybe you are holding it right now as you read this review on the screen. We have the most amazing creation that has ever been invented on this planet resting between our ears, yet we choose to cede control from our own organically grown (they charge extra for that in vegetables and fruit) to a flat, impersonal (just to be clear, you really don’t have an intimate, personal relationship with your device, despite the amount of attention you give to it) rectangular device.
I used to be a fan of Steve Jobs, despite his assholish tendencies. Now I’m becoming more and more convinced that the era of Homo Sapiens might be coming to an end, and it isn’t Death riding on the pale horse, but the man from Apple.
That is where we are today, but I really need to take you 800 years in the future to meet a young priest named Christopher Fairfax, who has been dispatched to the ass end of nowhere by the Bishop to oversee the funeral arrangements of a heretical (rumored) priest. Fairfax is not happy about these circumstances. He enjoys his life at the Bishop’s court, and being sent on this errand makes him feel like he is actually being punished. He is not going by train, plane, or automobile. Those conveyances are long buried in the past, so buried that most don’t even know they ever existed. He is making this journey Middle Ages style, by horse.
The world has “evolved” to the zenith of human capabilities, but because we have become so reliant on computers and other devices to run our lives, we are incapable of picking up the pieces when a catastrophic event happened that turns our electronic devices into expensive paperweights . ”Our purpose is not to propose counter-measures to avert any of these potential catastrophes...but to devise strategies for the days, weeks, months and years following such a disaster, with the aim of the earliest possible restoration of technical civilisations.”
Good thought, right? If you can’t stop the speeding train from heading for the chasm, maybe you can unhook a car or two to have something to rebuild with. Something goes very, very wrong, and the age of electronics is over. Those who have curiosity about how the ancients (us) did this or that are risking being branded a heretic. Whenever there is a bobble in the universe, the church is always ready to leap into the breach, and this time they intend to keep control. No more worshiping of idolatrous devices. The plan is to keep the population as ignorant as possible so that they never question the supremacy of the church ever again.
Books are burned by the millions. What need do thee have to even know how to read?
Fairfax is away from the Bishop a matter of days and suddenly finds himself becoming obsessed with knowing the truth about the past. He is also struggling to resist some very present temptations that could be referred to as the same “apples” that led to Adam’s downfall. ”Faith that cannot withstand the truth is not a faith worth holding.” The problem is, of course, that rarely can faith hold up when faced with the temptations of the flesh or real truth. Fairfax is frankly doomed or maybe finally finding liberation, depending upon what you believe to be the best path for the pursuit of happiness.
Ignorance is bliss?
I love time travelling forward to go backwards in history. Harris, as always, writes a fast, page turning plot that had me zipping through the book. I do find that his ending is a bit convoluted, or maybe I got distracted by the same “apples” that are so distracting to Fairfax. I actually enjoy spending time with heretics or any people who are questioning the way things are. Is this really the way things should be? What can be learned from the ancients that could make lives better without leading to another downfall of man? Can we stop the inevitable?
Take a bite out of the apple. My head is spinning a bit here. By using that symbol for his company, was Steve Jobs revealing his true intentions? Was he opening our eyes to reality or was he barring us from ever obtaining a Garden of Eden? Will the pale horse feast upon the roasted apples in the flames of our own demise?
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten
July 1, 2020
This almost succeeds. That is, almost, but not quite. As usual the writing is terrific as he captures a time and a place that seems historically familiar yet is not what it appears to be. Again, as usual, the characters are well drawn and the pace builds nicely gaining momentum as you read further. I wasn’t overly enthused about the ending which led me to think, “All of this for that?” If you are a fan of Harris’ I would recommend reading this since it’s so different from what he usually writes.
September 17, 2019
Five stars for the concept and the first half of the book which was engrossing. Zero stars for the second half and the all-of-a-sudden half-baked ending.
May 4, 2021
Several years ago I learnt about the so-called second sleep which was a nocturnal routine in the Middle Ages in England, probably not only there, which meant simply waking up in the middle of the night and relaxing, doing things people were unable to do during the daytime. Consequently, the title of this book intrigued me.
I admit that this was my second attempt to read this novel, probably the timing for the first one was bad. Fortunately, I decided to give this book another chance. The idea behind it is brilliant and Mr Harris knew how to execute it. A mystery that revolves around artefacts from a very distant future, with Chrispoher Fairfax, a young priest whose simple assignment turns into something unexpected, was definitely up my street.
I admit that this was my second attempt to read this novel, probably the timing for the first one was bad. Fortunately, I decided to give this book another chance. The idea behind it is brilliant and Mr Harris knew how to execute it. A mystery that revolves around artefacts from a very distant future, with Chrispoher Fairfax, a young priest whose simple assignment turns into something unexpected, was definitely up my street.
January 2, 2020
3.5 A versatile author who has tackled everything from Pompeii to the election of the pope in Conclave. In this one he presents the reader with another unique plot, one I will not discuss as it would be deemed as ruining the read for others. I will say it is done well, is a very interesting concept and presents a moral dilemma for a young priest. The characters are varied, and a few not what they seem.
The book was going along nicely, was thoroughly immersed in the story, wondering where it would lead and how it would end, when it went off the rails. Wish the ending wouldn't have been as melodramatic as it turned out, I was enjoying the literay flavor of the read, and the ending put to much into too short of page amount. I did though enjoy the stories originality, so there is that. Pros and cons, but still worth reading.
ARC from Edelweiss.
The book was going along nicely, was thoroughly immersed in the story, wondering where it would lead and how it would end, when it went off the rails. Wish the ending wouldn't have been as melodramatic as it turned out, I was enjoying the literay flavor of the read, and the ending put to much into too short of page amount. I did though enjoy the stories originality, so there is that. Pros and cons, but still worth reading.
ARC from Edelweiss.
September 10, 2019
This is a book where spoilers are absolutely unavoidable if you want to write any sort of review, so I’ll make the general observations upfront before getting into spoiler territory.
This book is a very different animal from most Harris books I’ve read. It’s very atmospheric and rather constrained, with most of the story being told in narration. While written in the third person, we never leave Christopher Fairfax’s head to see elements beyond his perception, and this absolutely works. The style is vaguely claustrophobic and unsettling but never drifts into actually being scary. The only issue here is that Harris has an unfortunate tendency to overuse the pronoun “he” in conversations between two male characters, leading to a certain amount of confusion. Dialogue flows naturally but doesn’t predominate.
And that’s really all that can be said before dashing into spoiler territory. It’s an odd book where the biggest twist comes before page 40.
Ready? Last chance to turn back.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The ending also has issues. This time my lips are sealed regarding spoilers. But suffice to say that you’ll come away wondering whether it was really worth the journey. I was tempted to lower it a star it was so unsatisfying, but having already come so far accepting so much I felt like the book had already given me a good run for my money by that point.
