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?

An inventive debut in the tradition of World War Z and The Martian, told in interviews, journal entries, transcripts, and news articles, Sleeping Giants is a thriller fueled by a quest for truth—and a fight for control of earthshaking power.

MY REVIEW:

Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!

This is such a fantastical and refreshing science fiction. Sylvain Neuvel has something here, perhaps, a best-seller?? I think so. The whole book is written in “interview” format, either one on one, or as a recording by the characters. The whole premise is astonishing, can you imagine?? Finding something so extraordinary! Man oh man! It felt like I was secretly listening in on top secret government conversations. The interviewer’s identity is always hidden, which only added to the atmosphere of the novel. I don’t want to say too much and spoil it for you all, but this is definitely a book you need to add to your TBR.

I received this book from Penguin Books and noticed that my cover was somewhat different from all the editions on here, which is kinda exciting. No, it’s not an ARC either.

This novel has been compared to “The Martian” by many, but I believe Penguin’s comparing the potential success of “Sleeping Giants” to that of “The Martian” and not the premise itself. The author has taken a subject matter often discussed openly in the media, of whether we are alone in the universe, and stepped it up a bit to show that not only are we NOT alone, but look what they can do! Human reaction is typical and expected, including a political and military standpoint, and would seem somewhat contrite except for the masterful way Neuvel writes it up.

Pay attention to this author, I anticipate and expect great things from Sylvain Neuvel! Well done!