Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
I love this guy
Huston makes me wish I were writing again. He’s that good. In his words I can sense the joy of creation, the satisfaction of craft well executed. I wish I were at it again.
Sleepless tells the story of undercover cop Parker Haas. It’s 2010, and the world is afflicted with a communicable prion disease (you know — like scrapie, CJD, mad cow . . .) that makes its victims sleepless, while slowly turning their brains into Swiss cheese. It’s invariably fatal, but takes its sweet time in killing; patients become confused and agitated, lose track of the past versus the present, and eventually descend into a terminal mode known as “the suffering.” The only thing that gives relief is DR33M3R, a drug that is in short supply. Haas has been tasked with uncovering the black market in DR33M3R.
The sleepless plague has warped the world, which is now descending into anarchic hell as a result. The Los Angeles of Sleepless is a minutely detailed war zone populated with gangs and militias, Blackwater-style hired guns, neo-Christian suicide bombers, the desperate and the rich and the desperate rich. Not too far from the real thing, in other words.
Haas’s wife is sleepless, and his infant daughter might be as well. And Haas — has he gone without sleep because he takes amphetamines to keep moving, or is he, like many sleepless victims, taking amphetamines to stave off the illness’s hallmark confusion?
Multiple murders at an MMORPG gold farm guide Haas towards the top of the DR33M3R food chain, but he’s not alone in his pursuit. He’s on a collision course with Jasper (no last name), one of the most cleverly drawn hit man characters I’ve read or seen in many years. Think of Arthur Bishop (Charles Bronson’s hit man from The Mechanic) with even more sophistication and cynicism. Like Haas, Jasper is terribly likable, even if you might not want him anywhere near your family. A great deal of the novel’s appeal comes from the suspense of not knowing what will happen when the two finally meet.
There’s very little not to like here: the depth of Huston’s world-building and character development are impressive, the plotting is tight, the action sequences are well choreographed and compelling. Huston’s good guy isn’t squeaky-clean good, and his bad guys are anything but cartoonishly evil. In fact, they’re likable folks, and their self justifications seem oh-so reasonable. Huston delights in gray areas.
I’ll have to admit that I can quibble with Huston’s understanding of protein chemistry, but hard SF geeks drive me nuts, so I had better not become one of them.
Ultimately, my measure of a good book is whether I cared about the characters and whether I enjoyed the experience. Moreso the latter, of course (I mean, think of a Piers Anthony Xanth book: it’s hard to feel anything for his characters, but that’s not the point. He still provides a fun ride). Sleepless scores on both points.
So how many times do I have to keep hawking Huston to get you guys to try his stuff? This guy is good, people. He needs to be read.
And so I’m about to start another one of his books.
D.
