A gripping tale apparently set in the fifteenth century with suggestive anachronisms that the reader relates to the 21st century. The hero, a young monk, struggles to understand what might have happened and how much is being concealed from him while finding his place in the world.

I am still slightly lost as to what the second sleep is. Overall I was concerned at the gloomy outlook for the future and surely we will be nabbed by global warming first. I found the ending very convenient for the heroes which rather made it all unbelievable but in line with this much of the story was predictable in advance. Overall for my first Harris book I was unimpressed.

Apart from the historical curiosity the numerous references to the Second sleep add nothing significant to the plot of the story and the book could have been virtually identical with normal sleep patterns. The story is proceeding well when you realise you are rapidly reaching the end and the last few chapters are rushed and increasingly incredible leading to a very unsatisfactory ending

Library loan. Previous experience and an excellent experience at that of Robert Harris has been via the Cicero series, unfortunately The Second Sleep is not in the same class. Whilst the anticipation of the finale keeps the pages turning, it proves to be a very damp squib. You feel robbed of a earth shattering revelation for the characters and It feels as though the final chapters have been rushed to get publication concluded in time for 2020. Library loan yes if only in light of the current situation in the world, but not a book I would recommend you buy.

This was a very weird book, very disappointing ending. It had a weird story line, difficult to follow the action, would I recommend it to my friends? No.