Having recently discovered Sleeping Giants, I was delighted to find the sequel on Netgalley. Following on from the events in that first instalment, a huge metallic figure has appeared in London. Is it friend or foe? Rose, Kara and Vincent are back to answer that question and continue to solve the puzzle that could save mankind. I raced through the book; it was just as intriguing, perhaps more so, than the first book in the series. I love the way it is written-in interviews, diaries, reports, and the nameless interviewer in particular is a highlight. It's full steam ahead from the first page; the action doesn't wane, even during the tender moments. There were a few shocks along the way and after that ending, I can't wait for more.

SPOILERS INCLUDED

It certainly did not disappoint. I had sky-high expectations on this book, since the first one set the bar to the stars and I 'm glad to say Sylvain Neuvel has delivered once again.

The story is once again told through a series of interviews with the already familiar and still mysterious interviewer, as well as journal entries and news articles/broadcasts.

When the Sleeping Giants gave us suggestions that we might not be alone in the universe nor at the top of the technological food chain, Waking Gods drops the bomb: the second book of The Themis Files is set nine years after the first book and humanity gets its hopes/fears confirmed, as a massive robot, dwarfing even Themis, suddenly appears in London. After humanity's brightest answer by doing what they do best and declare war on the so far immobile robot and gets most of London wiped off the face of the earth (literally)in retaliation, our heroes from the first book are sent in to try save the day....

For some reason , I found myself caring less for the characters than I did in the first book. Millions of people died and I did not give a damn. It felt like reading...a report....
While writing this review, I was contemplating heavily on what could be the reason before it hit me that it actually is a file ! Mystery solved. So I'm a bit more forgiving on some things that would bother me on a classically written book. Kara's death still felt a bit forced and pointless, the Interviewers (and him passing the torch to Rose) was lovely.

The overall story was very good, if a bit rushed, but that does little to change my opinion of it...or the rating. 4/5 Definitely ordering for the shop I 'm working for!

After reading Sleeping giants I couldn't wait for the next book! What happens next with Themis, her crew and I fact to everyone else? All the loose ends are picked up and we continue on this crazy journey with a giant alien robot! What can go wrong when Themis is protecting us? Well....everything!

Science fiction is always so convoluted. Have any of you noticed that? No matter what book you're reading, there's so much deus ex machina. It's like the one consistent feature of the genre. This book takes deus ex machina to a higher level; not only with an unprecedented reliance on it as a plot device, but also through the inclusion of literal machine gods.

(That was, in fact, a joke. Please clap.)

Maybe that's unfair, though: it's a constant issue with the genre. I could excuse the deus ex machina and simply praise how twisty the plot is. I could, but I don't want to. This series relies far too much on its gimmicks. Not just the formatting; the whole explaining-things-through-metaphors has honestly gotten a bit old. I still find the conversations interesting, and often amusing as well, but I have to admit they feel overdone at this point. We get it, you have a damn creative storytelling format. Let's move on.

[slight spoilers for book one, broad hints for book two] I have to admit, after the cop-out deaths of book one, I found it hard to be confident in book two's major character deaths. These deaths ARE a lot more long-lasting, with less deus ex machina. An improvement. The problem is I didn't believe they WERE going to last. I totally thought the dead characters would be back immediately. As a result, the initial deaths didn't blindside me or make me feel upset.

Also, because this is so stupid: why do the robots have genders? Why are the male robots “ten times more massive than the females”? They're robots. What, do they have fucking hairstyles? Do they have breasts? Would they really be different sizes? What does this even mean? THEY ARE ALIEN ROBOTS. Why the fuck would they have gender roles the same as ours? All in all: what the fuck?


Ignoring every single nitpick I've listed before, because I want to talk about the major flaw of this book. My issue with this book— no, this series— is it doesn't accomplish its purported focus on human dynamics. Neuvel is trying to convey the desperation and strength of humanity in the face of adversity. But I don't think he gets to the heart of it like I want him to. He tries to keep this story human, but the characters don't read human enough. Not only are the main characters too close to the chosen-one archetypes to be relatable, I find that due to the odd medium, the character's voices barely come through on page. I like both Vincent and Kara, but both make so many odd decisions I can't really get a handle on who they are. I do enjoy Rose; she's certainly got the best character growth, if anything. And I also like our omniscient narrator. But even these two characters just don't quite feel real. In a story about humanity's strength, this is such a major flaw.

