Waking Gods

By: Sylvain Neuvel

Narrated by: full cast

In the gripping sequel to Sleeping Giants, which was hailed by Pierce Brown as "a luminous conspiracy yarn...reminiscent of The Martian and World War Z", Sylvain Neuvel's innovative series about human-alien contact takes another giant step forward.

As a child Rose Franklin made an astonishing discovery: a giant metallic hand buried deep within the earth. As an adult she's dedicated her brilliant scientific career to solving the mystery that began that fateful day: Why was a titanic robot of unknown origin buried in pieces around the world? Years of investigation have produced intriguing answers - and even more perplexing questions. But the truth is closer now than ever before when a second robot, more massive than the first, materializes and lashes out with deadly force.

Now humankind faces a nightmare invasion scenario made real, as more colossal machines touch down across the globe. But Rose and her team at the Earth Defense Corps refuse to surrender. They can turn the tide if they can unlock the last secrets of an advanced alien technology. The greatest weapon humanity wields is knowledge in a do-or-die battle to inherit the Earth...and maybe even the stars.

Cast of narrators:
Andy Secombe - Interviewer
Eric Meyers - Headings
Roy McMillan - Jacob Lawson
Laurel Lefkow - Rose Franklin
Adna Sablylich - Marina Antoniou a.k.a. Alyssa Papantoniou
Charlie Anson - Vincent Couture; Jamie
Christopher Ragland - Ryan Mitchell; Lieutenant General Alan A Simms
William Hope - Mr Burns; Eugene Govender
Madeleine Rose - Kara Resnik
Karina Fernandez - Eva Reyes
Olivia Dowd - Sarah Kent
Sarah Wells - Deborah Horsburgh

©2017 Sylvain Neuvel (P)2017 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Kick-ass, one-on-one robot action combines with mind-bending scientific and philosophical speculation. Series science-fiction fans will enjoy this follow-up filled with unexpected revelations and a surprise finale.” (Booklist)

“Pure, unadulterated literary escapism featuring giant killer robots and the looming end of mankind. In a word: unputdownable.” (Kirkus Reviews [starred review])

“Sheer escapist fun.” (Shelf Awareness)

Great extension to the first

This is a really good continuation of the story. Some unexpected losses and good character development make for a super fun ride.

surprisingly excellent

Would you consider the audio edition of Waking Gods to be better than the print version?

Haven't read the books, but I imagine so. As with Rant, for which I have done both, having a format with tons of characters just sitting there and talking with virtually no exposition outside of dialogue is vastly improved when they each have a unique voice and good acting. The acting is good.

What other book might you compare Waking Gods to and why?

Because it takes a premise and milks every worthwhile ounce of story out of it without becoming insipid, I would compare it being a little like if World War Z and some John Scalzi novels had a baby.

Have you listened to any of full cast’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nope, most of these people are completely unfamiliar to me. They really nailed it though. Especially love the shadowy power broker guy.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It was fascinating. I'm also a professional biologist, so it's usually hard for me to really enjoy sci fi because it is filled with things that are so flagrantly wrong that it breaks immersion for me. This dude did a very good job of not doing that without becoming dry and boring.

Any additional comments?

The premise and format are pretty cheesy, and yet this book and its prequel are much better than it seems like it should be and I enjoyed them much more than I expected. Giant anime-style robots and recorded conversations seems like it should be the corniest thing in the world, but the execution is thoroughly nailed.

great read for the robot aficionado

Would you consider the audio edition of Waking Gods to be better than the print version?

I lack the attention span to read so i am an audioholic

Who was your favorite character and why?

the man with no name

What about full cast’s performance did you like?

the whole thing ,,,it makes it easier to immerse yourself in the book

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the the man with no name tells his history

Any additional comments?

as a 50 year old that grew up hook on robots :

Jaianto Robo, Ambassador Magma, Super Inframan, Aian Kingu, Sūpā Robotto Reddo Baron, Supekutoruman, Maguma Taishi, Kyaputen Urutora, Ōgon Bat, Gekkō Kamen (Moonbeam Man), Pāman, Kobura, Johnny Cypher in Dimension Zero

so this book was a new and great ride...thank you

HOWEVER

AS AMAZING AS THE BOOK IS.....a cliffhanger??????? NOT COOL....

Great story but horrible fake accents

Eva’s accent is an annoying racial stereotype. All the screaming is also highly annoying, especially through earphones. This made a lot of parts painful to listen to. I’m hooked into the story so I’ll keep going but the performance is no longer enjoyable.

mehhh

felt the romance was not necessary and the VA was not as good. I enjoyed this continuation.

Another Homerun for Neuvel

after loving Sleeping Giants so much I immediately started Waking Gods, and I can honestly say this has become one of my all time favorite book series. Book 3 is downloading now and I can't wait to dive back in to the Themis Files! All the characters are incredibly well voice acted and the flow of dialogue is so natural. If you liked the first book, you'll like this one just as much if not more!

It was good not great

The book was good but not great. Questions were kind of answered but not completely. More questions were presented and no answers given. The story moved well but didn't grab you and keep you totally engaged. It's worth listening to if you liked the first book but don't expect to see it on a best seller list.

Decent sequel.

Feels very much like the last book. Important thing to note: new girl character is incredibly annoying. Her behavior in the story is irritating, but also her voice--which is done by an adult with a fake Spanish kid accent--has a certain aggravating quality as well; it really bothered me. Also, the ending is a bit weak. It comes out of nowhere, and tries to set up another sequel.

Enjoyed audiobook

Full cast audiobook, great listen. The storyline will be unique, not for everyone, but I will say that digesting a series of interviews, journal entries, news reports, etc. in this form has to make the experience so much more enjoyable. Not an absolute mind-blowing, crazy experience but enjoyable and finished quickly. Will continue with 3rd in series.

Me gustan libros full cast como este!

Me gusto, Lo disfrute y me parece un genial audio libro! Un 8 de 10 y el primer libro me gusto un 9 de 10 y ahora voy por el tercero!