Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Obviously AR publish THE greatest books ever and....I'm trying to clean up my NetGalley account with my unread shelf....

On the whole, Doors of Sleep is a fun, well-paced, and imaginative science fiction novel that takes a somewhat quirky concept and then ties it together with a very tightly written narrative. While the novel struggles to manage its core power dynamics early on, ultimately Pratt takes a very small cast of clearly defined characters and confronts them with a procession of thoughtfully imagined worlds and dilemmas. By its end, much like its main character, Doors of Sleep is not merely a book that seeks to have fun with its own ideas, but also a novel that strives to respond to the responsibilities those ideas demand of it. As a result, even when Doors of Sleep struggles, it does so honestly while working to rectify its own shortcomings—a fact that only makes its successes that much more enjoyable to witness.

Eric Hendel

Every time he sleeps he wakes in another world, good, bad, deadly it doesn't matter he's not staying long enough to get attached.
A bizarre enough premise but then you throw in an evil scientist who wants to weaponise this ability
and a chase across the multi verse takes place ending in a battle between dimensional travelers.
Yeah, read that through and let it soak in.
Pratt is a good author, nut this was just plain weird.

4 / 5 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2021/01/11/doors-of-sleep-by-tim-pratt-review/

Every time Zaxony Delatree (Zax) falls asleep, he travels to a new reality. He has no control over his bearing and never revisits the same place twice, making his life a constant, spontaneous adventure. One that he can neither stop nor control. Sometimes he’ll wake in paradise, with plenty of food and a no worries beyond his next nap. Others he’ll wake in hell; worlds of brimstone or desert or glass, worlds at war or apocalypse, worlds filled with monsters or fire or death. Sometimes he’ll even wake in space. But wherever he wakes, Zax does what he must to survive. Survive and move on. On and on and on.

But isn’t all bad.

Zax lives a life some would kill for. A new world each day, an adventure that never stops. Worlds mortal eyes have never seen, worlds of paradise, utopia, or orgies (if that’s your thing). And he can take a companion—something to stave off the loneliness. All Zax must do is fall asleep holding them, and asleep or awake, willing or unwilling, his passenger will follow. But there are often serious consequences of Traveling, not just the monsters and war. The first companion Zax brought along was driven insane by what she saw in-between, a moment that has haunted him since.

But now Zax is being haunted by another former companion—one that has somehow followed him through time and space. Someone who is after the power in Zax’s blood, the ability to Travel between worlds. And where Zax would simply Travel, his former companion would conquer.

“Every time Zax falls asleep, he travels to a new reality.” I was sold from this very first line. Doors of Sleep mostly delivered on my expectations—an adventure that doesn’t quit; new world after new world, each one rendered for but a glimpse; a hunt through time and space. I actually could’ve done with more adventure—more worlds to see, more unknown to explore. Anyone who knows me will know that’s my thing. My favorite part of games like Civ are the exploration, the first few dozen turns, when the world is shrouded in fog and ANYTHING could be out there. But I realize the need for a plot, and this one works pretty well.

After all, how does one follow a Traveler through time? Not even Zax knows where he’s heading, after all. This mystery was part one—one that really could’ve been drawn out longer, in my opinion. The second part was what happens when the second Traveler catches the first. Where one would explore, the other would conquer—and it’s very difficult for those two points of view to coexist.

Zax can use sedatives to escape the nightmare worlds, and stimulants to extend the utopias—but he has to measure each world’s worth/danger against the desire to prolong/escape it. It’s resource management; the supplements aren’t limitless, and he also has to eat, hydrate, and take care of his body and mental health throughout. While there is a strong survival element to the text, it’s mostly in the background. I would’ve liked to see it take more of a central role.

The story takes place relatively late in Zax’s travels. His 1000th world sees him surviving, but not yet thriving under the weight of his “gift”. I honestly could’ve done with a little more of his earlier adventures. Maybe see him make his way through several companions, see him adapt and survive, see how he combats the loneliness, the uncertainty. It seemed to me that Doors of Sleep kicked off too early to enjoy the adventure. And while the plot was good and the story was good and the concept was good, that was the key element holding it back. “Every time Zax falls asleep, he travels to a new world.” So we catch but a glimpse of these worlds. And unfortunately we catch but a glimpse of this glimpse when the hunt takes center stage.

My biggest issue had to be the end. Doors of Sleep is a fairly short book—only 250 pages—and one can essentially read it in a day. The plot to this adventure takes a bit of time and a bit of doing once it gets started but the conclusion takes a chapter. Less, even. You could blink and—it’s over. I also expected this to be a one-off, a standalone: it’s not. The conclusion sets up a sequel, something I confirmed before reviewing it. At first both my rating and review were going to be a great deal more negative due to the abruptness of the ending and the lack of resolution for certain elements I dare not spoil. But instead it’s just a cliffhanger. Which is… better, but still annoying.

TL;DR

A rollicking read, Doors of Sleep is a bit like Edge of Tomorrow. But instead of repeating the same day over and over, Zax must survive a new world each time he awakens—one that could hunger for his blood, or simply make his tum-tum hungry. Add in a little bit of Twoflower, a little Pincer Martin, a touch of An Idiot Abroad, and Doors of Sleep become the best forced, spontaneous adventure you never knew you needed. The first in a new series, DoS is here and gone again entirely too soon—both in that it’s somewhat short and concludes everything abruptly in under a chapter. Still, I heartily recommend it for anyone who likes adventure, science fiction, or just a good one- or two-day read (I mean, it took me five, but who’s counting). In addition, it was the escape I needed from the truly awful first week of a new year. Come escape with me!

What if your dreams were real? That's sort of the reality faced by Zax Delatree, who travels to a new reality every time he dreams. It's a premise that's both intriguing and terrifying, and one author Tim Pratt plumbs to great affect in Doors of Sleep.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Every time Zax Delatree falls asleep, he is taking a risk because every time Zax wakes up, he is in a new reality. He has no control over where he goes, and he has never been to the same world twice. He has to be prepared for anything - from wildly, technologically advanced worlds, to worlds of death and ruin, to worlds of idyllic nature - and he must survive by his wits and be ready to take sedatives to quickly advance to the next world, or stimulants to stay a little longer in a place that is comfortable.

Only those items that are immediately on his person or clutched in his arms travel with him, and he has found that this can include people if they are unconscious when he falls asleep. He travelled with someone early on, but it has been some time since that had happened. But when he meets Minna, a woman from a farming planet, he finds he has a new travelling partner.

The constant battle of waking up in a new world and trying to ascertain as quickly as possible if it is hospitable or not is wearing, but when Minna and Zax realize that they are being chased through the worlds, they have a new threat to worry about.

I liked this book. I liked this so much that I immediately went out and acquired a bunch of Tim Pratt's work.

I'm not typically a fan of books that tell the story through journal entries, but this one worked for me. Possibly this is because I was immediately caught up in the adventure. Every chapter is a new world so I was nearly as eager as the character to know where we were and what possible dangers existed in the new world. And just as the newness of each world started to wear down I was then caught up in the story of the person following Zax and Minna. This becomes the main story (we do come to know who is following them, and how they are doing it and we learn this fairly early, but I don't want to give away anything that might spoil this read). In fact Zax, Minna, and another traveler with them recognize a danger not only to them, ut to the worlds they visit is they can't stop their pursuer.

I really got caught up in this book. The idea was kind of genius and the handling of the story was done really well. This was easily one of the best science fiction books I've read this year.

Looking for a good book? If you like creative, adventurous science fiction, do yourself a favor and read Tim Pratt's Doors of Sleep.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The idea was better than the book. I love unique and interesting worlds, and the possibility of exploring a many new and exciting settings was intriguing. The writing itself was enjoyable, the characters somewhat relatable, but the ending left much to be desired. Not a book I would read again nor keep on the shelf.

