I loved [book:Sleeping Giants] more than words can say. I loved everything about it – the story and how it was told, the characters, the humor, the suspense, <i>the robot</i>. So when someone gave me a heads–up that [book:Waking Gods] was also available on Netgalley, I was there before the pixels faded.

And … oh, okay, I gave this five stars as well, and I'm kind of surprised, to be honest. I'm not touching that; <I>Sleeping Giants</i> earned enough stars that it can lend <i>Waking Gods</i> one; I wouldn't have rated the latter less than four even at my harshest. But … I … didn't love it nearly as much as I did the former.

The storytelling is still in the same format, through interviews and transcripts and so on. The characters are largely the same; a shocking reveal at the end of SG is fully explored in WG. And the inspiration for one character's name is revealed, and it made me happy. The humor is still the same –

—Do you like squirrels?
—I ask for your help in preventing a conflict of apocalyptic proportions and your answer is: "Do you like squirrels?"
—Yes. I have a good squirrel story.
—Of course. By all means

– but now the suspense is ramped up, and there is an apocalyptic element introduced which … I don't know. That's part of why this wasn't as huge a success with me. Maybe it's because the curtain is pulled back and we see the wizard, so to speak… In <I>Sleeping Giants</i>, the setting was basically "twenty minutes into the future", almost completely familiar; in <I>Waking Gods</i> it felt less so, especially once destruction begins. I'm never going to enjoy seeing cities I'm fond of (in the abstract, at least) being leveled, or – to risk a spoiler – characters I'm fond of being wiped out. If the first book seemed to show that nobody was safe, this second book proved it. And the revelations about who was behind the robot(s) and their motivations were strangely anticlimactic. Like many a promising mystery novel, once the mystery is dispelled, so is a lot of the promise. In short, I wasn't happy once it all morphed into an almost standard sci-fi plot.

One topical comment (in two parts): where in SG it is noted in passing that the president is a woman (DAMMIT), another throwaway line mentions "His Majesty's Government". I just thought that was interesting. And given an imminent threat to America's participation in the U.N., and maybe to the U.N. as an entity, I wanted to save this quote: "This institution was founded in the wake of the most devastating war in human history, to promote peace by allowing nations to resolve their disputes here, in this room, and not on the battlefield. It was also created so that we could pool our knowledge and resources and achieve great things none of us could dream of achieving on our own."

It's relevant.

So – I didn't enjoy this as much. But the humor and intelligence of the writing was still strong. (<I>—Can you stop interrupting? It's a story. There's a fairy in it. No, I don't know what species of fairy.</i>) The geekery was still strong – as evidenced in the dedication and the revelation of who Vincent was named for, thus ensuring that I will never forget his name. It was, in the end, a satisfying story – and I don't feel that the losses suffered along the way were gratuitous, however much I hated them – but the place where it all ends up is not somewhere I want to be. I'm sure I'll read the third book whenever it comes along, out of loyalty and out of a desire to find out what the survivors do with this place.

A couple more things I saved, and will want to save:

<I>However, the French had long likened slow and clumsy work to that of a man wearing wooden shoes, or sabots, and Pouget, in his report, coined the term sabotage.

While I am reasonably confident you are not "the chosen one," you are without doubt one who has been chosen.</i>

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review.

This book had a different feel then Sleeping Giants for me but it was still very engaging. Some many gut wrenching moments. I love a book that can evoke so much emotion from me.

I received an advance copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was fantastic. I'd read Sleeping Giants and compared it to The Martian or The Sparrow in the human/cosmic contrast way, but this goes in a different direction and asks "what if what left this here came back for it? Or just came back?" While the human race is fascinated by the possibilities of Themis, when another giant appears and is not under our control, those possibilities are turned back at us.

The same oral history/found footage format from the first book continues in this, which provides a nice continuity. The same characters are here as well, there's some weird situation with Rose that I didn't entirely grasp but it wasn't enough to distract me from the story. A huge amount of explanation unfurls throughout the book, and I ended it IMMENSELY impatient for the next title in the series. Definitely one to recommend to people with short attention spans, people who are new to SF/Fantasy, and people who loved World War Z.

