Tag: Sylvain Neuvel

Book Review – Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel

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Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel is the third and final novel of The Themis Files. For the past ten years, Rose, Vincent, and his daughter Eva have been stuck on an alien planet. Through Rose’s ingenuity, the alien invaders who made Themis and massacred 100 million people were persuaded to leave Earth, taking their creation with them. Unbeknownst to them, however, Rose and company were celebrating inside Themis when she was beamed away. Though initially prevented from leaving, Rose, Vincent, and Eva have managed to make their way back to Earth using Themis, where they hope they can finally return to living a normal life. Things are never quite that simple, however, and 10 years is a long time following so much destruction and so many lives lost. Humanity and their understanding of who they are in the universe has forever changed and must be reckoned with before peace can ever be attained again.

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WWW Wednesday – June 4, 2025

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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’m currently in the early chapters of Begotten: A Gothic Novel by Kate Cherrell, and so far I wish I liked it better. However, I’m still pretty early into it, and in no way do I think it’s bad, so I’m going to soldier on. I think the main hurdle I’m having trouble with, other than my poor sleep habits this week, is the fact that this is written as a Neo-Victorian novel, embracing both the setting and the style of novels of the period, and this book is certainly reminding me of Victorian novels I’ve read in the past in terms of style. It having been a while since I read any, I think the problem is more a deficiency on my part, one that I hope will change as I get further into this book. Style notwithstanding, I have found the pace to be a little slow too, but I’m hopeful that will pick up.

Recently Finished

Having skipped last week, I have a number of books to report here now. First and foremost, since my last post I finished reading Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel. Though I had the benefit of reading it shortly after the previous book, I’m a little dismayed to find that I liked this book the least of the whole trilogy. As usual, when it explores more concrete sci-fi ideas this book continues to be really intriguing, but I think my main problem is I don’t particularly care for most of the main cast, and more than ever this book felt focused on them rather than a bigger picture with a cast of recurring characters. The ending, though thematically on point, felt a little too convenient for me too. Still, I’m happy I finished this trilogy, and hopefully I can flesh out my full thoughts in a review soon.

I’m happy to announce that I finally let The Immortal Hulk languish no longer and properly finished the three volumes I had left over. The big one was Of Hell and Death, the tenth volume that concludes the series’s story line. I really loved it, despite having waited literal years to pick this volume up, though I wish all the same that I’d read these closer together. Volume 11, Apocrypha, was more a collection of tie-in comics with other series and a lot of content from old Hulk comics that helps flesh out background details a little better. It was fine, but definitely below par for this series for me. Lastly, Great Power is a collection of one-shot stories that could be slotted in between issues in the main series, and I’m happy I finished off with this volume, because I really enjoyed it; this volume was a great demonstration of how to write great supplemental chapters.

Reading Next

At the moment, I’m not sure what novel I would like to read next, though I have some ideas lined up; I’m just not ready to commit to any yet. In the meantime, I do have more visually oriented books from the library, the graphic novel The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman, which I can’t believe I still haven’t read, and An Illustrated History of Urban Legends by Adam Allsuch Boardman, a book which I suspect would have captivated me as a child. I’ll likely be giving these books a look fairly soon, especially the latter, as Maus will be more of a commitment.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – May 21, 2025

RyanLeave a comment
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Last week I started reading Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel, the final novel in the Themis Files trilogy. It’s been a bit of a busy week with work, however, so I’m only 86 pages in at the moment, which isn’t terrible, but I feel like I should be a lot further along considering the transcript format of it. So far, starting this book so soon after the last one has definitely been a benefit, as I’ve been able to get right back into the story. However, this book’s approach is a little different; before, each transcript, report, etc., was told in more or less chronological order. This time, chapters are inter-cut between the main characters’ time spent on an alien planet and after they return 9 years later. It’s an interesting place to situate the reader so far, and I’m curious to see where Neuvel is going with it.

