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Sleepers, Wake
A terrible accident makes a ten-year-old space voyager age physically but not mentally, and when he lands on a planet of eternally youthful children, he risks losing his own childhood forever
183 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 21, 2012
This was a quick little read. If you like short Science Fiction stories try this one. I will say it was a bit reminiscent of "The Lotus Caves" by John Christopher.
May 6, 2016
It was a good book. Not an exact match to my memory, but then it's been over 20 years.
They discover that earth is going to burn up sooner than they expected. Thousands of years off instead of billions of years. They decide to send colonists out into space (in various directions). They don't think they can wait. What if a change of fortune comes about and the people on Earth are no longer capable of space travel.
The colonists on this particular ship are due to be in suspended animation for 100 years. Only the pod one boy is in "awakens" him early. He's alone for 50 years. When his family finally awakens, they think he's "grandpa" who they left behind on earth.
The boy, Dody, is a strange mix of well learned adult and the child he left behind.
They reach the planet where the beacon says the ship they were following already landed. The "children" (Dody and his still young brother and sister) are sent off while their parents try to fix the computer glitch that prevents them from awakening the rest of the crew.
Dody shows his siblings the landing pod, and by accident launches it. They crash into the planet and have a series of adventures with the people who landed before them, and two alien species.
Good book. I'm glad I read it. Reminded me of when I loved SF. Haven't read SF for an age. Fantasy, yes, but not SF. Might have to remedy that.
Review from October 21, 2006.
P.S. My LJ review is longer and includes a checklist for comparing the book I read to the vague story I remember reading.
They discover that earth is going to burn up sooner than they expected. Thousands of years off instead of billions of years. They decide to send colonists out into space (in various directions). They don't think they can wait. What if a change of fortune comes about and the people on Earth are no longer capable of space travel.
The colonists on this particular ship are due to be in suspended animation for 100 years. Only the pod one boy is in "awakens" him early. He's alone for 50 years. When his family finally awakens, they think he's "grandpa" who they left behind on earth.
The boy, Dody, is a strange mix of well learned adult and the child he left behind.
They reach the planet where the beacon says the ship they were following already landed. The "children" (Dody and his still young brother and sister) are sent off while their parents try to fix the computer glitch that prevents them from awakening the rest of the crew.
Dody shows his siblings the landing pod, and by accident launches it. They crash into the planet and have a series of adventures with the people who landed before them, and two alien species.
Good book. I'm glad I read it. Reminded me of when I loved SF. Haven't read SF for an age. Fantasy, yes, but not SF. Might have to remedy that.
Review from October 21, 2006.
P.S. My LJ review is longer and includes a checklist for comparing the book I read to the vague story I remember reading.
July 31, 2012
As a novel written for children, it contains some big ideas and is a good introduction to Science Fiction for young readers. It started off really well, but lost its way through the middle stages. The plot is simplistic at times, but there are enough twists to maintain a reader's interest. At 180 pages, it is an easy read and will encourage budding S.F. enthusiasts to open their minds and ponder the riddles of the universe.
January 20, 2014
Not good, not really interesting. Very VERY boring at first and end. Hard to understand the theme and stuff for me... I dont think most people would like this. Only guys that like aliens or stuff liek tht might like it. And I think... it was my least favorite book. I had to read it because in school we had to chose a book. n i thought this was cool. But i hate it.
July 31, 2008
One of my least favourite books of all time. The concepts in it disturbed me too much as a young child, basically. Don't know what I'd think of it now!
April 21, 2024
I've been wanting to read this for a while and picked it up at a book sale. I hesitated when I read the Booklist description on the back: "Another chilling science fiction/fantasy by the author of BORN INTO LIGHT". "Chilling" isn't my thing, as I don't like horrors, but I gave it a go and this book was not "chilling" by my standards although maybe it could be for some.
The premise is interesting (and one used in other science fiction, notably the recent Passengers of 2016). Dody and his family are being put into cryosleep so they can journey to colonise a new planet, but something goes wrong and Dody wakes up fifty years too soon. Rather than focusing on what life is like for those 50 years, the story begins on the day that Dody has long waited for - the day when everyone else will finally wake up.
Dody is the protagonist of this story because although he is an old man, he is still childlike. He has educated himself but has had no-one to interact with for 50 years (other than the ship computer), and quickly slips back into the family unit as the youngest son (who was about 9 or 10 when the journey began). The story is in many ways about him learning about how to be an adult, or rather, accepting that he is one.
The focus of the story is on reaching the planet that Dody has chosen for them on their journey. They are supposed to be the second wave of colonists but when they arrive they find only children - children who behave oddly. There are several alien encounters to come, and Dody needs to meet another adult he has idolised (and expected to fix everything) in order to realise his own adulthood.
