The second novel in the Themis Files series by Sylvain Nuevel, Waking Gods, was released today, April 4, 2017. This is a high octane, heart pounding, gut wrenching novel that has to be read immediately. I mean it. Go out there and find a copy. This isn’t just a good sequel to a series. This is a magnificent second book to a series that deserves to be read. Though it’s still early in 2017, I know this is one of, if not the, best book of 2017.

Waking Gods begins nine years after Sleeping Giants. Our main characters return – Rose, The fears of Mr. Burns, the mysterious, probably part alien descendant, are beginning to come true. Another giant robot appears in the middle of London with no warning. It isn’t Themis, the machine whose hand Rose fell into as a child. That one’s safe and sound with its pilots. This is a different one. A new one. And it’s already manned.

Things go from uncertain to worst case scenario pretty quickly in this book. Rose has some personal things to sort out as being technically dead for a while does tend to do. But there’s little time to deal with that, or Kara and Vincent’s relationship as more robots appear spread across the globe. All are in the world’s most populated cities. None of them seem overly fond of the human race.

Problem is, all of Themis’ secrets aren’t unlocked, it’s a very old machine as far as the obviously highly advanced nonhuman race is concerned, and there’s only one of it. on the world’s major cities?

Our mysterious, unnamed interviewer attempts to control the unfolding chaos, guiding the others as best he can for as long as he can. But as the situation worsens, he quickly finds himself losing any of the control over events he once had. This is something we saw in the first book with our interviewer seeming to flounder a little bit as the situation worsened. His humanness, his true personality, become more apparent as this book goes on. Mr. Burns, too, appears a just bit less certain in this book, though with all of his metaphorical stories it can be a bit difficult to tell at times.

This book is also told through alternative formatting. We have news reports, phone calls, recorded conversations, and more. This formatting really works for this series. At no point did I feel disconnected from the characters or plot. If you have reservations about this method, don’t worry. Also, the story takes place over the course of just over a year. This is still a decent span of time, though nothing quite as extensive as book one in the series.

If you’re anything like me and have a tendency to pick up a series somewhere in the middle and read the first few books later, this may be a series to not do that with. While you may be able to figure out what’s going on, you will miss a lot by not reading book one, especially on early character development and the introduction of some important side characters.

Now, I am a huge manga and anime fan. I have read and watched countless giant robot stories. The Themis Files is one of the absolute best stories I have ever experienced in this genre – novel, manga, or anime wise. As a second novel in a series, Waking Gods does everything many other second novels does not. This is a not a skippable book; at no point is the plot plodding, predicable, and stuffed with backstories and character development for lack of action. (I’m not salty about other second books in a series. Of course not).

I highly recommend reading Waking Gods by Sylvain Nuevel. If you enjoyed the first book, are a fan of science fiction, or even have a passing interest pick up this book. You will not be disappointed.

Read If: you enjoyed Sleeping Giants; you enjoy mecha anime/manga; you like science fiction
Don’t Read If: you don’t like alternative formatting in novels; you don’t enjoy mecha in your novels; you don’t like earth invasion stories

Neuvel knows just how to leave you wanting more! It took me a little bit to get into this book and adjust to the time progression. I loved revisiting the characters and getting insight into what happened to Rose. Being someone who has trouble with science, I like the way the various concepts are explained. I wasn't sure what to expect going into this l, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Themis is in full working order and needed now more than ever. Another giant robot has appeared in the middle of London. It isn't moving or communicating or doing much of anything so Vincent, Kara, and a newly resurrected Dr. Franklin are sent with Themis to find out what it wants (and to prevent humanity from nuking itself into the sun in order to get rid of it).

This was a solid follow-up to Sleeping Giants, but it wasn't as emotionally compelling. I'm not sure if it was the number of characters or the matters that they were dealing with that didn't hold my attention. I was completely compelled to keep reading to find out what happened, but I wasn't as invested as I was with the first novel. [I was very devastated by the nameless man's and Kara's deaths, which I felt were a smidge unnecessary. I can see the motivation for Kara's death - getting Eva into Themis to proceed with her narrative, but not sure about the nameless man.} I definitely want to see where this leads, since the ending left things hanging in mid air (if you will).

