The Architect of Sleep

I find myself deeply saddened that this series was never completed, as this is most definitely the first book in a larger story line. The focus here is almost entirely on world building, and what a world has been built! The basic conceit (a parallel universe where racoons have become the dominant intelligent animal) sounds a bit silly, but what Steven Boyett has managed to do is deliver an insightful ‘what if?' to how such a society might evolve with the natural differences in physiology. The central concept here is around communication and language. Having the characters communicate almost entirely by a form of sign language gives a strange depth of nuance to things. The characters themselves are intriguing, and whilst there is some initial character development here there are glimpses towards something much larger which unfortunately is unlikely to be completed (the author explains the situation in the afterword of the edition I have and I can understand revisiting something you wrote early in your career could definitely be a challenge!).

The fascinating potential here is amazing. I do hope the author does feel able to revisit it at some point and complete the series, giving the resolution that it so desperately needs

I enjoyed the journey of this science fantasy. There are two narrators in the story who are different in every way. They become friends and allies in the conflict for the new world.

Like other reviewers, I wish the sequel were available. I found the world and struggle in the alternate world to be compelling and interesting.

The most interesting feature of the story to me was the beginning of learning the signing language of the raccoon people. The author was very clear and realistic in explaining the difficulty in learning communication between the human and raccoon.

This book is very erudite, educated and sophisticated. I had to look up a few words in this story, which is very unusual for me. This book is probably best for very educated readers. Readers who are looking for a simple action story would likely be disappointed. The most detail in the story is the psychological relations between the different characters. There is some fighting, armed and hand-to-hand raccoon fighting, but this is just incidental to the plot.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone looking for a deep look at alternate raccoon society.