In a world like but unlike our own, the population are traumatised by the departure of the Creator, who once lived amongst them. No-one knows where he has gone or why, and the Fae who ruled the world are also long gone, leaving behind traces of their presence in the faekind, humans who have inherited their powers. The world is still magical, but it seems lost and abandoned, and no-one knows what will happen. When a catastrophic earthquake throws the land of Hanrisor into post-apocalyptic chaos, two young people from very different backgrounds, Rune and Guin, find themselves facing a new and terrifying future.
Guin becomes a hero against her will, taking care of those weaker than herself and leading them on a journey to what she hopes will be safety. As a dark-skinned girl whose ancestors came from the Southern Continent, she finds herself a target for the Purists who want Hanrisor divided into petty fiefdoms along racial lines.
With the ruling royal family seemingly dead, "patriot" clans like the Drummers, the Firecaves and the Lukovs are ready to fill the vacuum. They have been arming themselves for the Upheaval and believe their time has come.
Patriarch Earnest Lukov has placed all his hopes in his grandson Rune, who he believes will be the saviour of his race. But Rune is faekind, and his mother Winsome has placed a different burden on him - an ethical burden that preserves the beliefs of the ancient fae and rejects the segregationist views of the Lukovs and their allies.
Rune, his sister Veika and brother Rowan have all inherited faekind powers from their mother's side of the family. Rune can hear people's thoughts and see into their hearts. As the story begins, Winsome is trying to set up a meeting between Rune and Guin, believing they are destined for each other. But will Rune and Guin agree?
Guin sees Rune as one of the hated oppressors who have stolen her sister's farm and her birthright. Rune finds himself falling in love with Guin, but dare not reveal his powers to her or anyone else. He finds his faekind powers breaking out as his love and desire for Guin deepens.
The stage is set for an epic story of love and loss in a dystopian world where the magic of the faes is always lying in wait, and in which faekind face the uncertainty of an inherited weakness that will only reveal itself as they grow into maturity.
Rune faces powerful rivals for Guin's hand: his handsome half-brother Aron, and Jian, the merfolk youth who has escaped from the juvenile detention centre where he was subjected to bullying and abuse.
Who Gave Sleep is a powerful and gripping adventure story. Despite the bleak post-apocalyptic setting, there are moments of humour and magic. The conflicts of the characters are realistically and sympathetically drawn and there are few wholly hateful characters. Even Earnest Lukov, the patriarch of the Lukov clan, is shown with compassion. Evil comes into the story in different forms, and the true adversaries may not be the ones the reader suspects at the beginning.
The stories of Guin, Rune, Jian and their friends make compelling reading and the narrative grips until the last page.
