Interview with the [redacted].

Awakened is a gothic post-apocalyptic zombie-lite dystopian horror story set in the not so distant future where humanity has done its humanity thing, and unintended consequences usher in a new reality. Fans of Jane Eyre, welcome to speculative fiction.

I loved Awakening for many reasons, foremost because it’s a thought-provoker. There are so many excellent brief meditations on humanity, on progress, on chronic illness. If I were teaching, it’s the kind of novel I would throw into a required reading list for a course on ethics or the philosophy of science. Make the unfamiliar familiar for the good of analytical thought.

That doesn’t mean it’s overly philosophical or technical; quite the opposite. Elliott’s simple writing style and natural logic of pondering make gigantic questions of the human condition immediately accessible. It helps that the book is written as sort of a journal as opposed to more straight up first-person narrative, so what might be seen as unpolished prose instead makes the central character more believable and ultimately more human.

Through it all, the lyrical and dreamlike vibe keeps Awakening excitingly on the cusp of being grasped; there were several times where I found myself wondering if a scene was actually happening or just imagined. Even still, I never felt lost, and perhaps the irrelevance of which it is makes the experience that much more engaging.

This was a fascinating novel. It’s pitched as horror but it’s almost got a sci-fi/speculative feel to it. I read an eARC of this novel so thank you to the author, the publisher and Net Galley.

This is labelled horror as it does take place in an end of the world event where people who have had chips to help them avoid sleep implanted have turned into zombie like beings that seek to attack unaffected humans. They have superhuman strength, they don’t sleep and their eyes turn blue. This explores a group surviving in the Tower of London. They consist of scientists who worked on the chips originally and are trying to find a cure. This is written with more of a scientific lens and looks at the science that made this possible, the early work the scientists were doing, what caused things to go wrong and the experiments they are doing now to find a cure. I really enjoyed this lens and I found this a fascinating place to look at a zombie-like apocalypse event from. If you’re interested in horror but don’t like things to be too graphic or scary, this is a good book to read as the gore was minimal. Some of the horror comes from a more reflective view where the scientists question the ethics of what they are doing.


A unique and enjoyable read. It’s quite a slow burn but a thought-provoking novel.

Thank you to Net Galley and Angry Robot for a free e-ARC of 'Awakened' by Laura Elliott.

WOW - what a book! I went into Awakened with very few expectations and came out the other side with my mind blown.

Awakened follows a group of scientists who have formed a self-sustaining community in the tower of London, after their invention of a neural chip that prevents people from needing to sleep sets off the apocalypse.

'London was in its final bloom, but the impending collapse was hidden by a last long gulp of plenty. Looking back, there was no sense of dread in the air and no subtle suggestion that a disaster was approaching. In those final years, the prevailing emotion was one of exuberance and energy. We let the monster swallow us and we were happy as we were digested.'

I was hooked from the very start of this book and inhaled it within 3 days. Not only is the premise really interesting, the writing is absolutely beautiful. I also loved the research and presentation of factual history interspersed throughout - and the exploration of how this has affected the main character, Thea, and her mother - such as the story of Henrietta Lacks and the outbreak and later discovery of ME.

'It came to me in later years that there was little dignity in suffering, but even less in suffering that was doubted. My mother suffered, and she suffered more so because there was a question mark hanging like the sword of Damocles over the legitimacy of her plight. The doubt of doctors was a poison to her efforts to survive. Every appointment became a battleground when it should have been a relief. The effort to become well again was blocked by the very people who were meant to help her. When doctors don't believe you, who else can you turn to for help?'

Without providing any spoilers, Awakened is such an interesting exploration of human nature. It is unique and impactful. The writing is really effective in both showing the growth and unreliable narration of Thea, as well as transforming as the plot twists and turns. I will definitely be reading this book again and again - especially to appreciate the build-up of the story in more detail.

A promising dystopian premise where science has removed the need of sleep but in the process, the world is affected by the Sleepless - zombie like creatures. Since then, London scientists have been desperately searching for a cure.

The book is written through a diary entry style, following science experiments. I would like to say its detached, but it only rambled on. This was less horror, psychological and more boring, somewhat descriptive (within scientific parameters) more vague than analytical. Ergo, my brain was boring and I need something stimulation to keep me going. Last, I didn't feel the dialogues and realizations were that profound.

I think this book is perfect for those that enjoy a simply narrative that isn't flashy at all.

Thank you to Angry Robot/ NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC.