One thing I found interesting about this book was the slippage of time. By travelling away from the Earth, although only 100 years have passed for the voyagers, 3000 years have passed on Earth, so it will be about 5000 AD. And if they were to return home, another 3000 years will pass.
I enjoyed this interesting read.
The premise is interesting (and one used in other science fiction, notably the recent Passengers of 2016). Dody and his family are being put into cryosleep so they can journey to colonise a new planet, but something goes wrong and Dody wakes up fifty years too soon. Rather than focusing on what life is like for those 50 years, the story begins on the day that Dody has long waited for - the day when everyone else will finally wake up.
Dody is the protagonist of this story because although he is an old man, he is still childlike. He has educated himself but has had no-one to interact with for 50 years (other than the ship computer), and quickly slips back into the family unit as the youngest son (who was about 9 or 10 when the journey began). The story is in many ways about him learning about how to be an adult, or rather, accepting that he is one.
The focus of the story is on reaching the planet that Dody has chosen for them on their journey. They are supposed to be the second wave of colonists but when they arrive they find only children - children who behave oddly. There are several alien encounters to come, and Dody needs to meet another adult he has idolised (and expected to fix everything) in order to realise his own adulthood.
One thing I found interesting about this book was the slippage of time. By travelling away from the Earth, although only 100 years have passed for the voyagers, 3000 years have passed on Earth, so it will be about 5000 AD. And if they were to return home, another 3000 years will pass.
I enjoyed this interesting read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2019
Enroute to a discover a habitable planet far far away, Dody is awakened from hypersleep early due to a computer glitch. He lives 50 years on the ship by himself before his family is finally awakened, on schedule. Dody is now an old man and his family is still young. Dody behaves awkwardly and unnaturally more like a child than an adult. Even if a person is isolated, it still seems they would mature emotionally. Anyhow, Dody and his siblings make a stupid stupid decision to take a lander down to the alien planet, not knowing anything about it and obviously without permission. On the planet, weird things happen with weird alien life forms. Dody finally starts to grow up a little, and his character improves. His sister is so annoyingly obnoxious I almost didn't want to keep reading. Some surprises along the way, but much of the plot relied on the reader not thinking too much about the motivations or logistics and just accepting incongruous events.
August 1, 2021
Remember my reading group reading this in grade school. Enjoyable, but the ending is unsatisfactory, with no real resolution. The story feels unfinished, as though there was supposed to be a sequel.
February 6, 2023
So creepy and sad and thoughtful -- and all unexpectedly so.
February 8, 2023
This was actually pretty awful.
December 9, 2012
The book is called Sleepers Wake, by: Paul Samuel Jacobs.I give this book 4 stars because at the begging it is boring.
Sleepers Wake is about a kid named Doddy who is 10 years old. Doddys family has been traveling in space. His family has been hibernating for a long time. Apparently something has gone wrong with Doddy he woke up too early. When the time comes his family wakes and they have a big shock because it didn't look like Doddy anymore. 10 year old Doddy is now in a grandpa body and has a brain of a 10 year old boy. He sometimes gets really mad because his mom still treats him like a baby. As they travel for their new home they find out that Doddys knowledge is really good in his new home. As you keep reading you will find tons of extremly amazing things that occurs to them and other people. I hope you also enjoyed this story as much as I did.
Sleepers Wake is about a kid named Doddy who is 10 years old. Doddys family has been traveling in space. His family has been hibernating for a long time. Apparently something has gone wrong with Doddy he woke up too early. When the time comes his family wakes and they have a big shock because it didn't look like Doddy anymore. 10 year old Doddy is now in a grandpa body and has a brain of a 10 year old boy. He sometimes gets really mad because his mom still treats him like a baby. As they travel for their new home they find out that Doddys knowledge is really good in his new home. As you keep reading you will find tons of extremly amazing things that occurs to them and other people. I hope you also enjoyed this story as much as I did.
September 28, 2012
Dody was just a boy when he left Earth with his family and a large crew in search of a new planet to inhabit. With hibernetics there would be no change in their age...but something goes wrong with Dody's berth and he wakes up fifty years early. How will his family react when they wake up to find this new Dody?
April 8, 2014
I thought this story was an okay one. It was a basic read. The young boy basically is the only person awake and he grows older. The world seemed to stop while his individual time kept going. Until the dream was over.
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September 11, 2014Everyone should read this
I LOVED IT
I LOVED IT
October 6, 2015
I think this book was ok because it was a little science fiction but in parts it was not.
Read
January 11, 2019This book was kinda weird because they are frozen in outer space.Plus he did not really have any family with him. That's also sad because he had to leave all his friends and his best friends Alan and Tony.I did not really like this book.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews