Kyle’s Reviews > Early Riser > Status Update
Kyle
is on page 303 of 402
Charlie is not too bright or attractive, hardly heroic and bordering on poverty; and yet can run multiple schemes, have one of the most powerful women claiming to be bundling with him (while another, although technically comatose, professing her love for him), be famed for killing a nasty Villain, and finally, through Active Control, increase his fortune. Sounds like dreams come true, and perhaps that’s all they are.
— Apr 05, 2019 05:46PM
Like flag
Kyle’s Previous Updates
Kyle
is on page 400 of 402
Wonderful and bittersweet to have the story wrapped up, and only one loose end left open to interpretation. The main theme emerges just before a climatic Dreamspace showdown: an enigmatic quotation attributed to nobody in particular, “If you can’t have change without injustice, then there should be no change” (p. 376) - Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu are strong candidates for the actual quote, but I guess it’s Kiki.
— Apr 17, 2019 10:55AM
Kyle
is on page 370 of 402
So Foulnap was on the right side, and after a few more roles are reversed and honours bestowed, Charlie becomes the go-to agent of yet another organization involved with dreaming-altering Somnagraphs and freedom of the oppressed nightwalkers. Rather than playing the victim of unruly fortune, he takes matters into his hands (while also giving Laura a leg up) as he comes face-to-face with Aurora and reckless HiberTech.
— Apr 14, 2019 03:53PM
Kyle
is on page 347 of 402
Here’s where each set-up gets a bit, umm, wonky as multiple threads receive a quick succession of reversals: HiberTech’s aggressive acquisition, a bewildering blizzard, the calamitous Cambrensis, a deadly deus ex machina... even Charlie is self-aware of everything at once. Much like the long-sought-after Gronk photo, the readers and protagonist will have to wait to see what develops racing to the denouement.
— Apr 11, 2019 10:04AM
Kyle
is on page 324 of 402
Another stunning feat of set-up and pay-off: Toccata punches Charlie in the eye, twice, for lying yet he comes up with an even bigger lie to cover his tracks over Brigitta’s imminent discovery that circles back to reveal a deeper truth, how each overwinterer has to do these things to help one another. Just like Jonsey and her wonderfully prescient observation: “when you pretend to think you know someone...” (p. 316).
— Apr 07, 2019 09:48AM
Kyle
is on page 273 of 402
Charlie is proving to be less of a fish out of water, more of a shark with laser beam, the last item being his memory inside his head! He is able to take control of the viral dream and find out a few things about the Notable Goodnight that she couldn’t figure out. His waking life, however, is still shrouded in mystery. At least he is a little less trusting of Aurora even when she is offering an in to the den of evil.
— Apr 01, 2019 02:44PM
Kyle
is on page 223 of 402
The divided consciousness of Toccata and Aurora presents an intriguing twist to Charles’ impeccable memory as he now has two sides of her personality to keep straight, each of her has a wildly differing agenda. As gruff and abusive as Toccata has been called for the first half of the novel, she at least seems to know what is right. Aurora, on the other hand, becomes increasingly more suspicious when the cat’s around.
— Mar 25, 2019 09:37AM
Kyle
is on page 202 of 402
It is almost becoming a distraction, not knowing why Fforde’s wintery world became so radically different centuries ago and yet vaguely familiar popular culture from the reader’s reality (Carmen Miranda, Reduced Shakespeare) has remained pretty much the same. The holographic plate of reality has cracked, so that dreams come first, and yet by the midpoint of the novel all pieces are strangely starting to fit together.
— Mar 23, 2019 11:26AM
Kyle
is on page 179 of 402
The month-long dream of a Buick and disembodied hands makes this post-apocalyptic yarn a bit more Inception-y, and Charlie discovers how reality is broken and these visions are precursors to actual events. Perhaps it is the long winters of hibernation with zombie-like nightwalkers that are virtual dreamstates?
— Mar 18, 2019 08:58AM
Kyle
is on page 147 of 402
While raising more questions about what else could possibly go wrong for Charlie, these next couple of chapters at least partially answer why the dust jacket image has two people at the beach under a parasol inside what looks like a snow globe. The artist Brigitta lives in the dormitorium where he was placed temporarily, but much like his first dream in years, as well as spooky Clytemnestra, all images have meanings.
— Mar 13, 2019 08:28AM
Kyle
is on page 127 of 402
The women of Wales may provide safe havens or siren’s rocks for Charlie’s tempest-tossed boat (having missed the last train): Toccata, Aurora and Laura may each be his salvation or ruin in Sector Twelve. The as-yet unseen Toccata promises to be the most turbulent working relationship, yet somehow his naïveté about her ensures he will at least survive until the last chapter. More talk about the Gronk who is a she too.
— Mar 08, 2019 06:26PM