En el mercado español conocemos a Tim Pratt bastante bien. Gracias a la desaparecida editorial Fata Libelli y al testigo recogido por el imprescindible blog Cuentos Para Algernon hemos tenido la oportunidad de leer diversos cuentos y relatos de este autor norteamericano. En los últimos años ha sido La Máquina que hace Ping quien ha traído a nuestro país no solo recopilaciones de estas historias cortas sino también algunas de sus novelas. Un ejemplo es Motores de Sangre, inicio de serie de fantasía urbana o, más recientemente, la independiente Los Herederos de Grace.

En su idioma original el ritmo de publicación de Pratt es frenético y además de una trilogía space opera publicada en los últimos años y la frecuente aparición de nuevos cuentos, en 2021 ha visto la luz el inicio de una nueva saga de ciencia ficción. Con los mundos paralelos como base para la historia, Doors of Sleep es el inicio de una saga protagonizada por Zax Delatree cuya segunda entrega está prevista para el próximo 2022.

Cada vez que Zax Delatree duerme su cuerpo se traslada a un nuevo universo. En el momento que comenzamos la novela Zax lleva prácticamente tres años viajando de uno a otro, haciendo un total de casi mil distintos universos. En ningún momento ha sido capaz de volver a su universo de origen y nunca sabe qué sorpresas le va a deparar su siguiente despertar. La primera mitad de la novela se traduce en un continuo viajar de un universo a otro donde Pratt despliega mundos completamente distintos, unos más tranquilos, otros más salvajes. Unos cálidos, otros fríos. Unos nos recuerdan a nuestro pasado medieval, otro completamente futuristas. Muchos de ellos son descritos superficialmente ya que el paso de Zax por ellos es testimonial, algo que en cierta manera puede no ser del gusto de todos los lectores.
Su habilidad no se reduce solo a que él mismo despierte en un nuevo mundo. Todo aquello con lo que este en contacto, sea un objeto en un bolsillo o una persona abrazada, viajaran al siguiente universo junto a Zax. En uno de estos mundos es donde conoce a Minna, un personaje que lo acompañará en la novela y que aporta cierto sentido común a las acciones de un Zax demasiado noble para algunos de los encuentros que va teniendo en cada uno de estos mundos. También añade un componente emocional a la historia que da cierto sentido a muchos actos del protagonista según avanza la trama.

En uno de estos mundos, hace meses, tuvo un encuentro con quien más adelante se conocerá como el Lector, un personaje intrigado por las capacidades de Zax y que intentará por todos los medios conseguir igualarlas y mejorarlas con objeto de gobernar en aquellos mundos donde se traslade. Entre sus investigaciones, conseguir un suero que permita dormirse al instante para evitar peligros inmediatos o alguna medicina que permita alargar el tiempo sin dormir para poder estar más tiempo en cada uno de los mundos.

En contra de Doors of Sleep juega la excesiva parte introductoria de la novela que se alarga durante casi toda la primera mitad y donde apenas pasan más cosas que ir de mundo en mundo conociendo un poco mejor al protagonista y entender el mecanismo de estos viajes. Llega un momento en que todo se convierte en un pasar mundos hasta que la trama con el Lector despega. Es entonces cuando la segunda mitad del libro es un frenesí de acción que funciona a la perfección como lectura veraniega. En cualquier caso, hablamos de una novela relativamente superficial en muchos de los temas que toca en favor de una trama veloz, llena de acción y con situaciones tan divertidas como trágicas.

Doors of Sleep es un libro cuyos capítulos pasan casi sin darse cuenta. Los mundos por los que iremos viajando y las situaciones con las que Zax se encontrará son muy variadas y hace que las casi trecientas páginas de esta historia pasen sin darnos casi cuenta. Una novela que consigue que pasemos un rato divertido sin tener que comernos la cabeza. Quedo a la espera de la segunda parte.