On the whole I found this a unique and uncommon story. Once you accept the implausibilities the book really is quite compelling. The title is clever too. I still don’t know whether the big twist was worth it. If they’d been upfront about this from the start would it have ruined anything? The best I can say is that it’s not mishandled and possible to accept with minimal cognitive dissonance. I’m not completely sure what the point of the book is, except perhaps to show us how vulnerable civilizations are to complete disaster should their technological base break down, but it’s a mostly fun ride through an enjoyable world.
Plot: 7 (Engaging if perhaps gimmicky)
Characters: 6 (You won’t miss them but they’re fun to be around)
This book is a very different animal from most Harris books I’ve read. It’s very atmospheric and rather constrained, with most of the story being told in narration. While written in the third person, we never leave Christopher Fairfax’s head to see elements beyond his perception, and this absolutely works. The style is vaguely claustrophobic and unsettling but never drifts into actually being scary. The only issue here is that Harris has an unfortunate tendency to overuse the pronoun “he” in conversations between two male characters, leading to a certain amount of confusion. Dialogue flows naturally but doesn’t predominate.
And that’s really all that can be said before dashing into spoiler territory. It’s an odd book where the biggest twist comes before page 40.
Ready? Last chance to turn back.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The ending also has issues. This time my lips are sealed regarding spoilers. But suffice to say that you’ll come away wondering whether it was really worth the journey. I was tempted to lower it a star it was so unsatisfying, but having already come so far accepting so much I felt like the book had already given me a good run for my money by that point.
On the whole I found this a unique and uncommon story. Once you accept the implausibilities the book really is quite compelling. The title is clever too. I still don’t know whether the big twist was worth it. If they’d been upfront about this from the start would it have ruined anything? The best I can say is that it’s not mishandled and possible to accept with minimal cognitive dissonance. I’m not completely sure what the point of the book is, except perhaps to show us how vulnerable civilizations are to complete disaster should their technological base break down, but it’s a mostly fun ride through an enjoyable world.
Plot: 7 (Engaging if perhaps gimmicky)
Characters: 6 (You won’t miss them but they’re fun to be around)
September 19, 2019
More than thousand years had washed over England since those days a civilisation had fallen and another had been reborn, and life went on in Addicot St George as if nothing had happened.
The book starts with two important epigraphs.
The first from the historian Roger Ekirch’s now (I think) well known discovery/contention that biphasic sleep (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biphasi...) was the norm in the pre-Industrial Revolution West.
The second is from Thomas Hardy’s “Mayor of Castlebridge” – where the Wessex soil is said to frequently reveal the bones of Roman soldiers from just before the sudden disappearance of the Empire (and its culture and civilizing effects) from Britain some 1500 years earlier.
The book is set in 1468 - a young priest Christopher Fairfax who serves the Bishop of Exeter at his cathedral, is instructed by him to travel to a small village to Cary out a discreet burial of the village priest.
Harris is a master of conjuring up a convincing account of past times and places – be they Republican Rome (the wonderful Cicero trilogy), early 20th Century France (An Office and a Spy) or pre-war England (Munich). So among the convincing, earthy detail of Medieval England it is surprising to catch him in apparent anachronisms: the “common parakeet”, or Fairfax observing that the local church has “stood square on this land for at least a thousand years, more likely fifteen hundred”.
Are we in the realm of alternative history that launched his career in “Fatherland”.
The actual explanation – which comes only a few chapters in, is far more impressive and at least as first extremely well executed. It is also hard to discuss without spoilers – not that that has prevented the mainstream papers so now would be a good time to stop the review and pick up the book instead.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The book is actually Harris’s first voyage into post apocalyptical fiction – and rather cleverly it is about a society which actually is explicitly ordered around the idea of living in a post apocalyptical world.
Sometime in 2025 our current English (and it is believed world) civilization underwent a mysterious and sudden collapse. Society took 100 or more years to really put itself back together and when it did – in a second Dark Age – just like the first the achievements of the past civilization are more seen as mysterious monuments (mainly concrete structures) and scattered artefacts.
The move to reform some form of functioning society revolves around the Church – the stone churches that cover England offering some form of continuity and community; but a Church which identifies the fall of 2025 as being of a hubristic, Godless society which had replaced faith with science. The church marks 2025 as 666 and begins a new calendar, while also maintaining a stronghold on society with attempts to study the previous civilization and the concept of science both identified as heretical , with the English language rebuilt around the King James Bible.
Perhaps less convincingly (and with the author too influenced by his recent “Conclave”), Latin and Catholic traditions and beliefs also return. England is only really aware of its immediate neighbours France and Scotland – both of which it is regularly at war with, other countries are known as Saxony, although perhaps more neatly there is also an Islamic Caliphate in the North of England.
Once the clever set up of the book is revealed there is I think too much similarity between the new world and the mediaeval one. The concept of history repeating itself or of revolution in its original meaning is I think overdone and unconvincing despite the author’s acknowledgement:
It was as if the long recovery after the Apocalypse had stalled at the point civilization had reached two centuries before disaster struck. Why? Was it that there were certain basic patterns of human behaviour that were irreducible - the need to grow food, to live in settlements, to worship God, to bear children and to educate them - but that beyond these essentials a great leap was required to achieve the sort of world described in Morgenstern’s letter, and such a leap had not been attempted? Or it had been attempted at some point in the past, but had failed or been suppressed, and he had never heard of it?
The actual plot of the book is an interesting one. Fairfax quickly discovers that the priest was himself dealing in heretical ideas – holding banned (and believed burnt) copies of the records of a suppressed Society of Antiquarians and obsessed with artefacts he was discovering in digs at a local landmark – the Devil’s Chair – believed to be cursed by the superstitious locals.
The records refer to the discovery of a latter by an early 21st Century Nobel Prize winning Physicist worrying about the fragility of that society given its over-reliance on technology and vulnerability to a number of threats (climate change, nuclear event, pandemic but also catastrophic IT infrastructure failure) and seeking to group together like minded influential people to find a way to restore society after such an event.
Together with the owner of the local dilapidated mansion (Lady Sarah Durston – who owns the Devil’s Chair, whose husband secretly collected artefacts he discovered there and who seemed to know of Morgenstern), the local mill owner Captain Hancock (a headstrong character) they decide to understand more about what the Priest was investigating before his death. Fairfax’s involvement is the least convincing – he rapidly discards in quick succession his duties, his beliefs and his vows (flirting cruelly with the Priest’s mute servant and then being himself seduced by Sarah).
This in turn leads them to the two remaining members of the banned society – the ageing Dr Nicholas Shadwell (imprisoned for years and now branded with an H) and his secretary Oliver Quycke (who was released earlier than the other members and seems to have spoken to the Priest before his death) and the group race against time to investigate the Devil’s Chair before word gets to the authorities.
After a careful and intriguing set up the ending of the book is rather underwhelming, shedding little light either on 21st Century or (new) 15th Century events.