—Please. We are in the midst of a pivotal moment in our history, one that could signal a new era of discovery, or put an end to us all.
Picking up from the massive cliff hanger in Book One of The Themis Files, Waking Gods soars to new heights in its exploration of human nature and the possibility of alien life. Piloting Themis becomes routine but his use is anything but. The scientists and the government regularly clash over the treatment of Themis and his pilots- the government unable to resist the powerful possibilities and the scientists unable to forget the overarching implications. When a second robot appears in London, bigger, more urgent questions arise.

We assume we were supposed to find Themis, but say it wasn’t the case. Say they came here to get it back, destroy it, whatever. More to the point, there’s nothing you can put in front of that robot that would pose any serious threat to it, except maybe us. Do we really want to make first contact with an alien species by sending the only thing we have— which isn’t even ours— that it could see as a menace?
When the first attack concludes it becomes clear those who left Themis want something more. As more robots like Themis appear all over the world and more attacks occur, a pattern begins to emerge.

I am, however, absolutely convinced that their survival was not coincidental. These people were chosen, somehow, whether they are aware of it or not.
Brandishing weapons and the use of brute force have come up short in the fight to survive. Threatened with extermination, Rose and her crew must come together to save the world- if it isn't already too late.

—It is all about Rose, is it not?—Yes. That’s why I said it.—She fell on the hand when she was a child. She somehow ended up in charge of studying it. Now we are waiting for a war that we cannot win, and our best hope for survival lies with her.—Like you said, you’re really good at stating the obvious, but is there a point to all this?—Of course. Did you ever wonder why they chose to bring her back?
In the same style as Sleeping Giants, Neuvel exercises his impressive creative muscles to deliver a face-paced, enigmatic and intriguing adventure. Don't expect all the answers just yet- Waking Gods sets itself up perfectly for book three and the ending will leave you hanging in mid-air.

—They believe there is a purpose to life, and that no one should interfere with that purpose— that things should be the way they should be.

More than a year ago I stumbled upon the first book in the Themis files by Sylvain Neuvel: Sleeping Giants. The plot reminds one a bit of Pacific Rim, but the book fastly won me over with its twists, narrative structure and characters. I was very excited for the release of the next book in the series and apart from a few minor things I really enjoyed Waking Gods as well.

TIMEJUMP
Ten years have passed since the events in the first book. Themis has been established as a guardian symbol of earth and is known throughout the world, just like her pilots, Kara Resnik and Vincent Couture. The research of the robot hasn't progressed much though and Rose Franklin is having a kind of identity crisis because of the events in Sleeping Giants. The team is now working under the title Earth Defense Corps. At the beginning of the book an event occurs, which will put all the characters to the test: Another robot suddenly appears in the middle of London.

WHAT NOW?
From that moment on the only important question is how to react to this event. Is the second robot a danger, scout, ambassador or something entirely different? The fact that Kronos (as he is later called) is standing unnaturally still for weeks in Regent's Park makes the situation just more scary. Together with the characters one simply waits for something to happen and Sylvain Neuvel manages to completely engross the reader in the story. What developes from the situation with Kronos is another punch to the gut and not the last in Waking Gods.

TWISTS AND THEMES
I am fascinated how the story of Waking Gods is told again through log entries, transcripts, interviews and more just like Sleeping Giants, but even more by the way of how Neuvel just does things. There are twists and developments in both books so far which are hard to see happening beforehand and which leave you questioning how the hell the story shall progress after them. There are a few such twists in Waking Gods I noticed, especially in the character fates. About a few of them I do have mixed feelings... but they do make me terribly curious for the third book and what happens next!

