Blurb:

Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory is a mesmerizing journey through a world where the extraordinary becomes the ordinary. The novel unfolds in a realm where the past and the present intertwine, crafting a narrative that is as enchanting as it is thought-provoking. At the heart of the story is a compelling exploration of memory and its profound impact on our identities and relationships. The characters are richly developed, each grappling with their own intricate histories and secrets that gradually unravel as the plot progresses.

Barsukov's mastery in world-building is evident throughout the novel. He creates a vivid and detailed universe that feels both familiar and entirely new, drawing the reader into a world where the boundaries between reality and imagination blur. The storytelling is immersive, combining elements of fantasy, science fiction, and drama in a seamless and captivating way. The prose is lyrical and evocative, making every scene resonate with emotion and depth.

Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory is a remarkable achievement, a book that offers both an exhilarating adventure and a profound meditation on the human condition. It's a must-read for anyone who loves stories that not only entertain but also challenge and inspire. Barsukov's unique voice and imaginative storytelling make this novel a standout in the genre, a work that will linger in readers' minds long after the final page is turned.

Review:

My journey into Barsukovs work began when I opened up Twitter (or X), and saw that he was giving out ARC copies at WorldCon if contacted (link to post here). So I contacted him, tried finding the one tall Austrian in the crowd, and finally found him after sending him a note that I was at the Broken Binding table. From there, we talked about the book and translations and whatnot in German, whilst the book lay in my somewhat overfilled backpack. Fast forward a few days, I had just finished a book I had meant to get back in July, and I finally sat down to read “Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory”. What followed was a few hours of “Oh, this makes sense; what is happening; and finally, oh, now that previous scene makes some kind of sense”.

If I had to entice you into reading this novel in as few words as possible, I’d hand you these three sentences:

“Once a minister for his nation, Shea has been moved to monitor the building of a massive defence tower. Once, he knew what was what. But is that still the case?”

This time however, without my usual find out more questions due to the fact that the google SEO wouldn’t approve and that final sentence kind of fills that role anyways.

And like any quick blurb, it leaves out so much of the actual story. With this one it is even more than just leaving out much of the actual story, it also leaves out the absolute chaos of the second half of the novel, and some of the most profound “I don’t get it” and “Oh now I get this madness” moments I’ve witnessed since reading “Crime and Punishment” last January (584 books between the two). Unlike “Crime and Punishment”, I didn’t have a three day long headache after reading Barsukovs novel, so SCORE!

Now, I need some place to start talking about this novel, and I think the best way to do so is not the characters. No, even if I’d talk about them first in most of my reviews, “Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory” should first be observed through the lens of psychology and reality. Mainly due to the world of this book making no sense until that part is cleared up. However, it cannot be observed through the lens of psychology and reality first because there is no idea of how the world is built, so world building has to come first here, even though I’d like to start with the aforementioned psychological aspects.

In terms of a world, we don’t have much to go on. We have Red Hill, the capital of Shea Ashcrofts unnamed nation, and the capital of Duma as two focus points. Then, there’s the tower of Owenbeg on the border between Duma and the unnamed nation. There’s the unnamed crown prince, the unnamed emperor, and the unnamed queen mother on the Dumian side, with Daelyn the queen within the Red Hill castle. Besides that, there’s humans and Drakiri. The humans are humans, the Drakiri are similar to elves, faster and stronger than humans, as well as more graceful. Humans don’t have much in the way of technology, just some skyrafts, with the unnamed nation trading engine blocks with the Dumian nation for their skyraft fuel. Meanwhile, the Drakiri have anti gravity devices in the shape of tulips. With that established, there’s myths and legends of another realm, with a mirror tower, similar to what is being built in Owenbeg.

With that out of the way, now the psychological and realism parts can be dissected. Ever stare in a mirror and imagine that there is a whole other world there within the glass? Ever wonder if we are just a simulation? What is real and what is not? Barsukov has taken those three questions, ran wild with them, and spun up a hypothetical world with them in mind. And for the first half, the novella, extended beyond the magazine release in 2020, it’s still held within the imaginable. Yet, despite being kept within the imaginable, the amount of times I just stopped and stared at the book for a feeling of “excuse me, but what the actual hell?” due to the uncanny feeling, a sense of deja vu, of having seen something like it before in our own world is uncountable. The second half… sanity clashes with madness from beyond the realm. Not much uncanny deja vu vibes there. However…Each chapter, a new revelation. Each chapter, a new conflict with reality.

After that, we come to the characters. Or more specifically, Shea Ashcroft. Interesting person, Shea Ashcroft. Minister for Red Hill, sent away to oversee construction of the Owenbeg tower. He’ll disobey orders if they’re immoral, which got him sent away in the first place. That filled him with resentment, reasonably. Whilst at the Dukes castle in the area of Owenbeg, he observes the Dukes court. He observes the construction of the tower. He observes the Drakiri, the townsfolk, and the workers. Mostly due to the fact that sabotage is in play when it comes to the construction of the tower. And then due to Ashcroft being in a new place. As a character, he talks to himself, or more specifically the memory of someone he holds dear. Throughout “Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory”, he experiences some loss, some trauma, some teleporting hullabaloo. By the end of it, if it was possible, I’d give the poor guy a hug.

Finally, there’s the whole “novella released in 2020” piece. I mentioned earlier that the Dumians traded skyraft fuel with the unnamed nation. And the nation relied on that… a lot. Then, with the tower being built as a defensive weapon to shoot a skyraft out of the air, due to the uncertainty of an attack by the Dumians.
After that, here is a quote from the book:

“A chance at the crown means nothing to you, does it? Then consider this: if the tower doesn't get finished within the next two years. Duma will attempt an incursion."

All that together forms a parallel to our world with the Russian incursion into Ukraine in 2022. As a novella, it went two years into the future and foresaw what was to come, at least that's how it feels like. If the war didn't happen, our view of this book might be different, but that is a ton of “what if’s” that’ll spiral out of control.

Considering that this is a continuation of the novel, there is a hopeful ending with only a bit of murder involved in the end, yet it’s unclear how much of a parallel that'll be here in our world.

Pulling all that together, and the fact that mirrors have such an important part of this novel, I was pleasantly, and somewhat shocked/surprised, at how much of a parallel this world felt to ours.

However, there is one thing I’d have to criticise about “Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory”. And that is the fact that remembering parts of this novel is akin to trying to remember a dream after waking up. It would’ve been nice if I could make sense of the whole novel, as well as retain each part as was when I read it. However, due to the parts in the middle that moved past the realms of lucidity, it was difficult to do so. That’s probably just a me thing and each person reads the same novel differently, and so my issue with it might not be universal.

If you like philosophical novels of old from Russia, as well as current philosophical novels, with a realm of fantasy and myths snowballing into a critique of trying to escape reality too hard, “Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory” is for you.

As always, thank you for reading this rather long review, and I hope I’ve nudged you towards your next read. If this doesn’t tickle your fancy, don’t fret, there’s books set in high fantasy like this one, or novels set in space, cruising the stars. If I had to pick a review for a book to read before or after “Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory”, I’d recommend Amanda Simas review of “The Mimameid Solution” by Katherine Kempf over here mainly due to the fact that it plays around with the fallout of an apocalypse or Jake Theriaults review of “The World To Come” by Yuval Kordov here. It may be the third book of the series, yet I want to quickly read the first two books before that one comes out. Again, like the previous review, it also deals with the aftermath of an apocalypse, of a different kind. Both of which would be interesting or fun to read after this novel Yaroslav Barsukov has produced.

Wherever you are reading this, have a good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night.