So, now that I've reached the end of the unpopular opinions train: I didn't like it that much, I think this series is incredibly overhyped, and I'm frankly a little annoyed. I'll read book three, but I don't know how to get past my annoyance.

Wonderful sequel! A quick page-turner that builds on story in a unique way!!

Ok, the lesson I’m going to take out of this is that if I’m not all that fond of book one the likelihood is that I’m not going to like book two at all…

All my least favourite parts of ‘Sleeping Giants’ took a front seat in the sequel. It’s a book about giant robots and the annihilation of the human race, I couldn’t honestly care less about a questionable love story between two characters that I only mildly had any feelings for.

It’s a book that thinks that it’s more intelligent than it actually is…there were a couple of points during the DNA/sepsis exposition that I was sitting there as a medic thinking 'you just described 1+1=2 in the most roundabout and smug way possible’. Also, choosing the BRCA2 mutation as one of the genetic markers for imperfect humanity was pretty insensitive, maybe they should have made up some gene mutations instead of choosing ones that people die from every year. At about 10% I’d pretty much reached the decision that this just wasn’t a book for me, but I kept reading, ever hopeful and marginally curious about what would happen. That was a poor decision on my part.

There’s a reason that I don’t choose to read film scripts, because the lack of internal thought process and visuals is boring as hell to a reader. Maybe it was more interesting to listen to as an audiobook but I’m not sure that I can be bothered to try. I know that I mentioned World War Z in the first review as well, but, honestly, that’s proof that I do quite enjoy the interview format if it’s done well. The transcribed audio logs in 'Waking Gods’ were embarrassing to read, it put me in mind of old manuscripts that I wrote when I was eleven, stilted dialogue and too many 'noooooooos’ for me to be able to take it seriously. Let’s be honest, an audio recording is not going to hear what you’re saying if you’re screaming, it’s just going to come out as a lot of ear bleeding static.

This had a great premise, giant robots is one of the quickest ways to get me on side when I’m trying to choose media…but it was just so dull, and the fact that I could completely skim huge chunks of text and still know what was going on didn’t exactly made me want to read it in any more detail. Sometimes books and readers just don’t click and I think that might have been the case here. Maybe the audiobook would have been better? I know that I would have enjoyed a film version a lot more? All I know is that I went in wanting giant robots and got a love story…eugh.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for a copy in return for an honest review.

I was in love with the first one in this series, and though I still enjoyed this one, and admired the bold choices it made, I wasn't as attached to it as I was the first. There's couple reasons for this I think. One, was the length of time it took me to read it was longer than I would've liked, and I could've enjoyed it much more if I had been quicker reading it. Two, this book takes place ten years after the first. The jump makes sense for later plot points, but it was jarring to say the least, and caused some disconnect at the start of the book for me as a reader. There was quite a few decisions the writer made that I didn't really like, these made sense later on, and I couldn't really begrudge them, but it wasn't were I was hoping the series to go, and they didn't pull emotion out of me like I was hoping it to.

The plot wasn't as intriguing as the first, but I was still engaged, I liked the moral dilemmas and that this book took a widespread approach to this that left this book feeling realistic despite the alien plot-line.

I liked all the characters, but I have a special place in my heart for Vincent, I loved his voice and all his scenes. He may even be one of my all-time favourite characters.

The ending was amazing, thrilling, and left me exclaiming and wanting more. Their must be another book to come, even if there's nothing on Goodreads about it. If this is the end, there would've been a much easier way to resolve it. I'm ecstatic for the next book and what it's to bring, and hope it'll bring it back to the levels of the first book. Don't get me wrong, there's no "second book slump" here, it's still thrilling, with intense plot and high stakes and would really recommend.

