I think that this book does a really good job of being a novel: the prose is really enjoyable; the characterisations are fully fleshed out, internally consistent, distinct, and interesting; tense sequences actually made me feel tense; pacing was consistently interesting throughout. I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book. There is a lot of passion and empathy within the characters involved. Ben especially, despite his ageing frailties, shows the reader how as human beings, we can still find strength when needed. On the speculative side of the plot, it felt very much like The Handmaids Tale. It is very easy to see this world event scenario happening. It makes you question the ethical dilemmas, of who should live and die, like the final solution, although this isn’t discussed in any depth. Other ethical questions about how we should live, who has the power to make these decisions, should they make these ethical decisions. It was all very immersive and felt very realistic, insightful and powerful. Towards the end, there were some really good plot revelations and I felt the ending was handled perfectly. I would like to see Kings of a Dead World made into a 'cli-fi' film, marketed as both cautionary tale and satire.' Juliet Blaxland, shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize

In the sleeping city, elderly Ben struggles with his limited waking time and the disease that is stealing his wife from him. Outside, lonely Janitor Peruzzi craves the family he never knew. Around them both, dissatisfaction is growing. The city is about to wake. The Tyler/Narrator dynamic plays out in the relationship between fellow Janitors Peruzzi and Slattery: colleagues, quasi-friends, and partners in crime. While their decadent lifestyles spoil them with at-home gyms and Brave New World-inspired raves every three months, Slattery tempts Peruzzi into seeking out greater highs than pills and sex. Their explorations into the Sleeping world at first tap into a Fight Club-esque awakening of the blood, only to tip into Project Mayhem levels of voyeurism and violation in pursuit of confirmation that what they do actually matters. I think this may be a controversial book for some, then so were most of Ballards, he didn't do too bad as an author, did he? We’re in a world where all the resources on earth are running out and the powers that be have decided that the solution is something called “the sleep”, everyone sleeps for three months straight and then wakes for a month so essentially you’re only awake for 3 months in the entire year. Climate change is rendering the world uninhabitable and there are too many people for the space that’s left. The world needs to do something and world leaders are taking matters into their own hands. Their solution? Sleep. With a capital S. In the waking time between, Ben steals moments with Rose, who is slipping through his fingers as each Awake moment passes. Peruzzi watches over them all, tasked as the sentient watchman of the Sleepers, but his ivory tower is shrinking. The city is waking up and reality is crumbling. Ben is desperate to confess his past before it’s too late. What is left when the world we thought we knew falls apart around us?Mollart’s intriguing and timely premise is executed with verve – Kings of a Dead World is filmic in its scope’ - Alison Moore, Shortlisted for the Booker Prize As each chapter progresses, it ramps up the excitement. And the pace was relentless throughout. I hope that does not sound like a contradiction on my part.

Some smal hints of a world before this change are dropped, including a Korean holocaust and mentions of the reef that used to be Liverpool. Less effective are the Asleep sections which focus on Peruzzi, the city’s Janitor. You can see why they’re there — to give us an insight into the wider organisation of the city than we could get merely from Ben’s POV. But they are less involving perhaps because Peruzzi and his fellow Janitors are isolated, solitary figures, hard to empathise with, even before we start to see their truly amoral, even murderous, sides emerge. And their Paganistic worship of Bacchus gives these sections an almost 70s Logan’s Run-esque vibe. On the downside, the narrative was very focused on the experiences of a few men, with little input from women. Yes, there was Rose, Ben’s wife. I felt for how Ben struggled with his waking time and the disease stealing his wife from him. We also have Kitty, Andreas’ sometimes girlfriend. This wasn’t so much a problem, just worth noting. There were plot revelations that changed my opinion about Ben. This demonstrated how well the characters were developed. How the author handled this development, especially evoking feelings both positive and negative towards Ben. It made me ask, what would I have done? The Earth’s limited resources are dwindling. The solution is The Sleep: periods of hibernation imposed on those who remain with only a Janitor to watch over the sleepers.The conclusion off the man and his wife reminded me strongly of Amour (in general this feels like a masculine dominated book, with the women fitting neatly in wife/lover stereotypes and not really having much agency in any of the timelines). I don't know that it had anything particularly new to say, though. The picture it painted of a climate-apocalypse Britain felt detailed and interesting, and much like The Wall, it had a real sense of the landscape. The underlying messages about power and consequences I liked a lot, and again felt really real. But really new ideas? Not a ton, honestly. I feel like Early Riser did a much better job of thinking about the effects that hibernation would have on society, for example. On the flip side, I certainly enjoyed the pastiche of trading and ideas about what effect traders actually have on the world. My only real issue with the book is that it is a bit of a sausage fest, there aren't any strong female characters or indeed any characters that aren't in the book except to be a plaything for the male characters. Even Rose - Ben's wife is mainly there as a hinderance. Perhaps that will change in upcoming books but for now I am only looking at this one. Peruzzi is one of the kings of this dead world. Raised from birth to be a janitor, he leads a privileged if lonely life, monitoring his patch of the city, maintaining his sleepers and trading to earn the creds they will use to buy supplies when they wake. This is a frightening, thoughtful vision exploring where power lies when even the act of being awake is revolutionary.’ Aliya Whiteley, Shortlisted for the ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD

This book is one I’ve thought about for some time since putting it down. It is powerful and uncomfortable and real. And you should go read it, because it is out now!

Author Jamie Mollart laughs while admitting this, but the idea for Kings of a Dead World, his new dystopian novel about a world put to sleep to conserve resources, came to him in a dream. And why shouldn’t it have? “Sleep on it” is the common advice for a human being pondering a big choice or change, with the promise that a good night’s sleep will allow them better perspective to write a novel, make a life-shifting decision… maybe even save the world? There are some more discrepancies, like how is bank robbery a thing in the near future? Or how would water ever possibly submerse the Shard? I enjoyed the expert world-building and the rich complex characters. this is a really great read, exploring a haunting vision of the near-future. Kings of a Dead World kept me gripped from beginning to end. ‘ Temi Oh, Winner of the Alex Award Kings of a Dead World is definitely an incredible read. Jamie Mollart presents us with a future that is not beyond the realms of possibility. As I said I am not usually a dystopian reader so I cannot compare this book to many others but I thought that the world building was great but I would have liked a little more explanation of how the world got that way (but have a feeling there may be other books so maybe it gets explained then) but what we do get is a short leap from understandable.