Overall an interesting book – which ultimately does not live up to its moments of excellence but is still a worthwhile read like almost all of the author’s books (the Fear Index being the exception).
Finally and appropriately I wrote this review between my own first sleep (on a transatlantic flight) and second sleep (on arrival late in the evening in New York).
November 3, 2019
What a great twist at the end of Chapter 1. Rest of book, not so much.
November 11, 2020
Hardly worth the bother.
Poor characters. Clever plot that goes nowhere. Leaden prose that struggles at describing motivations or time and place.
Don’t bother.
Poor characters. Clever plot that goes nowhere. Leaden prose that struggles at describing motivations or time and place.
Don’t bother.
March 27, 2020
Christopher Fairfax is a young clergyman dispatched to a remote English village to perform a funeral for Father Lacy, the former priest in this village. While there, Christopher finds that Father Lacy was interested in artifacts from a previous age; an age of iphones, legos, keys, etc. that have survived an apocalypse. In this time, man is reverted to a medieval type existence where delving too much into the past is considered heresy.
This speculative fiction into a future planet is quite prevalent lately and I really enjoyed this book. The ending, for me, was somewhat disappointing, but did not prevent me from giving this 5 stars for an intriguing read.
This speculative fiction into a future planet is quite prevalent lately and I really enjoyed this book. The ending, for me, was somewhat disappointing, but did not prevent me from giving this 5 stars for an intriguing read.
July 16, 2023
1468 and life in a deeply religious and agrarian society sees a young priest head to a remote village on Exmoor to conduct a funeral. He has been sent by the Bishop of Exeter, who expects the young priest, Christopher Fairfax, to conclude his duties and return in a couple of days.
On arrival, Fairfax sees and hears things that suggest things at not as they seem or should be. Amongst those living in the village of Addicott St George, there are some who talk of the ancients and have seen and collected artefacts, although it is against the law and worries the religious and superstitious majority.
As Fairfax discovers more, he will challenge his beliefs and those of his Church.
Overall, it is an enjoyable story that peels away some of the truths about the ancients and what the Church knows and is keen to hide.
On arrival, Fairfax sees and hears things that suggest things at not as they seem or should be. Amongst those living in the village of Addicott St George, there are some who talk of the ancients and have seen and collected artefacts, although it is against the law and worries the religious and superstitious majority.
As Fairfax discovers more, he will challenge his beliefs and those of his Church.
Overall, it is an enjoyable story that peels away some of the truths about the ancients and what the Church knows and is keen to hide.
January 20, 2021
If I had to guess why this book has a somewhat lower rating, it's because the ending, logically arrived at, is not filled with rainbows of hope. It's kind of a downer. Although, you can turn that assessment around and see the promise of humanity.
Second Sleep is a crazy departure for Harris. It's set in 15th century England, with all the mud, crude wine, feudally-oppressed peasants, fanatical priests burning heretics at the stake, and everybody getting pregnant by age 15, marrying at 16, having kids until they're 25, then dying at 40. What could be more fun? I'll tell you. It's the second go-round. This is actually the 29th century, as we now count, but technological society collapsed in 2023 (stock your basement now) and when all the famine and war sorted itself out, there we were, raising sheep and tugging our forelocks at the Duke.
The landscape is littered with plastic, glass, and concrete artifacts from the previous era. It is heresy to pay attention to the old ways, however, lest they be repeated. Our story begins when a young priest discovers the old priest has been collecting wonders of the past age, and learns there may be a treasure trove of information nearby.
A well-paced thriller with compelling characters and vivid scenes. Well worth the read.
Second Sleep is a crazy departure for Harris. It's set in 15th century England, with all the mud, crude wine, feudally-oppressed peasants, fanatical priests burning heretics at the stake, and everybody getting pregnant by age 15, marrying at 16, having kids until they're 25, then dying at 40. What could be more fun? I'll tell you. It's the second go-round. This is actually the 29th century, as we now count, but technological society collapsed in 2023 (stock your basement now) and when all the famine and war sorted itself out, there we were, raising sheep and tugging our forelocks at the Duke.
The landscape is littered with plastic, glass, and concrete artifacts from the previous era. It is heresy to pay attention to the old ways, however, lest they be repeated. Our story begins when a young priest discovers the old priest has been collecting wonders of the past age, and learns there may be a treasure trove of information nearby.
A well-paced thriller with compelling characters and vivid scenes. Well worth the read.
July 25, 2020
The Second Sleep is another fine story from Robert Harris. It opens in the year 1468, where we encounter a young priest travelling from Exeter (where I live!) to a remote Exmoor village.
In the first two chapters Harris creates some excellent characters & a wonderful atmosphere of time & place. Then I read the third chapter & found myself saying "What the fuck ?!"
It's great to see that one of my favourite authors still has the ability to surprise me. This is a novel that is best read without knowing much about the plot. Just let the author take you on a surprising journey, filled with well drawn characters who find themselves in difficult situations. Another gripping read from the ever reliable Robert Harris.
In the first two chapters Harris creates some excellent characters & a wonderful atmosphere of time & place. Then I read the third chapter & found myself saying "What the fuck ?!"
It's great to see that one of my favourite authors still has the ability to surprise me. This is a novel that is best read without knowing much about the plot. Just let the author take you on a surprising journey, filled with well drawn characters who find themselves in difficult situations. Another gripping read from the ever reliable Robert Harris.
October 7, 2019
Robert Harris often has the very best ideas for his books, but sometimes the book itself is a real let-down. The Second Sleep is an example of this. First of all, his good idea -- the big reveal -- comes very early in the book. What seems at first to be a tale set in Medieval England turns out to be set 800 years in the future -- as we quickly learn when an Apple iPhone turns up unexpectedly. And that's basically it. Nothing else very interesting happens. The books builds up to the digging out of an 800 year old buried chamber to reveal -- well, let's just say that it is one of the most unsatisfying endings I've read in a recent book. Not recommended.
February 12, 2021
Without prejudice I have to say that this is somewhat of a disappointing book in my opinion, from this otherwise superb author.
This book is compared to the Cicero trilogy, An Officer an a Spy, Enigma, Pompeii and other classic titles from this author, certainly and definitely inferior in style and quality.
At the beginning of the book you'll notice two epigraphs who'll play an important part in this story.
Storytelling is as ever of a very good quality, the story flows from begin to end, no doubt about that, while some characters are great, especially the young Priest, Christopher Fairfax, but sadly most are average, and the overall setting is ok with the parish in Addicott St George.
The book is supposedly set in the year AD 1468, and its a story with a certain twist, but in my opinion this twist about turning times of history, before and after the Apocalypse, is not working in this tale, quite the opposite its too much and it works disjointed.
Although it features in 1468 its a story told that goes forwards and backwards, while referring to years such as 2022 and 2025, and knowing how people lived and what they made then is in my view very unrealistic, and at the end with the excavating of a mass grave of people that should have lived many years after them, and so as a whole the book will end up into a kind of a jumble.
