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beccalakatos's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
grcolby's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Stars
I actually enjoyed this one more than Sleeping Giants. A LOT more science. A lot more on why built the robot and why...
Charters continue to evolve and develop more depth. Over all a good book.
I actually enjoyed this one more than Sleeping Giants. A LOT more science. A lot more on why built the robot and why...
Charters continue to evolve and develop more depth. Over all a good book.
gtaper's review against another edition
5.0
Shocking twists .. great bridging second novel, so excited for the end!
jnl_dayton's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent! (I thought vol 1 was better but only because this one killed off a character I liked)
Can't wait for Vol 3
Can't wait for Vol 3
nikkitastic's review against another edition
3.0
First, I did not at all like the format this installment was written in. Second, relying on 10 year olds to act like adults in apocalyptic situations is absurd to me. Otherwise, this was a decent sequel to but not nearly as good as Sleeping Giants. I sincerely hope the final book is better and provides a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
jaxauspdx's review against another edition
3.0
I highly recommend the audiobook. The voice actors did an amazing job and brought so much life to this book.
It's difficult to rate a book when the first half and the second half are so different from each other. Honestly, I thought the first half of this book was rather boring, I realize the author is setting up everything that is going to happen, but I thought the pacing was quite slow. The second half of the book is explosive. The plot is dynamic with fun yet dark sci-fi feel. This book also references the anime, Neon Genesis: Evangelion. The themes in this series are somewhat related to this anime classic, but thankfully its less convoluted. There are plenty of plot twists to keep you guessing, however, it is rather strange that so much is revealed by one character, not through discovery and science. Also, I find it harder to connect to the characters on an emotional level because of the style of the book. It's written as "files" just like the first book. And it reads like a movie script almost. There are a couple of letters written by characters but for the most part there isn't a lot of connection to their emotions. Overall, I enjoyed the plot and I will read the third book in this series, but I'm not excited about the writing style.
It's difficult to rate a book when the first half and the second half are so different from each other. Honestly, I thought the first half of this book was rather boring, I realize the author is setting up everything that is going to happen, but I thought the pacing was quite slow. The second half of the book is explosive. The plot is dynamic with fun yet dark sci-fi feel. This book also references the anime, Neon Genesis: Evangelion. The themes in this series are somewhat related to this anime classic, but thankfully its less convoluted. There are plenty of plot twists to keep you guessing, however, it is rather strange that so much is revealed by one character, not through discovery and science. Also, I find it harder to connect to the characters on an emotional level because of the style of the book. It's written as "files" just like the first book. And it reads like a movie script almost. There are a couple of letters written by characters but for the most part there isn't a lot of connection to their emotions. Overall, I enjoyed the plot and I will read the third book in this series, but I'm not excited about the writing style.
isolde137's review against another edition
3.0
This one was better than the first, definitely. I still felt it dragged a bit, but at least there was actual action...
mondaythehuman's review against another edition
4.0
Whoa, an enjoyable sequel to Sleeping Giants. The interview format is great! Excited for the third book.
lomeraniel's review against another edition
4.0
Review originally published at: https://lomeraniel.com/book-review-sleeping-giants-by-sylvain-neuvel/
The first book in this series was a pleasant surprise, and it left such a good taste in my mouth that I was looking forward to reading the entire series. Rose Franklin is "back", and Vincent and Kara have a supposed child in a faraway country. If this were not enough, the aliens seem to be back on Earth with more modern robots.
I found the hypothesis formulated by the several characters completely amazing and appealing. This book kept my interest for about two-thirds of the story. Then several unexpected things happen, and the rest of the book has a very different feeling than the rest of the story up to that point. I won't reveal anything here and spoil the book for other readers, but I just have to say that the change in events and the ending disappointed me. I didn't see the need, but I guess Neuvel will have new surprises in the next and final book that may justify it.
I think the evolution of characters in the first book was more carefully developed. This book focuses more on the evolution of the story and possible causes for the robots to be on Earth. We see more of the aliens, but still not enough. At this point, this seems to be a story more about humanity and less about an alien race.
The part about the child, Eva, made me cringe a bit. A ten-year-old is not supposed to talk like that, nor to have a good domain of the English language after spending all her life in a foreign country with a different mother tongue. I think it could have worked were she at least twelve or fourteen years old, but not ten, no matter how gifted she was. This is part of why the last third of the book didn't work for me, but there are other aspects that I can't mention to avoid spoiling the story.
I also felt a bit underwhelmed by Rose's comeback. The explanation made sense but felt quite meh. I guess my love for science-fiction has its limits and when writers explore beyond what could be real, I find it just too much for me.
The narration was, again, a total delight. The full cast creates the illusion of having real people, and the character interpretations were exquisite. I had issues again with Eva, somehow she didn't sound like a ten-year-old to me.
I will be finishing this series because I think it's worth it after reading two-thirds of it. I'm not as obsessed with it as I was after the first book, though. I think it's very difficult to create a good story, but it is even more difficult finishing it keeping the quality at the same level, especially in a series.
The first book in this series was a pleasant surprise, and it left such a good taste in my mouth that I was looking forward to reading the entire series. Rose Franklin is "back", and Vincent and Kara have a supposed child in a faraway country. If this were not enough, the aliens seem to be back on Earth with more modern robots.
I found the hypothesis formulated by the several characters completely amazing and appealing. This book kept my interest for about two-thirds of the story. Then several unexpected things happen, and the rest of the book has a very different feeling than the rest of the story up to that point. I won't reveal anything here and spoil the book for other readers, but I just have to say that the change in events and the ending disappointed me. I didn't see the need, but I guess Neuvel will have new surprises in the next and final book that may justify it.
I think the evolution of characters in the first book was more carefully developed. This book focuses more on the evolution of the story and possible causes for the robots to be on Earth. We see more of the aliens, but still not enough. At this point, this seems to be a story more about humanity and less about an alien race.
The part about the child, Eva, made me cringe a bit. A ten-year-old is not supposed to talk like that, nor to have a good domain of the English language after spending all her life in a foreign country with a different mother tongue. I think it could have worked were she at least twelve or fourteen years old, but not ten, no matter how gifted she was. This is part of why the last third of the book didn't work for me, but there are other aspects that I can't mention to avoid spoiling the story.
I also felt a bit underwhelmed by Rose's comeback. The explanation made sense but felt quite meh. I guess my love for science-fiction has its limits and when writers explore beyond what could be real, I find it just too much for me.
The narration was, again, a total delight. The full cast creates the illusion of having real people, and the character interpretations were exquisite. I had issues again with Eva, somehow she didn't sound like a ten-year-old to me.
I will be finishing this series because I think it's worth it after reading two-thirds of it. I'm not as obsessed with it as I was after the first book, though. I think it's very difficult to create a good story, but it is even more difficult finishing it keeping the quality at the same level, especially in a series.
little_night_owl's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5