Paul is an etymologist – his life revolves around the exploration of words and their origins, and writing books about their history and transformation. As the title refers to the land of Nod, the novel takes a look at the after effects of a global event which makes people unable to sleep. We see what happens first hand through Paul's eyes as he is one of the rare Sleepers here, who can see what is going on as readers can understand through him as an author himself how society can go from being bustling, non-stop excitement, life, death and fun to being cut short, put to a halt as most of humanity acts zombie-like living with the hope that they can sleep, and crushed by the thought that they, like many others, can't. Imagine if you can't sleep, you try as you might, but nothing works, and soon it turns you insane with the worry that you can’t and then the inevitable happens, you die. This is the premise for this book, and it seems startlingly real as you get into it. I can understand while some readers are put off by Nod. The story ends without providing full closure and there are a couple of plot holes that aren't filled. I didn't find these complains overbearing and still enjoyed the book for the most part.

This is certainly a book of unanswered questions, and most frustratingly of all, the protagonist, Paul, doesn't seem interested in what any of the answers are. He rarely questions anything; why is his book coming to life? Why is this happening? What does his dream mean? How is he connected to the Sleepers when most others aren't? Paul is one of the few sleepers left, only about one in a thousand people can now catch forty winks, the rest of the world is awake. This includes Paul's partner Tanya and as she loses more and more sleep she becomes agitated and confused. If things are looking bad indoors, the outside is even worse as the once peaceful citizens of Vancouver are getting to the end of their tether and they will do anything just to get some sleep; even if that means catching and killing one of the strange sleep-able children that roam the woods. If anyone has ever tried to get a good night’s sleep and not managed it for several days, or even a week, or been an insomniac, they will view this novel as a form of torture and maybe understand it more than the average reader. As the situation gets more and more problematic, the authorities try to take a stand against the insomnia outbreak, and it, as usual doesn't work and all the while Paul watches his one true love get the insomnia illness and steadily go to her demise. One thing this book is is a chronicle of a love story that could have been epic for him if his lover had been bothered enough. As Paul is one of the Sleepers, he takes great pains to keep it hidden from others, but gets noticed by a bunch of people who think of his as almost like a god who, as every author would like, hang on his every word, even want to understand one of his manuscripts as the work of a prophet. Honestly, that's a solid setup. It was enough to convince me this novel was worth the price of admission. Thought provoking and utterly engrossing, NOD is a science fiction tale of horror unlike any I have read before." - Count Gore

Success!

The cast-- save for the homeless guy nobody likes and a bunch of similarly flat characters who get, at most, one or two scenes apiece-- is rounded out by the protagonist's girlfriend. She, too, is terribly written. By the time she died (the protagonist slit her throat with a box cutter to Save Her From What The World Had Become and What Was Happening to Her), I'd stopped giving a damn. Meaning the ensuing half-a-chapter about how she and the protagonist had first met and what they were like together and blah blah blah was utterly pointless. Maybe if some attempt had been made to flesh her out before her pointless death-- aside from the offhand mention that her uncle had abused her as a child, which is brought up exactly once and promptly forgotten-- then maybe I would have cared for her as a character. As it was, I honestly didn't have any reason to. She was less godawful than the protagonist, but... honestly, that didn't much matter. Outside of this, our so-called hero is a misanthropic author of books on etymology nobody reads-- save for one homeless character who nobody in the story actually likes. I'm having a hard time describing him without swearing profusely. Honestly, he's abhorrent. He describes one character wearing a suit as an 'autistic attempt to copy mad men', which is a dozen different kinds of messed up and honestly has no place in the 21st century, and believes another character later on can't possibly be a doctor because he's fat, and therefore CLEARLY spent all his time before the end of the world in his mother's basement playing video games.