This is definitely a case of misrepresentation. Awakened is being compared to 28 Days Later and The Girl With All The Gifts, but is a purely cerebral exploration of humanity. There are no edge of your seat, page turning thrills. I would classify it as literary fiction with a lens of speculative fiction.

Awakened has no action and no driving force. It is a story of a doctor who has helped the world install a chip to eradicate the need for sleep and her interviews with the other survivors and a subject. It explores humanity, ethics, and individuality. I thought those subjects were interesting but I do think this book was trying to be something it isn’t.

A great concept and could have still been a lot of fun but the execution just didn’t live up to the summary.

A neural chip, designed to eliminate sleep for productivity, instead unleashed a global nightmare as sleeplessness has turned humanity into feral monsters. Civilization crumbled, leaving a small group of guilty scientists marooned in the silent Tower of London, desperately seeking a cure. Among them is narrator Thea Chares, haunted by her role in the experiment and her mother's illness, as distant screams echo the world's collapse.

What is unique here is that Awakened is a protest for the chronically ill and disabled community. It covered themes from being shunned by the medical profession, to consent and medical ethics, to flaws and hypocrisy in wider humanity, and more in-between.

There were also a lot of deep philosophical discussions. There were so many quotes that resonated with me. However, at times, the reflections on ethical dilemmas felt repetitive and they made the pacing feel slow. I enjoyed though the witty, interesting conversations between Thea and another survivor. One particularly grim yet fascinating aspect was delving into the medical history facts, exploring the dark side of science and the crucial issue of consent. This was definitely a thought-provoking, yet dark, read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Angry Robot for providing a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In spite of all my best intentions to finish the book before publication date, I am struggling through it and I have only reached the 30% mark. I think the concept is extremely interesting, but the narration doesn't really flow in a way that makes you want to keep reading.

Although I still have every intention to finish the book, I think editing it in a different manner would have helped in keeping the reader's attention for longer. The time-jumps and fragmented excerpts of interview transcripts and fictional science don't bother me, although I know that some readers strongly dislike stories that aren't told linearly.

For me personally, it's just how many characters are introduced right at the beginning, it's just very hard to keep track of who's who, particularly when some characters are identified in different ways (e.g. sometimes by name, sometimes by title), with each character you also have to learn and remember how they relate to the narrator Thea, so it is a significant amount of information that I just do not have the brainpower to retain so early in the narrative. The inner monologue to action/dialogue ratio is also a little out of proportion and while I know that this is supposed to underscore the feelings of isolation in our protagonist, it didn't really do much to endear her to me. I really wish that this book had been narrated differently because I probably would have devoured it instead of trudging through it wondering when the action is going to pick up.

I could not put this down. Science has "cured" sleep but with devasting consequences, with people who took the cure turning into the sleepless, who are all violent and deranged. In many ways they are akin to zombies but with more nuance. The team responsible, now holed up in the fortified tower of London are desperately trying to understand what happened and how to fix it. Then one day a stranger appears at the gate carrying a young woman, they let the survivors in only to realise that the stranger is in fact one of the sleepless...but he shows none of the tendencies of the other...they believe he may even hold the answer to the cure.

Ooof this book covers a lot and it does it really well. Take for example how it shows what it means to be a woman in modern science, (I say this as a woman in science), how insidious the sexism in the space can be, the behaviours we use to mitigate against it. It also highlighted the fact that modern science is not always the work of high minded individuals looking to save the world but selfish individuals who are looking for a means to an end. This is something that I think people are becoming more and more aware of, that greed is present just as often as good intentions. Something that was illustrated perfectly by just how much the team dehumanised the sleepless to justify themselves seeking a cure. If this sounds close to what happened during WWII that's because it is. It showed perfectly what happens when you remove morality from a situation for the greater "good".

The setting of the tower of London was absolute genius, adding to the claustrophobia of the book perfectly. Indeed the setting in and of itself became a character in the story, one that had a significant impact on all of the social dynamics that game into play. The intensity of the text is wonderfully layered through all the threads Elliot weaves, even from the beginning, allowing us to become more and more invested as the tapestry take's shape before our eyes.

It's a fantastic read, grimly insightful into the human condition and the things we would do for those that we love.

I was attracted to this book by the description and the cover, but I think the description doesn’t manage to convey how profound this book is and how atmospheric and intense.