I’ve always loved stories that take place on one fantastically alien world after another, so I grabbed this book on the dual strengths of its author (Tim Pratt, master of space drama) and its premise. Every time Zax Delatree falls asleep, he travels to a different multiverse. Some worlds are eerily similar to his own highly technological world where he facilitates harmony, but others are devoid of life or filled with intelligent, carnivorous life, or gigantic gardens or bombed-out cities. He’s been traveling this way for a few years now, with no idea how or why. From time to time, he’s acquired companions, one of whom created a linguistic virus that allows Zax to understand the languages he encounters, and another, a farmer who can communicate with and control plant life, and yet another, a crystalline intelligence desperate for new horizons. Quickly Zax shifts from unwilling (and insomniac) tourist to fugitive. Someone’s on his trail, able to track him across multiverses, and that someone has just teamed up with a murderous, shape-shifting fungus.

The story is at once dramatic, playful, grim, inventive, and just plain fascinating. Zax sometimes reminds me of
Doctor Who or The Flying Dutchman With a Heart of Gold. I definitely want to keep traveling with him!

Doors of Sleep had a ton of potential for me. I mean the bits of quality story design and that make up the core of it are overwhelmingly obscured by a frustrating main character and slow build up grind, then layered over by a thick paste of confusion, inconsistent rules. Underwhelming to say the least.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel: Holly Hearts Books

I really enjoyed Tim Pratt’s Axiom series, a far future space opera book, so I was intrigued to try this one, a very different type of science fiction novel. The book is in the form a journal written by Zax, who for the last few years, every time he falls asleep, wakes up in a totally different universe. And we’re not just talking a multi-verse where things are a tiny bit different like The Midnight Library, but totally and utterly different places with different societies, creatures, etc. - and even Zax himself is definitely not from our world. This book covers a very eventful stretch of time, in which he finds several new companions and encounters an old foe from his past. This book was just so creative and interesting and different, and I couldn’t have loved some of the characters more. I will say that I had mixed feelings in getting to the end and finding out it was not over yet. On the one hand, I felt like we had gotten a complete story and would have been happy to leave it there rather than a cliffhanger promising to take things in a different direction for the next book. But on the other hand, I enjoyed the characters and the writing enough that I would be happy to revisit them again.

A masterpiece, Tim Pratt is one of the greatest narrators of our time. I imagine his work on TV and my mind fully explodes, his work is so imaginative I feel bad it's "only readers" who enjoy it. Captivating, wonderful and very original.

Doors of Sleep left me wanting more in all the right ways.

Tim Pratt has created such an unique and interesting read with Doors of Sleep. I can't say I have ever read a book quite like it. First of all due to the very plot and setting of the book Pratt has had to craft a whole bunch of worlds and they are all to a nicely detailed level. There are a huge number of worlds and some breeze past in the blink of an eye but the author still gives us a brief description of each one which really helped me believe the main character, Zax, was travelling through vast numbers of universes.

A second aspect of Doors of Sleep that was really intriguing is the choice of characters that accompany Zax throughout the book. All were well put together and relatable and I was surprised at just how much I connected with a character called Minna. Minna is an alien and has led a very different life on a very different planet to Earth, or at least the origin planet of Zax, so by that understanding we have very little in common and a connection would be hard to establish. However, I did become emotionally attached to her and her backstory is really touching. Full of love and terror.

The ending of Doors of Sleep wraps up the story nicely and had me on the edge of my seat. There is one section towards the end that really took me by surprise. NO SPLOIERS here so don't worry. All I will say is that the final section is so, so good and left me wanting more info. So if Angry Robot are reading this, PLEASE let Tim Pratt add more to this fantastic universe.

There is a small section in the middle of the book where our character is travelling through worlds at a fast rate and I am guilty of skim reading this section. Don't get me wrong it is a good section and does add to the setting however I felt it went on a little too long for my liking. This wasn't in the realms of a DNF by any means it's just... I was a little too impatient to get back to the action.

