Hot Sleep
First novel by Orson Scott Card, featuring telepathy and suspended animation.
Hot Sleep: The Worthing Chronicle (1979) is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card, belonging to his Worthing series. It was Card's first published novel-length science fiction work, with A Planet Called Treason following it. The short story collection Capitol came out earlier in the same year. Card's later novel The Worthing Chronicle (1983) covers some of the same material.
The story follows Jason Worthing, nicknamed Jazz, a boy on the imperial capital planet Capitol. He possesses "the swipe," a genetic trait granting telepathy. Because the swipe is feared throughout the Empire, those who have it are executed. After being discovered, Jazz attempts to flee but is captured by Abner Doon. Doon helps him become a prominent space pilot. Eventually, Doon sends Jason to lead a colony, intending to spread the swipe more widely. When Jason's ship reaches its destination, he is attacked; the memories of all but one of the 333 colonists are destroyed, and two-thirds of the colonists are killed or left unable to be revived. Jason prevails, ensuring the colony's survival. Over many generations, he guides the colony's cultural development using a substance called Somec, which allows humans to sleep for long periods without aging. When Abner Doon later visits to see Jason's progress, Jason takes his own ship to the bottom of the ocean after Doon leaves.
The title refers to the experience of using Somec, the life-extension drug that underpins the interstellar Empire. Somec induces a suspended animation accompanied by an unbearable, torturous burning sensation throughout the body. However, the process erases the user's memory. Before entering Somec sleep, memories are recorded and stored separately, to be returned upon awakening. Because the memory of the process itself is lost, each user experiences the panic of the burning hot sleep "for the first time," regardless of how many times they have previously taken Somec.
Hot Sleep was later re-released as a serialized novel in the first issue of Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show in October 2005.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Orson Scott Card
- Cover Artist
- Gray Morrow
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Series
- The Worthing series
- Genre
- Science fiction
- Publisher
- Baronet Publishing
- Media Type
- Print (hard & paperback)
- Pages
- 309
- Isbn
- 0-89437-054-5
- Dewey
- 813/.54 19
- Congress
- PS3553.A655 T7 1988
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The novel follows Jason Worthing, also known as Jazz, a boy growing up on Capitol, the capital planet of the Empire. Jas has 'the swipe', a genetic trait allowing telepathy, which is feared in the Empire; those possessing it are executed. After being discovered, Jas tries to escape but is captured by Abner Doon, who helps him become a space pilot. Doon later sends Jason as head of a colony to spread the swipe, but upon reaching the planet, Jason is attacked, and the memories of all but one of the 333 colonists are destroyed, with two-thirds killed or damaged beyond awakening. Jason prevails, ensuring the colony's survival. He guides the colony's development over generations using Somec, a substance allowing long periods of sleep without aging. Eventually, Abner Doon visits, and after he leaves, Jason takes his own ship to the bottom of the ocean.
Reader's Guide
Hot Sleep is significant as Orson Scott Card's first published novel-length science fiction, establishing themes later revisited in The Worthing Chronicle (1983). The novel introduces the concept of Somec, a life-extension drug that erases memory, creating a cycle where each user experiences the burning sensation of 'hot sleep' as if for the first time. This mechanism underpins the interstellar Empire's operation and raises questions about identity and continuity of consciousness. The story's focus on telepathy, persecution, and colonization reflects Card's early exploration of social and psychological themes. The novel was later serialized in the first issue of Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show in 2005, indicating its enduring interest to fans.
Did You Know?
- Hot Sleep was Orson Scott Card's first novel-length published science fiction.
- The title refers to the burning sensation experienced during Somec-induced suspended animation, which users cannot remember due to memory erasure.
- The short story collection Capitol was published earlier the same year as Hot Sleep.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Hot Sleep?
Hot Sleep (full title Hot Sleep: The Worthing Chronicle) is a 1979 science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card that opens his Worthing series. It introduces the imperial setting of Capitol and the stigmatized genetic telepathy trait called 'the swipe.'
Who is the protagonist of Hot Sleep?
The story follows Jason Worthing, a young boy nicknamed Jazz who lives on the imperial capital world of Capitol. His possession of the swipe — an inherited telepathic ability — sets him apart and makes him a target in a society that dreads that genetic trait.
What is 'the swipe' in the Hot Sleep universe?
The swipe is a hereditary genetic trait that grants its bearer telepathic powers. In the novel's world, individuals who carry the swipe are widely feared and stigmatized, and that social hostility drives much of the plot's tension.
How does Hot Sleep connect to A Planet Called Treason?
A Planet Called Treason is the direct sequel, continuing the Worthing series on the same imperial backdrop. Card later revisited overlapping material in his 1983 novel The Worthing Chronicle.
Is Hot Sleep Orson Scott Card's first novel?
Yes — Hot Sleep was Card's debut novel-length science fiction work, published in 1979. That same year he also released the short story collection Capitol, but Hot Sleep stands as his first full-length novel.
More in Novels by Orson Scott Card 1-24
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