Book Review

Audiobook Review: Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Everyone, I think…I think I’m an audiobook convert.

Last summer, Elyse wrote a Lightning Review of Sleeping Giants, a scifi novel with a scientist heroine, an interesting cast of characters, and epistolary elements. Definitely check out her review! Just as Elyse did in her review, my plot points will be minimal because the book has a lot of twists and turns. Instead, I’m going to focus on how Sleeping Giants functions as an audiobook and why you should be putting it in your earholes immediately.

Sleeping Giants opens with a young Rose Franklin who, while taking her new bike for a spin, discovers a giant hole where a huge metal hand is buried. Cut several years later and Rose is a physicist working on figuring out what this hand is and what it means. She’s assembled a team – pilots, linguists, geneticists, etc.

All but the prologue is told through a series of interviews and logs. The interviewer is a mysterious unknown man (hereafter called Unknown Narrator or UN) and man, is he a wily one.

Because the book is just one interview after another, being recorded by UN, it feels a lot like a radio drama since everything is dialogue. And I loved it.

Before Sleeping Giants, I had never been able to successfully listen to an audiobook. My mind wandered or other things competed for my attention. Since starting to cross stitch, I need background noise. There’s no way I can stitch in silence. Sometimes, I listen to podcasts, but I catch up on new episodes rather quickly and one of my 2017 goals is to read more. I didn’t meet my Goodreads Reading Challenge last year, so I’m making a more concerted effort to have daily reading time.

I asked for audiobook suggestions on Twitter and author Bree Bridges suggested Sleeping Giants because it felt more like a drama than someone reading to you, and she was completely right! The back and forth of voices and characters was just what I needed to keep me engaged and prevent me from zoning out. I only had to backtrack once for missing something.

The UN was really what made the audiobook for me. I’m unsure of who did the voice. Googling has only show me a list of the entire cast and not who voiced what character. But whoever did UN’s narration was amazing. He reminds me a lot of The Smoking Man from The X-Files, but sassier. You never really know his motivations and you can practically hear the knowing smirk in his voice. His interactions with the Assistant to the President of the United States are my favorite, given their antagonistic relationship. You can also hear him slowly become attached to Rose and her team. It’s amazing how he conveys these emotions, just with his voice.

What I really liked about the audio format is that it prevented me from accidentally peeking ahead. Sometimes, as readers, we’ll catch something farther down the page or flip ahead to count page numbers and see something we shouldn’t. Because I can’t do that with audio unless I deliberately skip ahead, each twist packed a punch because I truly didn’t see things coming. Whether that’s more of a testament to the writing over the format, or a bit of both, I’m not sure.

I think the most frustrating thing for me was how…slow things felt. The audiobook clocks in at eight and a half hours for 304 pages. It took me nearly a week to get through the audiobook, as I only listened to it while cross stitching. If I had read the physical book, I could have finished it much sooner. I know you can increase the speed, but I’m not quite ready for that yet. I tried bumping it up to 1.25x and I had a moment of panic because just that little bit was too much for me as an audiobook newbie.

I’m not sure if it was the book itself or if I was just impatient with how long things were taking, but the book felt slow in some parts and the momentum seemed to wane. The interviews were still interesting because I wanted to know what UN would say and do next to further his mysterious goals, but I was less rapt around the middle to three-quarters mark than I was at the beginning and end. And while the UN’s narration was great, other characters’ voice acting wasn’t as strong, especially the mysterious and cruel Balkan geneticist. The character has a stutter and the performance felt rather forced. But the character herself is a bit secretive, so I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn later on that the stutter was fake.

The next book in the series, Waking Gods, comes out April 4th. If you haven’t finished the first book, I caution you not to read the sequel’s description as it does contain a spoiler. But because I loved Sleeping Giants so much an audio, there’s no way I’m just going to simply read the next book. Audio or bust for me. There’s something about hearing an emotion in a character’s voice or capturing their personalities simply by their narration, given the lack of straight exposition. At times, it made me giddy. Others, I gasped in surprise. It was like watching (or listening?) to a movie and you had no clue what was next. And while I’m sure the second book will be a great read, I desperately want to return the Unknown Narrator’s mysterious and slightly amused voice, to smirk at Kara’s exasperated sarcasm, and of course, to hear the accent of Québécois Vincent.

