Waking Gods
Ratings195
Average rating4.1
Solid follow-up to Sleeping Giants. Neuvel's style is fast-paced and reads like a high stakes disaster movie, this one even more so than the previous. And yet, it doesn't have the characterization issues often faced by disaster movies and other popcorn type entertainment. It's a solid story, and while the narrative occasionally suffers from everything having to be a transcript or a journal entry, overall, it works.
The 1st book, Sleeping Gods, is an excellent opener for a series setting the stage and developing the characters then ends with an intriguing twist. This second novel delivers the action and kept me in suspense throughout, and yet again ends with a deliciously baited hook.
Just as fast paced and suspenseful as book 1… I’m onto the final book 3! Fingers crossed it is just as exciting! 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
This.Was.Awesome!!!
I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! There were stakes, there was tragedy, there was mystery, there were amazing revelations, I hated Alisa with a burning passion again... In short, I had such a great time!
Can't wait to read book 3, I'm basically itching to pick it up!
I buddy read this entire trilogy with Destiny. I did enjoy it but at times the science aspect was a bit too much for me. I loved the relationships and there were some twists I didn't see coming. There was also action which I always love. Because I've now read all 3 of the books in this series, I'm having a hard time remembering what happened in what book so I am just going to end with saying that overall I enjoyed the entire trilogy.
Unlike alot of second in a series, this book's plot, wit, and writing style is just as good as the first. Will continue on the next in the series.
My thoughts on the first book are the same for this one - while devastating things occur within these pages, the style of writing lessens the blow. Nevertheless, it's executed in a way that doesn't make you feel like you're missing out on any aspect of the story.
I think this sequel is much better than its predecessor, and it ties together different scientific concepts in a way that flows very well.
This entry into the series keeps the same file format as the first but definitely throws some curve balls. I'm enjoying this almost no frills style of story telling.
This review can also be found on my blog.#1: Sleeping Giants ★★★★★#2: Waking Gods ★★★.5#3: Only Human ???Well, I'm sorry the apocalypse isn't convenient for you. Now go to bed.I literally could not put this down. It was so fun to be thrown back into the Themis Files, but I did struggle a bit with the format. I listened to Sleeping Giants on audiobook, which made it easy to tell the characters apart. The written format made that a bit more difficult, which is frustrating because any easy solution would have been to just write the characters' names. I also got a little lost in what was going on at times and felt like the ending was... bizarre. It felt kind of thrown together and didn't make a lot of sense to me. Those few reasons are what knocked an otherwise very compelling read down a star or two.Blog Twitter Instagram Facebook Ko-fi
Het was fout van mij om dit via Audioboek te luisteren. Ondanks het nog steeds interessante verhaal, vond ik de stemacteurs vaak ergerlijk tot bloedirritant.
a hosszú oldalakra rúgó infódömping monológoktól hajtépve tudtam volna elrohanni.
It seems to take a while to get to the end. I understand why it all had to happen, but I was less interested in what was happening I the whole world and more interested in Rose, Eva, Vincent, Kara, etc. We get back to them and I liked that part best. Again, the audiobook is amazing! That is the best way to read this one.
I would simply say that this is one of the best books I have read. I just couldn't stop reading, so much that I read it in less than a day and a half.
This science fiction series really gripped my attention earlier this month when I fell in love with the first book in the Themis Files series, Sleeping Giants. I sometimes can be a bit lax in immediately continuing with a series, sometimes leaving it for months or years, but in this case I literally could not stop myself from immediately requesting the next book from my library.
So following on 9 years after the first novel we are back following the characters we were all gripped by in Sleeping Giants. The EDC has been continuing its investigations into where the giant robot appeared from and just who left it buried on earth. Their investigations have proven limited and instead Themis is displayed around the world as an attraction, designed to demonstrate the highest weapon we now have on earth but that we all share together.
The story-line of this second novel is much more high stakes than novel one when an even bigger robot suddenly appears in a London park. It stands there for days doing nothing and the world goes into panic, everyone wants to know where it came from, why 9 years later has it suddenly appeared and why is it just standing there. Mass panic ensues and everyone has a different approach for what to do next. Perhaps unwisely the display of military might we decide to show is the wrong move and we are left with over a million dead as it wipes out much of London. It's up to the team at the EDC to try and fight might with might by sending in Themis but how will they fare against a newer, more high tech robot piloted by the people who actually built Themis and know properly what it is for.
Things continue to spiral when a year later 13 more robots appear in the biggest, most densely populated cities on earth. With the warning shot in London having being fired and us now knowing how deadly the robots can be the human race is suddenly faced with potential extinction and we have to find some way to ensure our survival against a smarter, more resilient and deadlier race.
I love the format these books are told in. The interviews, press coverage, meetings in restaurants are all wonderfully engaging and because of the format it makes it a really quick read and you find yourself slipping through the pages almost without realising it. I am really not a science fiction fan, these are one of a handful of books I have read in the genre and I find the format makes it easier to digest the story and to not become too bogged down in the scientific bits.
Neuvel also does a wonderful job of relating his stories back to real life scenarios that we are familiar with. Real world news events that he links in to raise moral and ethical questions along the way and they are hugely impactful when they are used. He is an intelligent and well informed writer on his subject matter and I learned quite a bit in this book about subjects that I otherwise wouldn't have read up on such as genetics and DNA.
Another triumphant book in the series. Book 3, Only Human was released a month or so ago and it is now on my TBR shelf having acquired a copy from my local library so it will definitely not be too long before I conclude this wonderful series. I can't wait.
In book 2 of the Themis Files, giant mecha invade Earth. The badly outclassed humans have to find a way to avoid extermination. Pretty good book. 3.5 stars rounded up.
Wonderful execution and brilliant concepts! The “interview/recording” style turned out to be the perfect approach. I'm quite pleased that book 2 is not the end of the Themis Files story!
4.25 out of 5 stars – see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Last year, Sleeping Giants made my Best of 2016 list and I'm fairly confident Waking Gods has secured a spot on the 2017 list. While Sleeping Giants dealt with the discovery, assembly, and control of Themis, the buried robot relic of unknown origin – book #2 shows how a newly emboldened Earth deals with a threat far beyond what they are prepared to handle. Author Sylvain Neuvel takes the overall story in a bold direction that sees our returning protagonists confronted with a dozen new giant alien robots with unclear aims. Waking Gods is larger in scale, yet more personal in nature.
I love the continued use of interviews with shadowy characters who know much more than they are letting on. By slowly feeding crumbs of intel to the protagonists (and to us, by extension), they're able to guide them into finding solutions for seemingly unsolvable problems; this serves to drive the narrative forward in a compelling way.
The epistolary format combines with Neuvel's sharp writing to make for an infinitely readable sci-fi adventure that twists and turns its way to a big cliffhanger ending. I'm excited to see where the series goes from here.
The second installment of the Themis Files does not disappoint! The story unfolds in the same format as Sleeping Giants - news reports, journal entries, and interview transcripts from our favorite mystery man. Game of Thrones meets Arrival in a book where the plot twists start at the beginning and the action never stops. While readers could most likely appreciate Waking Gods on its own, it would be a good idea to read Sleeping Giants first. I'm already looking forward to book #3!