Click here to buy this book! Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Download from Apple iTunes (eBook) Download from Smashwords (eBook) Amazon Lulu Merita King - Science Fiction Novelist Smashwords Lulu Category:  Science Fiction Publisher: Merita King ISBN-10:  0957052022 Type: Fiction Pages: 305 Copyright: Feb 24 2012 ISBN-13: 9780957052024 Price: $1.99 (eBook) When the people of Lilea succumb to a mysterious affliction, sleep becomes Vincent's worst enemy. Have you ever been too afraid to go to sleep? Vincent and Farra hadn’t either, but when the people of Lilea fall victim to a mysterious and frightening affliction, sleep becomes the gateway to a new and terrible danger. With their spirit guides vanished, and unable to wake their friends and neighbours, they soon realise that a new evil is amongst them. Trying desperately to stay awake, Vincent finds himself plunged into a nightmare battle to find the truth amidst the make believe. Many days across the gulf of space, the Drycenians suddenly find themselves hosts uninvited guests, who beg them for help. As they race to Lilea, knowing only that their dearest friends are in desperate peril, they must find a way to communicate with their new guests, and together, find a way to help them. In order to save Lilea, Vincent must first be found and brought to safety.  It is up to one man to venture into the darkness, putting his own soul at risk, and lead him back to safety. Only once Vincent is found and safe, can everyone work to end this evil and save the people of Lilea from the terror of The Sleeping. What new intrigue is at work on Lilea and how do these two alien friends solve this mystery, to save the people of Lilea? Excerpt Muffled sounds reached his ears. He could hear voices shouting, a woman laughing and running footsteps. He opened his eyes to find he was lying on a makeshift bed in semi darkness. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom he looked around and realised that wherever this place was, he didn’t recognise it. The bed he was lying on was similar to ones he used during his military career; very basic in both design and comfort and although not the height of luxury, the sight of something so familiar was a comfort. There was a dull ache in his right arm and his right ankle felt a bit stiff but otherwise he was okay. An ammunition box lay by the side of his bed on which was a jug of water and a glass. He helped himself and drank a large glassful in one go, then poured another which he disposed of in a similar manner. He looked around the room and saw he was in what looked very much like a military field medical facility. He helped put up such facilities during his military career and took a number of his colleagues to such places when they were injured. They were designed to provide basic hospital and medical care in the field and were only suitable for the most basic medical needs. They were designed to keep soldiers alive just long enough to get them to a proper medical facility. They could patch you up but complicated surgery was out of the question and Vincent wondered what happened to his arm and ankle. He was glad that his Lilean physiology meant that wounds heal themselves in time without intervention. He felt his arm and ankle to try to assess the damage. Both were broken at some time but as he felt around with his fingers, he realised the breaks were long since healed but the bones weren't aligned as they should be. They were healed but as the bones were out of alignment when they healed, they could not heal in as perfect a way as he would expect them to. He could not tell how much time was now passed, but it was long enough for his bones to reset themselves, which he knew took a couple of weeks but it could be much longer than that. There were no windows in this room, so he could not tell where he was or even whether he was still on Lilea or not. He looked around for a door and saw one at the other end of the room from which direction the voices seemed to come. He got up and started towards it and noticed with dismay that although his ankle did not hurt, he could not help but walk with a slight limp. As he approached the door, the voices grew louder and he stopped to listen. Someone was giving orders, telling others to get moving and be more careful this time; they could not afford more losses and supplies were running out and needed to be replaced soon. He did not recognise any of the voices he could hear and he didn't know whether he was in custody or whether he was being cared for. His military training forbade him from going through that door unarmed and unprepared so he took a quick look around for a weapon. He was somewhat surprised to see his own back pack sitting on a chair, so he went over and opened it up to find everything still inside; the coffee, the Nasmurian Filleting Daggers and all the other bits and bobs he liberated from the store just before he crashed the hover bike. This would seem to indicate these people were not hostile, but he took out one of the daggers anyway and headed towards the door once again. He pressed an ear to the door and heard the same voice reminding people to be on their guard and other voices mumbling and murmuring in response. He took hold of the door handle, dagger in the other hand and after taking a deep breath, he thrust the door open and stepped through, dagger held in front in an obvious gesture of defence. Thirty or forty faces all turned in his direction and the room fell silent. He turned the dagger in his hand to get the feel of it and to let these people know that he was not going to be anyone’s pushover.

An Exciting Addition to this Series
Evil has a nasty habit of resurfacing and in "The Sleeping" this quickly becomes apparent to Vincent, Farra and their old friends, The Drycenians. Not even a year had passed since the Lileans started to repatriate to their own planet, and the spirit guides are disappearing; people are falling into a very deep sleep and soon all power sources on Lilea cut out. With the Lileans in mortal peril and those who can't be used by the transmortal spirits having their heads messed with, it is up to the Drycenians to hasten to the rescue.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and could hardly put it down. Thrilling action and nail-biting suspense are beautifully balanced by some tender, romantic scenes and frequent humorous moments. A touch of spirituality brings depth to the story and I was truly moved by the caring and love the characters show towards one another.

For those who love the technical details of a high-tech space environment, there is plenty to grip your imagination in this novel. The author cleverly inserts world building and information concerning the history of the various races into the book without compromising the flow of the story. The wonderfully crafted characters, already dear to me from the first book in this series, "Redemption", now feel like old friends and I hope we'll get to read more about them in future books.

I would advise readers to read the first book in the series before reading "The Sleeping". I happily give this marvelously written book five stars and hope that more of the same will soon come our way. (Ellen Fritz)

Wow What a brilliant book
I was given this book by the author in return for an honest review.

Having read the first book I had high expectations for this the second book in the series, I was certainly not left disappointed.
What a wonderful second book. It was great to see how far Farra and Vincent and got on re-building their home to be and village as an unusual disease sweeps across the whole of Lilea that the Lilean's have come to call "The Sleeping".
It turn's out that once again they must risk their lives and fight the Transmortals in the Land of the Dead. I love how Dr Jam play's a bigger role in this book and how his story unfolds.
This is action packed and one hell of a gripping read, I cannot wait to read the third book :)
This is a MUST read for anyone