As the novel opens, people's survivability during hibernation has dramatically increased after the introduction of Morphenox, a drug produced by HiberTech, a large and powerful "vertically integrated" corporation.

Over the course of the winter, the Consul Service discovers an outbreak of viral dreams that, while not believed to be a serious concern at first, inevitably builds into a widespread emergency that endangers every Sleeper.

[3] "As Charlie uncovers a conspiracy connected with a viral dream, Fforde keeps the puns and neologisms coming thick and fast while exploring every facet of his novel’s intriguing premise."

- James Lovegrove, Financial Times (30 November 2018) [4] "Early Riser is a zany send-up of all things British and an often hilarious account of Charlie’s stumbling, hare-brained attempts to work out the secret of the authoritarian HiberTech company."

- Eric Brown, The Guardian (7 September 2018) [5] "Early Riser has all of the elements and sensibility that have earned Fforde a sizable and devoted following: wordplay, allusion, a playful exuberance and -- of course -- his signature method of World-Building via Copious and Suggestive Use of Capitalization, often in the service of creating Imaginary Socioeconomic Hierarchies and Related Governmental Agencies.