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This is the discussion thread for the Summer 2019 GroupSleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

I really enjoyed this book - I think listening to the audio was a good choice, since it made the whole book seem more immediate, especially in the interview format.

I enjoyed the political maneuverings which almost inevitably would be a part of the events in the book. Made me think a lot of how this sort of scientific development would play out in both the corporate and governmental entities of the world. (I'm trying to be cagey here, so as not to include spoilers!)

I'm not sure if I'm hopelessly clueless right now, but I haven't really come to any conclusion as to who the narrator/interviewer is - I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this!

This one got me hooked so great choice for the Group read. I'm already devising ways to include the rest of the series in the reading challenge.
I like the character of the interviewer and how it leads everything. I have no clue about his identity and I expect to learn more about him in the following books. I only hope it is not something as clichéd as the Illuminaty or the like because it would be a letdown.

The way it is written is new to me and I find it interesting. One file after the other: interviews, phone calls or even online video diary entries. As the files don't necessarily follow each others it gives the events a fast pace that made it so I couldn't stop reading.

I have mixed feelings about this book. The overall story is interesting, and the interviewer character is very intriguing. I found some of the other characters to be a bit less than three dimensional, though, and at times it was annoying. The interview format of the book reminded me a bit of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (which I loved), and I enjoyed it. The politics was interesting.

Overall, I'd give it 3.5 stars. I'm interested enough in the story to want to read the second book in the series. I might try the audio edition next time. Thanks for the recommendation of the audio, Sandy!

Like Christine, I had mixed feelings about this book. Sometimes the format worked to the book's advantage and sometimes it didn't. I think some sections lost their action, like Kara's helicopter crash- they were just reports of action. But the story did move quickly and the format allowed for efficient transitions.
Overall, I felt like I was being teased with things to come without enough resolution in this book. Like finding the first parts of the robot, this book is probably just one part and needs the whole series arc to see the full potential.

I listened to this book in audio format which I felt fit the format of this book excellently.

I am not a huge science fiction reader, but this one was not too "sciency" so it interested me quite a bit. It held my attention for the whole book, and there was enough mystery left at the end that left me wanting to read or listen to the next book in the series.

I love when the group reads lead to a book I really like that I would not have considered reading otherwise.

I gave it 4 stars

Some mild spoilers after the first paragraph - read at your own risk:

I have a feeling we'll be seeing all the major players again thanks to a few surprises at the end of this book. Like Miguel, I may need to try and fit the remaining volumes into this reading challenge. I thought the interview format worked very well and set the tone for the whole book. I thought it would be harder to get into because of this, but it wasn't.

I think I have some sympathy for all of the characters, except for Alyssa. I'd drop kick her off a cliff in a heartbeat (ok, I wouldn't, but I'd definitely think about it). I'd be completely thrilled if that character had a stroke and was reduced to a gibbering blob in a prison hospital wing. That said, I think she's going to make an interesting "villain" for the rest of the series. I want to see her get what she so richly deserves.

I admit, as a biologist with a background in microbiology and genetics, and as a woman, my reaction to this waste of human skin is pretty visceral. Maybe the current crop of anti-woman laws has got my dander up already, but I seriously hate this woman.

I found this book to be a very compelling read; I began it this morning and read straight through to the end because I couldn't stand to put it down. As soon as I finished, I opened up my library's web page and put book #2 on hold. As I am writing this within 15 minutes of finishing the book, I will be interested to see if/how my feelings change as more time passes. Some books stay lodged in my thinking for days or even weeks; some leave a strong initial impression and then quickly fade. Having to wait for book two will be interesting. Will I still feel a pressing need to read it when if finally comes in? If I was able to download it now, I know I would already be reading it. Once again, the group reads task put a book in my hands that I really enjoyed that I doubt I would have picked up on my own.

Elaine wrote: "I found this book to be a very compelling read; I began it this morning and read straight through to the end because I couldn't stand to put it down. As soon as I finished, I opened up my library's..."

Yep, I too put a hold on the second book at the library as soon as I finished this one!

I've finished all three - so glad the first one was a group read because I might not have picked it up otherwise. Now I need to figure out how to fit the other two into tasks. :)

Brooke TX

Generally, I'm not a fan of epistolary novels, even in the modern "found document" incarnations, because I feel like they either detract from character development, or make it hard to get into the action of the story (notable exceptions being Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot and Illuminae, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed). I think the structure mostly works here, because it lends itself to the slow realization that the Interviewer (which is how I refer to the nameless sort-of-narrator) may be the most important character in the book. Overall, I was left with more questions than answers, which is probably the author's intention.