Satan a la Mode: A Devilish Piece of Good News (Rossland, British Columbia: The Poor Tree Press, 2006) [illus/pb/Charlene Barnes] Nod is a piece of speculative fiction about what would happen if nearly everyone in the world stopped sleeping. Focusing on Paul, a writer who wakes up to discover that he is one of the few who has slept. Those still having the ability to sleep, find themselves dreaming the same dream about a golden light.Edit: RIP Adrian Barnes. I learned today that the author died early this year, succumbing to the brain cancer he was diagnosed with around the time the book was released. I could see what the new world of Nod looked like, could easily picture the slow collapse of Vancouver and its people thanks to Barnes' close attention to detail. At times I could even smell the death and decay it so vividly described." - Project Fandom Yet the most endearing element comes from the death of a long term relationship between Paul (one of the few Sleepers - people who are able to maintain nightly sleep) and his is partner Tanya (one of the many Awakened, those in a perpetual state of insomnia). Their close bond pre the end of the world balances on the edge of ending before falling over the void into nothingness. Add cult-like theorists and an easy manipulation of will, and Tanya and Paul's life together was going to always take a turn for the worse. Not forgetting the fact that the Awakened have a vastly shortened life span as it is. Despite the tail of the book being a little flatter than the start, it is still an outstanding read, if just for the first half alone. Barnes is able to write a horrifying novel without the reader even knowing that they are reading horror. It is not the beasties that go bump in the night that scare you, but the demons that live inside your head; with Nod Barnes has just reached into your skull and given their bellies a rub. I loved the premise and enjoyed both the story and Barnes s rich prose." -Craig DiLouie Thought provoking and utterly engrossing, NOD is a science fiction tale of horror unlike any I have read before. -Count Gore The creepiest book of the year -Slate I could see what the new world of Nod looked like, could easily picture the slow collapse of Vancouver and its people thanks to Barnes close attention to detail. At times I could even smell the death and decay it so vividly described. -Project Fandom "Debut author Barnes has written a completely original twist on the subject of insomnia. His apocalyptic thriller will appeal to fans of ChristopherGalt s"Biblical"and other dystopian and sf thrillers as well as readers with an interest in mythology" - Library Journal I have never read anything quite like this book. It s the perfect blend of heady existentialism and dystopian nightmare. The grand scope of the many ideas and themes, including anti-establishment, anti-consumerism, and the very nature of good and evil, is balanced out by fast-paced events that play on a micro-level...Nod is horror born of the unflinching and uncompromising detail that dissects what it means to be human. -Dread Central "Nod brings a refreshing perspective to the horror/zombie genre." -Pop Kernal "Graphically violent, but gleaming with gems of sardonic prose and clever phrases, this is a book I would read again just for the writing." -St. Louis Post-Dispatch"

Well I've continued the year with another really engrossing and enjoyable read. NOD is about what happens to the world, when for some unknown reason the vast majority of the worlds population can now, suddenly, no longer sleep. What ensues is the world free falling into madness, mayhem and horror. Here's a complete list of 'geek' things the protagonist does. He makes an offhand reference to Star Wars (which literally couldn't be more wrong and is surprisingly insulting to Leia, the only prominent woman in the original trilogy). He makes a reference to the fantastic four that, thanks to the endless cycle of reboots, is very much common knowledge. But the thing that gets his girlfriend to call him a geek? he knows who medusa is. and that she had snakes for hair. that's about it. Other than an oddly out-of-place reference to Harry Potter that honestly feels beyond contrived and a few dropped names later on, that's it. That's your lot. I have never read anything quite like this book. It’s the perfect blend of heady existentialism and dystopian nightmare. The grand scope of the many ideas and themes, including anti-establishment, anti-consumerism, and the very nature of good and evil, is balanced out by fast-paced events that play on a micro-level…Nod is horror born of the unflinching and uncompromising detail that dissects what it means to be human.” -Dread Central Violent, frightening, textured, and dystopian are words that aptly describe the short-lived world that Barnes has created. Barnes' writing is beautiful" - Quest For Sleep

This book tries to be a lot of things. It succeeds only in being pretentious and forgettable, and in reminding the reader that they could be reading something actually good right now instead of this. I honestly couldn't recommend it any less. It's up there with Blood Song on my personal 'dear god WHY' list.

Another layer of civilisation peels away, as Paul crushes the skull of an Awakened chasing a child Sleeper. Every now and again a novel comes along that is so Completely original and captivating that it makes you gasp....well Nod is one of these! Nod is a book for dreamers who have become scared to dream, making it a delightful bit of horror." Starburst Debut author Barnes has written a completely original twist on the subject of insomnia. His apocalyptic thriller will appeal to fans of Christopher Galt's Biblical and other dystopian and sf thrillers as well as readers with an interest in mythology" - Library JournalThat’s the premise of Adrian Barnes’ debut novel Nod: A world in which suddenly nobody sleeps anymore. Or almost nobody: One out of about every 10,000 people still sleep. The protagonist was so deeply and utterly unlikeable that I honestly hoped he'd die a horrible death at some point. His girlfriend considers him to be a 'geek', going by a few scenes-- this is one of the author's many, many shortcomings. There is so much going on in this book that is NEVER explained. Why couldn't some people sleep and some could sleep? What caused this to happen? Why were the people who could sleep having these strange almost religious visions? What were they for? Why did the children who lived in the park all lose the ability--or desire?--to speak? If the MC is such a recluse (and an asshole), how did he get a girlfriend in the first place?