I'm a huge Robert Harris fan and this is just another classic historical thriller from the master. So much fun and very exciting.

I finished this book last week, but its taken a few days of mulling it over in my mind before i felt ready to review it.
I enjoy Robert Harris books, i love his writing, but i feel my reviews and opinions are always the same. They start so strongly and quickly, the plot rattles on with and things ramp up as we pass halfway, yet come the end of the story, i find they tend to finish abruptly and poorly. Bar 'The Officer & The Spy', this tends to be true for every previous Harris book ive read, and sadly, 'The Second Sleep' is no different.

I hadn't really read the blurb before starting this (i dont tend to with authors ive previously read, i like going in blind!) so i enjoyed the dark age feel, and was completely blown away by the plot twist on when the book is really set. But after this, i feel the story itself was so....bland, and disappointing. Such a shame. Maybe this would have worked best as a piece of speculative short fiction?

Nonetheless, days after finishing, i feel like i can ignore some of the flaws of the book, and the message of the story, the folly of modern man, was extremely thought provoking and interesting.

I imagine ill pick up the next Harris just as quickly next year, and pray for a stronger ending!

This was such a surprising book! It tells the story of Christopher Fairfax, a parson, who is tasked with conducting the funeral service for the priest Father Lacy in a remote Exmoor village in 1468. From the first, there are little things in the narrative that suggest everything is not what it seems and the plot went in a direction I really didn't expect, making this a very original and compelling story. The characters are a little bit one dimensional at times, but at others there is a real sense of authenticity to their reactions and behaviours. The writing is lyrical and well constructed and the way in which the plot unravels keeps the interest throughout, as things get progressively more unusual as the narrative goes on. I did think that the ending was a little abrupt, but overall, this was an enjoyable and pretty unique read that I would recommend to anyone who likes historical fiction in the Bernard Cornwell vein.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Robert Harris has become a favourite author of mine in recent years; I loved An Officer and a Spy, the Cicero trilogy and Conclave, and so far only Archangel has disappointed me. Would his new novel, The Second Sleep, live up to my high expectations?

The first thing to say is that, if I had started to read this book without knowing the author’s name, I would probably never have guessed it was by Robert Harris as it’s so different from all of the others I’ve read! Whether or not you think that’s a good thing or a bad thing will depend on whether you prefer to know what to expect from an author or whether you like a lot of diversity. Personally I found this a bit too different and it took me quite a long time to settle into the story. Once I did, I started to enjoy it, but I can’t say that this has become a favourite by Harris.

At first The Second Sleep appears to be a conventional historical mystery. We are told that the year is 1468 and we are introduced to a young priest, Christopher Fairfax, who has just arrived in a small, remote village in the south-west of England to conduct the funeral of parish priest Father Lacy. Fairfax expects to return to Exeter Cathedral within a day or two, but when he discovers that there may have been suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of Father Lacy, he ends up staying in the village for much longer than planned. It seems that the old priest had been putting together a collection of forbidden books and artefacts and it was this which may have led to his death.

And that’s really all I can tell you about the plot. After a few chapters it becomes obvious that there is nothing conventional at all about this story, so I would hate to give too much away and spoil things for other readers. All I will say is that the central idea on which the novel is based is both fascinating and frightening, as well as having a lot of relevance to today’s society.

The Second Sleep is a very atmospheric novel and Harris carefully builds a sense of time and place, describing the landscape, the lives of the villagers and the sense of isolation that comes with living in such a remote location. Up in the hills, an unusual construction known as the Devil’s Chair – where Father Lacy fell to his supposedly accidental death – becomes the focus of the strange occurrences taking place in and around the village. It’s a bleak and eerie setting which perfectly suits this unusual and unsettling story.

Although this book never quite reached page-turner status for me, the pace did pick up after a while and the ideas the novel explored were intriguing enough to keep me interested. The story seemed to be building towards something dramatic and I expected more twists and revelations at the end. When the ending came, however, I was left thinking, ‘is that it?’ I wondered if I had missed something, so I read the final chapter again but found it no more satisfying the second time. Although I did find a lot to enjoy I’m sorry that I couldn’t quite manage to love it. I do have both Munich and Pompeii on my shelf, though, and am still looking forward to reading both of those sooner rather than later.

The Second Sleep by Robert Harris

It is 1468 and young priest Christopher Fairfax is hunting his way through Exmoor to find the remote village of Addicott St George. He has been sent there to bury the village’s priest Father Lacey who, when out in the nearby countryside, fell to his death from a great height. It’s hard to conduct a eulogy for a man one doesn’t know and so Fairfax sets out to discover all he can about this man who served his parish for 32 years.

It is while Fairfax is searching Father Lacey’s office that he comes across documents that Lacey shouldn’t have had. These heretical texts record past lives, those of the ungodly, who once walked and worked this land. As Fairfax digs deeper, his investigations leads him to nearby Durston Court and its enigmatic, unusual Lady of the manor, and secrets that she keeps hidden. Suddenly, Father Lacey’s death seems less of an accident and the truth of it will be as staggering as it is lethal.

Robert Harris is easily one of my very favourite authors, if not my favourite, not least because everything he writes is so different, original, ingenious and surprising. And with The Second Sleep Robert Harris has achieved, in my opinion, the greatest surprise of them all. Something happens early on – watch for the clues – and, it might be a cliche to say it, but I could feel my jaw actually dropping.

It is for this reason that I’m going to say nothing further at all about this book! I came to it knowing nothing except that I knew it would be wonderful – which it certainly is – and so I had the considerable joy of discovering all of its secrets for myself. And so I’d urge you not to read any reviews (except this one, of course).

All I’ll say to tempt you to read it, is that The Second Sleep is beautifully written and structured. Its characters feel real, their fears and loves tangible. The Exmoor setting is perfect – it’s comforting but also claustrophobic and remote. Spend time with Christopher Fairfax and Lady Durston. You won’t be disappointed. You’ll be thrilled, mesmerised and shocked.

Most of all, read this book putting all your expectations and assumptions to one side. Neither belong here. The rewards will be great. The Second Sleep is most certainly a masterpiece and a contender for my book of the year.

Other reviews
An Officer and a Spy
Dictator
Conclave
Munich