This second novel in the Themis trilogy was as interesting and well-thought out as Sleeping Giants. I started with the audio version was ensemble cast and I almost gave up on the book because I found the narrators of two of the main characters poorly done. When I switched to the print version I enjoyed the story so much more and am looking forward to the third book. I do not recommend audio version. ( )

Tyckte inte att den fungerade lika bra som del 1. Förhören och loggarna (fler loggar) gick inte alls hem lika bra nu. Kanske saknade jag mysteriet. ( )

4,7 stars

I liked the first book, I liked this even more.

This was interesting and in parts very emotionally taxing. The format didn't suffer an inflation and was very successfully executed.

I'm so glad I waited this long to read this, though, it'd be torture to wait for the next book for more than a month or so, with the mother of all cliffhangers ending this one. ( )

I am going to be up front with something- I loved the first book in this series, Sleeping Giants. I thought it was original, fun to read, and who doesn't love giant robots? After I finished the first book, I thought, as long as the sequel is similar in quality, ups the ante a bit, and answers some questions, it will be a hit! I am glad to say the second book did not disappoint at all.

The book follows a similar style as the first book- a series of interviews to tell the story. Things happen in between the interviews and one is filled in during the conversation. Our cast of characters return from the first book as our two pilots are getting better, but have not perfected their use of Themis. The book begins 9 years after the first one.

A second giant robot has appeared in the middle of London and is just standing there waiting. The military tries to do what the military always does- go after it with tanks and weapons. Needless to say this doesn't work out too well and it is up to the crew of Themis to help out. I will simply add, this is just the first part of the book. There is a whole lot more to come.

It is hard to talk about this book without giving spoilers away and I am a fan of going into books cold, so I won't say much. There was some humor, there was some heartbreak, and there were more questions that develop even in the midst of answers. I only had one major issue with the book and that is how it was written during the last third of the book. The style changes a tiny bit and I got a bit lost here and there following the conversation. That was my only critique. Otherwise, this is worth it.

I gave this book 4.5 stars.

I want to thank NetGalley for the early edition of this book for review. I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This continues the series with a few surprises and answers to mysteries. Also a few people died; actually, a lot of people died, but only a couple were ones we knew, and that was sad.

There's a lot of things to think about or learn in the book. One thing that I'm wondering about though... in an interview with Dr. Alyssa Papantoniou, the geneticist, she puts forth the idea that if you look backward in a family tree, you find that a person has 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, etc. So it's a logarithmic progression, doubling each generation back reaching a trillion just 1200 years ago; she implies that if you go back a few thousand years, you would run out of people, so everyone is related. But it seems like she left out the fact that current siblings share that same group of ancestors, plus a lot of babies didn't survive so population growth wasn't as great as she implies. But I haven't really done the math to figure out if my questions make a significant difference or not, and it may be that I just didn't fully understand how it works

The audiobook continues to be a big production with lots of narrators. I think it is very well done, and adds a lot to the enjoyment of the book. Seems like the third book may have even more.

The book ends in a sort of cliff-hanger, and I'm glad to have the next one read to read. ( )