Okay so I want to mention the integral aspect of the plot and that is the fact that every time Zax falls asleep he travels to a different world. As mentioned in the synopsis Zax has zero control on where he ends up and that adds a restriction to what options are available to him during his travels. This I can only see as a self imposed restriction by the author but he uses this as an advantage and really creates a uniqueness I have not seen before in a book. The very idea of creating a character baffles my mind but the outcome is brilliant and highly entertaining.

To sum up Doors of Sleep is a very good read and one that I will recommend to others that love Sci-Fi and are a little tired of the same old tropes and plots that fill the genre. I really hope to read more of Pratt's work and I hope we get to revisit Zax and company.

Unfortunately, I really ended up struggling with this book. Although I loved the concept so much as sci-fi and alternative dimensions has been something that always interest me, I just couldn't connect with this story. I think where this went wrong for me was that we can instantly dumped straight into such a complex world that dues to the multiple dimensions is constantly shifting without enough time for me as a reader to really get a grasp before the story is twisted from my hand again and again. There is some wonderful descriptions of these different worlds but I think not enough time actually spent explaining a lot of key story points that would make the book as a whole more digestible for it's readers. I think this has potential to be an amazing read due to the setting and concept but the story needs to slow down and develop some more in between all this world jumping.

En esta ocasión disfrutaremos de la reseña de la última obra de Tim Pratt de la mano de un auténtico experto en el tema, Antonio Díaz. Muchas gracias a Antonio por hacernos un hueco en su agenda para comentar este libro. Espero que disfrutéis de sus comentarios.


Nadie que me conozca quedará sorprendido si digo que soy un gran fan de Tim Pratt,
tanto en su obra corta (tan prolífica como variada y excelente), como en su obra larga.
Cuando anunció que publicaría una novela basada en un personaje que había
protagonizado varios de sus mejores relatos del 2019 me subí inmediatamente al tren del
hype.


La sinopsis de Doors of Sleep no puede ser más atrayente: Zax es un humano normal y
corriente que, cada vez que duerme, cambia de universo. No sabe dónde va y no parece
que pueda controlar su destino. El potencial narrativo es, por su propia definición, infinito.
Genera una incertidumbre, no sólo en el propio Zax, sino también en el lector, no saber
cuál será ese próximo destino. Incluso aunque el cruce entre universos se dé en unas
circunstancias controladas, al girar la página podemos encontrarnos en lugares muy
dispares, fruto de una imaginación muy viva. Al menos esto es lo que me digo para
justificar que me ventilé la novela en tan sólo dos días (acabando uno de ellos a una hora
indecente).


Cuando Pratt decidió escribir Doors of Sleep, no desperdició ni una palabra y canibalizó
los relatos que ya había escrito para tejerlos dentro del nuevo texto. En mi opinión es todo
un acierto ya que su calidad es innegable. También decidió explorar los límites del poder
del personaje para sentar unas reglas claras: cambia de universo cuando pierde la
consciencia, no sólo cuando duerme; cuando llega a un nuevo destino siempre es a un
lugar donde no se encuentre en un peligro inmediato y define las condiciones que se tienen que cumplir para que una persona puede decidir acompañarle en su viaje astral.


La novela está escrita como si fuera el diario personal de Zax, con la salvedad de que no
siempre se encuentra escrito por él. Es un recurso curioso que permite a Pratt una cierta
flexibilidad para jugar con el punto de vista manteniendo un estilo cercano a Zax.
A pesar de llevar un tiempo viviendo de una forma tan extrema, sin establecerse en
ningún lugar, dificultando todas sus relaciones personales, sin elegir a donde va, sin poder
repetir universo, viviendo de lo que puede forrajear en los lugares más benignos (un
destino sin peligro inmediato no te asegura que haya algo comestible); Zax es un
idealista. En su mundo original era un trabajador social que resolvía los conflictos entre
las personas mediante la empatía y la diplomacia y eso lo convierte en un adalid del buen
rollo.


