I Am Sleepless: Sim 299 by Johan Twiss

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own,

In some ways this book reminded me of the Ender’s series, because the hope of success in the war are children. However, that is where it deviates. The powers in charge have used human babies and injected them with something that often kills the baby. If they are lucky the serum works and they become one of many  species with specific gifts. Aiden is a freak among these freaks. He has two gifts. When they are in the pit practicing against each other he is suddenly able to meld his two gifts together. In this way he is able to anticipate his opponent’s moves and win.  This creates some enemies.  Each of these “gifts” comes with a defect. For Aiden the defect is he never sleeps. I loved that these species had identifiable characteristics. Aiden has the gift of a vibrant and a puzzler. He has green hair and gray skin. Most vibrunts are blind, but he is not. He also has the gift of a puzzler where he can figure complex things out.

They get the shakes and usually can’t sleep. Aiden is the youngest person to make it through most of the simulators. He is currently in sim 299. Three of his rivals end up with an invitation to that sim. They enter to seek revenge. They end up needing each other. Dixon is an agulator who can change the density of his body. Zana is a Mek. She is blue and although she is a dwarf, her engineering genius holds lots of promise. Unfortunately they usually sabotage their own work.  Aiden has two other friends  that help him . They all become like family.  But things are about to take a twisted turn. Someone doesn’t like what is happening and enters the game to shake things up.

It took me a little time to get the different type of characters straight and understand their gifts and defects. Once I understood it, I loved it. The world this author has created is beautiful.  It seems it is a simple world and then you realize how complex it is. The plot is fairly complex as well. There are a lot of hidden secrets. I loved the book so well that I bought the second book. I am really looking forward to reading it.