Tag: Waking Gods

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
www_wednesdays

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
www_wednesdays

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
www_wednesdays

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.