That said, for a book about a giant alien robot, there was a surprising lack of giant alien robot action. I've already fit the next two books into my reading plan, and I'm curious to see where the series goes from here.

Hi everybody! There isn't a general help thread for the Group Discussions task, but I wanted to let people who use the Amazon Kindle ebook app know that is one of amazon's Kindle Deals of the Day, and reduced to $1.99 for the duration of 6/24/19 only. (I had it from the library, but I just grabbed the kindle book, so now less deadline pressure!)

I had the book format, and had no trouble at all with the whole interview format, with the exception of that despite the fact that the interviewer is referenced as male, I keep reading the interviewer as female. Still, I love the mystery of the character, I also love Kara and her pessimistic personality. The sarcasm just seeps through when she is being interviewed and/or masterfully manipulated.

I just finished this book and really enjoyed it. I absolutely loved the interview/file format, and I think I found that even more compelling than the story. I'm not a big fantasy reader, but I did enjoy the story. There were definitely twists that I didn't see coming, but the ending wasn't one of them. I found that to be pretty predictable, but I am intrigued enough that I think I'll pick up the next book.

Laurah30

When the books were first named for the summer challenge I struggled with finding a book I thought would interest me. I settled on Sleeping Giants - the audio version.

This book kept my attention for the most part. Science fiction is not the type of book I usually go to but I did find myself intrigued with the plot and the characters.

I particularly liked Kara - a strong female character who is smart, funny and vulnerable. I liked the inclusion of Quebecois Vincent Couture as well. To me it added some humour to throw a Canadian into the mix.

I am still wondering about the narrator. Who is he? Where is his allegiance?

I just finished this one- I will be honest, not much of a science fiction fan. But I like this one, I like the interview style format, and the story wasn't too hard to follow. I really want to know more about the interviewer, and who he is. So glad there are sequels to read to learn more. The ending was good too, like to learn how they were planning to keep this giant without blowing the world up.

Glad I had an opportunity to read this !

I listened to the audio of this book and it totally made it so much more interesting. I loved the interview format, and with the dramatic, multicast reading, it didn't even feel like I was listening to an audiobook.

I had a glitch in my reading and accidentally skipped ahead a bit, so I think I missed a critical scene. I had a bit of a time figuring out what happened.

I wasn't sure what to make of Vincent's reaction to his attack and surgery. It was so disconnected, it felt weird. But overall, it was a very interesting read and not something I would have chosen for myself, so I'm glad this challenge gave me the opportunity.

after much overdrive funkiness with my library (had to get a new card/new number) which screwed up my overdrive holds - i FINALLY got my hands on this audiobook - only listened to a few minutes so far but enjoying it (and i really need to knuckle down and get it read because i only have 10 days left on the borrow)

Kristen IA

I was happy to see this as one of the Group Reads as I had recently heard about it on a reading podcast I listen to. It didn't sound like my normal cup of tea, but I found the idea of it intriguing. I did enjoy it, but I liked the first half a bit better than the final half. The first part seemed more innocent curiosity about this strange discovery, but then things took a darker turn.
While I didn't find the political posturing surprising, it took this interesting story down a road that I don't find enjoyable in real life, so I don't really enjoy reading about it either. I also found it harder to root for any of the characters. I am planning to read the next installment, but I'm in no hurry...except I am awfully curious to learn more about the interviewer. I listened to the audio, and recommend this as a great way to get into the story.

i definately had some mixed feelings about this book now that i've finished it - i liked the premise but in some places the execution or plot lines were just a bit lacking - there were also some places where some research would have helped (i.e. one of the ship platforms he mentioned hasn't been used by the Navy since about 2011/12 and since most of it was "present day-ish"...

this is the second book i've read by this author so his take on government is interesting (the other book I read was The Test) - i also struggled a bit with portrayls of the military and certain agencies ...but it was an interesting hypothesis and i have the second one on hold at the library - so will be intrigued - the ending kind of reminded me of the some to exist SPACE Command and desire for a Space Corps

Sometimes all one needs for a weekend is a pure escapist book to get away from real life for a bit. That's what I did with Sleeping Giants. This is one of those books where the audiobook format far surpasses its text version, not only because most chapters took the form of an interview, but also because I found the writing too lacking to be a pleasant read. So that's what I did this weekend, putting on the audiobook, cooking for a few hours, and getting lost in the story.

