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Sleeping Giants cover art

Sleeping Giants

By: Sylvain Neuvel
Narrated by: Andy Secombe,Christopher Ragland,Charlie Anson,Laurel Lefkow,Eric Meyers,Liza Ross
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Editor reviews

"Reminiscent of The Martian and World War Z, this is a luminous conspiracy yarn that shoots for (and lands among) the stars." (Pierce Brown, author of Red Rising)

Summary

Penguin presents the unabridged downloadable audiobook edition of Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. Read by William Hope, Christopher Ragland, Andy Secombe, Charlie Anson, Eric Meyers, Laurel Lefkow, Liza Ross, William Hope, Adna Sablyich and Katharine Mangold.

Deadwood, USA. A girl sneaks out just before dark to ride her new bike. Suddenly the ground disappears beneath her. Waking up at the bottom of a deep pit, she sees an emergency rescue team above her. The people looking down see something far stranger....

We always look forward. We never look back.

That girl grows up to be Dr. Rose Franklin, a brilliant scientist and the leading world expert on what she discovered. An enormous, ornate hand made of an exceptionally rare metal which predates all human civilisation on the continent.

But this thing...it's different. It challenges us. It rewrites history.

An object whose origins and purpose are perhaps the greatest mystery humanity has ever faced. Solving the secret of where it came from - and how many more parts may be out there - could change life as we know it.

It dares us to question what we know about ourselves.

But what if we were meant to find it? And what happens when this vast, global puzzle is complete?

About everything.

©2016 Sylvain Neuvel (P)2016 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about Sleeping Giants

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    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best audio books I've ever listened to

I think books that are written with a journal recording style make great audiobooks. What sets this apart is that they are audio journals, so are perfect for an audio book. Even the live action chapters are audio only. The acting is first rate and the story very engaging. Different actors playing the different parts makes this a real treat. I could have listened to this for hours and hours longer. The only audio book that comes close is The Martian. If you enjoyed that then you'll love this.

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44 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Really great book with brilliant narration

This book is so wonderfully written and they style is so easy to follow, the character's and well rounded and interesting some you absolutely love and some you really hate. the narration is beautifully done they each are very memorable and don't blend together so it's easy to keep track of who is speaking at any given time. all in all I really enjoyed this book I've read it a couple times before I bought it on here but listening to it gave a whole new feeling it made everything far more intense. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone it's intelligent and well written as well and narrated and is such an interesting and brilliant concept.

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29 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Puppet master in control


This is the best produced audiobook; by adding all the extra actors the story comes alive and is extremely easy to distinguish all the characters, this adds that feeling of listening to real conversations or debriefings, it really feel more like an audio play than a reading of the story and it works perfectly. I would say it improves the book.

An entertaining and fast paced old fashion fantasy science fiction mix that holds your attention with ease, but has a few bumpy plot developments.

The story is told in the form of redacted files introducing us to all the characters including the man with no name, the device works well as it gives a limited perspective of what is happening and allows for surprises that do not require great setups, just debriefings of events as witnessed by the characters. as it is the first part all was not revealed but it created enough suspense that I will return to find out the rest of the answers.

This is more fable than hard science fiction with lots of contemporary what ifs and moral dilemmas that are not too heavy or explored very deeply. A very contemporary geopolitical world with the exception of Syria that is not at war or has not been at war in this book. The twist is in the discoveries and the reactions to them.

A good begining with lots of potential for the second part, some interesting Characters and a good plot over all.


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28 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Lumbering

Would you try another book written by Sylvain Neuvel or narrated by the narrators?

No, at least not in this series. It was a very interesting experiment, I am glad they did it, and I hope other teams try similar things. But the story just isn't good enough in my opinion.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most interesting: Very much the narration. It feels like a production in a way that World War Z didn't quite (to cite a book this one is often compared with).
Least interesting: The central idea. It's not giving too much away to say it features the discovery of a giant alien robot that kicks botty. It starts off interesting, but it doesn't really go anywhere with the idea. Then the story turns into a political thriller and eventually ends.
There are some plot twists that reignite interest, including one that made me think, "No, you just can't do that to someone!" The science is credible, and the implications are generally well explored.
But at the end of the day it's just an X-Filesish story about a big robot. And add me to the list of people who didn't like the ending - it was the opposite of surprising.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

As the story is told mainly in the form of interviews, I cannot imagine reading it as a straight book, although I believe it exists in that form.
Despite its success in this area, I have given 4 stars rather than five because the Nameless Bloke kept doing that tiresome thing a certain kind of cliched character does in thrillers - pretending to search for a euphemism. "That would be... unfortunate." Okay, so maybe it's the story's fault rather than the reader, but with the sort of power he wields he could surely arrange to have the dialogue... refined.

Do you think Sleeping Giants needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Well the "1" at the end of the title suggests it's the first book of a series, and it ends on an unresolved note. However, as I was tempted to give up on it, I am happy to have finished it.

Any additional comments?

I find it odd to consider what stood out in my mind. There's a scene in which an angry character is trying to make a serious point, but he's having trouble doing this because he can't remember the correct term for an inhabitant of Iceland - is it Icelander? Icelandic? It's exactly the sort of frustrating thing that happens in real life but rarely in fiction. In an otherwise very earnest work, it struck me as very funny.

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25 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

actors were brilliant, story kept me interested throughout!Ending was OK,but expected more,I guess there is more to come!! I loved it!

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent story, excellent performances!

I bought this off the back of the recent Alien Out of the Shadows (another excellent audiobook).

This however was something else, told in a very World War Z way of recounting files after the event. The story is intriguing and some characters whom I thought would inevitably be the bad guys... Actually I'll stop. Because I wouldn't want to spoil it.

I really think this has legs to be a great epic saga. I really hope the author follows this up soon and follows the characters, including the character who features in the epilogue, into whatever happens next!

Sorry this review is all over the place. I've literally just finished it and just thought it was brilliant!

The voice actors did extremely well, easily recognisable and distinct. I also hope they recruit the same folks for any sequels.

5/5. Great work all round!

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16 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I wish all Audio books were of this quality

The quality of production. Different voices and pacing were perfect. The story is interesting and characters well rounded. I really enjoyed this listen.

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Unique

This is different from any SF I have read or heard before. Especially as the technique of giving us information by interviews et cetera. Overall story was great, and the use of different voices brilliant. Loved it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Yes!

very interesting and intriguing! I hope a sequel of some kind is on the works!

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13 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly crafted

I am still quite stunned, a familiar type of story, cleverly turned around and superbly plotted.
The audio version is a delight and a triumph.

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11 people found this helpful