Recently Finished

Last week I read through Dark Entries by Ian Rankin, a John Constantine graphic novel. I was very surprised with how much I ended up liking this story, especially since I have very limited experience with Constantine as a character. As far as I can tell, it is a completely standalone story that may not even been canon to the Hellblazer comics, but despite this it characterizes Constantine and the people he’s thrust into a bizarre reality TV show with really well. More than once I have picked up a random one-off graphic novel and found something about the story and/or the characters to be lacking (We Stand on Guard comes to mind) despite the strength of the premise. It was a pleasant surprise that this book, picked up completely on a whim, was full of intriguing characters and some great twists and turns in the story. A subtle stylistic shift happens halfway through that I really enjoyed as well, corresponding with a narrative reveal.

Reading Next

I have decided that the next novel I’m going to read is Begotten: A Gothic Novel by Kate Cherrell, the author’s debut novel that is set to come out this week. My preorder is waiting for me to pick it up right now, in fact, I just need to go get it. I’ve enjoyed Dr. Cherrell’s work concerning the paranormal on the Loopholes podcast, and I’m excited to see her storytelling skills. Considering how much I have left of Only Human, I may not get to it until a couple weeks from now, depending on how my schedule works out. I’m also really determined to finally catch up on the volumes of The Immortal Hulk that I have left to read. I will likely try to push through those in quick succession, so that’ll make for a bit of a heavier week when the time comes.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

Book Review – Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel

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Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel is book two of three of The Themis Files. It has been ten years since Themis, a giant robot found in pieces around the world and painstakingly reassembled, was turned over to the United Nations, founding the Earth Defense Corps, which stands on guard to defend the world against extraterrestrial threats. Though Kara and Vincent, the only people known to be able to pilot Themis, are living well in their renowned positions, physicist and Themis expert Dr. Rose Franklin has struggled to come to terms with her existence, having mysteriously re-emerged five years younger than she was when she died during an explosion at Denver Airport. Her brilliant mind may not have the luxury of such a personal crisis, however, as a second, larger robot suddenly appears in London, intent on destroying Themis on sight. Unless she can figure out what these visitors want, the very future of humanity may be at risk.

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WWW Wednesday – February 26, 2025

Ryan3 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I decided to pick another book from my winter TBR list and finally started reading Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes, a nonfiction book discussing women from Greek mythology, both how they are represented in the surviving art and literature from ancient times and how they have been depicted in more modern times. So far, I’ve only read the first chapter, on Pandora herself, and I am really enjoying this book. As much as I love Greek mythology, reading some texts about it can be unfortunately dry, but Haynes’s writing style reads like an engaging lecture, so it’s been easy to hang onto every word. It’s also reminding me about details I’ve sadly forgotten from my university days, as I’ve read Hesiod before but had no recollection of his depiction of Pandora, especially the idea that she’s supposed to be the first woman. I’ve come away learning/relearning so much already.

Recently Finished

Last week, I read through Bomb by Steve Sheinkin and Nick Bertozzi, a graphic novel telling the story of the Manhattan Project’s creation of the atomic bomb and the network of spies working to steal their plans for the USSR. As I had been worried about last week, this book very much was more of a Middle Grade read, although considering some of the language choices perhaps YA would be more appropriate. In any case, the target audience didn’t matter, as it made for a rather good (if simplified) telling of a world-changing development in world history. Most notably, funnily enough, I’ve never come away from something understanding how a nuclear bomb works better than I did with this book. It’s written for younger readers, so that tracks, but perhaps it should always be explained a little like this, since adulthood doesn’t magically make nuclear physics any easier.

Earlier this week, I also finished reading Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel, the second book in the Themis Files trilogy. Something changed in my feelings toward this book as I was getting further through it last week. Though I still have some ambivalence towards certain aspects of the story, the real gravity of the threat that humanity was facing started to take hold as I realized that, like the first book, this novel about people piloting a giant alien robot isn’t really about piloting a giant robot. I still came away from this book finding it weaker than the first one, but it also gives such a stark and dismal look at facing an all-powerful alien threat, with some great hard science thrown in as the characters try to understand the threat before them and how to deal with it, that I got a lot more invested by the end. The ending felt unfortunately more like a tacked-on sequel hook than a satisfying ending, but I’m hoping that the third one ends things on a high note.