“You were made for a particular purpose, but you can be anything you want. Anything, including that.” – p. 287

Generally I feel like Waking Gods is the bridge between the beginning of the series and whatever is coming now. The cards are being reshuffled and the ending of the book emplies that the story is actually just about to really start now. Still the second chapter of the Themis files deals with a lot of topics and themes again. Be it communication between different (power) instances of different countries, what makes a human human, parenthood as a concept and and and. The different perspectives of the main characters also gets supported by perspectives of other humans like eyewitnesses to certain events.

THE FILES
The first book was about getting the team and the robot together, the second book puts the order upset down and we see Themis the first time in real action. I am really excited to see what happens next in the Themis files and in what directions Neuvel will take the story. In a way it's also really refreshing to not know how many books the series is meant to have in the end - if Neuvel continues the way he did with Waking Gods I hope for a lot more books! I am already looking forward to see Themis and the others again next year in the next book and will surely read the first two installments again til then back to back!

This sequel takes place 9 years after the events of Sleeping Giants. Kara, Rose and Vincent take Themis around the world as a representation of peace. Then other Giants show up around the world and chaos ensues.

The sequel is told through interviews, live "audio" feed, journals and news stories. The action progresses quickly and we learn more about the race of aliens invading earth. Being a middle book in a series, it gets dark, humanity is in real trouble.

As with Sleeping Giants, I enjoyed the well done epistolary style of the book. During interviews the characters do not recite entire conversations, they are completely organic. The book is fast paced and exciting. I can't wait for the next book!

A great follow-up to Sleeping Giants, this sequel really fleshes out the characters and adds more ominous layers to the original plot. A must read for fans of the first book, and I look forward to the forthcoming third book.

This is the second novel in the Themis Files series, and while I enjoy Sleeping Giants (book #1), Waking Gods takes it to another level. In order to get the biggest takeaway from the story, I think you should read Sleeping before Waking, but you could probably get away with just reading this one.
Both stories are told using interviews, files, and records, so if you don't enjoy that type of nontraditional storytelling, it might not be your type of story, but I think that there is sufficient character development and world building (items that might be lacking in this type of presentation) that it only adds to the story.

Overall, highly recommended. I can't wait to read more!

A satisfying follow-up to SLEEPING GIANTS.

If I grab a bunch of matter, anywhere, and I organize it in exactly the same way, I get … you. You, my friend, are a very complex, awe-inspiring configuration of matter. What you’re made of isn’t really important. Everything in the universe is made of the same thing. You’re a configuration. Your essence, as you call it, is information. It doesn’t matter where the material comes from. Do you think it matters when it comes from?

###

—Do you really wanna grow old with just grumpy old me?
—No offense, Kara, but I don’t think either of us will get to grow old, especially if we’re together. The only question is: Do I wanna die young with anyone else?

###

Now the world is ending and somehow I’ve managed to make that about me too.

###

— 4.5 stars —

It’s ten years after the events in SLEEPING GIANTS – Sylvain Neuvel’s AMAZING debut novel – give or take, and the aliens have finally returned to Earth to reclaim their war bot, Themis. Army pilot Kara Resnick and Canadian linguist Vincent Couture are still at Themis’s helm, but after the show of force in Korea, their role has been more benign: touring the world, speaking to schoolkids, and doing PR for the Earth Defense Corps. In between celeb sightings and autograph signings, the squints in the basement are still studying Themis, trying to figure out what else she can do, but their progress has more or less slowed. It doesn’t help that head scientist and the first person to discover Themis – or her hand, anyway – Rose Franklin hasn’t really had her head in the game. Not since she was brought back from the dead.

When a second robot materializes in the heart of London, earth’s tenuous peace is disrupted in a matter of hours, with some pushing for a first strike and others wanting to approach their alien overlords/benefactors in the spirit of love and cooperation. Considering the synopsis, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that things go sideways but fast. Themis can maybe take on one robot, but thirteen? Who are Themis’s creators, and what do they want from us? And how do Rose and Eva factor into their plans? Perhaps most importantly, what does it take to get someone to kick mad scientist/medical rapist Alyssa Papantoniou in her stupid smug face?

