12:07 The Sleeping
- L. Sydney Abel
- Oct 19, 2016
- 2 min read
Whether you've suffered from sleep paralysis or not, this book opens a whole new scary window into the terrifying 'conscious' nightmare many people experience for real. This story of Lance suffering awake or aware nightmares are very real to him and carry much more gravity than normal dreams. Lance has a dread of falling asleep and The Sleeping coming for him. It's terrifying in it's paralysing grips, he can't escape them when they come close to him or move away when they sit on his bed. When reality hits and he's suddenly bolt awake, it's always 12:07 on his bedside digital clock. Lance begins to realise there is more to 12:07 than just after midnight and seeks help from the strange old Mr Green who has just moved in next door. This same old man has just moved from next door to James. Lance goes to the office and has a daily flirting ritual with Miss Swan, he would never take things further because he loves his wife, Katherine. James has audacious sex in the office with Imogen Swan during lunchtimes when no one else is around.
Lance is schizophrenic and was an unwanted baby. Mr Green is approximately 154 years old, lived many times and has no soul – he knows The Sleeping well.
Very loosely, Mr Green's great-grand-daughter, along with Mr Green, Katherine, Lance and two pretty girls, attempt to make a pact with the Devil to return Mr Green's soul to him in exchange for two pretty sacrificial girls. This part of the story has religious overtones and is reminiscent of The Omen.
L. Sydney Abel has cleverly created a schizophrenic character to add another dimension and depth to the main protagonist. Lance is both good and bad – has respect for his wife and confides about Mr Green and also has a reckless affair and feels no guilt because that was James, not Lance.
12:07 The Sleeping is a difficult plot to stick together and L. Sydney Abel pulls it off well. It's a story of normality interspersed with strange reality and even stranger super-natural happenings. At times it is terrifyingly compelling, paralysingly scary and very creepy. Sleep well!
http://www.lsydneyabelbooks.com/