As for my audiobook journey, I have no clue what to listen to next. Books with various narrators will probably appeal more to me than a single narrator, with maybe the exception of funny nonfiction. If you have any suggestions, definitely drop them in the comments below!

This book is available from:
  • Available at Amazon
  • Order this book from apple books

  • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
  • Order this book from Kobo
  • Order this book from Google Play
  • Order this book from Audible
  • Order this book from Audible

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

View Book Info Page

Add Your Comment →

  1. KateB says:

    I have a rec for you!

    “Wylding Hall” by Elizabeth Hand – a modern gothic horror novel about a 70’s folk band who heads to an English estate to record an album, told in alternating interviews and newspaper pieces, as if for a documentary. Each voice has a different narrator. And it’s under 5 hours!

    And just generally, I’d rec books narrated by Simon Vance. His voice is deep but expressive and he’s great at accents and voices. He’s narrated Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series, Jurassic Park, the Master and Commander series, just so many.

    Oh! And “The Martian” by Andy Weir as narrated by R.C. Bray. Expressive and perfect for the first person tension of it all.

  2. Jill Q. says:

    If you can handle YA space opera type stories, I highly recommend the Illuminae series (two so far) by Amie Kaufman and a co-author I’m blanking out on right now. The books are known for a lot of detailed illustrations, but personally I prefer the audio recordings with full cast and sound effects. It feels like an old fashioned radio drama to me. Really good production values.

  3. Laurel says:

    Not a romance, but American Gods by Neil Gaiman is a wonderful book $ audiobook. The 10th anniversary edition has a bunch of people, including the author reading his introduction to the book, and it was very well done.

    I listen to audiobooks while walking the dogs and doing housework, and I often do it as a way to “re-read” favorite books, but I also read new books this way. I find a good narrator makes a big difference in my enjoyment of the book. J. K. Rowling’s mysteries, written as Richard Galbraith, are also incredibly good. The narrator is an actor and he does a wonderful job on all of the voices, so you actually think there are multiple people involved. The first book is The Cukoo’s Calling, but all 3 are really well done.

  4. MollyO says:

    I have never been able to successfully listen to an audiobook either! I’ll definitely have to give this one a try. I just finished the physical copy of illuminae by jay kristoff and Amie Kauffman and it’s told similarly to sleeping giants in that it tells the story through case files, email and other documents. It is young adult sci fi with a pretty awesome heroine. I have heard the audiobook is also similar in feel to a radio drama so I think I might check that out as well. From what I’ve read it has a pretty extensive cast of characters. There is also a sequel gemina.

  5. Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy has a full cast dramatic narration—it’s in my wishlist, waiting for me to get to it one day. IIRC, it was recommended to me by a fellow audiobook aficionado, so I have no hesitation in passing along the rec.

    Cary Elwes and cast narrating As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride. Heartwarming and happy-making and wonderful.

    Simon Vance in everything. Always. Forever. Start with Temeraire. Oh. Em. Gee! *swoon*

    Dan Stevens narrating Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Exquisite. Perfection.

    Shannon McManus narrates Nora Roberts’ The Obsession. Enjoyed her narration very much, I hope she does more!

    Julia Whelan narrates Nora Roberts’ The Witness and another one. The Collector? Love!

    Justine Eyre narrates Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series. Love love love!

    I’ll stop now, but hit me up for a rec on Twitter or GR and I’ll try to help out. And always, always, always: before buying, listen to the sample! If it’s a library (or other) loan, it doesn’t matter, but try before you buy.