For me this is overall a somewhat imbalanced sounding story, and besides that not a real thriller either, and thus for me a disappointing outing this time with Mr. Harris.
Recommended for anybody who doesn't care about the frailties of this book or is a true admirer of the work of Mr. Harris, but for me its been a bit of a let down and so that's why I call this book: "A Mediocre Dream On Story"!
This book is compared to the Cicero trilogy, An Officer an a Spy, Enigma, Pompeii and other classic titles from this author, certainly and definitely inferior in style and quality.
At the beginning of the book you'll notice two epigraphs who'll play an important part in this story.
Storytelling is as ever of a very good quality, the story flows from begin to end, no doubt about that, while some characters are great, especially the young Priest, Christopher Fairfax, but sadly most are average, and the overall setting is ok with the parish in Addicott St George.
The book is supposedly set in the year AD 1468, and its a story with a certain twist, but in my opinion this twist about turning times of history, before and after the Apocalypse, is not working in this tale, quite the opposite its too much and it works disjointed.
Although it features in 1468 its a story told that goes forwards and backwards, while referring to years such as 2022 and 2025, and knowing how people lived and what they made then is in my view very unrealistic, and at the end with the excavating of a mass grave of people that should have lived many years after them, and so as a whole the book will end up into a kind of a jumble.
For me this is overall a somewhat imbalanced sounding story, and besides that not a real thriller either, and thus for me a disappointing outing this time with Mr. Harris.
Recommended for anybody who doesn't care about the frailties of this book or is a true admirer of the work of Mr. Harris, but for me its been a bit of a let down and so that's why I call this book: "A Mediocre Dream On Story"!
January 12, 2020
I think I have read almost all of Robert Harris' books, so you can definitely call me a fan. He usually writes historical fiction that is as imaginative as it is educational, so this books, a sort of dystopian reverse history was quite a departure. I am not a fan of dystopian books at all, so was only moderately excited to hear about this one, nonetheless, I couldn't quite resists and had to see what it was about. It took me a good while longer than usual with his books to get into this story, in part because I was a little confused. About halfway, though, I suddenly couldn't stop reading and the pace really picked up. I don't want to give anything away and I can't really talk about the plot without giving spoilers, but it was entertaining and offered quite a few twists and turns. That being said, I was left a little dissatisfied with the ending and felt a lot more could have been done with the premise. All in all, though, an interesting book and a solid effort by one of my favorite authors in branching out to something quite different.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
March 15, 2021
See! This is exactly what I’m talking about! At work a few years ago now, we were told to stop using usb sticks to store our work and start using *the cloud*. I was very resistant because *the cloud* what does that mean really? Where does that leave us if/when the power fails? All that knowledge lost. All my kindle books lost. Life as it’s set up nowadays couldn’t survive one minute without computer technology- the pure logistics of getting food or fuel to people- and the majority of the population (very much including myself) are completely de-skilled in terms of growing, breeding, hunting food etc. What a nightmare! This book was thought provoking and scary in its likelihood. It’s more a matter of when and how than if. Gulp.
April 12, 2025
Este autor es fabuloso. Me recuerda mucho a mí querido Ken Follet.
Cuando he llegado al final, zas, esta es la primera parte!! Y yo sin saberlo! Sr. Harris, eso no se hace!
Una lectura muy entretenida, con una trama curiosa, con buenos personajes y excelente ambientación. Que incita a querer saber más.
Esta novela es una ucronia y una novela de aventuras al mismo tiempo.
El autor plantea que nuestra civilización actual acabó autodestruyendose en 2025 (el apocalipsis) y volvió a empezar como una sociedad bastante rudimentaria y medieval.
Año 1468, unos 800 años después del apocalipsis. El joven sacerdote Christopher Fairfax es enviado por el obispo desde Exeter al pequeño pueblo de Addicott St. George, a una jornada de camino, para oficiar la misa y el sepelio del párroco Lacy.
Fairfax descubre con horror que el párroco era un hereje, pues ocultaba objetos desenterrados, como botellas de plástico, una muñeca de goma o un objeto plano negro de plástico y cristal (un teléfono móvil). Pero el hallazgo lo mantiene en secreto y decide investigar un poco.
Su pequeña (y arriesgada investigación) le llevará a conocer a Lady Durston, al capitán Hancock y a Nicholas Shadwell, el célebre erudito de la Sociedad de Anticuarios, y Quycke su ayudante. Todos juntos empiezan una peligrosa aventura, desconfiando unos de otros. Un empresario ambicioso, un sacerdote caído en la herejía, una noble indomable venida a menos, un científico que ha perdido la cabeza y la salud, junto a su ayudante extrañamente misterioso.
Todo lo que ha investigado Shadwell es asombroso, el hombre es una fuente de conocimiento, que hipnotiza a los demás.
Sorprende mucho que esta sociedad, tras el apocalipsis, sea tan calcada a la época medieval. Un castillo, un mercado con animales, armas medievales, ropas medievales, carretas y caballos, casas como chamizos, antorchas.. la posada del cisne?? Pero claro, el argumento del doctor Shadwell es que esas personas (nosotros) tenían unos conocimientos y unas destrezas que no tenían la menor utilidad para luchar por su subsistencia y continuar con su sociedad avanzada.
El final es apoteosico pero... hay más en la segunda parte...
De momento, me paro aquí. Sí continuaré con la siguiente entrega más adelante. Pero Sr. Harris, esto es una faena!!
Cuando he llegado al final, zas, esta es la primera parte!! Y yo sin saberlo! Sr. Harris, eso no se hace!
Una lectura muy entretenida, con una trama curiosa, con buenos personajes y excelente ambientación. Que incita a querer saber más.
Esta novela es una ucronia y una novela de aventuras al mismo tiempo.
El autor plantea que nuestra civilización actual acabó autodestruyendose en 2025 (el apocalipsis) y volvió a empezar como una sociedad bastante rudimentaria y medieval.
Año 1468, unos 800 años después del apocalipsis. El joven sacerdote Christopher Fairfax es enviado por el obispo desde Exeter al pequeño pueblo de Addicott St. George, a una jornada de camino, para oficiar la misa y el sepelio del párroco Lacy.
Fairfax descubre con horror que el párroco era un hereje, pues ocultaba objetos desenterrados, como botellas de plástico, una muñeca de goma o un objeto plano negro de plástico y cristal (un teléfono móvil). Pero el hallazgo lo mantiene en secreto y decide investigar un poco.
Su pequeña (y arriesgada investigación) le llevará a conocer a Lady Durston, al capitán Hancock y a Nicholas Shadwell, el célebre erudito de la Sociedad de Anticuarios, y Quycke su ayudante. Todos juntos empiezan una peligrosa aventura, desconfiando unos de otros. Un empresario ambicioso, un sacerdote caído en la herejía, una noble indomable venida a menos, un científico que ha perdido la cabeza y la salud, junto a su ayudante extrañamente misterioso.
