I feel like I need to start this review by saying sci-fi is not my genre of choice. The vast majority of what I read is historical fiction with the occasional fantasy novel thrown in for something different. 

I read the first novel, Sleeping Giants, last August. For anyone interested in this series, I would recommend reading the two books a little closer together than I did. I ended up going to the library to check out Sleeping Giants because I had forgotten a few things. Keeping in mind that sci-fi is not my wheelhouse, I was surprised at the lack of sci-fi in the first one. Sure there was a giant robot and some big science-y words I didn't understand. Honestly, the giant robots aren't really that unbelievable and me not understanding science-y words is a fairly common occurrence. 

The second novel amped up the sci-fi. The novel follows the format of the previous one. The writer uses a series of transcripts and diary entries to take the reader through the series of events that follow the appearance of a second robot. If that style of writing/reading doesn't appeal to you, I would skip this series. 

Once the action started, I was a little concerned the writing style would take a little bit away from the plot. I was wrong. Once the action started, I didn't even notice. That second robot appeared in London (not a spoiler since it happens about two paragraphs into the book) and the book continues non-stop. 

Does this series have me convinced I should make sci-fi a regular part of my reading rotation? Not quite. Am I going to read the third book? Yup. I already have it on order from the library. However, I might end up owning the series before the library can get them from me. An internet search from my husband shows the writer has been involved in some Star Wars works. Naturally his interest is peaked and I will run the risk of never actually getting my copy when it comes from the library. 

My review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I had so much fun reading this book! I recently listened to the first book in this series so I was pretty eager to fit this book into my reading schedule. It turned out to be one of those books that are almost impossible to put down. Every time I would tell myself that I was just going to read one more chapter something would happen in the story and one more chapter just wouldn't be enough. I ended up reading the whole book in a single day and enjoyed every minute of it.

This book picks up ten years the events of the first book. This is a series that really does need to be read in order since it really is a continuation of the same larger story. Due to the nature of the series, there may be some spoilers for the first book in this review. If you haven't read the first book yet and plan to, I would recommend trying not to read anything about the later books in the series in order to avoid spoilers.

Things have been pretty calm for the Themis team since the events of the previous book. That changes quickly when a second giant robot shows up in the middle of London. It doesn't really do anything at first but its presence alone seems threatening enough. The world is at a loss as to what they should do about it and fear what the robot is planning. Events get exciting really quickly and there may be more danger than they ever imagined.

All of the characters from the first book are back for this installment. Since I recently listened to the audio of the first book, I had their voices in my head as I read through the journal entries, interviews, and reports. I think that this really added to the enjoyment of the story for me. Rose, Kara, and Vincent all have personal issues to deal with in this book in addition to the world events. There are some new characters that make an appearance and add to the story as well.

I would recommend this series to others. It is a really great mix of characters cast in an incredibly exciting story. The book is told in such an interesting manner through journal entries, interviews, and documents. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book in this exciting series!

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via NetGalley.

Initial Thoughts
I am thinking that this book is somewhere between 4 and 5 stars right now. This book is even more exciting than the first one. I would have never guessed some of the directions this story went. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

Well written, but it should absolutely be read only after the first volume.  I didn't do so, and I paid the price. 

Like its predecessor, Sleeping Giants, Waking Gods is marked by an interesting style, where debriefings, news reports, and journal entries are pieced together to tell the story. The second book of the Themis Files has a markedly different tone than the first: while Sleeping Giants was somewhat contemplative and slow-moving, things really get going in Waking Gods. Despite the difference in tone, I don't think you can really enjoy Waking Gods to the full without reading its predecessor, as the story isn't dragged down by too much exposition of what happened before. The story picks up a few years after the first book, and all of the characters from the first story are back in force, along with a few new perspectives. I was a little disappointed in one of them, as their introduction makes another character's demise painfully obvious rather than a surprising twist or "anyone can die" vibe. However, I did like the new characters and I was happy to see the return of some of my favourites, such as the fiery Kara.

The plot and tone reminded me quite a bit of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds. As with Welles’ famous story, the reader spends most of the story frustrated, helpless, and adrift, unable to determine what will happen next or why. Despite the crazy events, I think Neuven is quite successful in creating what I'd call, for want of a better term, a tone of realism. Part of achieving this is having atrocities and events can happen without any explanation or any leading plot arc. For me, this made it quite difficult to actually push my way through the book. I stuck with it, and I’m glad I did. As the story moves towards the climax, everything clicks into place with a reasonably satisfying and quite creative solution. As with the previous book, there’s a bit of a hook or cliffhanger for the next story arc, and I’ll be very interested to see where the story goes next.

~~I received an advanced reader copy of this ebook through Netgalley from the publisher, Del Ray, in exchange for my honest review.~~

Cross-posted on Goodreads.

By chance, I saw that the second book in The Themis Files series by Sylvain Neuvel had hit the shelves. You may recall that I posted a review of the first book, Sleeping Giants, not quite a year ago and I really enjoyed it. It's a unique story that blends aliens and robots *shudder* with a heaping dose of science-y adventure and intrigue. In the sequel, Waking Gods, we're reunited with our mysterious narrator who continues to record his interactions with the team tasked with uncovering the mysteries surrounding Themis, the robot pieced together and purportedly left on earth by an alien race in the distant past. In the first book, the lid was blown off the super secret agency housing the alien creation. This book starts 10 years later where Themis and the EDC (Earth Defense Corps) are now household names. However, years of study haven't revealed all of the answers about this alien race or why they left pieces of a scattered robot across the globe. In fact, Dr. Rose Franklin is starting to wonder if maybe they were never supposed to find the robot at all... It becomes an even more pressing issue when another giant robot (larger than Themis) materializes in the middle of London. Is it a sign that they want to make contact? Is it a threat? How will the human race react? All of this and much more is explored in this book and if you thought the first was fast-paced and action packed then this one is sure to knock your socks off. 10/10