As soon as I started reading this story I knew I’d love it based only on the writing. It transported me to Romanticism, that period in literature where there’s so much introspection and self analysis and people started seeing humanity not just in itself but compared to nature as well.
This is what I found and loved in this book, the introspection and the philosophical exploration of humanity in the face of loss of humanity due to hubris and greed.

More than the plot, this book is centered around dialogues and inner dialogues as the main character is also the narrator, talking us through the downfall of humanity due to a medical discovery that eliminated the need to sleep to increase productivity. But as always, it’s when something is taken from us that we understand its purpose and importance.

I must say that I was confused by the plot at times, although I see it as the author’s intention to empathise with Thea and her internal contradictions between her aseptic scientific drive and her more human side, wanting to redeem herself and reverse the monstrosity she helped create.
In this sense it is also reminiscent of Frankenstein, albeit very different.

What compelled me to read this story was also the little twists dotted around, until the last big one that changed my perspective and helped me understand more! The way that twist was delivered was so clever, that I knew it was there but I fully realised its consequences later.

Although I don’t believe the ending was on par with the rest of the book, this is a beautifully written, atmospheric story, with intimate dialogues and gothic vibes that will entrance you. All of this with a disturbing plot that has such a profound warning message for humanity.

Thanks to the author and Angry Robot Books for a copy and this is my honest opinion.

This book stopped me in my tracks within a few pages and I needed a few days to process what I had read before I continued reading. The description of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was so precise and raw that I felt as though for the first time in 25 years someone understood how I felt. Outstanding although somehow a shock to my system. The story itself is outstanding but even within the first few pages I could tell that it would be being written by someone with a deep understanding of the human condition. Thank you.

Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me. The premise had a lot of promise, but the execution felt slow and meandering.

Set in a post-apocalyptic London overrun by the "sleepless", humans turned feral and monstrous after a neural chip designed to eliminate the need for sleep went horribly wrong. We follow a group of scientists based in the Tower of London, working desperately to find a cure and save humanity. From this setup, you might expect a horror story packed with action and suspense. Instead, what unfolds feels more like litfic, which may disappoint readers drawn in by the premise.

The story is told through journal entries, a stylistic choice that I felt hindered the pacing. Many of the entries are reflective and philosophical, which slows the momentum considerably. It seems intentional, perhaps an effort to subvert typical genre tropes by offering introspection instead of high-stakes tension, however, for me, it made the story feel stagnant.

Just as the plot seems to pick up, the next journal entry often pulls the focus back to introspection, stalling the narrative again. I came close to DNFing the book around the 20% mark but decided to push through, and the middle section does become a bit more engaging.

One of the more compelling aspects is the dynamic between the protagonist and a new survivor, Vladimir. Their back-and-forth interviews become a subtle battle of wits and personality, which I found genuinely interesting. The book also tackles important themes, such as society’s neglect of post-viral illnesses, this is sometimes handled effectively but other times veers into vague or unfocused territory.

It’s clear the author was aiming for a modern take on Frankenstein, with the scientists who created the sleepless cast as the true monsters. However, I don’t think the novel fully delivers on that ambition.

I liked the premise of the novel as I enjoy a good dystopian story. However, my expectations of a fast paced narrative were not met. Whilst I like literary fiction and this was a well written novel, it was not for me.

Awakened is a thrilling ride that’s tense and interesting.
The apocalypse is here and it’s come with terrifying feral humans.
I loved the way the story is broken up between introspection, interviews and scientific reports.
The setting is isolated and intense. This creates that tense feeling and emotional immersion.
The characters are realistic and engaging - I especially loved how they interacted and would have read a whole book based just in the relationship between Vladimir and Thea.
This is vampires but make it science.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

I liked the premise and was expecting a dystopian horror, but this read more like Literary Fiction. It was good, yet I don't like LitFic and had to force myself to finish the ARC.

This is a fascinating book with so many layers. It's not a speedy read, so prepare for that. It is a carefully crafted story, beautifully written, that has you struggling to understand what's really going on in parallel with both the main character's struggle to understand herself and her colleagues' struggle to find a cure for the mass devastation that they accidentally caused.

I spent an inordinate amount of time fighting to understand what was going on, and I think that actually impeded my reading enjoyment. I kept feeling like I must have missed some part where they explained x, y, or z, so I would flip back, not find any answers, and eventually move forward again. It made for slow going. I recommend that you start reading and do your best to be unbothered by not fully understanding what's going on yet. Things will start falling into place, and I think you'll like it better. I will probably have to go back and give it another go now that I understand a little more of what's happening.

