SLEEP WALKERS

Ben is a nice family man, an ordinary guy except…he has dreams. Violent dreams that he can’t explain. Why does he have them? And is his wife somehow involved in them?

Toby is 15 years old. He has violent dreams too, just like Ben, and wakes up covered in scratches and bruises.

What is the connection? When they try to find the meaning, they are drawn towards the greatest danger.

This is a disquieting read. Certainly not one for the conspiracy theorists.The main characters seem to exist in some kind of parallel universe where past horrific events invade their dreams and lead them to question who they really are.

It gradually becomes clear they are part of a clandestine experiment. The author cleverly weaves in references to Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon prison system whereby the inmates are never sure whether they are being watched, or who by, or where from.

Overtones of George Orwell’s 1984 loom over the whole book leading the reader to examine the Big Brother possibilities. The UK has the largest number of CCTV cameras per square mile in the world and this fact must raise some serious questions which are pertinent to us all. What if they are watching us now? Who are they? Or is it fantasy?

A book that is not only thrilling in itself with well-drawn characters and a strong plot, as becomes a seasoned television writer, but one that raises serious philosophical questions about the kind of society we are turning into.