Tim Pratt: "Prison of Sleep" (ARC Review)

Title: Prison of Sleep [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: Journals of Zaxony Delatree (2nd of 2 books)
Author: Tim Pratt [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Multiverse, Sci-Fi
Year: 2022
Age: 14+ (I shelved it as Adult because of the characters' age range, but it's suitable for teens)
Stars: 4/5
Pros: Inventive (and adventurous) take on the multiverse genre. Interesting, resourceful side characters.
Cons: Partly due to the very nature of the book, there's more telling (or recounting) than showing.
Will appeal to: Doctor Who aficionados willing to trade space and time for multiple (often highly imaginative, if only touched upon at times) universes.

Blurb: Every time Zaxony Delatree falls asleep he wakes up on a new world. At least he and Minna, the one companion who has found a way of travelling with him, are no longer pursued by the psychotic and vengeful Lector. But now Zax has been joined once again by Ana, a companion he thought left behind long ago. Ana tells Zax that he is unknowingly host to a parasitic alien that exists partly in his blood and partly between dimensions. The chemical that the alien secretes is what allows Zax to travel. Every time he does, however, the parasite grows, damaging the fabric of the Universes. But there are others who are using the parasite, such as the cult who serve the Prisoner – an entity trapped in the dimension between universes. Every world is like a bar in its prison. The cult want to collapse all the bars of the worlds and free their god. Can Zax, Minna, Ana and the other Sleepers band together and stop them? (Amazon excerpt)

Review: First off...DISCLAIMER: I requested this title on NetGalley. Thanks to Angry Robot for providing an ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

SEEING DOUBLE

The second and last book in the Journals of Zaxony Delatree is richer in adventures and characters than its predecessor, and provides a satisfactory (if wild) explanation for Zax's ability to travel the multiverse every time he falls asleep/unconscious. Told in diary form from two alternating points of view - Zax's and his long-lost girlfriend Ana's, with whom he got reunited at the end of Book 1, only to lose her again - it's an ambitious tour de force weaving together events past and recent (since for a good part of the book Ana recounts her adventures who took place in the same timeline as the first installment's, while Zax records what happened next) that not always succeeds in keeping the confusion at bay, but most certainly entertains. [...]

UP A NOTCH

There are a number of things Prison of Sleep does well: Zax is a much stronger character than he was in Book 1 (he's also enhanced in a few ways, but I got the sense that his newfound self-confidence isn't a product of his borrowed abilities); Ana is a strong deuteragonist; the Prisoner and his cult are intriguing (far more than the blurb conveys), and the very concept of a deity imprisoned in the void between worlds blew my mind; the worlds themselves (at least the ones that get developed) are a riot; and while I missed Minna (who is only present later in the story), warrior Zaveeta ended up being a new favourite, plus a welcome (and sometimes funny) contrast with pacifist Zax. I loved how they clicked despite their differences, managed to learn to respect each other and became a team. There are a few surprises on the way (though I wouldn't call them "twists", and some of them I was able to anticipate, to an extent), and the ending is perfectly satisfying. 

THE TELLING IN THE TALE

On the other hand, there are a few aspects where Prison of Sleep is less strong. As I mentioned before, the double point of view, with different timelines - one of which parallel to the events in Book 1 - that only catch up with each other in the last chapters, is at times confusing. Also, Zax and Ana's voices occasionally tend to blur. But the thing that bugged me more (just like it did in the first installment) is the huge amount of exposition, that of course can hardly be avoided in a story written in form of journal entries...or maybe it could have. I will admit that I was starting to feel a bit impatient while reading the first chapters, and it wasn't until the sheer brilliance of the world(s)-building won me over that I was able to overlook the large patches of telling-vs.-showing. Still, Prison of Sleep entertained (and sometimes amused) me more than the Doors of Sleep did, so I ultimately decided to round my rating up to 4 stars. If world-hopping is your jam, it doesn't get much better than this 🙂.

For my "Doors of Sleep" review (first installment in the series) click here.

For more Adult books click here.

For more Multiverse books click here.

For more Sci-Fi books click here.