Sleeping Giants

 

Title: Sleeping Giants (Themis, Book 1)

Author: Sylvain Neuval

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 

I can see why this was the top science fiction book of 2016. I can see exactly why it's been described as The Martian meets World War Z (both books I thoroughly enjoyed). 

It was probably more of a 4.5/5 stars for me as at the halfway point I loved every word I read; and then I was suddenly really upset and frustrated with the story. It's obvious to me now that this is because I was still allowing the story to centre on characters instead of what I should have been focused on which is the technology that had been discovered and what that means for humanity. 

And yet I was feeling more and more disenchanted as I approached the end of Sleeping Giants... right up until a huge cliffhanger left me dying for the second book. Figures. 

The second half is still as well written and intriguing as the first half. Additionally it's likely very close to what would happen in real life given the events leading up to the major halfway turning point. Thinking back on that I realize the last half was obviously needed in order for our story to carry forward on a grander scale. 

And so this is why I still keep my rating above a four star; because obviously Nyvain is much smarter than me and knew exactly what needed to happen; as opposed to writing what many would want to happen. 

As always with books where I have to be vague to avoid spoilers I will say this; read this book. It's awesome! Even if science fiction isn't your thing there is still a lot of excitement in this book and like the Martian it's realistic enough, set on Earth in what could be current day; and so most readers will find it easy to get into. 

Now to count down the days until book 2, Waking Gods, comes out.