Howdy Bookworms!

I’m writing this review from my Airbnb on my writer’s retreat in Maysville, MO! It’s been a really great retreat, but I’ll touch on more of that in another post. For the retreat I did some reading to keep my creative batteries charged up, and I chose to read Waking Gods (Themis Files #2) by Sylvain Neuvel. 

I loved the first book in this series (review link below if you’re catching up), so I just had to know what happened next. On to the book review!

Series Review Links

Book Review: Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1)

Blurb

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.

GoodReads

Amazon

Bookshop.org

***Brief disclosure***

I am an Amazon and Bookshop.org affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the links in this post at no cost to you. It’s a great way to help me keep things running on my blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

The Review

Loved it! This was such a great follow up to Sleeping Giants.

Rose, Kara, and Vincent continue their journey deciphering the strange alien technology they found in the first book, only this time the fate of the entire world is at stake. When foreign robots show up and wreak havoc upon the world, our heroes have to pool their resources and think on their feet if they want to save the human race.

What I enjoyed most was that this book took the stakes and turned it up to 11! The future of the planet lays in the hands of a small organization, and it was riveting to see them try to sort things out and find an end to the situation. There were a lot of huge reveals scattered throughout the novel that shook me to my core, and it was really hard to put down.

Like the first book, this one maintains the interview format of storytelling, and it’s still just as effective if not more so. It’s also fairly fast paced with some small pauses in between terrifying developments for balance.

I really enjoyed watching Kara and Vincent grow throughout this book. They gained more depth and faced crazy odds, but oddly it was Rose’s story that was my favorite. She is something of an enigma as we know that she isn’t the first version of Rose to be alive. That made her chapters bingeworthy, and I loved unraveling the reveals bit by bit.

I honestly have zero complaints. If you love memorable core shaking scifi, you can’t miss out on this series!

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. Like what you see? Leave a tip!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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