However you felt about SLEEPING GIANTS is a pretty good indication of your likely reaction to WAKING GODS, for the latter is a natural and harmonious extension of the former; these books are cut from the same cloth. From the narrative format – the story is presented as a series of documents, collectively called the Themis Files, including interviews, journal entries, news reports, and transmission transcripts – to the cheeky sense of humor (Mr. Burns and the anonymous, Cigarette Smoking Man-esque interviewer both grew on me in leaps and bound) the vibe is really quite similar.

Many of the characters you loved/hated/loved to hate turn up again in the sequel, if only for a brief cameo; and Neuvel also introduces us to some new players that are more or less guaranteed to steal our hearts and imaginations. There is one character death – I won’t say who! – that I’m still rather pissed about, but them’s the breaks. I’m inclined to call foul when a woman’s sacrificed to advance the story line, but in this case it doesn’t feel like she was fridged, so there’s that at least.

While Goodreads currently only lists two books in the series, WAKING GODS ends on a serious cliffhanger note, so I don’t think this is the last we’ve seen of the Themis Files. And, just as with the original – I’m already jonesing for the sequel.

** Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through NetGalley. **

*4.5 stars, rounded up. The second book in the Themis Files sci-fi series is terrific. Neuvel continues the 'recorded files' format he used in Sleeping Giants but writes most entries with much more detail. Very satisfying! He even revels a little bit about the unnamed interrogator who was so intriguing in book one.

Getting the giant robot named Themis up and running attracts the attention of the alien race who left it behind on earth thousands of years ago. Another even larger robot suddenly appears in London. Why is it there? What can humankind do to defend itself if it attacks? Can the much smaller Themis, run by Kara and Vincent, defeat it? The answer to that question is soon learned and then many more robots arrive, scattered in heavily-populated cities around the world. Could this be the end for humanity?

I found this story to be very exciting with interesting characters and an intriguing ending that simultaneously satisfies but teases the reader enough to want to know what happens next. Can't wait to find out! Write quickly, Sylvain! (Oh, and please stop using 'wanna' and 'gonna'--it makes intelligent people sound ignorant, not hip, and drives ME nuts.)

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of this new book.

“I came to realize that good and evil were out of my reach, that time was the only thing I had any control over. I could buy time, create intervals. I could not truly make the world a better place, but I could make part of it a better place for a short while.”
Waking Gods bolsters and expands upon the Sleeping Giants storyline by adding high levels of adrenaline and excitement in this highly anticipated follow-up. Ten years have passed since the end of Sleeping Giants when Rose and team completed the reconstruction of the metal giant they named Themis after the ancient Greek Titan-goddess. They were beginning to slowly piece together information surrounding the mystery of her origins and are only briefly grasping her full technological capabilities when another metal giant appears in the center of London. It stands immobile for weeks, but without provocation, it attacks one-day leaving thousands dead, but some miraculously survived. More giants appear around the globe and Rose and team are given the impossible task of determining how to stop these attacks and to find out the reason behind them before Earth’s population is exterminated.

No sophomore slump to be had here. Listening to Waking Gods felt akin to being on a high-speed roller coaster: you’re buckled in, the ride is moving, and the time to change your mind has long since passed. But damn, is it a crazy good time.

Waking Gods continues with the same interview style of storytelling, with a few new characters/voices to acquaint ourselves with. The plot was incredibly fast paced and read much like an action movie would just minus the visuals. Incredibly similar to The War of the Worlds in regards to the severity and devastation of the attacks but much less straightforward in terms of the reasoning behind the attacks themselves (and far more fascinatingly scientific.) Neuvel imbues his alien invasion with a history and purpose essentially giving the human race a chance at survival. He also manages to add a level of humor (there’s something unequivocally humorous about two individuals trying to manhandle a giant robot, albeit clunkily, into battle) that somehow manages to meld harmoniously with such a somber narrative. There are twists and turns aplenty, one particular scene made me loudly gasp and another where my face started leaking, and the ending will leave you thunderstruck. Neuvel’s endings, while definitely worthy of the term ‘cliffhanger’, never feel cheap but rather an apt ending that will lead to a brilliant beginning of the next, and possibly last, installment.

