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Sleeping Giants
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Hi, I'm Shirley. I'll have to remember to do an introduction soon, but right now I'm home with a toddler and an infant. I like this book so far (2 chapters in). The format is very interesting. I don't typically read books with such different formats but I like the premise and the writing is easy to read. Because of the format, I actually thought the protagonist is a boy until I went back and read the chapter title.This part is possibly a spoiler......
Since they found a hand and an arm now I'm thinking perhaps they will piece together a robot that will destroy humankind. So, it's ironic they are so excited now.
That's it...not too exciting. Just thought I'd share.
Mod
Hi Shirley,
You must be super busy (and I'm sure that's an understatement)! I also just started the book, and so far I agree with you. I really like the writing style. It's very easy to picture the different technology that's described, and I think the author does a nice job of explaining things simply but effectively. I like how there's some science in the book, but it's all explained very well, and you don't need to have an archaeology degree to understand it. I think you're right about hand and arm. Something that big and hidden for that long probably isn't a good thing. Thanks for sharing!
I am 2/3 way done. I generally like sci fi but I have some problems with this book. The main problem is it feels like most of the chapters are just fillers, but perhaps it is because of the technical details. (maybe my husband will love this book!) I really don't like the unnamed interviewer. He acts like he knows everything and claims he doesn't. Even the personal aspects of the main characters don't seem to serve any purpose. Suffice to say I don't agree with the praises in the back of the book, which is unfortunate because I loved Pierce Brown and Red Rising (that reminds me I never finished the 3rd book in that trilogy....) Lastly, the person I thought was the protagonist turned out not to be?! I guess I am just disappointed because I feel misled. Hopefully the ending will be good! (But I am finding myself skimming pages already....)
Now I'm finished. There are some really interesting ideas in the book. SPOILERS
As a sci fi fan, I really like the idea our "gods" are aliens much more evolved than us and are waiting for us to protect. Even more interesting, they left the half breeds to integrate among us. What did that do to advance us technologically? Fascinating. These descendants resent having to dumb down for us. Also fascinating.
The government conspiring to desensitize Americans by investing in violent Hollywod movies. Ok. Interesting, but I don't buy it.
The ending was a good plot twist that came too late. And with the style of writing, I didn't really care about Dr. Rose so it didn't really matter. Actually the prologue is kind of misleading to begin the book with Dr. Rose. She did not turn out to be any more special than just another smart scientist.
The characters in the book are so random. I didn't understand why the interviewer starts asking questions about their personal lives. Perhaps he wants to show the psychological changes in the team, but it didn't come through that way. At the end, I didn't learn any more about these characters and how they've changed through the whole ordeal aside from their physical changes (someone died and someone's legs were ran over). I would much prefer to get insights about the character's thoughts than actions.
The sequel title is intriguing but I don't think I will read it if it's in the same format.
Mod
I'm about halfway through the book and I still like it so far. From what you've said that might not be the case much longer! Although, I do like the unnamed interviewer. He's an interesting character, and I feel like he's unreliable which has me intrigued. I'm not going to read your final post until I finish the book because I'm planning on finishing it, but I'll be really interested in what you thought of it and if it got better for you!
Mod
I have to say, I really enjoyed this book. I liked the unnamed narrator, and I feel like he was actually the main character in the story. I liked his dry sense of humor, and how his conversations with "Unknown subject" made me realize he didn't know everything. I also really liked the ideas that were revealed as the story went on. The combination of aliens with stories of god and titans was fascinating. I kind of guessed that Rose was going to come back, so the end wasn't that shocking for me.
The one thing I didn't really like about the book was the romantic relationships between the characters. They didn't really feel real to me. I agree with Shirley; I would like to get insights about the character's thoughts, maybe through more recorded journal entries, instead of through the conversations with the interviewer.
I would read the sequel to this, Waking Gods, which comes out in April 2017. I'm interested to see where the story goes.
"A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.
Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected.
But some can never stop searching for answers.
Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What’s clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery—and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?"
Please remember to post SPOILERS at the top of your post if you are talking about events that happen later in the book.