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Nightmareland: Travels at the Borders of Sleep, Dreams, and Wakefulness by Lex "Lonehood" Nover (2018)
, 10 Jan 2025
Nightmareland is unpretentious, entertaining and informative at the same time. It has a good mix of entertaining stories, good notes, science, history, folk culture, parapsychology, interviews with or reference to serious researchers on the different subjects he discusses in the book.
This is not a book just about dreams or nightmares (and night terrors), is also a book about many other dream-related stuff: sleep paralysis (when alleged psychic attacks or spirits or alien visitations occur), parasomnias (which include sleep talking, sleep eating disorder or SRED, sexsomnia, sleepwalking, sleep driving, sleepwalk murders, REM Behaviour Disorder or RBD), sleep deprivation (sleeplessness, and fatal familial insomnia or FFI), hypnagogia or liminal states (Exploding Head Syndrome, Hypnagogic Jerks, Incubi and Succubi visitations, etc.) and lucid dreaming (and Dream Yoga) Fascinating subjects all of them, some of which I had never heard of. There are many real life examples some of which made it to the news. All fascinating. There also two chapters devoted to paranormal lucubrations: psychic attacks and Aliens.
Although many of the subjects Lonehood talks are well-known, especially if you are into dreamwork and dream history, they are still interesting for the general public. I love the fact that the book doesn't have any pretentiousness, something that counteracts its weakest points.
This is not a book just about dreams or nightmares (and night terrors), is also a book about many other dream-related stuff: sleep paralysis (when alleged psychic attacks or spirits or alien visitations occur), parasomnias (which include sleep talking, sleep eating disorder or SRED, sexsomnia, sleepwalking, sleep driving, sleepwalk murders, REM Behaviour Disorder or RBD), sleep deprivation (sleeplessness, and fatal familial insomnia or FFI), hypnagogia or liminal states (Exploding Head Syndrome, Hypnagogic Jerks, Incubi and Succubi visitations, etc.) and lucid dreaming (and Dream Yoga) Fascinating subjects all of them, some of which I had never heard of. There are many real life examples some of which made it to the news. All fascinating. There also two chapters devoted to paranormal lucubrations: psychic attacks and Aliens.
Although many of the subjects Lonehood talks are well-known, especially if you are into dreamwork and dream history, they are still interesting for the general public. I love the fact that the book doesn't have any pretentiousness, something that counteracts its weakest points.
Jason Jam is the author of the lovely illustrations in the book.
SOME NUGGETS
> The are many cross-cultural references throughout the book, something I really liked because they show that some of the phenomena described are Universal but have regional variations.
SOME NUGGETS
> The are many cross-cultural references throughout the book, something I really liked because they show that some of the phenomena described are Universal but have regional variations.
> The advice on how to prevent sleep paralysis and to break the spell, so to speak, when you are having one.
> Sleep terrors generally don’t involve dream narratives.
> Unlike sleep eating, where the demographic is more likely to be female, most people with RBD are male and over age fifty. (...) research now suggests that RBD is typically an early sign of Parkinson’s and related diseases (p. 51).
> About 7 percent of parasomnias are classified as “nocturnal dissociative disorders” arising from a damaged psyche. (p. 55).
> The expression sleep like a baby is a bit of a misnomer, as the dreams of the very young are often far from tranquil. There’s even some evidence that fetuses experience parasomnias and that their adorable kicking emerges out of their primordial sleep state. (p. 115).
> About 7 percent of parasomnias are classified as “nocturnal dissociative disorders” arising from a damaged psyche. (p. 55).
> The expression sleep like a baby is a bit of a misnomer, as the dreams of the very young are often far from tranquil. There’s even some evidence that fetuses experience parasomnias and that their adorable kicking emerges out of their primordial sleep state. (p. 115).
THE SO-SOS
> The book is sometimes too anecdotal. Too many examples.
> A good deal of the information provided is well-known already.
> The chapters about psychic attacks and aliens are enjoyable to read, but there is little there about dreams. The tone of these two is different from the rest and I found that most of the content didn't add to the the subject of sleep, dreaming or nightmares.
KINDLE EDITION
Although the edition is pretty good overall, I found some examples of bad editing regarding the way time is quoted. Two examples:
> p. 66 "just past ten thirty p.m." Use either use 10.30pm or half past ten in the evening.
> p. 75 "At around four forty-five a.m." Use either 4.45am or quarter to five in the morning.
I also found a typo: p. 96. "I’m talking about the 1890s" For what he's saying, it's most likely the 1990s.
The footnotes are well linked back and forth. The short version of the notes in the body of the text doesn't have the hyperlinks active but the version at the end does. However, many of the external hyperlinks referenced are broken and not working. Too many to mention here.
The footnotes are well linked back and forth. The short version of the notes in the body of the text doesn't have the hyperlinks active but the version at the end does. However, many of the external hyperlinks referenced are broken and not working. Too many to mention here.
I always love having a subject index at the end of a book. Here, each entry is properly hyperlinked to the corresponding pages.
IN SHORT
This is one of those books that you can easily read while commuting, on holidays or when you want to learn about an interesting subject that can expand your conversation. It discusses many subjects that relate to sleep and dream disorders, some of which aren't well -known or popular. The notes referencing to YouTube videos or news items add to the enjoyment. Good for the lay reader, this book is easy to read and full of curiosities. Perhaps not as interesting for the dream aficionado or the dream nerd. Yet, some of the cases discussed would fascinate everyone.
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