This is the second book in the Themis Files series. I really enjoyed the first and this follow-up is definitely a great read. If you liked the first, I think you’ll be glad you read the second.

This is a story about human-alien contact. In the previous book, the story was laid out but there were many additional questions left at the end. This book did a great job of filling in some of those blanks as well as giving the reader additional information that makes the overall arc of the story that much better.

This book has a little bit of everything – action, drama, love, and even humor! I love the way the novel is formatted in transcripts and interviews. Such a unique way to tell the story and add to its depth.

I think this will be a hit with all the fans of Sleeping Giants but I encourage those of you who haven’t read the series to consider giving it a chance. I’m not much of a sci-fi fan generally, but this is that and so much more! It really exceeded my expectations and I think it’s just a great series regardless of genre. I highly recommend it! I don’t think you’ll be sorry if you pick it up!

If you're a sci-fi fan and haven't read this highly imaginative series yet - it's your loss. Although this book didn't captivate me quite as much as the first, it's still an engaging read and a worthy followup.

This book takes place nine years after Sleeping Giants and reacquaints the reader with returning characters and their activities during this time, and introduces a couple of new integral characters. Where the first book is all about discoveries and learning what Themis is capable of, Waking Gods is more action-oriented, with the opportunity to use Themis for her intended purpose. That being said, don't assume that's all this book is about - there are some shocking twists and surprises that left my mouth gaping.

I didn't settle in with this book until about 25% mark - it moved at a slower pace, but quickly picked up after that. Like the first book, Waking Gods is told in interviews, journal entries, transcripts, and news articles - a format that is done very well.

With the ending, I'm assuming there will be at least one more book in this series - and I'll be eagerly anticipating its release.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Even though my review may not show it, I loved Sleeping Giants. It is one of the rare novels last year that made it to my permanent to-keep bookshelf. The story was creative, engaging, mysterious, and suspenseful. Giant robots, kick-ass women pilots, even cooler female scientists, an unknown super-spy, national intrigue, patriotism, human greed, human achievement - it pretty much has it all. Knowing it was a series only made it better because it meant there was more robot awesomeness to come. Normally, such high expectations do not bode well for the second book in a series. Thankfully, Waking Gods more than lives up to those expectations. In fact, it pretty much blows them out of the water.

Waking Gods starts out ten years after the events of the first novel. A second, larger robot suddenly appears in central London, and suddenly everything Rose and the EDC don't know and could not figure out during the ten-year interval comes back to haunt them. While Sleeping Giants was all about man's greediness, Waking Gods explores mankind's penchant for violence - violence as a first reaction to a threat, violence as power grabs, violence as a form of revenge. It is not until the situation becomes truly bleak where violence gives way to more thoughtful actions. Once again, it is an insightful look at society at its weakest and the very real consequences that result.

Suffice it to say, Waking Gods is just as good as, if not better than, Sleeping Giants. It has action and adventure, soul-searching, drama, loss, love, and most importantly, humor. In fact, I don't remember the first novel being quite as sarcastic as this one is, but I like it! Told in the same format as the first one, through transcripts of interviews, news reports, scientific testing, doctor's notes, and the like, the format allows you to be an impartial observer and also an intimate participant of the events. Because it is the second novel in a series, to discuss the story in any greater detail would be to spoil all of the fun and ruin the suspense, but what follows after that initial robot appearance is a frenetic, intense, and dark story that keeps you on the edge of your seat from open to close.

The nitty-gritty: Higher stakes, terrifying alien robots, and plenty of human drama as well, I thoroughly enjoyed this follow-up to Sleeping Giants.

I had a blast reading Sleeping Giants last year, and despite some issues with the format, I enjoyed Neuvel’s original take on the alien invasion story. If you haven’t read Sleeping Giants, the story revolves around Dr. Rose Franklin, who finds a giant robot hand as a girl, and later becomes a renowned scientist who discovers that the hand is one piece of a very large alien robot. Sleeping Giants tackles the tale of how Rose and her crew are able to locate all the pieces of Themis, which just happen to be scattered all over the world, and put them back together again. Once that's accomplished, the characters try to figure out the purpose of Themis—why she's here and what she does.

