Overview:
A girl named Rose is riding her new bike near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, when she falls through the earth. She wakes up at the bottom of a square hole, its walls glowing with intricate carvings. But the firemen who come to save her peer down upon something even stranger: a little girl in the palm of a giant metal hand.
Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected.
But some can never stop searching for answers.
Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What’s clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery—and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?
Seventeen years later, the mystery of the bizarre artifact remains unsolved—its origins, architects, and purpose unknown. Its carbon dating defies belief; military reports are redacted; theories are floated, then rejected.
But some can never stop searching for answers.
Rose Franklin is now a highly trained physicist leading a top secret team to crack the hand’s code. And along with her colleagues, she is being interviewed by a nameless interrogator whose power and purview are as enigmatic as the provenance of the relic. What’s clear is that Rose and her compatriots are on the edge of unraveling history’s most perplexing discovery—and figuring out what it portends for humanity. But once the pieces of the puzzle are in place, will the result prove to be an instrument of lasting peace or a weapon of mass destruction?
My Review:
In this book, we follow the members of a top secret team led by Rose Franklin as they put together the pieces of a metal giant and try to figure out what it's purpose is, how it got here, and who originally built it.
This isn't normally my type of genre but that was the main reason for starting our own book club and while I didn't hate it, it wasn't my favorite, either. I thought the characters were well done and even though facts are sparingly doled out, I felt I knew enough about them to make a connection which is - to me - the most important aspect of any book.
I did not like that the story was told in an interview style because you keep bouncing from one character to the next and that is distracting and takes one out of the story completely. It also told the story in such a way that you were learning of events after the fact instead of being right in the middle of the action which would have had a greater impact.
I enjoyed the concept of the story more than I thought I would but I just couldn't get past the style in which it was written. I am a firm believer in the "show don't tell" rule because it is the best way to immerse the reader in the world you have created. The author took a big risk in telling the story in this way and while it probably works for those who are a fan of this type of genre, it didn't really do it for me.
That being said, it isn't a bad book and if you are really into the sci-fi type genre, or are looking to get into it, I would suggest picking this one up. Maybe find it at your local library before you invest in purchasing it to see if it is something you enjoy.
Have you read this book or series? What are your thoughts?
