Awakened by Laura Elliott

Book Review

Sarah Deeming

Post-apocalyptic UK. Microchips in people’s brains, designed to help them function better with less sleep, have malfunctioned, robbing people of the ability to sleep. The Sleepless are little more than feral monsters, attacking anyone without the chip, and a small group of survivors live in the Tower of London, watching the city deteriorate around them. There is no hope. No hope until a pair of survivors walk out of the Sleepless city and straight up to the Tower’s gates. Maybe one of these holds the key to understanding the Sleepless and finding a way to fix the microchip?

Awakened is a Gothic novelfocusing on Thea, a scientist who, in devoting her career to finding a way to cure her mother’s post-viral fatigue syndrome (PVFS), has created a microchip that reduces the amount of sleep a person needs to function. But the chip was misused or malfunctioned, and now everyone with a chip is Sleepless, a zombie attacking anyone without a chip. Trapped in the Tower of London, Thea and her fellow scientists watch the fruits of their labour destroying the world and live with the guilt of their actions. At first, the monsters all appear outside the Tower, an idea further enforced when two survivors of the ruined city join Thea, and one seems to be Sleepless, but fully in control. He has no memory of his life before he became aware, as if waking up, but he is a reasoning individual, mostly human in appearance, but with enough differences that he is obviously Other.

The Sleepless man, later referred to as Vladimir, is described as a vampire, further playing on the gothic themes. He is intelligent and engaging, forcing Thea to face the reality of her actions, and stripping away the illusions she is hiding behind to see her fellow survivors in a different light, as well as consider whether there is anything wrong with the Sleepless or are they a new phase of humanity’s evolution, albeit one not previously considered. Through Vladimir, Thea begins to realise that maybe the monster in the Tower is not who she initially thought it was.

Under this story of a young, well-meaning woman caught between a father-figure mad doctor and an engaging ‘monster’ is a story about people suffering with PVFS, chronic fatigue, ME, Long Covid, and the struggle they face in being believed, particularly by medical professionals. Awakened doesn’t shy away from the disbelief and negativity they face. I liked this realistic element. Although this is a story, the news is full of real life stories of people who have gone on the same journey as Thea and her mother. Just for this alone, I recommend you read this book. You might never suffer with this yourself, but Awakened is a sympathetic exploration of the silent struggle of sufferers.

Awakened is written in the literary style, and sometimes, the existential crisis Thea is going through gets in the way of the story. Not only is she grappling with the guilt of what she’s done and her feelings for Vladimir, but she also has survivor’s guilt and insomnia. There is a lot of introspection, which sometimes borders on repetition, and that slowed the pacing. It also confused the ending. I am a fan of not having the complete picture at the end of the story. I am completely comfortable with there being no happily ever afters. However, I do like a basic idea, and with Awakened, without giving away any details, I had to reread the ending a few times to see if I’d missed anything.

I know saying the ending fell flat might discourage you from reading this, but don’t let it. This is a strong story full of guilt, unresolved childhood trauma, an enigmatic monster/stranger, and mad scientists. I will certainly be reading other things by Laura Elliott. Recommended.