A review by vanya_vatsal
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
3.0
"Stories are there to entertain, preserve history, or serve a societal purpose of some kind."
Themis Files by @sylvainneuvel
Book 1 - Sleeping Giants (5/5)
The story is told in the format of files containing interviews with an unnamed interviewer which results in a completely dialogue centric book.
When Dr. Rose Franklin was 11 years old, she fell on an enormous metal hand. As an adult, she's leading the investigation into the mystery of its origin. What comes to light is that there are more pieces buried throughout the planet and they predate all human civilization. We see how the discovery affects the world. The suspense was nail biting and the ending was a cliffhanger which made me quickly grab the next book.
Book 2 - Waking Gods (5/5)
This also follows the same interview style of story telling. Without stepping into spoiler territory, all I can tell is that the journey just got more exciting. We get to learn who made the giant and what purpose does it hold. One hell of a thrill ride.
Book 3 - Only Human (3/5)
This follows a past/present narrative.
Now this was a problematic book. It's full of teen drama. Despite having much more burning questions, 50% of the book chooses to be focus on teenage angst! Remaining of it was really interesting - we get to visit a different planet and the world building was excellent. There were also some plot points which remain unanswered.
Final verdict - The trilogy makes you think - about the meaning of it all, about the bigger picture, how tiny we are in this vast universe. There are many philosophical questions, it also raises questions about racism, about the true nature of human beings.
Yet because of book 3, I'm super conflicted whether to recommend the whole trilogy or not. If you love SF like I do - dive right into it.
Final Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 out of 5 stars) for the whole trilogy.
Themis Files by @sylvainneuvel
Book 1 - Sleeping Giants (5/5)
The story is told in the format of files containing interviews with an unnamed interviewer which results in a completely dialogue centric book.
When Dr. Rose Franklin was 11 years old, she fell on an enormous metal hand. As an adult, she's leading the investigation into the mystery of its origin. What comes to light is that there are more pieces buried throughout the planet and they predate all human civilization. We see how the discovery affects the world. The suspense was nail biting and the ending was a cliffhanger which made me quickly grab the next book.
Book 2 - Waking Gods (5/5)
This also follows the same interview style of story telling. Without stepping into spoiler territory, all I can tell is that the journey just got more exciting. We get to learn who made the giant and what purpose does it hold. One hell of a thrill ride.
Book 3 - Only Human (3/5)
This follows a past/present narrative.
Now this was a problematic book. It's full of teen drama. Despite having much more burning questions, 50% of the book chooses to be focus on teenage angst! Remaining of it was really interesting - we get to visit a different planet and the world building was excellent. There were also some plot points which remain unanswered.
Final verdict - The trilogy makes you think - about the meaning of it all, about the bigger picture, how tiny we are in this vast universe. There are many philosophical questions, it also raises questions about racism, about the true nature of human beings.
Yet because of book 3, I'm super conflicted whether to recommend the whole trilogy or not. If you love SF like I do - dive right into it.
Final Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 out of 5 stars) for the whole trilogy.