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.
While I preferred the first book, this was a stunning sequel.
I have issues with series. I like to bingeread them. Even with the absolute best series, if I've forgotten the plot, I won't be excited about it. Though I knew I that I'd enjoy this, I put off reading this one because I kept meaning to go back and reread the first, which I loved, but then I found myself on a plane with no WiFi and sick of thrillers, so.
This book, however, could be read without the first and stand alone fine. It would be better, of course, to read the two in a row, but it would work. There was only one real act of deus ex machina that ruined the continuity, and, quite frankly, kind of ruined a lot of the believability for me as well as causing me to kind of be less invested or fearful of death.
Neuvel's writing style is still gorgeous and it caught me immediately. I enjoy the file aspect still, though I felt that this brought in fewer perspectives than the previous book. There are some points where it can be a tad confusing to follow dialogue without any tags, but I think that the payoff is worth it. When reading about "military squirrel applications" doesn't phase you, you know you have a winner.
I have no idea how the end worked. Well, perhaps an idea, but no certain knowledge or comprehension of how it operated. It was extremely exciting to read and I was on my toes throughout, but the actual concept of it went over my head. I'm not sure if that was because of the science aspect or if it just wasn't worth my brainpower.
Kara and Vincent are my favourites and are super cute for a science fiction novel. I love the personalities of the characters all the way through and how they deal with family and the idea of bringing kids up in the world.
Some of this book was confusing and I'm not exactly sure of how some characters came in, but this worked and was a gripping read.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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