Early Riser

A Novel

By: Jasper Fforde

Narrated by: Thomas Hunt

An instant New York Times best seller

The new stand-alone novel from Jasper Fforde, the best-selling author of the Thursday Next series and the forthcoming stand-alone The Constant Rabbit

Every Winter, the human population hibernates.

During those bitterly cold four months, the nation is a snow-draped landscape of desolate loneliness, devoid of human activity.

Well, not quite.

Your name is Charlie Worthing, and it's your first season with the Winter Consuls, the committed but mildly unhinged group of misfits who are responsible for ensuring the hibernatory safe passage of the sleeping masses.

You are investigating an outbreak of viral dreams which you dismiss as nonsense; nothing more than a quirky artifact borne of the sleeping mind.

When the dreams start to kill people, it's unsettling.

When you get the dreams, too, it's weird.

When they start to come true, you begin to doubt your sanity.

But teasing truth from the Winter is never easy: You have to avoid the Villains and their penchant for murder, kidnapping, and stamp collecting; ensure you aren't eaten by Nightwalkers, whose thirst for human flesh can only be satisfied by comfort food; and sidestep the increasingly less-than-mythical WinterVolk.

But so long as you remember to wrap up warmly, you'll be fine.

©2019 Jasper Fforde (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Early Riser has all of the elements and sensibility that have earned Fforde a sizable and devoted following.... Fforde writes witty, chewy sentences, full of morsels, and delivers them deadpan.... [Fforde's] relentless imagination and his affection for his characters are contagious and irresistible.... Every book of Fforde's seems to be a cause for celebration and a source of pleasure for many people, and for good reason." (Charles Yu, The New York Times Book Review)

"Charlie's journey...is so absorbing, and Fforde's wit so sharp, the reveal that the narrative is also a commentary on capitalism comes across as a brilliant twist.... Whip-smart, tremendous fun, and an utter delight from start to finish." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

"Jasper Fforde is in fine form in his 14th novel, stringing along this adventure with wry wit." (BookPage, starred review)

Hilariously funny at time, but repetitive

This is a highly original novel. At times, it was hilariously funny, as in the phrase "hard of thinking". But it was ultimately so depressing and repetitive, I just gave up on it. Maybe if I had lived in Wales, it might have been funnier. Many of the jokes seem to be gently making fun of modern day Welsh culture and customs. Or even British culture overall. Or maybe if it had been edited and streamlined to better hold one's interest. In any case, do not let my review deter you. It just wasn't something I could get into.

Another dystopian gem by Fforde

Jasper Fforde has a knack for creating dystopian worlds and giving them such internal consistency that you understand why the characters (as ordinary humans) do what they do. For me, this was a notch below his excellent Shades of Grey, but an outstanding listen (read). The narrator was perfect, capturing Charlie’s self-deprecating heroism as well as the other protagonists and antagonists so well that I felt like I knew them. As usual, Fforde creates a relentlessly moral universe for his characters that is ultimately unassailable by even the most powerful and ruthless forces. Highly recommended.

Excellent story with a very unique premise

The unique nature of this story with a reluctant and timid protagonist may be a little difficult to get completely into as a reader but it is worth the time. The narrator was quite good and very easy to understand. The underlying metaphors for timely topics are also very thought provoking.

Strange, memorable and fun.

Guaranteed to be unlike anything you have read before. Fforde creates a compelling world that will leave ypu wanting more.

Well worth the wait

Long time fan of Jasper Fforde, absolutely love the new world and Charlie as a protagonist. The narrator was wonderful and I couldn’t stop listening. If anything it was over too soon.

Hard to follow, but entertaining

This is very much like the Thursday Next series in that you can't really begin to follow what's going on until a few chapters into the story. You must pay attention. But it is creative and interesting and a new way to look at sci-fi books. An entertaining read.

Made me a Fforde "ffan" once again

The first couple of Thursday Next novels I quite enjoyed. The later novels became a bit too surreal and a bit too far-fetched for my taste, however. The stories seemed to become secondary to showcasing Fforde's wit. I found his work off-putting after a while and stopped reading. This book, however, sounded intriguing so I decided to give him another go. I enjoyed it greatly and was sorry when it ended. Instead of just leaping between witticisms, this is a coherent story with relatable characters. As usual, Fforde starts out with a world built on bizarre premises. The fact that humans need to hibernate and that much of the world has continued to be glaciated throughout time is central, but not the strangest of them! I enjoyed how he worked within the framework of this bizarre world without making the characters too alien and strange to care about. Yes, there is an enormous amount of suspended disbelief with the plot, but (at least for me) it was not too much. There is some humor, but I would describe the mood primarily as "wistful." It's very visual, very emotional. I enjoyed the Ice Age Wales so much that I'd almost like to read another book based there--but this one is so lovely and complete all by itself that a sequel seems unnecessary. The narrator also added much with amazing voices and spot-on accents! I will look for other books narrated by Thomas Hunt.

OMG, I LOVE this story!!

I didn't know if I would like this story, hadn't listened to anything of Jasper Fforde before but I LOVED this story, from beginning to end it was interesting, engaging, funny, original, I just can't say enough good things about it - listen to it!!

I wish there were more…

As always, Jasper Fforde delivers a quirky and highly entertaining story. I would love to see more of this alternative world- cannibals and all.

Fforde through and through!

Another imaginative story/world from Jasper Fforde! A bit all-over-the-place at first, but rounds out into an interesting tale.
Thomas Hunt’s performance was excellent, hope to hear more from him soon!