Todo lo que ha investigado Shadwell es asombroso, el hombre es una fuente de conocimiento, que hipnotiza a los demás.
Sorprende mucho que esta sociedad, tras el apocalipsis, sea tan calcada a la época medieval. Un castillo, un mercado con animales, armas medievales, ropas medievales, carretas y caballos, casas como chamizos, antorchas.. la posada del cisne?? Pero claro, el argumento del doctor Shadwell es que esas personas (nosotros) tenían unos conocimientos y unas destrezas que no tenían la menor utilidad para luchar por su subsistencia y continuar con su sociedad avanzada.
El final es apoteosico pero... hay más en la segunda parte...
De momento, me paro aquí. Sí continuaré con la siguiente entrega más adelante. Pero Sr. Harris, esto es una faena!!
December 27, 2023
1468 г. от епохата на възкръсналия Христос е. Епоха, започнала с Апокалипсис в годината на Звяра. Човечеството се покайва за всичките си минали грехове, управлявано в Англия от всемогъща Църква.
В едно малко английско селце започват да се случват странни събития, с чието разследване неблагоразумно се заема озовалият се там за кратко млад свещеник Феърфакс. Изникват въпроси, водещи към опасни истини от миналото. Действието е сгъстено в рамките на няколко кратки дни, достатъчни да опознаем героите и да им симпатизираме. Има нещо хипнотично във факта, че за тях нашето Настояще е вече полузабравено и полулегендарно Минало под знака на Сатаната. Познатите ни Археология и История действат плащещо убедително с диаметрално противоположен знак.
Харис плавно разгръща една стряскащо реалистична и засмукваща постапокалиптична действителност, изчистена от всякакви спомени за наука. Висока се е оказала цената на безбожните древни технологии, и религията е протегнала ръка за спасение. Човечеството е оцеляло, но пламъчето на човешкия разум е оставено да мъждука почти незабележимо на прага на пълния мрак. Кой свят е по-малкото зло? Технология без вяра или вяра без технология? Любопитство и открития или доволство от предопределеното? Свобода или закрила и сигурност?
Хората в това Бъдеще са много различни... И все пак са съвсем същите като технологичните си предци, с всичкото добро и зло от памтивека, с всички наследени още от пещерните времена страсти, страхове и амбиции, които погубват...и спасяват.
Ще успее ли човечеството да се събуди от своя втори средновековен сън и да зърне слънцето на нов ден?
***
”Ако вярата не устоява на истината, значи не си струва да я изповядваш.”
January 9, 2025
Primera novela que leo de Robert Harris y tengo que reconocer que escribe muy bien y es un gran creador de ambientes. Seguimos a un clérigo que en la Inglaterra medieval se desplaza, a petición del Obispo de Exeter, a una pequeña aldea para asistir al funeral del párroco. Poco a poco vamos viendo cosas raritas, que no cuadran... Y no diré más porque ahí radica el encanto del libro, yo lo empecé pensando que era una novela histórica y disfruté con el giro inesperado. La pena es que luego se apaga la sorpresa y se convierte en un thriller algo rutinario y un pelín largo para mi gusto. Pero es una lectura entretenida.
Había otras dos estanterías enteramente dedicadas a la misma perversión pagana. Contenían monografías sobre recintos funerarios, artefactos, inscripciones y monumentos. Le asombraba que el viejo párroco los exhibiera de forma tan osada. Era como si de alguna manera aquel valle, con su singular aislamiento geográfico y su desprecio por el toque de queda, existiera fuera del tiempo y de la ley.
Había otras dos estanterías enteramente dedicadas a la misma perversión pagana. Contenían monografías sobre recintos funerarios, artefactos, inscripciones y monumentos. Le asombraba que el viejo párroco los exhibiera de forma tan osada. Era como si de alguna manera aquel valle, con su singular aislamiento geográfico y su desprecio por el toque de queda, existiera fuera del tiempo y de la ley.
October 13, 2019
This is a book to approach, ideally, without reading a single review or any advance publicity, if you want to get the full effect of the twist in the first chapter. Even if you don’t have that advantage (I didn’t), it’s an intriguing and thought-provoking read, although less weighty and compelling than Harris’s Dreyfus-themed An Officer and a Spy (2013)—now a film by Polanski—and perhaps also less elegant and finished than his Vatican-themed Conclave (2016).
By pure chance, I read The Second Sleep directly after Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd, and I was struck by Harris’s very knowing use of Hardy’s literary utopia-dystopia of Wessex as a setting. (Hardy is also alluded to in one of Harris’s epigraphs, a wonderful quotation from The Mayor of Casterbridge about the remains of buried Roman soldiers coming to light in the Wessex countryside—a passage that intersects in all kinds of rich ways with the themes of The Second Sleep.) Thinking about these themes—history, layering, place, memory, and the discovery of secrets that are perhaps better left hidden—makes me realize how dense and evocative Harris’s novel is. I can imagine it working well as a companion read to Ishiguro’s splendid The Buried Giant, which is a high compliment in my book.
The Second Sleep is also a complete rampant page-turner of a thriller, from around half-way through, after a slowish initial build. Like some other readers on this site, I felt rather lukewarm about the ending, but that didn’t really affect my enjoyment of the whole.
By pure chance, I read The Second Sleep directly after Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd, and I was struck by Harris’s very knowing use of Hardy’s literary utopia-dystopia of Wessex as a setting. (Hardy is also alluded to in one of Harris’s epigraphs, a wonderful quotation from The Mayor of Casterbridge about the remains of buried Roman soldiers coming to light in the Wessex countryside—a passage that intersects in all kinds of rich ways with the themes of The Second Sleep.) Thinking about these themes—history, layering, place, memory, and the discovery of secrets that are perhaps better left hidden—makes me realize how dense and evocative Harris’s novel is. I can imagine it working well as a companion read to Ishiguro’s splendid The Buried Giant, which is a high compliment in my book.
The Second Sleep is also a complete rampant page-turner of a thriller, from around half-way through, after a slowish initial build. Like some other readers on this site, I felt rather lukewarm about the ending, but that didn’t really affect my enjoyment of the whole.
December 12, 2025
Robert Harris's The Second Sleep is a really interesting story. When I first started reading the novel, it appeared that it was taking place during our time. Gradually, though, I learned that the story took place centuries after the world as we know it no longer existed. The story begins when a young English priest named Christopher Fairfax is sent to a remote village to conduct a burial. Up until now, Fairfax never doubted his faith in the church and its teachings. But gradually, he begins to doubt the teachings of the church and its teaching. And gradually the reader learns that the story is taking place in our world, but in another world years after the world we live in no longer exists.