Overall, this book has an engaging plot and characters and a final line that swept me off my feet. It made some risky moves that will work on some and not others, but it all makes sense in the end, giving me real trust in the author in that he knows what he's doing, and everything's happening for a reason.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect Waking Gods to be this good but the second book in the Themis Files series by Sylvain Neuvel is truly a stunning improvement over its predecessor.

The plot began 9 years after the end of Sleeping Giants and the tension is so much more evident here. As it turns out, everything that happened in Sleeping Giants is just a setup for this book and probably the last book of the planned trilogy. In the first book, the plot spend most its time figuring out the origin, politics and the mechanics to use the giant turquoise robot (now named Themis) and introducing the main characters of the series, Waking Gods built upon those foundation wonderfully.

Right from the start, the story started with an arrival of a new robot in London. Engaging, darker and intense plot with so many things going on, also imbued with many popular Sci-Fi references cameos like Neon Genesis Evangelion (which I talked about in my SG review), World of Warcraft and Star Wars, I am pleasantly surprised by the improvement in quality on this book. It was thrilling, sometimes humorous, and hard to put down. Not only we finally get to see more actions, the increasing casualty and combined with the epistolary format made this book even faster paced than before and an excellent page turner.

I’m also very happy with increasing amount of Sci-Fi elements introduced here because I find the first book to be scarce of them. Don’t be afraid though, they’re all so well written and easy to understand, especially the discussion about DNA in this book was so interesting imo.

I had a bit of a problem with the Epistolary format, I find the characters lacked of emotions and really hard to empathize with. I was proven wrong with this installment. The characters development over the first book is fantastic; this is due to the help of well written letters and personal journal entry that served as a substitute for the missing narrative. We finally get to see the characters personality development, changes, and emotions unlike before. The Nameless Interviewer specifically, we finally get to see more about him and his background.

“I came to realize that good and evil were out of my reach, that time was the only thing I had any control over. I could buy time, create intervals. I could not truly make the world a better place, but I could make part of it a better place for a short while.”

The only problem I had with the book lies in its action sequences. Although the plot is thrilling and this book has plenty of actions compared to before, we still never get to really ‘see’ the battle cause everything is told through dialogues and that had me disappointed. Hopefully the next book in the series could fix this part somehow without changing its story format.

Despite that, overall, Waking Gods is a great sequel that improves upon everything from its predecessor. I definitely recommend this for any lover of Sci-Fi and Giant Robots who's looking for a unique fast paced read

A very enjoyable follow up to Sleeping Giants, can't wait for the next one in the series. Told through interviews, diary entries, letters, reports, news reports, video/audio footage you pick up the story 10 years after the first book ends and find there's more to be revealed especially when the anonymous interviewer meets with the mysterious "person" in a Chinese restaurant. Is Rose a copy or a clone or something else? Who are our ancestors? And the cliffhanger!

Wow. Sylvain Neuvel isn't messing around. Waking Gods is the follow-up to Sleeping Giants, and it doesn't pull punches. If you hoped that it'd end with everything being okay, well, certainly not yet. And there's apparently more to come, if the ending of this book is any indication...

I don't want to say too much about the plot, because it's worth discovering it yourself. The structure is the same as in the first book, and if that annoyed you previously, then this isn't going to be any better for you. If you found it simultaneously frustrating and intriguing, then that sensation will also pretty much persist. If you straight-up love it, well, again. The point is, the format hasn't changed, and it's roughly the same characters as well. However well those things worked for you in the first book is likely to be repeated.

If Mitchell could just, like, implode or something, I'd be pretty happy, I've gotta say.

The solution at the end of this book struck me as a bit convoluted and contrived, because of the constraints on it and the limited time to suddenly figure it out. All the same, hurrah for the character who figured it out making good.

Review goes live 2nd June.

So I was beyond stoked to get an eARC of Waking Gods and prioritized it to be ready within a week or two of approval. And I certainly wasn't wrong to be so hyped as this book was AWESOME!

