Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Vanessa | Holmdel High School, Grade 12

Rating: ****

For so much of our history, humanity has looked up at the stars. Whether we did this to question the science behind astronomy or to create stories in the constellations, the night sky has been a constant for us. In his first entry in the Themis Files, author Sylvain Neuvel pays homage to our love of the extraterrestrial while also inventing a new world that feels deeply believable given our own world. Sleeping Giants involves the discovery of different parts of what appears to be an alien statue of a woman and brings together scientists, pilots, and other fascinating personages in a tale that weaves itself deftly in ways that readers surely will not expect. The introduction of the mundane to influence the scientifically astounding is a juxtaposition that Neuvel handles particularly well, giving his writing a fresh feeling.

Perhaps one of the most unique aspects of this novel was its layout. Rather than rely on the traditional forms of prose such as third-person or even first-person, Sleeping Giants unravels in the form of interviews. The interviewer who holds this novel together is very enigmatic, and yet he seemed to come to life in this strange medium, his reactions to different personalities breathing life into a character that otherwise could have come off as being bland. Overall, the balance of politics against science-fiction and character work against a well-paced plot made this a read to remember.