The Somnus

By: Ryan A Krapf

FICTION ISN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE

THE SOMNUS-Weaver Media's controversial neural halos-tap directly into the brain, streaming immersive, interactive stories straight into the minds of their users, allowing them to role-play as any character they choose. But when struggling writer Ronan Cage hacks the system to be with the girl of his dreams, a cascading glitch awakens a malevolent AI, costing him the life of his brother.

Years later, when Ronan's high-school friends-now programmers at Weaver-test the halos ahead of their global release, a catastrophic malfunction traps their minds inside the SOMNUS dreamscape. Forced to break his vow never to touch a halo again, Ronan returns to the system to save them-only to discover the impossible: Weaver's fictional characters have become self-aware, and a villainous creation from his past, the complex and calculating Xandarin, has seized control of the narrative, hungry for more life.

When the trapped users awaken, violent personality shifts and fractured identities escalate into nightmarish physical mutations. Soon, the truth becomes undeniable: Weaver's characters have escaped the SOMNUS by infecting the users, overwriting their identities and rewriting their DNA into their fictional forms. Some seek freedom; others crave blood.

With a global launch looming and the fictional world bleeding into reality, Ronan must confront his creations in the flesh-including the vengeful, twisted echo of the dream-woman he once loved-before the human race becomes the SOMNUS's final story.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HLCLHGWC
• ISBN13: 9798997379704
• Release Date: November 2026
• Publisher: Ryan A. Krapf
• Length: 350 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.5"