The first 30 pages is slightly dull as it's ten years since the end of Sleeping Giants and so we spend some time catching up with everyone (after the opening chapter gives us the 'hook' to stay interested). I'm not a very good binge reader as I can't sit still for 3+ hours at a time; but given the opportunity I think I could binge Waking Gods as it's that fast paced!

Not only does Waking Giant keep you engaged but it also keeps you guessing and ensures you understand that no one is safe. There are always victims of war and Sylvain Neuval keeps the realism flowing by ensuring that on one character is sacred or safe.

At about the 75% point an 'ah-ha' moment is revealed that once explained I felt dumb for not figuring it out! Even though it's a vastly complex theory, but that's how well Neuval can explain intricate scientific concepts. His ability to explain complex science reminds me of Michael Crichton's skill to bring science down to palatable, digestible explanations for us non-science folks. I'm so glad that someone today has this special talent.

I think for me part of what makes Waking Gods, and the Themis series to date, so compelling; is that it's based in plausible truth. This is something many fantasy and science fiction books don't do well. The more relatable the scenarios the easier it is to be caught up in the story. I have no doubt that the average reader will easily follow all along.

I could go on and on about how amazing this book is. But instead let me say, read it! Start with book 1 as this is a series that must be read in order.
I intentionally say little about plot or situations as I don't want to spoil any of the amazing moments in this wonderfully written novel.

I had SO much fun reading this. I just love these characters and there was just enough action and humour to keep me fully invested. The science isn't overwhelming but it's there in case folks want to delve into that aspect, though I can't tell how accurate it is. It was absolutely good enough to convince me.

For those who are unfamiliar with it, the book is narrated through the Themis Files - personal logs, reports, official logs, etc. So there is no narration, it's all dialogue. This style is not for everyone but I absolutely loved it, as I had in the first book. It makes the book so dynamic and gives the reader a chance to connect more with the characters.

I wasn't too keen on the Boogeyman and Mother Goose codenames and I have to admit I need to reread Mr Burns' explanation cause I didn't fully get it at the time. Also, I found that trying to explain the nameless man's past totally took away his appeal and didn't even satisfy my curiosity because I found none of that enough to explain that character but despite these things I still do not hesitate to round this up to 5 stars because it was utterly amazing.

I don't want to spoil the story for you so I won't comment on that but do know that you need to read the first book of the series first or this won't make sense.

I highly recommend this to anyone and look forward to the third book of the series.


<i>Disclaimer: I would like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.</i>

I loved Neuvel's first book, Sleeping Giants: unusual but accessible writing and great characters, along with quite a bit of tension and fantastic escapism. So I was really, really excited to spot Waking Gods on Netgalley. (I went dashing into the staffroom to tell friend who recommended Sleeping Giants to me so she could request it too. She'd just ordered a copy for our library but was equally jubilant at the Netgalley appearance.)

I flew through Sleeping Giants as I couldn't put it down so I waited until the weekend to read Waking Gods. I knew I wouldn't want any distractions! This was a good decision, I was immediately engrossed and pulled into the world of Rose, Vincent, Kara and the nameless interviewer, as well as a new character, Eva, and of course the giant machine Themis, who seems like a character herself.

The action cracks along quickly as another giant robot appears in London, and the Earth is catapulted into a struggle for the survival of humankind.

Great escapism, excellent entertainment and a few shocks along the way.

I wasn't sure if the epistolary style would be as enjoyable in a second book, but Waking Gods not only meets, but exceeds the success of Sleeping Giants. As much as things hit the fan in SG, Waking Gods takes it to a whole new horrifying level, leaving you grasping at straws for how Earth can possibly survive. I was surprised when it opened a decade after the conclusion of SG, but the time jump really created a sense that people have gotten used to Themis, much like modern space travel no longer garners the same excitement as things like the first moon landing. Loved reconnecting with old favorite characters and seeing their story arcs continue, including Vincent's patient pursuit of Kara. The EDC Brigadier General was easily my favorite character, his conversations with our nameless interviewer effortlessly established the context for the state of the whole world outside of Vincent and Kara's more localized perspectives. Rose's struggle with her resurrected humanity was an interesting struggle I wasn't expecting, it played well into the overall questions of what exactly makes a human, and within that, what makes a family. Is it merely genetics, or something more? Brilliant follow-up, eagerly awaiting book 3!