December 21, 2024
Robert Harris returns with another of his novels based on historical events. This piece is set against a backdrop less impactful than many of his other novels, though it is still rich in sentiment and backstory. However, unlike many of Harris’ other novels, I could not find myself connecting with the larger storyline, therefore did not enjoy the reading experience as much as I would have liked. Harris is still a strong and well-established writer in his own regard and my views should not alter the opinions of others.
In 1468, a priest who served a small English parish has passed away, leaving the community in despair. Christopher Fairfax is called upon to serve as the new priest, commencing with the funeral services for his predecessor. While on his journey there, Fairfax notices a number of artefacts strewn around the countryside, each speaking to a time long forgotten. Fairfax cannot help but wonder if these glimpses into the past might have led to his predecessor’s death.
Amongst the items strewn around the countryside are a collection of bones, which gets Fairfax wondering and determined to discover answers. He uses his time over the next week to delve deeper to piece it all together, though there will be many obstacles along the way. Robert Harris delivers an intriguing tale that is sure to impress many readers, though it fell short for me in many ways.
While I usually find myself quite impressed with the work of Robert Harris, I could not get into this story. Historical fiction usually has no problem piquing my interest, but this story fell short. The narrative meanders too much for my liking, taking me down rabbit holes I could not enjoy with ease, while trying to tell a story that appeared to have no pinnacle. The characters are less than impactful for me, leaving me to wish I could have found something intriguing about them. Harris does well to depict them on the page, but they did not leave that two-dimensional delivery, forcing me to limp my way through the story. Plot twists are plentiful but they did little to breathe life into this piece for me. I suspect that it was me and the timing of this piece on my reading journey, as I have never had an issue with Robert Harris in the past. I trust others will point the way for the curious reader.
Kudos, Mr. Harris, for a valiant effort, that was just not for me.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
In 1468, a priest who served a small English parish has passed away, leaving the community in despair. Christopher Fairfax is called upon to serve as the new priest, commencing with the funeral services for his predecessor. While on his journey there, Fairfax notices a number of artefacts strewn around the countryside, each speaking to a time long forgotten. Fairfax cannot help but wonder if these glimpses into the past might have led to his predecessor’s death.
Amongst the items strewn around the countryside are a collection of bones, which gets Fairfax wondering and determined to discover answers. He uses his time over the next week to delve deeper to piece it all together, though there will be many obstacles along the way. Robert Harris delivers an intriguing tale that is sure to impress many readers, though it fell short for me in many ways.
While I usually find myself quite impressed with the work of Robert Harris, I could not get into this story. Historical fiction usually has no problem piquing my interest, but this story fell short. The narrative meanders too much for my liking, taking me down rabbit holes I could not enjoy with ease, while trying to tell a story that appeared to have no pinnacle. The characters are less than impactful for me, leaving me to wish I could have found something intriguing about them. Harris does well to depict them on the page, but they did not leave that two-dimensional delivery, forcing me to limp my way through the story. Plot twists are plentiful but they did little to breathe life into this piece for me. I suspect that it was me and the timing of this piece on my reading journey, as I have never had an issue with Robert Harris in the past. I trust others will point the way for the curious reader.
Kudos, Mr. Harris, for a valiant effort, that was just not for me.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
February 19, 2022
2.5 stars
First disappointment: this novel has zero to do with 1st and 2nd Sleeps. That is a sleeping pattern common in the medieval period to the 18th century, when people would sleep for a while (1st sleep), but then wake up and be active for a few hours in the middle of the night before going back to bed again (2nd sleep).
This happens to be my natural sleeping pattern. I get a ton of stuff done between 1st and 2nd sleep, just like people in times past did and so was interested to see how Harris used that in a fictional setting.
He didn't. (boo!)
Second disappointment: not enough drama to be interesting, not boring enough to DNF.
This story, while not being original by any stretch of the imagination, is also not terribly convinced of itself. It sort of trundles along not picking up tension or any dramatic action until the much too drawn out end, which DOES have dramatic action...but who cares. And the big reveal? Also, fairly a snore.
3rd disappointment: the world
This novel stands or falls with the richness of the future-past world in which the story unfolds. Unfortunately, Harris doesn't take his normal care with the details and we are left with a washy ideal à la Constable (English artist, 19th cent) that is neither unique or interesting.
4th disappointment: absolutely no vision
Harris could have made a dramatic point about our society with this, but as is typical for him, he takes the most conventional path.
Do we honestly believe that if our civilisation were destroyed and people had to rebuild, we'd recreate a perfect copy of 18th century patriarchy in which women desperately need a man to protect them and were confined to staying home, having babies and spinning? And in the world's most atheist country - the United Kingdom - people would suddenly become total Puritan religious wackos and believe anything not mentioned in the Bible to be the work of Satan?
Pull the other one.
So, with all those 4 disappointments combined, "The Second Sleep" only warrants a dead average 2.5. Not recommended for anyone other than Harris completionists.
First disappointment: this novel has zero to do with 1st and 2nd Sleeps. That is a sleeping pattern common in the medieval period to the 18th century, when people would sleep for a while (1st sleep), but then wake up and be active for a few hours in the middle of the night before going back to bed again (2nd sleep).
This happens to be my natural sleeping pattern. I get a ton of stuff done between 1st and 2nd sleep, just like people in times past did and so was interested to see how Harris used that in a fictional setting.
He didn't. (boo!)
Second disappointment: not enough drama to be interesting, not boring enough to DNF.
This story, while not being original by any stretch of the imagination, is also not terribly convinced of itself. It sort of trundles along not picking up tension or any dramatic action until the much too drawn out end, which DOES have dramatic action...but who cares. And the big reveal? Also, fairly a snore.
3rd disappointment: the world
This novel stands or falls with the richness of the future-past world in which the story unfolds. Unfortunately, Harris doesn't take his normal care with the details and we are left with a washy ideal à la Constable (English artist, 19th cent) that is neither unique or interesting.
4th disappointment: absolutely no vision
Harris could have made a dramatic point about our society with this, but as is typical for him, he takes the most conventional path.
Do we honestly believe that if our civilisation were destroyed and people had to rebuild, we'd recreate a perfect copy of 18th century patriarchy in which women desperately need a man to protect them and were confined to staying home, having babies and spinning? And in the world's most atheist country - the United Kingdom - people would suddenly become total Puritan religious wackos and believe anything not mentioned in the Bible to be the work of Satan?
Pull the other one.
So, with all those 4 disappointments combined, "The Second Sleep" only warrants a dead average 2.5. Not recommended for anyone other than Harris completionists.
July 8, 2021
The Second Sleep (2019) - is Robert Harris' historical thriller set in 1468. It's the story of a young priest sent to a small rural village in England to bury his predecessor and his subsequent and unintended search to establish the cause of his untimely death.
The title 'Second Sleep' refers ostensibly to the historically evidenced culture of there having been a first and second period of sleep each night, broken by a short waking time. It is also presumably and metaphorically a reference to a theme running deep through the narrative of the novel.
