Reviews

Not your typical alien/robot story! Told entirely through a compilation of documents - interviews, journal entries, mission logs, etc. - the reader feels almost like a detective piecing together the events surrounding the discovery of stunningly advanced alien technology on Earth. While the format is refreshing and enjoyable, the large time gaps between some of the documents somewhat diminish the scope of the story. There are several strong female characters, and the storyline is engaging. A worthwhile read - I look forward to future installments!

bookph1le's review against another edition

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4.0

A really good sci-fi yarn. My only quibble with it is that by telling the story through the use of transcripts and diary entries, it creates a distance between the reader and the events, so I didn't connect with the characters as much as I might otherwise have. That aside, I was very intrigued and hooked from page one. I look forward to the second book.

6/3/19 - I finally started reading Waking Gods and partway through decided I needed to reread this one, since I could only vaguely remember the incidents the second book was referencing. So here I am, reading this book again!

lizbethandthelifeinbetween's review against another edition

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Interesting premise, bad execution/wrong medium.

The interview style of this book is not doing it for me. It feels like the character work authors do to better understand their characters, not what you publish in a book. I keep wondering who this interview is and why they're so unprofessional before I get bored by the non-giant robot related life details about characters that have zero development. Stop telling me all this stuff. Show it to me. Write a book. This is a book, but it feels like character worksheets.

There is a mysterious giant robot that may or may not be alien and we aren't living in the moment with the characters. We are getting their final statements on the matrer. Maybe the author intended for us to feel like we are sifting through files trying to find out what really happened, but even that sort of story need and anchor and framing device which we don't have. This should have been a TV series if this is how the author wanted to tell the story, it does not work as a book.

massmarketfiend's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

this really worked for me. i listened on audio, which is the definitive way to go. it's a full cast narration and the performances are top notch. they really brought the characters to life and made me care (s/o to the casting director if there was one). not quite a 5 star because i'm not sure how much of my enjoyment came from the audio production versus the book itself, but i had a blast either way. i'm itching to start the next book; i haven't felt this way since i read percy jackson in middle school.

angeleone's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

annatherbook's review against another edition

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4.0

This was really really good! I love these kind of formats!

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