Gripping - so engaging, with excellent pacing, and an almost compulsive need to keep reading. I'll likely revist this one time and time again.

Not my usual type of read but I enjoyed it. A futuristic dystopia novel with a good storyline. Would recommend.

A road movie with a bit of futuristic dystopia thrown in, a hired assassin with a yearning for connection... This is a different sort of novel and a very good read.

It has some parallels with the Luc Besson movie Léon, and a similar vibe at times, but nonetheless it's an original story with strong world-building and characterisation. I like that the dystopian world is just a rather hazy background to the core story, not the focus of it.

The protagonist is Bear/Blur/various other aliases, who works for a shady organisation doing their dirty work. He is contacted by phone by a young woman claiming to be his daughter. He goes in search of her, and we follow along, constantly wondering if she is authentic and what is really going on. It makes for an intriguing, page-turning read.

When I re-read the blurb I wondered why I requested this arc but there was something that sounded intriguing.
This story is so out of my usual wide range of story that I loved it.
A bit crazy, entertaining, well plotted.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Sleepwalk by Dan Chaon is a road-trip novel, Jim, but not as you know it.

Our guy, Will, is a vigilante who does various jobs for an organisation he's not too concerned about. He doesn't ask questions - he does the jobs they want done, and he gets on with his life on the road in his camper van. He lives off grid with his dog, Flip. Until one day, someone tracks him down. She's convinced he's her father - he's convinced she's a scammer. Until he begins to come round to the idea of being a father - but can he trust this mystery woman?

I loved this, I thought it was a really good adventure novel. I loved the road trip aspect, I really liked the protagonist, and even though it did descend into madness at times, I thought the author did a great job of getting it back on track. It reminded me a little of some of Stephen King's drama novels (with less sexism and fatphobia - love you, Steve, but seriously, dude) - the musical references were also perfectly placed. Every time a song was mentioned in the book, I played it while I was reading and it added an extra layer of fun to the experience.

If you're looking for an adventure novel that reads like a fast-paced action film, doesn't drag on, and that touches on climate change, eugenics, artificial intelligence, shady billionaires, and fancy a few hours with a highly entertaining lead character (and his dog) then I recommend this one. I pictured him as Pedro Pascal, because the man lives in my brain now, but even just as a straight-up action novel it was a lot of fun.

Thank you to @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for the ARC via Netgalley. I'm looking forward to discovering Dan Chaon's back catalogue!

The narrator of Sleepwalk is a man of many aliases, who calls himself the Barely Blur. He lives off grid in the US, doing contract work of varying degrees of illegality for a shadowy company. He lives in a world which appears to be chronologically near the present, and like ours, but more so. Climate breakdown, abandoned towns, militias, robot drones, he has to dodge them all as he travels across the US in his camper van with his only trusted companion, Flip, a dog he rescued from a crime scene.

Then, despite all his subterfuge, he is contacted via a burner phone by a young woman who claims to be his biological daughter, Cammie. While living in Chicago as a young man, he was a sperm donor and she says she is a product of that sperm. It is the one time he left a footprint on public records.

He suspects a scam and is concerned that his secrecy has been penetrated. He speaks to his underworld contacts to find the truth. He suspects Cammie is an AI and someone means him harm. But Cammie keeps calling and he begins to picture fatherhood. He wants to believe and suddenly he is concerned that his actions might place his ‘daughter’ in the way of harm.

We also earn more of the Barely Blur’s past – his chaotic mother, his induction into criminality, his brief period in Chicago where he led something approaching a normal life. Meanwhile he has to decide who is friend and foe as he searches for the truth, while trying to keep Cammie and himself safe.

I love the voice of the Barely Blur. He’s an engaging character, despite some of his actions, and he recalls his own past trials without self-pity. There’s a warm, self-aware humour to his observations on the world he lives in, and a curiosity and love of learning, despite (because of?) his lack of conventional education.

Sleepwalk is a pacy and thought-provoking dystopian thriller but there is another layer. The Barely Blur is, he tells us, a man who is microdosing on LSD to push back “the horrors”. We could discount his perceptions as paranoia. Conversely, in portraying a world which is recognisable but slightly aslant from ours, is Chaon’s title a warning to us all?
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I received a copy of Sleepwalk from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for sending this book for my review. The following is my honest review of this book.

You follow Will or whatever other name he’s going by at a given time throughout America in the near future. He’s a bit of a henchman, but at the end of the day, he’s quite lovable. He’s followed by his trusty sidekick, Flip, a rescue dog throughout the book. He’s doing odd jobs at the time when he starts receiving a series of calls to his burner phones, a woman, Cammie, claiming to be his daughter produced from a series of sperm donations he made in his 20s.

I found myself enjoying this book more than expected. It had a bit of a slow start, but as I became accustomed to the world building I found myself drawn into the plot. I expected it to end going in one direction, but was actually quite pleased to find that it didn't. I loved the glimpses into the novel's version of a near future America through the eyes of Will. I can't speak highly enough about the world building in this book.

The book has so many interesting plot points that I truly just did not see coming, I found the book quite engaging despite being at a slower pace.

Description:
A middle-aged dude, living off-grid and working as a henchman/transporter for a deeply shady organisation, gets a call from someone claiming to be his daughter. She claims they're both in trouble, and that they might be able to help each other...

Liked:
Love it when it's clear that the world is fully fleshed out, but it doesn't need to be the focus. This dystopian near-future is totally believable and adds a layer of interest beyond the main plot. The main character is likeable, his concerns relatable, and his actions justifiable... none of which should really be true. Found it a really pacey novel and a true pleasure to read. Please don't make too much of the comparison, but it reminded me of Oryx and Crake; similarly enjoyable.

Disliked:
The ending felt quite sudden, could have done with more.

Would definitely recommend, really enjoyed it.