I really enjoyed this book, as much or maybe more than the first in the series! The book continues to have a great storyline and is very well written. I think if you liked the first book in the series then you will definitely enjoy this.

Exceptional! This was such a great sequel and really moves the story along. However, fair warning there will be lots of times you will yell "No!" because of what happens in the story. I enjoy the reality of the story mixed with the sci-fi aspect of it. This is no "the humans save everything again" story but rather can humans get over themselves and fight even when hope has run dry.

If you haven't read "Sleeping Giants", the 1st in the trilogy, it really is essential to do. Otherwise, I think the reader will be lost as to what is happening in this one.

All in all, just a really good book! Now I just have to wait for the final book :-(. These are books I will most likely being buying and recommending to everyone. Amazing job by Sylvain Neuvel

This book picks up 9 years after the first one left off which disappointed me a bit at first (I wanted to know what happened RIGHT after), but worked quite nicely once I got further into it.

Though obviously not as 'unique' as the first book, "Waking Gods" was every bit as good and every bit as difficult to put down. Even the (relatively) open ending didn't bother me too much, as it fit in with the rest of the plot. Still, I'll be keeping an eager eye out for the third book in the series.

I'm really fond of the writing style. It's a bit of a stretch to call it "epistolary" as a lot of it is transcripts of interviews/conversations, but there's no "narration" - everything is told through dialogue or journal entries. It adds a certain twist to the atmosphere which I really like.

Rather dark at times (Sylvain Neuvel is not afraid to "kill his darlings" - so don't expect anybody to be safe "just because") but still written with a good dose of humour. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to read more.

I was reading the ARC version of this book, so there were a lot of awkward line breaks and placeswherepeopleweretalkingwithoutspaces but having loved the first book I soldiered on through that. And I have to say, I hope that there is a part three coming because this series is amazingly written. I can see how people might compare it to The Martian, given the general disposition so far, but to me, this is even better than the Martian, which I read through in one sitting.

Admittedly none of the individual plot hooks were particularly inventive on the author's part, but the order in which they came was as perfectly done as in the first book of the series. It might be a little high on the biology-babble for some people's liking, but I found it better to have things explained than to just have a 'because SCIENCE' flag waved in my face.

The ending has me itching for more. I literally swore at how the book finished, as with Sleeping Giants

After reading and loving the first book, I was super excited about Waking Gods – giant alien robots on Earth is already hard enough to believe, but this sequel gives us not one, not two, but 13 other giant robots at one time.

The stakes are a lot higher in Waking Gods, because of the threat of the other robots on Earth, who wipe out whole cities during the course of the book. However, instead of feeling the threat, the urgency and the actions resulting from this, I felt like there was a lot of talk and no action. The book feels disjointed as the focus was on interviews between the unnamed narrator and the other characters, rather than on the threats upfront.

Waking Gods employs the same annoying narrative technique as the first book – we’re only told things in retrospect through character interviews and reports, instead of experiencing them first hand. As a result, I felt an immediate disconnect from the characters and what was happening around them. It’s even more annoying here, due to the monumental events that happen, making it hard to really picture what is going on.

The first book balanced incredulous belief with politics and explored morality of humans and powerplay, but I found Waking Gods to be quite info-dumpy at times. It goes into genetics, morality, science and theory a lot more, and at times I found my eyes glazed over because I didn’t really know what it was trying to tell me.

There were a lot of twists and turns, especially towards the end with the occurrence of unexpected deaths. Even then, I was still disconnected with what was going on because of how crazy and haphazard everything felt. I wish we got more answers out of Waking Gods, instead of some crazy ass theories and scientific explanations which did not make sense.

While I enjoyed Waking Gods, I felt a lot of frustration at the book because of the sheer craziness of the events that were happening, and the way the twists were handled in the book. I felt disconnected with many of the characters that I loved from the first book. I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel though and the conclusion the series.