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Book Cover for: The Sleepless, Victor Manibo

The Sleepless

Victor Manibo

In a hyper-capitalist near future, a grieving journalist investigates his mentor's death--while grappling with unintended consequences of biohacking that just might implicate him in it.

A mysterious pandemic causes a quarter of the world to permanently lose the ability to sleep--without any apparent health implications. The outbreak creates a new class of people who are both feared and ostracized, most of whom optimize their extra hours to earn more money.

Journalist Jamie Vega is Sleepless: he can't sleep, nor does he need to. When his boss dies on the eve of a controversial corporate takeover, Jamie doesn't buy the too-convenient explanation of suicide, and launches an investigation of his own.

But everything goes awry when Jamie discovers that he was the last person who saw Simon alive. Not only do the police suspect him, Jamie himself has no memory of that night. Alarmingly, his memory loss may have to do with how he became Sleepless: not naturally, like other Sleepless people, but through a risky and illegal biohacking process.

As Jamie delves deeper into Simon's final days, he tangles with extremist organizations and powerful corporate interests, all while confronting past traumas and unforeseen consequences of his medical experimentation. But Jamie soon faces the most dangerous decision of all as he uncovers a terrifying truth about Sleeplessness that imperils him--and all of humanity.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Erewhon Books
  • Publish Date: Aug 2nd, 2022
  • Pages: 400
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.50in - 5.90in - 1.50in - 1.10lb
  • EAN: 9781645660460
  • Categories: Science Fiction - CyberpunkScience Fiction - Genetic EngineeringScience Fiction - Hard Science Fiction

About the Author

Victor Manibo is a Filipino speculative fiction writer living in New York. A 2022 Lambda Literary Emerging Voices Fellow, he is the author of the science fiction noir novel The Sleepless. His next novel, Escape Velocity, is forthcoming from Erewhon Books in Spring 2024. Find him online at victormanibo.com or on Twitter @victormanibo.

Praise for this book

"A tale of insidious, corporate-capitalist implications . . . and the human consequences of a life without dreams." --Booklist

"Fittingly titled, as the compulsive plot will keep you turning pages, way past your bedtime. The Sleepless does what only the best science fiction can do: create a world so boldly changed--but so hauntingly true--that it teaches us much about our own." --Sam J. Miller, Nebula Award-winning author of Blackfish City

"Move over, Minority Report. Victor Manibo's The Sleepless has everything I want in a near-future whodunit: an irresistible 'what if' premise, a twisty and desperate murder investigation, and a razor-sharp examination of the chillingly recognizable dark side of a seemingly bright future. The Sleepless delivers on its promise; I could not close my eyes." --Fonda Lee, author of the Green Bone Saga
"A fascinating murder mystery set in a world plagued by an epidemic of insomnia, The Sleepless is the corporate thriller our dystopias deserve. Manibo asks not merely how such a pandemic would change our society, but how the corrupt systems would exploit and perpetuate it." --John Wiswell, Nebula-winning author of "Open House on Haunted Hill"

"Manibo has crafted a sharp, immersive dose of speculative fiction, a potent blend of science fiction and noir. The Sleepless will prove its name: you won't be able to put it down, even as bedtime beckons." --Alex Segura, bestselling author of Secret Identity
"A meditative near-future thriller that explores grief, meaning, and time in a world that's terrifyingly plausible." --Lincoln Michel, author of The Body Scout

"The Sleepless is an expertly crafted tale of exploitation and deceit set within the eldritch horror of a neverending capitalist grind." --K. M. Szpara, author of First, Become Ashes

"Bracing pageturner. . . . blending SF and mystery/thriller tropes with social justice concerns to discuss discrimination, ambition, betrayal, family, memory as defining who we are, and capitalism's devastating will to power." --Library Journal's "Top Fall Debut Novels"

"Bracing pageturner. . . . blending SF and mystery/thriller tropes with social justice concerns to discuss discrimination, ambition, betrayal, family, memory as defining who we are, and capitalism's devastating will to power." --Library Journal's "Top Fall Debut Novels"