Reading Next

The book I read next will likely be We Stand on Guard by Brian K. Vaughn and Steve Skroce, a graphic novel about a group of Canadian civilians turned freedom fighters defending their country from invasion by the US, who are equipped with giant, robotic war machines. I don’t feel like I’m on a giant robot kick, but it’s starting to look like I am. I’ve actually been meaning to read this for a while, and recent events have reminded me of this book’s existence, so I thought now would be as good a time as any to take it out of the library and give it a read.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – February 19, 2025

Ryan1 Comment
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’m still making my way through Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel, the second book in the Themis Files trilogy. At the moment, I’m exactly halfway through. I’m not sure why, but this book isn’t quite hitting with me the way that the first one did. I think part of what’s hurting things is that it’s been a few years since I read the first book, but the format of these books is such that they could just flow together. So, I’m spending a lot of mental energy on reminding myself of who people are and how I felt about them, which isn’t working in the book’s favour. This one feels a lot more action-oriented too, with less of the intrigue of the first book. I still like it quite a lot, and I’ve got half of the book to go before I truly settle in my opinion, but it’s unfortunate that I’m not liking it as much as the first one. One thing I want to do to help rectify these feelings is read the third book this year too so things stay fresh in my mind.

Recently Finished

Since last week, I read more of the stack of library books I had waiting on me, the first being Hellboy in Love by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Matt Smith. Now this is a Hellboy book. I’d been reading too many of the spin-off novels lately, I think, as this reminded me of the true joys I have in reading this series and why I became a fan in the first place. It helped that I’ve had a bit of a primer thanks to those novels, funnily enough, which first introduced the love interest featured in this book, Dr. Anastasia Bransfield, but this book made me care about their relationship more than those novels ever did. Some details have been retconned too, as it turns out, but I’m fine with deferring to the comics anyway. This volume left things on something of an unfinished note, however, so I hope they plan to produce more in the near future, if they haven’t been doing so already.

I also read Like a Trophy from the Sun by Jason Heroux, a poetry collection by a poet residing in my neck of the woods in Canada. This is why I go out of my way to read poetry when a book happens to catch my interest, because I really liked this one. I’m not sure if this would be considered free verse or not, as they’re more paragraphs expressing surreal ideas/abstractions poetically rather than following more typical structure (there may be form to it I wasn’t able to notice, as I’m a bit stunted with poetry, as I’ve said) and don’t seem to be laid out in the way free verse typically is. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the way that these were written, and they evoked ideas that have stayed with me long after finishing the book. I even took photos of a few of the poems that I especially liked so I can read them again if I want.

Reading Next

I haven’t settled on any books that I want to read next, but I do have another library book that I need to read: Bomb by Steve Sheinkin and Nick Bertozzi. Adapting a nonfiction book of the same name, it tells the story of the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb. I didn’t realize when I took it out that it might be a Middle Grade book (if Goodreads labels are anything to go by), but I’m hoping I don’t find it to be too simplified. I can’t remember why I decided to take this book out, to be honest, as I believe I even reserved it rather than just happening across it. At any rate, the library has been a great resource for graphic novels I wouldn’t typically buy, so that was probably the motivator as much as anything else.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – February 12, 2025

Ryan1 Comment
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Though I’m in the middle of reading through a selection of comic book volumes, I thought I ought to start reading a novel as well. After giving it some thought, I decided upon Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel, the second novel in the Themis Files trilogy. It’s been nearly three years since I finished the first book, but luckily this story is taking place after a significant time skip, so it seems much will be recapped for my benefit. I’m only about 30 pages in so far, but I’m enjoying the briskness of it, especially after reading Moby-Dick. Another robot has suddenly appeared in London, and it’s just standing there menacingly, so the UN is in the process of deploying Themis to see if these  presumed visitors mean any harm. After a good deal of restraint in the first book, I’m wondering if this one will start with a big robot fight.

