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?
I have mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the characters and I also really enjoyed the story line. It was interesting and unlike anything else I have read which is a plus for me. That being said, I agree that I wasn't a huge fan of the interview style of telling the story. I didn't hate and I still felt the plot was easy to follow, I just feel like doing it that way maybe left out a lot of details? I dod enjoy the book overall. I do like Sci Fi generally, anyway, but this was a pretty good story. I'd give it a 3/5 solely because of the interview style of telling the story.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the story was interesting and had it been told differently, I would have liked it much more. I just didn't like learning about the events after the fact.
DeleteI just I just felt like maybe I was missing some important things by reading an interview, ya know? But I think part of it is just that I've never read anything in this style before so maybe that's why. Great plot concept, though!
DeleteIt is a great concept, which is why I wanted to be part of the action and not just told what happened. The first rule of writing is "show, don't tell" and while I understand why he chose this style, it comes off as a cop-out.
DeleteI also feel like the story captured my attention enough that I may pick up the next book in the series just because I want to know what happens, but it would definitely be an in between series type of book for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly. I'm not opposed to it but the rest of the series won't be at the top of my list.
DeleteI was sincerely hoping to be impressed by this novel after reading such good reviews on GoodReads. Unfortunately, it wasn't up to my standards. The storytelling format of interview-style questions and answers kept me from fully investing in each of the characters. Individually, I felt that many of the people had much more interesting stories to tell if they could be left alone to tell it. The focus of narration completely on the characters then leaves the reader to concentrate on the plot and conflict, which is minimal.
ReplyDeleteAgain, the plot has much to offer if left to tell its own story, but the style doesn't allow much room for exploration. The characters can't be fully developed due to the one-sided approach of the reports, and the conflict is spread out over a variety of sources. Is this story about good vs evil, the government vs the people, aliens vs humans? Too many loose ends. None of the conflicts are truly resolved at any point, and at moments seem to be simply glossed over entirely. The conflict with North Korea pops up seemingly at random, is quickly ended, then...nothing. The premise of discovering what is arguably the most polarizing find in human history should have wide-spread implications, but we instead get a dispassionate report that is nearly as dry as the interviewer.
The plot is thinly developed, the characters are hardly noticeable, and the ending leaves much to be desired. I may pick up the next in the series at some point, just for closure, but I won't be in any hurry to get there.
You've summed it up perfectly. There was too much going on in each character's life which the author then just kind of dropped. I agree completely about the North Korea aspect, as well as the possible catastrophic consequences of finding such a weapon being almost an after thought.
DeleteHe tried way too hard to put way too much into a rather short novel and though it is supposed to be a series, I can't imagine the next ones being any better - especially if told in the same format.