Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory
When lies become truths and two kingdoms head to a bloody war, a man is exiled for his conscience
Refusing the queen’s order to gas a crowd of protesters, Minister Shea Ashcroft is banished to the border to oversee the construction of the biggest defensive tower in history. However, the use of advanced technology taken from refugees makes the tower volatile and dangerous, becoming a threat to local interests. Shea has no choice but to fight the local hierarchy to ensure the construction succeeds—and to reclaim his own life.
Surviving an assassination attempt, Shea confronts his inner demons, encounters an ancient legend, and discovers a portal to a dead world—all while struggling to stay true to his own principles and maintain his sanity. Fighting memories and hallucinations, he starts to question everything...
Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory is a thought-provoking meditation on the fragility of the human condition, our beliefs, the manipulation of propaganda for political gains, and our ability to distinguish the real from the unreal and our willingness to accept convenient “truths.” The novel is a compelling exploration of memory, its fragile nature, and its profound impact on our perception of identity, relationships, and facts themselves.
"Eloquent, moody, poetic. . . masterful."—Beth Cato (author of A Thousand Recipes for Revenge)
A note from the author: “A major theme of the book is how disinformation and propaganda can be used to justify violence, and how ignoring evil can lead people to accept atrocities. I was able to witness all this first-hand, having spent the first 21 years of my life in Russia and absorbing the recent events unfiltered and in my native tongue. Sleeping worlds are not only devoid of memories; they are also oblivious to the pain of others.”
A unique blend of science fiction, fantasy and noir, with zeitgeist and prophetic qualities (the original novella anticipated the Russo-Ukrainian War), this is a must for fans of China Miéville’s Bas-Lag series, Ted Chiang’s Tower of Babylon, and Robert Silverberg’s Tower of Glass.
Yaroslav Barsukov
After leaving his ball and chain at the workplace, Yaroslav Barsukov goes on to write stories that deal with things he himself, thankfully, doesn’t have to deal with. He’s a software engineer and a connoisseur of strong alcoholic beverages - but also, surprisingly, a member of SFWA and Codex (how did that happen?). At some point in his life, he’s left one former empire only to settle in another.