After having read Neuvel's first book in this series (Sleeping Giants), I was hooked. Then came the impatient wait for the next installment of what now appears to be a trilogy. Thankfully, it was decidedly worth the year-long anticipation. I was surprised, however, that none of the various scenarios I had envisioned for this second novel were anywhere near what actually transpired... which was delightful to a jaded reader like me. Neuvel knocked me for a loop, just as he did with the first book. And, while reading, if you think you have the ending figured out, you don't. The final chapter left my jaw on the floor, and now begins the interminable wait to find out what happens next. Brilliant!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House I had the opportunity to read Sylvain Neuvel's new book Waking Gods months before it will be published.

The second book of Themis Files is just as amazing as the first one was. Some questions and secrets from the first book will be answered, but new ones also arise. Some old characters will be lost, some new one are revealed. The ending will make you cry but at the same time you can be sure, the new book will take you into new dimensions.

So, Rose is back, but she still can not understand and accept it. Those four years are lost for her and nothing they tell her sounds right to her. Mr Nameless is still leading everything and everybody. Kara and Vincent travel around the world with Themis as an circus act and they still learn new things about her.

But then new gigantic robot materializes in London, with another color running through his veins and he's much bigger than Themis. What is it, an threat? an quest? friendship offering? For days the robot does not move and all the powerful persons in the world argue what to do while the Earth Defense Corps tries to tell them to let them investigate first and then act with power. But before they can do one or the other their choices are taken from them and their sole hope is Themis.

This time the humans won (sort of) but for how long!?!?

A year later, when the EDC scientists have investigated their spoils any way they can think of, it all starts again, once again in London. This time the local friendly citizens take maters into their own hands but before anybody can tell them not to, this new robot "attacks" and 12 more robots appear in other mayor cities around the world. All of them deliver their "message" and then leave only to reappear in the next city.

USA has been untouched so far, but then it's time for New York. Just at that inconvenient time Vincent is missing with Themis and Kara has received a letter from a very unexpected person but the letter sends her on a very personal mission. So the human kind is an its way to extinction and the only ones who could help are either missing, are on a mission god knows where, and those who know something about anything can not give the information for one or another reason. But as always, when a deadly virus hits the earth there are those who are immune, now all they have to do is to find out why and how to use it ...

Just as the first book, this book is also a series of excerpts of personal logs, transcripts of meetings and interviews, so sometimes we follow the events in real time sometimes we read about them in retrospect. Everything is happening so fast, the story is very intense and if I usually drift off and lose the story when I have to read long scientific clarification of things, then in this story I was glued to my reader even if the talk was about difference between DNA and ANA (or some other NA with a different first letter) it was just so fascinating and so well written.

It was really good read and for me Eva's last words are the best ending to this book. :)

Excellent followup to a great debut. Sylvain Neuvel definitely can write. The tale is presented through interviews, logs, communications, and the whole time you just keep racing along, because you have to know what happens. Well. There are giant alien robots. With ridiculous power. See if that interests you. The only reason I gave it less than five stars is because the conclusion was just a bit too....neat. But it was fun, well written, the characters were alive, and I loved it.

I really love a good science fiction story and this series has definitely fit the bill. The second book in the Themis series is a lot darker, but we finally learn more about the background of our characters. It definitely has stronger writing than the first novel. The story structure is unusual with the interviews and government documents but it works.

It was refreshing to see the author kill off two main characters in the book. While their presence in the narrative will be missed, it helped to advance the story. I am eager to see where the author will take the readers next.
I would recommend this novel for my more mature students.

Thank you for the advanced copy.

Sleeping Giants was one of my favorite books of 2016 so I was super excited to read Waking Gods. As with Giants, I was hooked from page one and found myself delaying bedtime in order to finish it. The format and structure of this duology, along with the author's writing style, is great. Telling the story through interviews, case files, log transcripts, and character pov's is unique and interesting and works quite well, in my opinion.

