The Death of Sleep cover art

The Death of Sleep

The Planet Pirates Series, Book 2

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The Death of Sleep

By: Anne McCaffrey, Jody Lynn Nye
Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir
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About this listen

Like every other citizen of the Federation of Sentient Planets, Lunzie Mespil believed that no harm would come to her, but when the planet pirates attack the space liner on which she is a passenger, she might have to suffer more than just inconvenience.

©1990 by Bill Fawcett & Associates (P)2020 by Blackstone Publishing and Skyboat Media, Inc. Fiction Science Fiction Space Opera Solar System Pirate

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An incredible journey of a trauma-focussed psychologist who really goes through hell to try to reunite with herself, more than any other person, ultimately. A story about connection and loss, the book is a mix of thriller mystery, existential horror, and adventure biography, chronicling Lunzie's travel across the stars and expanses of time, trying to find how to cope inside the limits of what would break other people, such as the dislocation from family, from partners, and sense and order amongst the conflicts with the planet pirates. I had not read the first volume in the series but will, and found this to be completely self-contained and coherent. I don't know whether it was because I write science fiction around mothers and daughters but the pain around loss and uncertainty was quite upsetting in some places, without ever devolving into melodrama or hysterics. Other readers would have found it restrained, probably, but it is moving. And as the book moves into its later chapters, it is clear Lunzie is moving on with her life as many people in real life have to, amd I thought the plot mirrored this detachment from her previous modes of living very well and realistically, even if it seemed to buck narrative convention such as the tying up of loose ends. And although I had glanced at wikipedia about the inclusion of dinosaur planet in the last part, a concept introduced into earlier works from the authors, I could understand how a new reader might find that setting totally bizarre, despite the fact that it is introduced really well.

I also want to address the racism in the book, as there is frequent mention of Lunzie's fear of the heavy-worlders, humans who have changed to operate on much larger planets in more hostile environments that 'regular' humans, light-worlders, cannot. Despite the inclusion of passages in the book that make it clear there are structural reasons why heavyworlders are feared, alluding to the structural racism of lower pay, necropolitical proximity, scientific racism and pain thresholds, etc., and Lunzie does in fact spend time with a heavyworlder crew that demonstrates her fears are artificial, there is still a lingering sentiment that heavyworlders are physiologically inferior to regular humans and that therefore the prejudice is justified, and this is difficult to swallow. Heavyworlders have 'baser appetites' to which they are beholden, apparently, and it seems that the heavyworlder crew Lunzie travels with are exceptional, which renders the arc of her (and our) beliefs about them as a species retroactively null.

de Cuir does an outstanding job, and I think other than the poor treatment of the heavyworlders, I would still recommend this a lot.

Life and times of Lunzie Mespil

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great to catch up with the audio version of Anne McCaffrey /Jody Lynn Nye's collaboration
as ever McCaffrey worlds are credible, characters interesting and plots are exciting and seamless
well worth a listen and free with membership

good book

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As always Anne McCaffreys ability to weave a spellbinding story which captures all your senses is in full working mode in this captivating story!
LOVED IT!
Brilliant narration.

Brilliant storytelling!

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Well done to Gabrielle de Cuir for a decent performance from very little to work with.

I can not believe two such respected authors could turn out such a slow boring book. The material is there. Space civilisation and aliens. Protagonist awakes after decades to strange worlds. Potential conflict. Spaceship accidents and misadventures.

Yet it is all wasted in a story that sounds like a news report. No depth of character. Two dimensional conversations. Slipshod proof reading. eg planet had been polluted by people for thousands of years. In the 2700s?

What a waste

Well performed but tedious

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