Percivious Insomnia

The Cooks’ impressive SF medical thriller, the first of a trilogy, overflows with intriguing ideas. The main plot focuses on a new wonder sleep drug, Noctural, which runs into a snag. Despite successful preliminary trials, Noctural fails to work for a test subject with chronic insomnia and other people suffering from sleep deprivation. Figuring out why falls to a researcher for the Big Pharma company behind the medication. Other story lines are less conventional. One involves Human Pinnacle Theory, which posits that humans have reached the pinnacle of their evolution, and thus are at risk for extinction because of an inability to adapt to Earth’s changing environment. Another centers on a secret U.S. government dossier revealing that “ancient humanoid cousins” existed along with the dinosaurs and were the dominant life form at the time. Before leaving the planet, they created a DNA time capsule that led to the evolution of homo sapiens. The Cooks, a married couple, alternate between the plot threads easily. Michael Crichton fans will look forward to the sequel. (Self-published)