8/10

Interesting and well laid out sci-fi storyline I never felt drawn out but at times it seemed rushed. Having more than one narrator was a good change for me, it really fleshed out each character, especially in the beginning chapters.

One problem I had is probably one only a small percentage of listeners will encounter but while driving I had to keep the volume high to hear the narrators as they tend to mumble/speak quietly and all too frequently and loudly exaggerate a word or phrase to almost piercing volume which I never got used to. I've never had that problem with audiobooks so take that with a grain of salt.

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8 hour cracker

it was deep, engaging, unpredictable and fun. a excellent book, would recommend to anyone aye

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Really entertaining

This book makes a great audio book, for many of the same reasons that World War Z did. Mostly because it is written in the form of transcripts of interviews and other recordings, all of which translates very well to audio. The full cast is amazing and they give a great sense of this cast of varied characters. It wasn’t perfect, there are some things that could have been done better, and there were a few little inconsistencies in the story itself, but this was definitely a book that made me not mind having.

I really loved the exploration of the political side of discovering alien artefacts on Earth. Who gets to claim them? How will other nations react to learning that the US has been invading their turf on the down-low and taking back pieces of alien tech? What will the President say? This was an overarching theme, but the impact of this discovery on the individual characters directly involved was also engaging. I loved Kara’s prickliness and Rose’s passion. I liked seeing how Vincent was an outsider but the others still cared for him. I even grew fond of the unnamed interviewer. Kara is correct when she tells him at the end that he is full of mush inside. He totally is.

I compared this book to World War Z above, and there are ways i think it improves on that audio book. In that one, Max Brooks played the interviewer, but he also read out the parts that weren’t the other characters speaking. Where I imagine the book had “[laughs]”, he would read that out. In Sleeping Giants, the actor actually laughs instead, which made it feel that bit more authentic. But there were still scenes where something was clearly going down in the background and all we could hear was the person narrating the events. I know this is an audio book and not a radio play, but that did lessen the effect a bit for me.

Still, I had the second one out from the library before I had even finished this one because I knew I would want to continue. This is a series unlike anything I’ve come across before and I’m eager to continue.

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Clever, Cryptic and Creepy

I loved this. The ongoing reports of a scientific project constructing a giant, humanoid robot apparently left on earth by aliens. The narrative is structured into reports and interviews surrounding the project, performed magnificently by the cast. Covering a whole spectrum from aliens as mythic inspirations, complex human drama of a tight knit crew and international relations, this is definitely one of my most satisfying reads.

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9 people found this helpful

Intriguing SciFi

I was unprepared for the 'report' style of this story and that it is a sci-fi. Having said that, it's a complex and intelligent narrative. I think it would make a great movie too. I will be interested in read book 2. If you're interested in whether we are alone in the universe, I think this story will intrigue you too.

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2 people found this helpful

Gripping

Hooked from start to finish. Great twists and great writing style definitely will read the rest of the series

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Interesting but slow

Was slow and took a while to get in it’s feet. I feel much more could have happened in the first segment.

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A surprise package

I really enjoyed the style of this book - both the writing and the performance. An interesting storyline told in the form of interviews with the key characters. I listened to it straight through so I suppose that’s a good thing! Would recommend it to a friend!

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Highly entertaining

I really enjoyed this book. I am a lover of science fiction which drew me to this book initially. Then I found out the ramifications of this power for the human race and the political aspect of the story. All of this in addition to the brilliant voice acting and excellent plot of the story made this a book I couldn't stop listening too. I looked forward to driving to and from work just to listen to it. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, not just the sci-fi afficianados.

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funny, captivating and a unique story

Uniquely enthralling story accompanied by fantastic narration. For anyone interested in Sci-Fi or fantasy stories.

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