By: Sylvain Neuvel
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: April 26, 2016
Rating: 4/5 stars
This is the debut novel of Sylvain Neuvel. It is a science-fiction novel that takes place, mostly in the United States in an underground government research lab.
The story begins 17 years before the actual story takes place. Rose Franklin is a young girl who took her bike out for a ride and ended up falling through the earth. When she is found, she is located deep underground by glowing walls that are engraved with intricate markings. And mostly notably, she is being cradled by a large hand.
17 years later she becomes a physicist and is recruited to find out more information about this mystery hand. Along with Dr. Rose Franklin, the mystery interrogator puts together a team as they discover that this isn’t the only piece on earth. He puts together two pilots from the military, Kara and Ryan. Later on as they discover more pieces they bring in a linguist named Victor to try and figure out what the symbols mean.
These three work day in and day out to try to find the pieces, put them together and figure out what it makes and what it does.
This is a unique storyline and it raises the question, “are we alone in the universe?” It was a constant page turner. There seems to be a clear plot and you knew what was going. Though you didn’t always know why. Specifically when it came to our mystery man. You didn’t know who he worked for or what is end goal was in retrieving these pieces. That is what made the book so exciting. You only knew what he wanted you to know.
The only downfall I will say is that because this story is told in a series of interviews/interrogations it is hard to connect with the characters. You never get to know what the person is thinking or feeling. The first few chapters I found myself not really caring what happened to them and to be honest I found Kara to be unlikable.
As you get further into the story you begin to get invested in what happens to the characters. Along with the interview format there are personal journal entries that allow you to change perspectives. That is when I begin to feel more sympathetic towards them and begin to be invested in their journey.
This science-fiction novel poses the great question, “are we alone in the universe?” and if we aren’t then “just how many lives are we willing to sacrifice for scientific advancement?” This story had me hooked! I couldn’t put the book down.
This book is a part of a trilogy. I truly believe that it was a great start to this series. I can’t wait to read more.
Check out the links below!
My video review (non-spoiler) :
Where to find the book:
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