Review: The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel

Hello everyone!

It seems like it's been forever since the last time I posted a book review. In the past 6 months, I've read The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel and thought I'd share some of my thoughts about this series. This trilogy follows a crew of characters kind of thrown together to discover why alien technology has been left and what its purpose is. Now obviously, that's not what the whole series is about, that's mainly just book one. This trilogy is told in a unique format because it uses news reports and interviews to move the story along. I've never read a book before that did that, but I heard Illuminae is very similar, so I'll have to try that one out eventually too.

Let's move on to what I liked about this series. I've been getting more into sci-fi lately, and this was a great trilogy for me to read to introduce me more into that genre. I really enjoyed the format as I was saying earlier and didn't find it confusing at all. There are some science-y things talked about throughout each book, but I understood most of it at a very basic level. I do have to say the second book, Waking Gods, was my favorite in the trilogy by far. It had more plot movement for me which is what I look for in a sci-fi. I want to see all the action. Plus, this series has aliens, so how could I not read it? I love books with aliens, and movies for that matter.

Let's move on to what I didn't necessarily love about this series. So the first book wasn't the best book I've ever read, but I didn't hate it either so I decided to continue in the series. Like I said, I loved the second book, but the third book was definitely my least favorite in the whole trilogy. It dragged and felt like it wasn't needed, at least the beginning. I liked learning more about what happened when they were taken, but the stuff in between bored me. It really started picking up for me once I was almost 2/3 of the way through. I really did like the ending though. That's the main thing I didn't like about the series was the third book.

Ratings:

Sleeping Giants - 3.5/5 stars

Waking Gods - 4/5 stars

Only Human - 2.5/5 stars

Overall, if you enjoy science fiction, I would recommend reading this series, especially if you're just starting reading in this genre. It was enjoyable and I did enjoy it overall. It's not a new favorite series of all time, but it's one I could see myself potentially going back to in the future and recommending to people. If Sylvain Neuvel releases another sci-fi novel, I will definitely be checking it out. I would rate this series a 3.5/5 as a whole. 

Have you read this series? If so, what did you think of it?

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

~Abby