Sylvain Neuvel

Sarah and daughter Mia must follow the precepts:
Always run, never fight.
Preserve the knowledge.
Survive at all costs.
Take them to the stars.

Over ninety-nine identical generations have had space flight as their goal, and now as World War 2 winds down, nineteen-year-old Mia travels to Germany to rescue Werner von Braun. The mother-daughter pair - there always must be two - influence the rocket race between the Soviets and the U.S. with the goal of Taking them to the stars foremost. They are the Kibsu, and while they may not remember the origin of the precepts, it's of paramount importance that they follow them and avoid the Tracker, who is trying to stop them.

This was a fascinating blend of science and historical fiction - I guess technically that makes it alternate history, but the historical research was so solid that it read more like the latter, just throw in some aliens with a purpose influencing world events. I was surprised to discover the length of the notes at the end where Canadian author Neuvel went into great detail about his research and I discovered that things and people I thought were made up were not. We also get some flashbacks of previous generations of Kibsu that tantalize with the possibility of future installments in the trilogy explaining more of their origins. And for music fans, there's a playlist to discover through the chapter titles.… (more)

When she was 11 years old, Rose Franklin fell into a giant hand that had been revealed when a mysterious hole opened up near her home. Now, a second part of the figure has appeared in Turkey, and adult Rose, now a scientist, finds the link between the sites. She's recruited by a nameless man who has access to military support, and they devise a method to reveal the other parts of the . . . figure? . . . sculpture? . . . robot? Can Rose and her team discover the origin and function of the mysterious device?

I'd been meaning to read this for several years, and am glad I finally got around to it. The structure of the narrative is transcripts of interviews, diary entries, etc. The nameless man (CIA, I think is implied?) plays a major role, though he's not involved with the project in a hands-on way. I felt like I was missing things toward the end, probably because of the format. However, it all came together, and I'm intrigued enough to read the next volume. If the premise speaks to you, give it a try.… (more)

Review also posted on my blog! :)

What an interesting concept for a book. If there's anything that this book can be given major kudos for, it would be its unique story, and the way it's presented.

Sleeping Giants begins when Rose Franklin falls in a pit as a very young girl, landing on a giant metal hand. Now an adult, with a PhD in physics, Rose finds herself led back to the hand. As it turns out, there are more pieces out there... the hand is not a stand alone piece, but the part of a larger whole – namely, a giant metal robot. A mysterious individual, representing the United States government, wants Rose's expertise in studying the hand, and finding the rest of the pieces which are spread across the planet. What does the robot look like? What is its purpose? As these questions are uncovered, the characters begin to realize that there's no way humanity could have achieved such a feat.

I found the plot of Sleeping Giants to be quite unlike anything else I've seen or heard of lately, both in subject matter and presentation. It definitely gave me some X-Files/Iron Giant vibes, but other than that, it's quite a unique work. It is told primarily through interviews via an anonymous interviewer, who periodically gathers data from Rose, her associates and others. Also thrown into the mix are diary entries, newspaper articles, satellite reports... etc. We learn next to nothing about the interviewer, except that he has an awesome amount of power – even the president of the United States acquiesces to him. Not gonna lie, I had the picture of a certain someone stuck in my head as the interviewer the whole time I was reading...



(Moving away from my obligatory X-Files reference... ;) ) The unusual presentation and story combine to make a really refreshing read, and that was one of the major reasons I enjoyed it. The interviews and other tidbits become more and more rewarding as the story progresses, because you begin to connect dots and discover clues to what is happening or will happen. There were a lot of "a-ha!" moments as I was reading. While certain segments may not make sense or seem important at first, they all have an importance to the plot at some point.

The robot itself was really fascinating – the way Neuvel describes it created great images for me as I was reading. I found myself sharing in the sense of wonder that the characters portrayed. I couldn't wait for them to assemble all the pieces... to see what would happen. There is a great suspense factor to this story. Not only is there the excitement of seeing the robot whole, and learning what it's capable of, but there is a much more real political suspense to the story as well. Searching for the pieces leads to political unrest... and later on we learn of the robot's true capabilities. Fears of unrest with Russia, and North Korea are cleverly included in the story, which frankly made it feel more realistic to me, since these are things we hear and worry about in real life.

Despite everything I liked, there were some things I disliked. Most notably, I didn't honestly feel that invested in the characters. They were just... a little boring. I found myself not caring what was going to happen to them. I was more interested in seeing their interactions with the robot, and discovering more about the mystery of it all. Another aspect I disliked was that you are given perhaps too much information at once, which made the story hard to follow and confusing at times. It isn't until you're able to connect those dots that all that information starts to make sense. Maybe these factors should have been a deal-breaker for me, but there are so many other fascinating things about this story that makes it worthwhile.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, and it was actually a pretty quick read. I do plan on reading the sequel coming out next year, (because I have to find out what is going to happen with this robot), but I hope that Neuvel works on the flaws with the story. Some more character development is definitely necessary, and perhaps having information spread out throughout the story. I would definitely still recommend this, despite its minor flaws. I think it's a really uniquely thought-out story, and the plot really feels different from anything else.

Final Rating: ★★★★… (more)