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nytephoenyx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
When I started listening to Waking Gods, I did not expect ten years to have passed since the end of Sleeping Giants. As much as I was looking forward to this sequel, that simple fact threw me off for the first couple chapters while I reacquainted myself with the characters, the world, and the events at the end of the first book. I’m usually okay when I read book two a few years after book three, but because of the time jump, there was a lot to catch up on.
Once I caught up, though… Waking Gods is just as good as Sleeping Giants. I still really enjoy the dossier style of storytelling. The audiobook version amplifies this by using a host of different narrators, all of whom do an excellent job. The storytelling and reading are both rich and interesting.
There are a lot of characters to keep track of in this book. For me, this was easy because the narrators sounded so different (I can not emphasize enough how excellent the audiobook is). For those who don’t enjoy untraditional storytelling or multiple POVs, Waking Gods may be a miss. The story is pushed forward by the plot itself. We do see some character growth, but since it is a dossier-style of storytelling, it’s really more about having the pieces of information to fill in the empty spaces than which character is telling that part of the story.
I’m still a bit salty about one of the choices Neuvel made at about 75% through the book. If nothing else, I will say that he is brutal and doesn’t shy away from making extreme decisions that will completely shatter your predictions for the end of the book. The very last chapter – the ending itself – the great.
I really enjoy Neuvel’s style. Hey gives you just enough about the story direction that you’re entirely clueless about what is coming next. He gives you just enough about the characters that you’re rooting for them without quite realizing it. He changes the world we know just enough that we ar3e led by out perception to make false assumptions and the twists hit you that much more.
Waking Gods is just about as good as Sleeping Giants. It manages to be both a self-contained story and a bridge between books one and three. Waking Gods expands the our world understanding and while we get a few answers, we are left with more questions. It makes the reader curious in the best way a second book can and I am completely invested in the story. Sleeping Giants remains one of my favorite books and in my top three audiobooks of all time. While I think the first book was just a little bit better… Waking Gods is excellent and I continue to highly recommend the Themis Files.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, and Ableism
Minor: Alcohol and Cursing
aviery's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, and Genocide
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Minor: Torture
vash_e's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death of parent
cclardo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
A major plot point of this book involveskipiekie's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I only picked up Waking Gods because the ending of Sleeping Giants had a very intriguing revelation and I wanted to know more. However, in the first half of the book, I was quite bored, and contemplated putting the book down multiple times. Only the vaguest sense of curiosity convinced me to push through. I don’t agree with many of the choices Neuvel made regarding the direction of the story. An issue I had with the previous installment that came up in this as well was that the format—interviews, journal entries, etc.—made it difficult to connect with the characters. Also, in terms of both science and politics, some conversations and explanations went over my head, making it harder to enjoy and immerse myself in the story. I just really didn’t care about anything, especially as certain things happened and characters died. Once again, I was thinking I wouldn’t continue the series, until I read the epilogue—which ends on enough of a cliffhanger to make me want to know what happens. It’s a janky cycle. If you’ve read the first book, maybe you’ll like this, but I think Neuvel’s work is for a specific audience that doesn’t include me. At least there’s only one book left for me to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Torture and Ableism
This book also contains a brief scene where a character is talked down from a suicide attempt. There are discussions of war. The following are mentioned at least once in the novel, or multiple times: car accident, death, suicide, murder, and rape. Regarding the ableism, there are multiple uses of ableist language including “crazy” and “insane”.
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