    Ps. Duh. Harry Potter! (Though I love Stephen Fry, I hear that Jim Dale guy is good. ;))

  6. The secret to successful audiobook listening is having no choice in the matter.

    Let me elaborate: you’re driving along/crafting/on the elliptical/cleaning house and your hands and eyes are necessary for the task, but your ears and brain are free. You can’t read in the traditional sense (for sighted readers), but you can listen to a story. So your choices are reading-via-audio or not reading at all. Simple.

    The more your hands are necessary for the task and the harder it is to fiddle with your listening choices once you get going, the more chance the audiobook has to suck you in. (See driving. Or jogging.)

    Heck, the hardest part for me—still—is making an audiobook choice and getting started. Which is why I so appreciate series. I don’t have to make choices as I continue from one book to another. 😀

    And my attention wanders if I try to listen to an audiobook just sitting down, doing nothing. Nope, not happening. I’m not using my eyeballs or hands for anything, so my brain relaxes. Which is why I’m grateful for whispersync—when I absolutely have to know what happens next, and my knitting is too complicated/concentration-requiring for an intense story, I can switch formats from Audible to Kindle.

    So my suggestion is: try audiobooks in a situation where it’s the only entertainment available. A situation where it’s audiobooks or no books. Boredom or listening to a story told by someone else.

    NB: If you can’t stand the narrator, don’t force it. Try another book/narrator. Sometimes it’s just your mood, but there are narrators I avoid for various reasons. Or narrators I love for one series but can’t listen to in another series because I’ve imprinted them on the first series. TLDR: It’s complicated, don’t force it, try again another day.

  7. Kate says:

    Thanks for the audio recommendations! I am always looking for more. Don’t you feel that decisions about which audiobooks to buy are deeply personal? The narrator is all. If I can’t stand their tone, pacing, verbal tics, then I can’t stand the audiobook/whispersync, even if the book or author is a favorite.

    Here are three audiobooks from my December listening:
    * Carrie Fisher’s The Princess Diarist.* The book is moving, funny, and bittersweet with her too-early passing. Side note: Her daughter reads portions of the journal she kept during the filming of the original Star Wars, and that was just such a brilliant choice too.

    * Adam Gidwitz’s The Inquisitor’s Tale, Or the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog * This is a YA book but don’t let that dissuade you. There are multiple narrators, as each chapter is told from a different person’s POV. This is a moving, funny, charming book.

    * Emma Chase’s Royals Series (like Royally Screwed)*…The dual narrators Andi Arndt and Shane East are AMAZING. Male narrators (really good ones) of romance novels are just the best. And Shane East is one you’ll love whispering in your ear.

  8. Lisa says:

    I have to recommend the audiobook for Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys. The narrator was so good. I love the book, but the audiobook was so awesome.

  9. QOTU says:

    I if you haven’t read it, the audiobook for The Help is very well done with different actresses reading each of the character’s chapters. Also, it sounds like you might like radio plays. BBC audio has a lot of those that I can check out at my library. Quite a lot of Agatha Christie, my favorite! The other good thing about radio plays is that they are often very short. The entire story is told in just a few hours.

  10. Ginny Q says:

    If you’re looking for something similarly sci-fi/fantasy, I hear that the audiobook of World War Z by Max Brooks is BRILLIANT. It’s also written like the way you describe this book, as interviews. They got lots of super famous people to narrate (Alan Alda, John Turturro, Rob Reiner, Mark Hamill, Alfred Molina, Simon Pegg, Henry Rollins, Martin Scorsese) and I hear it’s amazing. I personally read the book, but next time I consume it, I’ll probably give the audiobook a try.

    I started listening to audiobooks for my long commute and started with series that I had wanted to read but always found myself deciding to read something else. Those ended up being a lot of YA/middle grade books, like the Artemis Fowl series and the Percy Jackson series (and its follow-up, The Heroes of Olympus). The narrator for Artemis Fowl is fantastic. The PJ narrator took me a bit to get used to, but I ended up liking him. The HOO narrator changed halfway through, which sucked because the first guy was FANTASTIC and the second guy was horrible.

