I'm really not sure what to say about this one. It did keep my interest, and yet it never felt even slightly plausible. This from a reader who can be persuaded to believe in vampires, ghosts, aliens, witches, zombies, and more.
From the book description: "An inventive debut in the tradition of World War Z and The Martian, told in the cutting-edge cadences of interviews, journal entries, transcripts, and news articles, Sleeping Giants is a literary thriller fueled by a quest for truth—and by a struggle for control of earthshaking power.
A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square-shaped hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand."
I was certainly interested enough to keep reading, and yet...I never really felt involved. Told largely in the form of interview transcripts by a mysterious, manipulative interrogator, the interviews follow the main characters. I like this technique, but still couldn't get over the premise. Then after finally getting to the end, I discovered there is no end. A cliffhanger for a proposed trilogy.
Reviews on Goodreads are overwhelmingly positive. My personal response is that for me, it was interesting enough for me to want to know what happened, but not enough to continue reading the next book. Which will probably end in another cliffhanger.
Read in September, 2015. Blog review scheduled for April, 2016..
NetGalley/Random House
Science Fiction. April 26, 2016. Print version: 320 pages.
I wasn't sure I wanted to read this book BEFORE I read your review; now that I know it ends in a cliffhanger, and that you didn't love it, I think I'll stick to ALL the other books on my To Read list that I want to read more. :)
ReplyDeleteAnother of your comments ended up in the "moderation" folder. So here I am finding it in August!
DeleteOkay! Now I know about the cliffhanger and I can be prepared. I am still sort of excited to read this book though -- I love books that use unusual narrative styles!
ReplyDeleteI love this narrative style, but couldn't ever "believe" the circumstances. The reviews are more positive than negative, though. :)
DeleteCliffhangers. Ugh. Well, sometimes I don't mind them. But usually only when I have the next book ready to go--or an end that is somewhat of an end at the very least. Anyway, I have this one to read. Yours is the second review I have read that mentions the plausibility being a problem--even though we often read books that are quite unbelievable. I really depends on how it is presented though, doesn't it? Some authors are able to make us believe anything.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind a continuation if at least part of the story is wrapped up or if I have the next book, but it annoys me to have it simply broken off. And you're right, some authors can make us believe anything. This one just didn't work for me. :\
DeleteI love series books but am not too fond of cliffhangers. I'm kind of intrigued by this one because of the way it's written. I like journal entries, etc. May have to look into this one!
ReplyDelete:) That part is good. The interviewer definitely has an agenda. I couldn't get into the overall premise, though.
DeleteI'm not sure about this one; it does sounds like it has an interesting premise, though. I think stories written in transcripts or journal entries are either a hit or miss with me. Sometimes they do make a story more intriguing but sometimes they don't. I'll have to think about this one.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't the format that bothered me, although there was too much "telling" and not enough "showing," which can be related to the format. Mainly, I had trouble believing in either the plot or the characters.
DeleteHmm, not sure what to think about this one. It sounds like it has potential, but...
ReplyDeleteA lot of people will love it, but it wasn't a fit for me. I'm eager to see what more people have to say about it.
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