Review: Waking Gods (Themis Files #2) by Sylvain Neuvel

Firstly, thanks to Random House for this review copy <3



Date Read: March 16 - 20 2017
Date Released: April 4th 2017
Publisher: Del Rey
Source: Review copy via publisher
Genre: Science Fiction
My Rating:

Warning: this reviews contains major spoilers for book 1 Sleeping Giants

Synopsis:

"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.

Now humankind faces a nightmare invasion scenario made real, as more colossal machines touch down across the globe. But Rose and her team at the Earth Defense Corps refuse to surrender. They can turn the tide if they can unlock the last secrets of an advanced alien technology. The greatest weapon humanity wields is knowledge in a do-or-die battle to inherit the Earth . . . and maybe even the stars."

---

Last chance - if you haven't read Sleeping Giants DO NOT PROCEED.

Sleeping Giants was one of my favourite books of 2016, it absolutely blew my mind with the concept and Neuvel’s immersive writing style. I’d never read such wonderful plot twists… until Waking Gods that is. Waking Gods surprised me at every turn and was even more impactful than book 1.

The book opens 9 years after the events of Sleeping Giants, with a new robot having appeared out of thin air in the middle of London. Everybody is in a tizzie because what could this mean and what do they do, when do they bring Themis in?

Since coming back to life at the end of Sleeping Giants, Rose has been struggling with who she is for the past 9 years. The 4 years she spent working on discovering Themis are not a part of her, and while she’s still a brilliant scientist she questions the ‘Rose’ during those 4 years which she can’t remember. I can’t blame her for continuing to question her existence – I mean who wouldn’t be if they were brought back to life? Sleeping Giants Rose approached the discovery of Themis with a positive energy and fervour that made Themis her life. The Rose after is much more hesitant. She is no less brilliant but she’s now seeing things in a much more cautious and negative light. Everybody basically tells her to harden the eff up but it takes her the course of the book to develop and come to terms with who she is.

Kara and Vincent have gotten a lot closer since book 1 and I love their dynamic. I never would have pictured them becoming a couple when they were first introduced but oh how far things have come. Kara is still kind of reckless but hilarious with her witty comebacks, and Vincent is still a genius but I could totally see that they’re in love. Vincent especially has a smaller ego and is always considerate of Kara and it’s so damn sweet. Their life as a couple is also their work and I admired their ability to maintain such a strong relationship despite their differences. Their banter was fun and delightful as always and showed how well they got along.

The unnamed man who I think of as the mastermind behind all of this is still pulling strings and manipulating people throughout the story, however I feel like he’s grown softer. I really admired the way Neuvel did this character’s voice. He elicits such reactions from people with his calm and blunt comments and I could always ALWAYS tell when it was him speaking. There’s something so penetrating about the structure of his words and sentences that cannot be misinterpreted. It’s jarring to the receiver, and to those who aren’t used to him it’s kind of hilarious the way they get angry. Then you’ve got Rose and Vincent who answer normally while Kara responds with her usual wit because they’re so used to him. Neuvel has really done a fantastic job with this unique and recognisable voice through both books. He’s managed to give the character growth in his subtle and infrequent shows of emotion with the way he protects those he’s come to care about.

As with the first book there’s a lot of science and I’m no scientist but I could tell Neuvel had really done his research. The science is in-depth yet Neuvel is also able to explain it in layman terms, presenting these in interview style as a scientist talking to a pleb like me, ahem, I mean non-scientist. There’s more maths, more chemistry and metallurgy, and heaps of biology with talk of DNA and evolution. It was fascinating and planted a lot of seeds in my brain with the direction this story was going. Neuvel’s writing style is easy-going, flowing well and immersive – I couldn’t stop turning the pages!

The plot though, my goodness! Alien robots that are posing to be a threat to mankind seems standard but there’s so many plot twists and mind-fuck moments. There’s punch you in the feels moments too that left me in denial (I’m STILL in denial damn it) and an ending to end all endings with a whopping cliffhanger.

To say Waking Gods is one of the most breathtaking and thought provoking books I’ve ever read in my lifetime is an understatement. It messed with my brain and my heart. Thank goodness there’s a book 3 – I made sure to check with Neuvel and he’s confirmed it’s in the works!