Now in the second book of the series, Neuvel takes the exciting premise of the first book and injects it with a shot of adrenaline, raises the stakes and gives us a terrifying look at what an alien invasion might be like. If I was intrigued by all the science and alien engineering in the first book, I was scared out of my mind this time around. This is no E.T., it’s more like War of the Worlds, and I loved every minute of it. Even though I’m still having issues with the format—a mix of interviews, recorded journal entries, radio chatter between military personnel, and more—for the most part I was able to let go of my reservations and simply enjoy the ride. There may be some unavoidable spoilers in this review, because in order to talk about the story I’m going to have to spill some of the beans, but I’ll do my best to keep those to a minimum.

It’s been ten years since the events at the end of the last book. The U.S. has formed a group called the Earth Defense Corps in order to continue studying Themis and the reasons for her existence. Vincent and Kara are still piloting the giant robot, and they are still the only two people able to do so. Meanwhile, Rose, who was killed in the last book, has been brought back to life (by a method that I’m still not clear on), but she has lost many of the memories of her “old” life. Things have been relatively quiet, but that’s about to change—in a big way. One day, another giant robot, this one even taller than Themis, appears seemingly out of thin air in the middle of bustling London. Initial reactions range from fear all the way to curiosity, as British military forces debate whether a show of force is necessary, or if a peaceful approach might work better. As weeks pass with no movement from the robot, tensions start to rise, and eventually the area is flooded with military vehicles and armed troops, marching to surround the robot.

When a bright wall of light is released from the robot’s hand, the world watches in horror as the light sweeps across the city, obliterating everything in its path. When the dust settles, it is discovered that thousands have died, and the center of London is nothing more than a huge circle of dirt.

In the months that follow, Rose, Vincent and Kara will be called upon to try to solve the mystery of the new robot, now called Kronos. But before Rose can do anything, more robots begin to appear in large cities all over the world. Earth’s only hope is to utilize Themis as the weapon she was designed to be, because the event in London was only the beginning.

A lot happens in a very short book, and even though I’d love to discuss each juicy plot detail in this review, I’m going to resist temptation and stick to the basics. Let’s just say that the alien robots who pop up around the world pose a huge threat to the planet, and I was stunned by how dangerous these robots are. In the first book, the reader is lulled into a false sense of security, since Themis is one of the “good guys,” at least that’s the general consensus. But hold onto your hats, folks. Things get violent fast, and even as I was gasping in horror at some of the more outrageous plot points, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Neuvel certainly isn’t afraid to kill off his characters either, so don’t get too attached…

The story raises lots of interesting questions about how to defeat an enemy. Should the world go to war against the alien threat, or would it be better, as Rose suggests, to take a scientific approach to defeating them? Neuvel has some intriguing ideas about our possible relationship with alien life, and how we’re connected might lie in our DNA.

But despite the ideas and the implied action, this story felt static at times, much like Sleeping Giants. While I usually love the epistolary format, most of the horrific things that happen in Waking Gods happen between the lines, and despite the high body count, I didn’t really feel connected to those deaths. I think this is one of those cases where the audio book might work better than the print version, simply because it almost feels like a radio drama.

Once again, we have a couple of characters who seem to be important to the Themis project, and yet they have a sense of mystery surrounding them. A character known as Mr. Burns may or may not have a tenuous relationship with the aliens, but we still don’t learn much about him in this book. The unnamed narrator from the last book, however, finally reveals more about himself to Rose, in one of the more poignant scenes in the book. Even though the last part of the story felt a little rushed, as if the author was trying to wrap everything up within a certain page count, I loved the twists that come near the end, which are clearly leading up to events in the next book.

