Sleeping Giants
When a giant metal hand is found, a team of scientists race to find the other pieces of the body around the globe and unlock its secrets.
Neuvel tells the story through a series of found files and dossiers, mostly of interviews conducted by a mysterious interrogator. I found it tricky to get into, but ultimately it proves to be an interesting and engaging way to build a novel. He cleverly fleshes out his characters by showing us how they react to authority, as well as how they talk about each other behind each other’s backs.
The mystery deepens as the interrogator becomes more and more involved in the story and his/her role begins to shift.
A smart sci-fi novel that is ostensibly about the world changing forever but at its core is about the human beings at the centre of it all. It gives you a few eureka moments as you piece the story together, but isn’t so esoteric in its style that it’s hard to follow. Once you get used to the format, it unfolds in a fairly conventional way.
This is book one of three of The Themis Files, and I’ll definitely be checking out the next one in the series.