I have to say I was surprised by a lot of the events in Waking Gods. I'm not sure exactly where I expected the story to go after the first book but this wasn't it lol. The sheer number of deaths, especially the deaths of certain main characters, was definitely a shock.

The ending, including the reason for and solution to the impending apocalyptic doom, felt somewhat underwhelming after so much build up. The subplot involving Eva could have used a little more development as well.

Overall, I truly enjoyed Waking Gods and The Themis Files as a whole and I still think it would make a great movie! Sylvain Neuvel is a talented author and I'm looking forward to reading whatever he comes out with in the future. *Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!*

I have been waiting to read this 2nd book since I finished reading the 1st book, Sleeping Giants. I was blown away by both. I simply adore this series. Hopefully there will be a 3rd book.

Not sure what I can say as I am absolutely not a writer and fear my review will not do it justice. I will say this, the writing style works for me and the plot is amazing. This story is absolutely entertaining, immensely intriguing and at times, utterly devastating. My emotions are all over the place. I'm still in shock.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

4.5* Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, my very first one!

Having loved Sleeping Giants, I couldn’t resist trying to get my hand on the sequel. Second books are notoriously difficult, especially in a series, but I’m pleased to say that Neuvel has exceeded my expectations!

Waking Gods is quite a different book. The narrative is not focused on the search for parts any longer, or the socio-political ramifications of the existence and 'ownership' of Themis. No, this novel not only widens the horizon considerably but takes on a different perspective, which makes perfect sense, building from the events of the first novel. Nine years have passed in relative calm but everything comes to a halt when a new and bigger robot - friend or foe? - appears in central London.

Once more, the narration is presented through a variety of documents, mostly interviews and journal entries. The characters shine and I really enjoyed following them through the story but also in their personal growth. Kara, Rose and the 'Interviewer' still steal the show!

Finally, Neuvel impressed me with his courage in pushing his readers by his plot choices. He didn't go for the 'easy' way by offering more of the same but instead went for what is more realistic. I'll definitely read this again when it is published!

First off, if you haven't read Sleeping Giants and you don't want to be spoiled, STOP READING NOW, 'kay? Actually, there are spoilers for this book, too, so.

I really enjoyed Sleeping Giants - it felt fresh, I liked the style of interviews/documents, the pacing was steady and they mystery felt pretty taut. Needless to say, I was very much looking forward to its sequel, particularly with that cliffhanger ending!

Waking Gods is good. A lot of mysteries are wrapped up, we find out a little bit more about the robots and where they come from, Dr. Rose Franklin's return is discussed at length.

[SPOILERS START NOW]

The biggest caveat to not loving this book was the pacing and the feeling of...emotional distance, and the two are not unrelated. Even though some truly terrible things were happening throughout the books - millions of people dying, for instance - I weirdly didn't care? I mean, it was upsetting in theory. But like, no emotional response. No urgency, no OMG! WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT? I almost feel like the author tries to make an excuse for this with a conversation between Rose and the Interviewer - how you can never feel the magnitude of that many deaths fully - like, people don't typically feel 1 million times worse if 1 million people die compared to 1 person that they are close to. And that's probably true. But if the scary things the robots were doing were supposed to move the plot along and increase the feeling of urgency - it failed, for me anyway.

Like I said earlier, I really did enjoy the epistolary way that both books are written - but for some reason, in the second book the style created an emotional barrier that didn't feel there in the first book.

So many major character deaths and I just felt a little, womp womp. That's too bad. Not my normal reaction to characters of that magnitude dying.

The perspective was perhaps a little too Birdseye for me to really engage emotionally.

Eva is a great character that I wish we had seen A LOT more of. The writing is good, the sense of humor is still there. The story is fascinating. I mean, it's still GIANT ALIEN ROBOTS!

Annnnd we get another cliffhanger ending. So I guess there will be a third? Or was the author just trolling us? I'd be fine either way. it could spin off to such a fun first contact story or it could be left here and we could just wonder.