'Second Sleep' whilst somewhat of a departure from what Harris has written before, in one respect it does hark back to his very first - 'Fatherland', it is a contemplative novel, including themes concerning learning from history, the fall of once great societies and their falsely held perceptions of invulnerability. At times it also feels somewhat similar in tone to Atwoood's 'Handmaid's Tale'.
As with all the best Harris novels (Enigma, Fatherland, Officer and a Spy et al) - Second Sleep is perfectly paced and plotted, as usual it's very much a page turner.
Some surprises, some unexpected turns, all is not quite what it seems...definitely best read having not see any reviews beforehand.
Thoughtful, exciting and intelligently written - Harris at his spellbinding best.
The title 'Second Sleep' refers ostensibly to the historically evidenced culture of there having been a first and second period of sleep each night, broken by a short waking time. It is also presumably and metaphorically a reference to a theme running deep through the narrative of the novel.
'Second Sleep' whilst somewhat of a departure from what Harris has written before, in one respect it does hark back to his very first - 'Fatherland', it is a contemplative novel, including themes concerning learning from history, the fall of once great societies and their falsely held perceptions of invulnerability. At times it also feels somewhat similar in tone to Atwoood's 'Handmaid's Tale'.
As with all the best Harris novels (Enigma, Fatherland, Officer and a Spy et al) - Second Sleep is perfectly paced and plotted, as usual it's very much a page turner.
Some surprises, some unexpected turns, all is not quite what it seems...definitely best read having not see any reviews beforehand.
Thoughtful, exciting and intelligently written - Harris at his spellbinding best.
October 17, 2020
A book set in 1468 in the Middle Ages of the future, an intriguing idea which takes some getting used to. I didn't realise the basic premise until the word Elizabethan was used and even then I thought the date in the front of the book might be wrong, but it's not of course.
This book is easy to read and well written, as you expect from Robert Harris.
This book does make me realise how much we rely on electricity to power our devices and machinery and how much information about our lives would be inaccessible without it.
I can't say much more than this without giving away the plot, but the characters to me are sharply defined and believable.
This book is easy to read and well written, as you expect from Robert Harris.
This book does make me realise how much we rely on electricity to power our devices and machinery and how much information about our lives would be inaccessible without it.
I can't say much more than this without giving away the plot, but the characters to me are sharply defined and believable.
March 20, 2025
Robert Harris is a more versatile author than I thought. I had previously read and much enjoyed his WWII political thriller Munich, but "The Second Sleep" was quite a different setting, although just as thrilling.
This story follows the young priest, Christopher Fairfax, sent by the Bishop of Exeter to conduct the funeral and wrap up the affairs of a small village priest who dies under unusual circumstances. The year is 1468, but this is where it gets interesting. It is 1468 "Year of Our Risen Lord", which is 802 years after the Apocalypse, which was given the year of the "Beast" 666 in the new reckoning.
Fairfax conducts the funeral of the local village priest, Father Lacey, but finds in the deceased's study artifacts of the ancients, including a sleek metallic rectangular device with the common sign of the "half-bitten Apple" amongst bits of glass and plastic straws. The "modern" church does not look kindly upon folks who delve too deeply into exploring the relics and past history of the ancients, but Fairfax soon finds himself getting mixed up in it himself. He also finds some meeting minutes of the "Society of Antiquaries", which lead to clues about Lacey's exploration of artifacts and an ancient site found near his village.
The book is interesting, as it flips the "historical novel" into future science fiction, including some analysis of our "ancient age" of King Charles III. As the quote on the back cover reads, Harris points out how all civilizations think of themelves as invulnerable, yet history warns us that none is. We truly have found that in the age of Covid-19, rapid climate change, and powerful politicians playing with fake news, our civilization is indeed quite fragile. At this point, who knows how much more instability we can take before our global systems of banking, finance, telecommunications, power generation and food distribution simply unravel?
On the other hand, we also see demonstrated how the powerful will fall back onto stern religious dogma and fearful punishments to control what free people can learn about the actual truth.
Harris puts this all together in a "fun", thrilling story that is both entertaining and thought provoking.
This story follows the young priest, Christopher Fairfax, sent by the Bishop of Exeter to conduct the funeral and wrap up the affairs of a small village priest who dies under unusual circumstances. The year is 1468, but this is where it gets interesting. It is 1468 "Year of Our Risen Lord", which is 802 years after the Apocalypse, which was given the year of the "Beast" 666 in the new reckoning.
Fairfax conducts the funeral of the local village priest, Father Lacey, but finds in the deceased's study artifacts of the ancients, including a sleek metallic rectangular device with the common sign of the "half-bitten Apple" amongst bits of glass and plastic straws. The "modern" church does not look kindly upon folks who delve too deeply into exploring the relics and past history of the ancients, but Fairfax soon finds himself getting mixed up in it himself. He also finds some meeting minutes of the "Society of Antiquaries", which lead to clues about Lacey's exploration of artifacts and an ancient site found near his village.
The book is interesting, as it flips the "historical novel" into future science fiction, including some analysis of our "ancient age" of King Charles III. As the quote on the back cover reads, Harris points out how all civilizations think of themelves as invulnerable, yet history warns us that none is. We truly have found that in the age of Covid-19, rapid climate change, and powerful politicians playing with fake news, our civilization is indeed quite fragile. At this point, who knows how much more instability we can take before our global systems of banking, finance, telecommunications, power generation and food distribution simply unravel?
On the other hand, we also see demonstrated how the powerful will fall back onto stern religious dogma and fearful punishments to control what free people can learn about the actual truth.
Harris puts this all together in a "fun", thrilling story that is both entertaining and thought provoking.
June 11, 2024
A good historical novel set in 1468 or 800 odd years in the future. The Church of England and a King rule England after an apocalypse in 2025. The calendar was reset. This dystopian world is like the middle ages with heresy, witchcraft and the church is in charge.
Fairfax a young priest is sent to a village to bury Father Lacey who died which digging for ancient artifacts. He discovers the village is hiding secrets and becomes entwined in a investigation where he questions everything he thought about his life and the Church.
As Fairfax becomes more entangled in his search for answers, he joins forces with Sarah a a local widow and his fiancée, as well as a pair of scholarly men helping one who is jailed.
The story is intriguing about how the world ends and continues as well as Harris highlighting the dangers of technology and how we rely on it.
Fairfax a young priest is sent to a village to bury Father Lacey who died which digging for ancient artifacts. He discovers the village is hiding secrets and becomes entwined in a investigation where he questions everything he thought about his life and the Church.
As Fairfax becomes more entangled in his search for answers, he joins forces with Sarah a a local widow and his fiancée, as well as a pair of scholarly men helping one who is jailed.
The story is intriguing about how the world ends and continues as well as Harris highlighting the dangers of technology and how we rely on it.