The last portion of the book reminded me somewhat of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. I loved that book, mostly because I just let go and read it and let it pull me through. I wish I'd done that from the start here.

Overall, a very thought-provoking book and a very interesting, dark read. Thank you to Angry Robot for the ARC!

I really wanted to like this book. The premise was really interesting and the cover was very cool but it just didn't work for me. It is in the journal entry style which can be really hard to do well. Much life if you were writing in your own journal this book just gives tiny bits of information and little to now background information- or at least background information that would be useful.
If this concept was written in a different format I think it could be done very well.

When the zombie apocalypse comes, we will have caused it, and we’ll be holed up in the Tower of London. Not that they’re zombies - more like feral monsters. And it’s a collapse of civilisation rather than an apocalypse. But we did cause it, and we are holed up in the Tower of London.

The story is set in a near-future world where there has been mass adoption of an implanted neural chip that was designed to minimise the need for sleep, but also bestows a variety of other physical advantages. The spontaneous and simultaneous malfunction of all of these chips, turning their hosts into the aforementioned feral monsters, has resulted in the collapse of civilisation.

A rag-tag and diverse group of scientists (whose fault it is) and other survivors are bastioned inside the Tower of London contemplating their situation. The story is presented in short, dated chapters - like diary entries - from the perspective of one of the scientists, Thea. The writing style verges on the literary, and with the diary-like presentation it has somewhat of the feel of gothic horror.

This is not a fast-paced plot driven story. What plot there is involves the remaining scientists trying to find a remedy for the situation, while the arrival of two strangers - a man and a woman, apparently also survivors - creates additional tension. The storytelling is contemplative and introspective, and the diary-like narrative gives it a sense of detachment, while also being a vehicle for Thea’s rumination on her situation, her past, and her priorities.

The enigmatic male stranger acts as a foil for Thea, forcing her to question her motivations, and highlights her conflicting emotions and senses of loyalty, guilt and duty. It is in this that the story has its power - exploring questions about the advancement of science for the greater good versus the potential abuse or unintended consequences of the results, both at a personal and societal level.

The concept is engaging and the storytelling is compelling, but I did have a couple of important niggles: there is a lot of vagueness around how and why the neural chips have had such a devastating effect on their hosts; and I found the male stranger somewhat too mysterious and all-knowing. And while neither of these niggles really got in the way of the narrative, they are nonetheless niggles with two of the more important aspects of the story and I found both of them quite distracting.

A solid 3.5 stars, rounded up rather than down because this is a debut work, and the niggles are as much my foibles as anything.

Thank you #NetGalley and Angry Robot for the free review copy of #Awakened without obligation. All opinions are my own.

I expected a horror novel with hints of scifi or dystopia but it was, in fact, litfic. So my disappointement was major as litfic and I don't get along. The comp of The Girl With All the Gifts is completely wrong as there is barely any action in it.

In classic litfic way, it is mostly people talking, people thinking, people saying profound things and talking philosophy and a lot of "what have we done, what does this mean" etc.

If you enjoy books where not much happens except people talking and having weird dreams, with a dash of gross description of surgeries (I guess this is the horror element of the story) you will love it. Otherwise you can truly skip it.

Also, maybe because I was bored out of my mind and was skipping some stuff but I am utterly confused by the ending so please feel free to drop in my dms to explain it to me.

The concept was super strong and I would have loved a more classic horror novel approach to it (even action scifi !!!). Alas, it is litfic.

Giving it two stars because people who love litfic are going to eat (hah) this up and nothing personnally offended me in it.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book

Find my reviews on Goodreads, The StoryGraph, and Fable

Awakened by Laura Elliott

An impressive debut novel from Laura Elliott finds us thrust into the near future where a technological leap to extend our productive hours was met with tragic unforeseen consequences.

We follow Dr Thea Chares as she and her colleagues, based at the Tower of London, seek a cure to this new condition which has created “The Sleepless”.

Wonderfully paced and at times tragically heartbreaking - this is the sort of dystopian horror I can really get behind.

The characters are well fleshed out, the emotions feel real, and the themes often a little too close to the bone. My only gripe with this book is that the ending felt a little rushed and too abruptly concluded.

Laura Elliott is a serious talent.

An interesting science fiction novel with several original twists. I really liked the London setting and the way it was described and while the first part of the book felt somewhat slow it gained momentum as the story progressed.