Early Riser

nAn instant New York Times bestseller nThe latest standalone novel from Jasper Fforde, the bestselling author the Thursday Next series and the forthcoming standalone The Constant Rabbit n nEvery Winter, the human population hibernates. n nDuring those bitterly cold four months, the nation is a snow-draped landscape of desolate loneliness, devoid of human activity. n nWell, not quite. n nYour name is Charlie Worthing and it's your first season with the Winter Consuls, the committed but mildly unhinged group of misfits who are responsible for ensuring the hibernatory safe passage of the sleeping masses. n nYou are investigating an outbreak of viral dreams which you dismiss as nonsense; nothing more than a quirky artefact born of the sleeping mind. n nWhen the dreams start to kill people, it's unsettling. n nWhen you get the dreams too, it's weird. n nWhen they start to come true, you begin to doubt your sanity. n nBut teasing truth from the Winter is never easy: You have to avoid the Villains and their penchant for murder, kidnapping and stamp collecting; ensure you aren't eaten by Nightwalkers, whose thirst for human flesh can only be satisfied by comfort food; and sidestep the increasingly less-than-mythical WinterVolk. n nBut so long as you remember to wrap up warmly, you'll be fine.n