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:
SLEEPING GIANTS | WAKING GODS | ONLY HUMAN
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Highly recommend this for teenagers. Why? Because it may be a little too high-concept for adult fantasy readers, but it seems perfect for teenagers especially, because of it’s highly competent and effective female leaders as protagonists, and each is distinctly individual, Also a novel format (at least for me).
The product of a very imaginative mind, using a style very much like an epistolary novel. The author is witty, imaginative, and a born story-teller. You will care about these characters and you will have no idea where it’s going. Great soft science-fiction for those of us who don’t have technical backgrounds but love sci-fi.
An ancient aliens tale told with an interesting conceit: all of the chapters are formed as entries in official interviews and interrogations. In the end, it worked quite well to tell the story, and I sense there are big surprises in store for book two. I think you’ll find this book very interesting and thought-provoking.
A good read! Looking forward to reading more of his.
Audiobook.
Okay, I think the audiobook world has figured it out. How to hook people into books they wouldn’t normally read I mean. “Narrated by a full cast” WHAT, SIGN ME UP! Thoroughly enjoy having my science fiction read to me. This one is quite good. I believe it’s told mostly through transcripts and conversations/interviews and it was boring a few times, but the rest of this story Holy Mackerel.
I was blown away at the story telling and sometimes what seems to be the sheer cruelty the anonymous guy exhibits. Plus the differences between the two leading scientists. I completely understand that those two previous sentences make little sense and I’ll likely be scratching my head at them later, but this book really makes you think about how far humanity would go were we to actually discover a sleeping giant. I’ve already started the next book, on audio of course.
This is not my usual romance read (it’s firmly sci-fi!) but I enjoyed the mystery and the intrigue and the world-building. All three books in the series have amazing full cast narration in audio, which I enjoyed greatly!
If you enjoy Science Fiction this book and series is fantastic!
Sci Fi Fantasy…. Great Start to the series! I ordered book 2 and 3!
Engaging and Original…
A bit bizarre. Sci-fi but totally baffling.
I like science fiction and thought the concept original and old school SF entertaining.
Enjoyed the audiobook version of this story. Can’t wait to dive into the sequel.
With an interview format similar to Brooks’ World War Z, Sleeping Giants takes a fantastical science fiction journey which aggressively invites reader speculation and will not disappoint.
Sleeping Giants is the fantastic story of first contact told through journal entries and interviews with some of the best world-building and characters out there. Stunning! <3
Well written, with compelling characters.
Really different concept where an ancient robot is uncovered in pieces all over the world. The writing style is in the form of “reports” and “Transcripts” instead of the traditional narrative. I was at first put off by this style but soon was absorbed by the story line and began to feel the story was more authentic written in this format.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway, & this is my honest review.
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel was an really interesting story. It was told through reports and interviews which made it a lot of fun, to imagine how the characters were interacting with each other. I am such a sci-fi geek so when I read the synopsis, I knew I had to read this book. This one kept me up most of the night because I couldn’t put it down.
The unusual narrative works for this story because the story really isn’t about the giant hand or what comes next, but about how the people involved with it react to the technology. I don’t have anything bad to say about Sleeping Giants. I really enjoyed the story and am looking forward to the next book.
Worth buying and reading the sequel
Let’s see… Juvenile, pedantic, full of unrequited lust, miserable plot, ditto for the characters. In other words, it was BAD
An original concept. Believable characters.
Pretty good