Recently Finished

For the better part of the back half of last week I read through 2120 by George Wylesol, and I’ve got to say, I think this book might be brilliant. A choose-your-own-adventure comic presented like a point-and-click adventure video game, this comic actually emulates the experience of playing one of those video games in book form. I got stuck and didn’t know how to progress, actually wandering halls and wondering where to go—in a book. Turns out there are many puzzles to solve along the way, and if you’re not properly paying attention to the strange, anomalous rooms you explore, you’ll have to do some backtracking to figure out how to progress. It could get tedious at times, and the story (while good) wasn’t exactly profound or groundbreaking, but I think this is a truly brilliant blend of two different media. This will easily be in my top 5 books of 2025.

I also read the comic book adaptation of Hellboy: The Bones of Giants by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola. This story was originally one of the spin-off Hellboy novels, which I read back in 2018. At the time, I recall thinking that the story would perhaps make a much better comic, and while in some ways that is true, I actually found the reading experience to be about the same. A lot of the fat gets trimmed and Matt Smith’s work as the illustrator is fantastic, but it ultimately read like a shallower version of an already fairly shallow novel. So, I’m happy this was a library read rather than a purchase, as I don’t really feel like I’ll need to add this book to my collection of Hellboy books.

Reading Next

No plans for the next novel I want to read, but the next comic I’m going to start is Hellboy in Love by Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Matt Smith. This is another library book, and seeing as it is standalone and not adapting anything that already exists, as far as I know, I’m hoping it’ll tell a more enjoyable, original story.

Until next time, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

Top 5 Books I Read in 2022

Ryan1 Comment

Transitioning to a new year of reading has been going slowly, as it turns out. I’m still trying to finish up my final read from last year (a fact that will keep bothering me at least a little bit), so I haven’t even given myself the chance to start reading anything new for 2023. As my editing workload increased after the end of 2021, I managed to have less and less time to read throughout the year, so I actually read an even smaller number of books than I was expecting. Still, I did manage to finish a decent amount, and as I’ve done the last several years, I’d like to list my five favourite reads from the past year, in no particular order. As is always the case, these are not books that came out in 2022, simply the five books I enjoyed the most.Read More »

Book Review – Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Ryan2 Comments

SleepingGiants

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel is the first novel in the Themis Files series. Seemingly at random, a mysterious object of massive scale is found in a sinkhole in South Dakota after a young girl crashes her bike into it. Rescue crews working to get her out are baffled by the fact that she rests in a giant metal hand. Seventeen years later, the hand’s purpose and origins are still a complete mystery. Some can’t let secrets lie, however, and Dr. Rose Franklin, the girl who first stumbled upon the thing, is now a physicist who leads a top-secret team determined to uncover the truth. The work is challenging, but the object’s hidden power is greater than they could have imagined. As they get closer to unlocking its secrets, it becomes impossible to keep such a thing hidden from the world, which may not be ready for it.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – May 25, 2022

RyanLeave a comment
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Nothing this week! I’m between books.

Recently Finished

SleepingGiantsOver the weekend I finished reading Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel, and overall I enjoyed it a lot. I was surprised to find there was no dramatic turn focused on robot combat, even though it did find a way with the format to integrate more action-oriented sequences into the narrative. I wouldn’t have minded if things did turn out that way, but I respect the book’s commitment to taking such a pulpy concept as seriously as it does. I liked the sequel bait at the end too, which hints at things surprisingly more bizarre than we’ve encountered so far. I’m going to try to read the sequels sooner rather than later. The only thing that kept this book from being a five-star read was that the format, while interesting and unique, was a little too impersonal for me sometimes. I’ll try to have a full review up soon.

Reading Next

The Dictionary of Obscure SorrowsAs I’ve been saying for weeks, I’m going to start reading Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson next, I just need to set aside time to get some reading done. I keep thinking about trying to get a better handle on my reading challenges, though, so I think I’m going to try to go through a supplemental read at the same time, since it won’t make for a great read for long sittings on its own. This book will be The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig, which is another book on my yearly to-read list. Since it’s a collection of word entries, I’ll probably enjoy reading this in shorter bursts anyway. I just hope I can manage to integrate it into my reading schedule in a meaningful way.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.