Humans Don't Hibernate

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Every living thing hibernates, this is a fact of life. All species regardless of their origins fall into the same cosmic cycle of waking and dormancy. So when an entire world is discovered to be out of line with this universal constant, a Vanaran scientist by the name of Lysara is tasked with investigating the truth. He begins this investigation well before humanity's inception, but is forced to end it long after their rise.

Fate would eventually lead to him questioning the very nature of his reality, and the hidden truths which underpin this universal constant.

This is a story that takes place over the course of millennia, told from the perspective of an alien scientist coming to terms with the uncomfortable truths of a reality he thought he once knew.

There will be mysteries uncovered, and conspiracies unearthed, as well as friends to make along the way.

Note: The story is being ported over from Reddit to Royal Road at a rate of about 1 chapter every 2-3 days until we're caught up with the latest chapter! At which point, the rate of posting will match that of my typical rate of one new chapter a week! At the time of writing, the latest chapter is Chapter 50! :D

The awesome cover art is by Tetrisk1 over on Twitter, and the graphic design work was done a good friend! :D

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2023
Author: Jcb112

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 889
Views: 304,370

Chapters(72 total)

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(5)

KoboldPatrolRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
(as of chapter 37)
Lysara is a Vanaran, a human-adjacent alien from a species whose whole civilization regularly enters hibernation for many millennia, like every other species in the galaxy does. Uhm, what's that weird green-blue planet over there, with those strange "humans", why don't they hibernate as well? As a scientist, Lysara studies that anomaly. Right before the next hibernation period, first contact is made and a friendship starts. When he next wakes up, the universe has changed and Lysara is alone. No Vanarans, no humans anywhere. There's only the human-made AI Vir that had watched over his sleep, without any contact to outside. Together, they try to find out what happened to the two missing advanced species, and learn about a mysterious third species...
The story is told in past tense in third-person limited style, mostly from Lysara's point of view. There seems to be very detailed world building prepared, although discovering what really happened is one of the driving forces of the story, so we readers have only had glimpses of it. The prose is good. The descriptions are detailed enough to understand what happens without slowing down the story. Grammar is good.
I would classify this story as a sci-fi adventure and a scavenger hunt for mysteries. The cast of two is too small to really count as a classical space opera IMPO, although the inter-personal relationship between protagonist and deuteragonist and other typical aspects of space operas are a very important part. The pacing is good, there are lots of discoveries as well as action scenes but it doesn't feel rushed. The tone is a mix of HFY (mostly in history) and the time-constrained "fight"/cat-and-mouse game against an overwhelming opponent to save the galaxy (in the now). The technology is on the rather soft part of the sci-fi spectrum, incredible results are reached with little explanation of how that could be possible.
The MC Lysara is a person whose world view has been shattered and who must c
Paladin_DaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The first chapter in this hooked me, and what followed was not what I expected. I'm really enjoying it, but the timeframes get a little confusing. I'm looking forward to more as I really want to see what is going on with the different groups. I've enjoyed the protagonist being out of touch and in the dark, and the relationships between the main characters. I also think the AI was done really well.
Rivalcavalier1962Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The whole Space Opera begins with a single simple premise: Humans don't hibernate; while all other sentient species in the universe do. From that premise the story and flows along like a stream; gathering correlating ideas, like streams merging together, along its plot until it has become a river wending its way to the sea of a conclusion.
But what form will that sea take?
The answer to this quest is, as yet, unknown. Will it be a vast deep swarming with life, or a narrow, sterile dead sea of extinct species and shattered worlds? After 44 chapters, either seems possible.
I, and perhaps you — reading this review — will float down this river to find the sea to which it flows.
ZagarothRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
And I know it's a masterpiece because I've been reading it on Reddit for the past several months. :) It's past chapter 50 over there.
If you like speculative Sci-Fi at all, this is a good one. There is mystery, plot, character development, feelings, suspense, danger, scheming, exploration, etc. The story is mostly told through a single PoV, but there are a couple of other PoVs that are used sparingly. Third-person limited.
No Romance as of Chapter 50, but the story doesn't really need it. Mind, I am absolutely a sucker for a good romance, but the emphasis is on the good. No Romance is better than Bad Romance. I think there is a tiny chance for it in the future, but that is pure speculation on my part.
The author has very few edits suggested either on Reddit or here, and I find no flaws just reading through it, so I feel comfortable giving a full five stars here.
I do sometimes feel the characters could use more development, they are somewhat limited by the fact the two MCs are mostly interacting with each other, but that is the nature of this story. It does look like that might change soon however.
forcesmashRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Very good for being a webnovel. Been reading this since the first ch. was published on HFY. Style has no issues and does its work although nothing special, grammar is perfect (which shouldn't really be a plus but here we are). The story and characters are enjoyable to read, in particular the fact that it really feels like they're on a long and tough mission, without the protagonists feeling too much like chosen ones are a highlight of the story,
although they actually do have things that set them apart from their respective societies
. I also like how they are using their brains and collaborating with other people, instead of just sticking to themselves (which once again doesn't seem like it should be anything to write home about but it seems like a rather major tendency in, really, any sort of work). The story conveys well the issue of hiding something from such a hegemonic force for so much time, with the interstellar scavenger hunt they're going through feeling like the bare minimum to achieve their goal of secrecy. (the rambling speeches on the spirit of perseverance and the might of cooperation are the true best thing (although they can drag sometimes). I would appreciate a bit more insight or explanation on how the various technologies work, but this doesn't seem like this type of story.