Thoughts on : Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel
Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel
Genre : Speculative Fiction
Series : Themis Files, Book 2
About the Book :
As a child, Rose Franklin made an astonishing discovery: a giant metallic hand, buried deep within the earth. As an adult, she’s dedicated her brilliant scientific career to solving the mystery that began that fateful day: Why was a titanic robot of unknown origin buried in pieces around the world? Years of investigation have produced intriguing answers—and even more perplexing questions.
But the truth is closer than ever before when a second robot, more massive than the first, materializes and lashes out with deadly force…
My Thoughts :
Waking Gods is the sequel to Sleeping Giants, which I read almost two years ago. I’d been waiting to read Waking Gods until the release of book three, Only Human, was closer – but I was also a bit nervous about it after having enjoyed the first book so much.
I’m happy to report, Waking Gods easily escaped the trap of the sophomore slump and offers a second book that’s just as thrilling and fascinating as its predecessor!
Just as I said for Sleeping Giants, the greatness of Waking Gods is all in the story. Sure, the writing is engaging and the interview & journal format makes it a fast-paced read. Both the action and the writing make it extremely cinematic (it seems it’s something I’ve been enjoying a lot this year!), and one young new character really charmed me.
But the story is where the magic is.
It kept moving, surprising with new revelations and twisting in ways I never would have imagined. It kept going where I didn’t want it to go, and every time I both hated and loved it. I had to stop reading a few times to let the events sink in. I really enjoyed the feeling of being surprised by the different turns of events though.
I was also surprised by how much the worldbuilding expanded. I can’t reveal too much without spoiling either books, but I felt the author did a great job of balancing questions answered and new ideas. Once more, I enjoyed how big the story was. It’s not about just one team or even one country, but about a whole planet fighting something that’s much, much bigger. I felt small and in awe of it all.
Also, that ending took me completely by surprise! Sylvain Neuvel is great at cliffhangers, is all that I’ll say.
Waking Gods was just such a pleasure to read. It was fast-paced, exciting and heartbreaking at times, constantly keeping me on my toes. I was hooked from the first page and kept thinking about it for days after reading it. I’m really glad it’s finally out (and on my shelves) because I need to know how the whole thing ends!
Series reading order :
- Sleeping Giants
- Waking Gods
- Only Human