I agree with most people here that the characters need better description to be interesting. Kara's first couple of interviews blew me away, with her defiance and natural stubbornness expressed extremely well through her language. Anything that seems promising or special about her, however, went downhill by the end of the first section of the book as cliches upon cliches were used as plot points. Love triangles, unpleasant secrets, broken past relationships, lack of romantic experience, etc. etc. It's just too easy to make a strong female character weak in her knees at the first "caring man" she sees. Granted, that's not exactly how the story goes forward, but that's where the writer lost me.

Overall, the political catastrophes were described well though could be more detailed, the robot-building efforts were super fun to read, and I'm definitely looking forward to the second book as many say it's better than this first one. As a starting point, then, this book lays a good foundation for whatever more sci-fi-y world the author will explore in the sequel.

Sarah H

I listened to the audio edition of this book, and I'm really glad I did - it worked so well for the interview format, and I thought the narrators did a great job.

That said, the book itself was just ok for me. I liked the premise, and I thought the first half of the book delivered on it reasonably well. Kara and Vincent were both good characters. I think my favorite part of the entire book was the chapter where Vincent was explaining how he had interpreted the symbols and how the number system worked - I would have loved more of that! Unfortunately, once it started to turn from exploration and science into more of a military action focus, I really lost interest.

I don't think I'll be continuing this series. Mostly I just want to watch Pacific Rim again - a much better execution of a similar concept!

Sarah wrote: "Sarah H

I listened to the audio edition of this book, and I'm really glad I did - it worked so well for the interview format, and I thought the narrators did a great job."

I also noted the similarities to Pacific Rim - I just don't agree that one was a better execution of the concept than the other. They came at it from different directions, and I thought both were very well done. However, I did read the next two books in the series, so my view might be slanted differently because I know how it all turns out. They were worth it.

I enjoyed this - listened to the audio which was really good!
I liked the mix of science and politics and military nonsense, and enjoyed the characters - the interviewer/narrator is totally intriguing and I really want to know more about him!

Epistolary fiction sometimes works better than other times, but I felt it worked fine in this novel.

I'm another reader that kept thinking about the similarity to the concept of Pacific Rim. I kept wondering why none of the characters mentioned that... perhaps they are from an alternative Earth! I believe there's also a kids' show that is similar; my grandson has watched that here, before.

I enjoyed the novel enough to mark the second book as TBR. This format does not lend itself to a lot of character development, but I would especially like to see how Vincent deals with his alterations as time goes by.

I listened to a portion of the book online, since so many have praised it. I'm not sure I would be as happy with some of the narrators I listened to, although it WAS a very small portion of the book!

I also went with the audio book for this group read, and I was glad I did. I love hearing the different accents the narrator uses for different characters and as someone else pointed out, a good narration can make or break action scenes. The different formats of "source material" through the novel felt real to my veteran sensibilities and true to the time. I agree with everyone, reminded me of Pacific Rim and I think this would make a good movie.

I loved Kara's character, but like others, I disliked her "not good at relationships" arc. It felt very cliche and unlike the rest of her character. I have this complaint about many movies, the creators try to shoehorn a romance into a great action movie that really didn't need one.

I am not sure if I will read the rest of this series. I thought the book was ok overall and there is just so much more to read...

Normally I only manage non-fiction on audio but loved listening to this one as well due to the interview format. The characters became a bit more real. The concept of the giant robot spread in pieces throughout the world was fun to consider.

Like others I really enjoyed the exploration and how the team slowly became "introduced" to her. The political intrigue got a bit in the way of the robot learning but still cleverly done.

I look forward to reading or listening to the rest of the series.

I couldn't get my hands on the audio version of this but I really enjoyed the interview format in the print version, too. I though it was an excellent formatting choice. It allowed the author to keep things hidden from the reader and ratchet up the suspense in a way I'm not sure would have worked if the book were written in a more traditional format. I'll definitely continue this series.

Like a few other commenters, I'm not sure I would have picked this book up if it hadn't been a Group Read. It was on my TBR list, but let's face it, so are several thousand other books and sci-fi isn't often my go-to genre. I'm very glad it was forced to the top. And I'm now working on fitting the rest of the series into the Fall Challenge. ;-)

I loved this science fiction novel. Sleeping Giants uses transcripts and other documents just as effectively as Illuminae, to tell as different kind of story, set here on earth in an alternate present. I enjoyed the different characters and how they each had a distinct voice, and found the politics of the story interesting. All in all, a five-star read for me.