A sequence of novels presents special problems for the writer to overcome.

Approximately seven years separate the publication of Aegypt from Love & Sleep, sufficient time for many readers to forget plot, character, and themes.

Crowley has fashioned Love & Sleep in such a way that it can be read and understood independently of Aegypt.

The novels are complimentary to each other, one detailing Pierce's failed romantic relationship, the other his youth in Kentucky. In addition to structuring this second novel so that it can be read independently of the first, Crowley has maintained the same level of interest in his material. Writers and readers must both continue to be engaged in the issues of a work started almost a decade earlier. Thus far, Crowley's sequence shows the same level of enthusiasm.