A page-turning debut in the tradition of Michael Crichton, World War Z, and The Martian, Sleeping Giants is a thriller fueled by an earthshaking mystery—and a fight to control a gargantuan power.A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. … walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.
Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected.
But some can never stop searching for answers.
Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What’s clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery—and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?
Praise for Sleeping Giants
“As high-concept as it is, Sleeping Giants is a thriller through and through. . . . One of the most promising series kickoffs in recent memory, [and] a smart demonstration of how science fiction can honor its traditions and reverse-engineer them at the same time.”—NPR
“Neuvel weaves a complex tapestry with ancient machinery buried in the Earth, shadow governments, and geopolitical conflicts. But the most surprising thing about the book may just be how compelling the central characters are in the midst of these larger-than-life concepts. . . . I can’t stop thinking about it.”—Chicago Review of Books
“A remarkable debut . . . Reminiscent of Max Brooks’s World War Z, the story’s format effectively builds suspense.”—Library Journal (debut of the month)
“This stellar debut novel . . . masterfully blends together elements of sci-fi, political thriller and apocalyptic fiction. . . . A page-turner of the highest order.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Don’t miss any of The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel:
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This is a great start to the series! I am a fan of the journal-entry style of writing and I enjoyed the different characters’ viewpoints.
Gripping . The interview format, initially annoying, worked well and added to the suspense in a subtle way. I will be reading the sequels.
Loved this book and quickly gobbled up the two sequels!
Slow-unrealistic
So poorly written and edited that I did not read past the first two chapters.
Really makes you think.
Fun to read
There’s nothing that resembles Michael Crichton in this book. This one is just a comic book story for kids.
Things I liked: The first quarter of the book was very good. I really do enjoy stories that are based around discovery. The whole process of finding the parts of the robot and scientifically evaluating and studying them was very compelling. I actually liked how the story was told in interviews and such- it broke the story down into small and manageable pieces, making it easy to casually pick up. I appreciated that the gender balance of major characters was roughly equal and there were female scientists, a female pilot, a female president of the US, etc. I might read the second book in the series if I happen to see it at the library.
Things I didn’t like: I found the romance subplot kind of awful. It’s really unnecessary, the characters in question don’t seem to really have chemistry, and, as other reviewers have said, it doesn’t make sense for the person interviewing the characters to pry into their personal lives in these regards. It’s especially annoying because, to me at least, it seems to encourage the belief that having women in the military leads to sexual drama- a belief that does tangible harm to women in the military. Romance novels are well and good, but I get frustrated when other novels throw in a het romance that doesn’t fit the characters or situation just because every book’s gotta have one. About half way through the book, it starts significantly losing steam as far as the discovery elements were concerned- that might just be because this was the author’s first novel. You can kind of feel at the beginning that things are happening a bit too fast to be sustained for the rest of the book.
Found this a fascinating read! Highly recommended!
I really liked this book. An interesting twist to the ‘we are not alone’ genre. Told in an interesting way. The narrative is a series of documents describing the key events and outcomes of the story. Not for everyone but I found it compelling. It gets to the point without a lot of emotion and personal trauma.
This is by far one of the most original science fiction books I have ever read. It’s amazing, and I highly recomend it.
At first I did not think a story using only transcripts, interviews, articles and journal entries would work. I was wrong!
This story is also full of strong, smart and innovative female characters. Covert government and military machinations. Destiny fulfillments. Plus, an unconventional giant robot that has as much providence as the humans possess.
The nameless interrogator who wields power greater than nation’s rulers, at times, adds edginess to the tale. When he is construal it always seems to be performed at the right times for the right reasons.
This book is a thriller that seeks to find the truth to the discovery that was made within it. I look forward to its sequel.
Loved the concept, but not always the execution. A little weak in places, but I still read the entire book.
I enjoyed this story, it was quite different from other stories with a good story line and interesting characters. I did not want to put this book down. I would give it 4 1/2 stars.
The story begins when a young girl named Rose inadvertently discovered part (the hand) of a giant robot. Then the race is on to find other parts, to understand where it came from, why it was left behind, how does it work, who built it, what is/was its purpose? The author introduces a handful of interesting characters whose live swept up in the search for answers. I found this to be a very entertaining story that moved along at a brisk pace. To my mind it was very action oriented with a clear focus on advancing the plot – however author introduces several interesting and distinct characters (a a couple that sort of blur together in my memory). A fun read and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.