This is quite a fun series, although you must start at the beginning, because you’d be completely lost if you didn’t. Waking Gods not only tells a cautionary tale of alien invasion, but gives readers plenty of surprises along the way. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next installment of this addictive series.

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

A little girl falls into a hole and lands in a giant metal hand. The source and nature of this hand remain a mystery until this girl grows up to be Dr. Rose Franklin, a scientist who joins a team of archeologists to find the other pieces of the metal body, which are scattered all over the earth. These hidden parts are brought together and used to create an enormous statue, twenty stories high. It seems to be a kind of spacecraft, hollow with a control room inside.
After several years, the people of earth believe this monstrous statue to be harmless, even beneficial to mankind. They imagine it may have been left as a guardian of earth by aliens who left earth thousands of years ago. An agency created by the UN called the Earth Defense Corps, led by Dr. Franklin, is charged with studying this phenomenon to try to assess what impact it might have on humanity and make plans for defending earth if necessary. What happens when another of these gigantic statues appears suddenly in a park in London sets off a chain of events that threatens the survival of mankind.
The story is told from different points of view, in multiple forms: interviews, news reports, journal entries, records of debates in parliament, surveillance logs, news reports, mission logs, session notes from a psychiatrist, customs interrogation transcripts, research logs, news broadcasts, email messages, internal memos and even chat room transcripts. The plot was so cleverly presented using these various means that it kept me interested until the end. Discovering gradually what was really going on was tantalizing and fun, and I was surprised and satisfied by the ending.
I recommend this book not only for science fiction fans, but also for anyone who enjoys a good mystery. I will look forward to reading more from this author.

Note: Thanks to the author and publisher for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a wonderful book, I so wish I had it in physical form. I loved sleeping giants and Waking Gods was no different. Whenever the next book comes out, I'll be waiting.

If you have ever had the slightest interest in science fiction, you need to read this series. Even if the extent of your interest is an occasional random thought like, "yeah, I guess space is pretty cool" or "I wonder if aliens exist", read it. I'm serious.

The story is told in snippets of recorded dialogue, interviews, and journal entries, which gives the reader an intimate understanding of the characters while still allowing for a big-picture world view. From the very beginning, the scope ramps up and the intensity never wanes. There are giant robots and wayward scientists, secret investors and worldwide mayhem, but there are also heroes and families and a whole lot of heart. It's the perfect package.

I haven't been this excited about a series in a while. And with this book, the second and possibly last book in the series, it only gets better. I don't know if there will be a third (from what I can tell, it may just be a duology), but if there is, you can bet I'll be first in line to get my hands on it.

**Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5ish stars

Waking Gods has everything good about it's prequel, Sleeping Giants, but kicks it into an entirely other level. I thought SG was decent enough, with some interesting ideas, but I enjoyed this so much more. To anyone thinking about picking this up: listen to the audio version. It's a great production with a full cast of voice actors and it elevates the story so much more.

In SG I thought Neuvel's authorial voice was a bit uneven and a little inexperienced, but it seems much more confident and comfortable here. Now that the characters and the plot have been introduced, Neuvel is left with a lot more room to expand personalities and play with the pure sci-fi awesomeness of the plot. Each of the characters come into their own, especially Vincent and Kara, and our "nameless friend" continues to be an infuriatingly fascinating enigma.

One thing I'm especially impressed with is that Neuvel, who has an extensive background in linguistics and a "dabbling" in robotics, does a great job of balancing the more technical sciencey elements of the story with straight up robot aliens. It's quick, exciting, unabashedly alien melodrama without being mindless. A difficult feat, but Neuvel achieves it.

I absolutely devoured Sleeping Giants last year: a brilliant scifi novel that really gave me everything I wanted. Mystery, giant alien robots, and amazing characters… I was hooked instantly. I have been so looking forward to this sequel, and avoided all spoilers. It did not disappoint!

Old enemies. New threats. And finally, some gosh darn answers. It’s the end of the world, and the only people who can save it are severely outmatched.

I won’t even mention the ending yet! Only to say that I desperately need the next book NOW!