Éste carácter generalmente bondadoso e indudablemente honesto e idealista provoca que
esta novela se parezca más a Heirs of Grace que a la saga de Marla Mason (que es más
cruda y definitivamente más bruta). Esta decisión choca hasta cierto punto con el germen
de la novela: saltar de universo en universo sin tener ningún control llevaría a cualquiera a
la desesperación más absoluta. Eso no quiere decir que no pasen cosas malas (ni mucho
menos), pero Doors of Sleep puede encuadrarse sin dudar en el movimiento hopepunk.
Puede que haya momentos de miseria pero siempre se encaran con un cariz positivo. En cualquier caso es una novela ‘100% Pratt’ y rebosa su estilo por los cuatro costados.


Debido al constante salto entre universos y las dificultades para transportar gente con él
(gente que jamás podría volver a su universo original) el plantel de personajes secundarios no es especialmente grande. Eso permite a Pratt dedicar más tiempo en escena para estar bien perfilados y logra que nos encariñemos de ellos o los odiemos respectivamente.

Mi principal crítica iría dirigida a un último acto algo desigual, con una recta final cerrando el nudo principal del libro de forma algo apresurada y con un último capítulo que abre claramente la puerta a una continuación (o continuaciones). Hubiera preferido, sino una obra autoconclusiva, sí que Pratt hubiera dedicado alguna página más a perfilar el desenlace para que llenase algo más al lector. Las prisas por desencadenar una tensión creciente le han jugado una mala pasada.


Sin embargo, después de la decepción que me supuso The Wrong Stars, la primera
novela de su trilogía de ciencia ficción Axiom, y a pesar de las buenas sensaciones de los
relatos seminales, me enfrenté a esta novela con una cierta cautela. He de decir que he
quedado muy satisfecho con Doors of Sleep que, sin dejar de ser una novela ligera y más
orientada como divertimento, he disfrutado sin ambages.

Tim Pratt delivers another exceptional sci-fi story, this time it’s all about technological utopias that Zax finds via sleep portals. This is a new concept for me to read about and I really enjoyed the world and life that Pratt created.

This book just wasn't to my liking at all. I appreciate the fact that this isn't normally the genre I read, but even saying that the book was very monotonous. I give the author credit for being able to imagine so many different worlds to have his main character Zax sleep into, but there was no suspense, tension or thrills that such sleep journeys would should inevitably create. The whole plot just seemed very bland.

Doors of Sleep follows Zax Delatree through many worlds, each time he falls asleep he awakens in a new world. Constantly travelling, meeting friends and making enemies along the way, as he tries to leave a little bit of himself and make each world a better place when he can.

I went in to Doors of Sleep a little blind, just knowing it involved Zax travelling. What I didn’t expect was such a beautiful story of friendship, splashed across dozens, hundreds of different worlds. Told through journal entries that Zax has been writing, you can an in-depth look at how he feels as he wakes each day in a new place, wondering how this happened, and what he can do. I found the world building just fantastic, even though we get brief glimpses at each place, some a little more than others, the creativity that went in to each place was amazing, how they connected and differed, how Zax feels about each one, and the varying levels of safety and beauty, and danger.

Despite being primarily told from Zax, his friends were the real winners of this novel. Minna was such a delightful, brilliant, badass of a character, and the way she adapated and learned was so engaging, just the kind of character everyone would want to be - that’s not even including all of her very specific skills, I just want to be like her for her brilliant and caring ways.

My biggest complaint about Doors of Sleep is there is a brief mention of talking cats, and how they could have had one as a companion. I won’t lie that I’m hurt we didn’t get talking cat companions. I think it would have brought a welcomed level of sass to the friend group, and I’m just a sucker for animal companions. So, not a real complaint, I just want every book to have sassy animal companions. I do wish we could have spent more time on each world, but that would have made this a ridiculously large book, so maybe one day we’ll see some novellas of some of the other worlds.

I adored this book, and think everyone who has an interest in travels and adventure would get a lot from the amazing places we see, and if you’re looking for strong female characters, Minna should be way up there. An engaging fun book, well worth an afternoon of multiverse adventure.