April 30, 2025
The start of this book (and the title) led me to believe that this was a historical novel - after all, that is what Robert Harris does best. Then comes the HUGE curveball, which turned everything on its head - BAM!
I cannot believe I am going to day this, but I hated this book. I have loved everything I have read by this author so far, the way he weaves a story around real historical events so cleverly, but what was he thinking with this one??I
I skimmed the last few chapters in despair, and wished I had just given up after that curveball.
So disappointed, two stars is generous.
I cannot believe I am going to day this, but I hated this book. I have loved everything I have read by this author so far, the way he weaves a story around real historical events so cleverly, but what was he thinking with this one??I
I skimmed the last few chapters in despair, and wished I had just given up after that curveball.
So disappointed, two stars is generous.
November 28, 2019
This was a full 4 star read until the last 70 to 75 pages. Who am I to question such an author's turn to complete this tale? But suffice it to record I would have given a more complete or satisfying to actions/reactions ending. Because the characters- at least 5 or 6 of them were fully carved here. And yet the summation of after was not at all.
Some will insist that the book cannot be reviewed without spoilers. I'm pretty sure it can.
One of the biggest themes throughout mankind's existence has been the fall from innocence. Biting that exact knowledge out of the apple, or "tree of knowledge" that puts the mind in another entire conceptional facility than what it held before the "knowledge" was bitten. A piece of information too that actually hurts more than it helps. (Emotionally, physically, spiritually, culturally or with any rode to actions of optimism too.) Not only enjoyment knowledge or cultural habit but the very essence of survival as a physical animal and in what or which way that can proceed to "happen" can change. And with evidence of some human history- not at all always for the betterment either.
That's the core of this book. The premise is a five star. And like most of mankind's beginnings, middles and ends- it over long, long term periods of time mostly concludes in majority group human whimpers.
3.5 stars rounded down for irrational behaviors that I thought were off the scale idealistic nearest the ending- and not what living and breathing humans would conduct. Not any people I have known would. And yet most of the prose itself is super textural and full entertaining and at points more than 4 star. Descriptions of the physical world as Fairfax viewed it were 4.5 stars.
The posit of this book's core is one that moderns aren't going to like as much as I did. Keep that in mind before choosing this book. 2019 readers are not going to enjoy the priest's or the Church's grand inclusions for safety- nor the bottom line truth that they do insist and the world order in general. And command established. Nor how the "human" center of everything has been taken out of the everyday living equation. The opposite of the now "me, me, me" world.
At one time I wrote a story about one of the very real issues of this book. Food distribution collapse. Most urban people do not have a clue to what their food intake demands of energy sources, other peoples' labors, or just the plain distribution or production costs/ methods/ distances involved either. They assume it is their right to eat and the humongous network of production/ shipping processes will always continue. And they have no concept of what it takes to grow food or to how much of it never gets consumed that is grown. In this decade about 1/3rd of all food produced goes unconsumed. And it takes about 2 acres of land per person to feed by agricultural methods of history.
I loved his Cicero trilogy, it's one of the best ever written of that era. This one does some excellent descriptive nature of a 1468 country England. Middle ages style living- an era when people WERE grateful for their short, severe, and mostly sick and disabled bodies lives.
It's mostly too far fetched for this book to be as popular as his others, IMHO. If the machines took over or forms of AI instead- modern readers would get into that groove far more easily than this world of the Second Sleep path.
BTW, most people with Early Awakening Insomnia have a 2 or 3 cycle with awake periods of length sleep. And I know all about it. Unfortunately. With dairy & bird animal care or baby on the scene for most fertile decades of 20 or 30 years length for majority women's lives- it was probably far more common than it is now in a modern age of "think" work or 9 to 5 schedules.
I'm glad I read it. For people with spiritual or psychological knowledge- this would be a good book club fare, as well. But most God faith void or very young "all knowledge is good knowledge" humans are not going to enjoy this book much. Maybe a very few.
It holds some incredible and true insights upon our modern world.
Some will insist that the book cannot be reviewed without spoilers. I'm pretty sure it can.
One of the biggest themes throughout mankind's existence has been the fall from innocence. Biting that exact knowledge out of the apple, or "tree of knowledge" that puts the mind in another entire conceptional facility than what it held before the "knowledge" was bitten. A piece of information too that actually hurts more than it helps. (Emotionally, physically, spiritually, culturally or with any rode to actions of optimism too.) Not only enjoyment knowledge or cultural habit but the very essence of survival as a physical animal and in what or which way that can proceed to "happen" can change. And with evidence of some human history- not at all always for the betterment either.
That's the core of this book. The premise is a five star. And like most of mankind's beginnings, middles and ends- it over long, long term periods of time mostly concludes in majority group human whimpers.
3.5 stars rounded down for irrational behaviors that I thought were off the scale idealistic nearest the ending- and not what living and breathing humans would conduct. Not any people I have known would. And yet most of the prose itself is super textural and full entertaining and at points more than 4 star. Descriptions of the physical world as Fairfax viewed it were 4.5 stars.
The posit of this book's core is one that moderns aren't going to like as much as I did. Keep that in mind before choosing this book. 2019 readers are not going to enjoy the priest's or the Church's grand inclusions for safety- nor the bottom line truth that they do insist and the world order in general. And command established. Nor how the "human" center of everything has been taken out of the everyday living equation. The opposite of the now "me, me, me" world.
At one time I wrote a story about one of the very real issues of this book. Food distribution collapse. Most urban people do not have a clue to what their food intake demands of energy sources, other peoples' labors, or just the plain distribution or production costs/ methods/ distances involved either. They assume it is their right to eat and the humongous network of production/ shipping processes will always continue. And they have no concept of what it takes to grow food or to how much of it never gets consumed that is grown. In this decade about 1/3rd of all food produced goes unconsumed. And it takes about 2 acres of land per person to feed by agricultural methods of history.
I loved his Cicero trilogy, it's one of the best ever written of that era. This one does some excellent descriptive nature of a 1468 country England. Middle ages style living- an era when people WERE grateful for their short, severe, and mostly sick and disabled bodies lives.
It's mostly too far fetched for this book to be as popular as his others, IMHO. If the machines took over or forms of AI instead- modern readers would get into that groove far more easily than this world of the Second Sleep path.
BTW, most people with Early Awakening Insomnia have a 2 or 3 cycle with awake periods of length sleep. And I know all about it. Unfortunately. With dairy & bird animal care or baby on the scene for most fertile decades of 20 or 30 years length for majority women's lives- it was probably far more common than it is now in a modern age of "think" work or 9 to 5 schedules.
I'm glad I read it. For people with spiritual or psychological knowledge- this would be a good book club fare, as well. But most God faith void or very young "all knowledge is good knowledge" humans are not going to enjoy this book much. Maybe a very few.
It holds some incredible and true insights upon our modern world.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,654 reviews