    But, if you’re really into urban fantasy, I’d suggest The Dresden Files audiobooks. James Marsters (from Buffy) narrates, and he is just absolutely fantastic. I listened to those first, and then read them, and I vastly prefer the narration because of the snark and acting of Marsters.

    I’d second what ms bookjunkie said: If you don’t like the narrator, don’t force it. A horrible narrator can make or break a book, and if they’re not great, just read it instead. And it’s all very personal preference. I always check the reviews (I use Audible; you could read the reviews there even if you get hte book from the library or elsewhere) to see how people like the narrator before I get an audiobook. If there’s a lot of “this narrator sucks”, I read it instead.

  11. Ginny Q says:

    Ooh! The Martian is also an excellent audiobook. That narrator is fantastic. The key (for me, anyway) is to find a narrator who is good at doing different voices for characters, so even if there aren’t multiple narrators, if feels like there are. All the books I’ve suggested have narrators who are great at that.

  12. Krista says:

    I’m a big fan of the Highlander/Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning, so of course that’ll be my suggestion 😀 As audiobooks, the first series (Highlander) is read by Phil Gigante and the second (Fever) is mostly read by Phil Gigante and Natalie Ross. I just loved his voice reading romance <3 I always loved the main characters' banter and he and Natalie Ross pull that off so well! All time favorites, completely.

  13. Jessica says:

    Omg. I LOOOOOOOOOOVE the Illuminae files. Loved it as book, love to infinity as an audiobook. I’m on book 2, Gemina, now. Love just as much. It makes me laugh. Multiple narrators like a radio drama. YA but not heavy heavy on romance. Seriously. BUY IT. OR BORROW. I borrowed from library but will be buying so I can listen again and again!

  14. Christine Schoenau says:

    I am an audiobook junkie. I have a set of wireless earbuds and listen while cleaning, cooking, to block out the kids arguing. Look into your local library online. Mine offers the Overdrive app and I can borrow audiobooks at no charge. It makes it risk free. If you’re not feeling it you just return it.
    A recommendation for an audiobook newbie is the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. It’s like a fantasy world James Bond for children, but the narrator is excellent at all the different voices. And since they are geared towards kids they are on the shorter side. Happy listening.

  15. @Adele Buck Great post, we share many opinions and favorite narrators. 😀 You missed one of my pet peeves, though… The gasping of air by the narrator. It drives me up the wall! (And then there’s the mispronunciation of “geas” in a fantasy book. *headdesk*)

    I have a narrator rec for you: Khristine Hvam. She does a lot of SFF and UF, you can pick a series that interests you and dive in.

    @Everyone else, check out her recs, I wholeheartedly agree with many of them and have taken note of others. :´D

  16. Susan says:

    I’m glad to see the audio book review here. I listen to about 100 a year and it’s a different, but complementary, experience than reading.

    (@ms bookjunkie: Wish I could heart your #6 comment more than once. There are times when audio books work and times when they absolutely don’t. I can rarely just sit and listen. Listening in the car, doing housework, painting my nails, etc. is the best. I can sometimes listen while grocery shopping, but not always–I guess the wrong part of my brain gets engaged and I can’t adequately concentrate on either task. Everyone needs to find their own sweet spots for listening.)

    It’s also true that the right narrator is key–not just a good narrator, but a good narrator that fits that particular book. I’ve listened to narrators that were great with some material, but were absolutely wrong with other material. I also prefer single narrators. I’ve listened to books with two or more and they were ok to me, but I’ve really disliked the full-cast narrations I’ve listened to.

    I agree with a lot of the narrator recommendations (I haven’t listened to all of them). I raved about Simon Vance on the Whatcha Reading post, and have also grown to like Khristine Hvam despite some initial quibbles (inconsistent pronunciations). I’ll also add MacLeod Andrews, Kate Reading, Renee Raudman, Gomez Pugh, and Nicholas Bolton, among many others.

    A word of warning: I have all of KMM Fever books in audio, but am not sure that I’ll ever listen to them at this point–I’m not sure I can disassociate his real-life conviction on sex charges involving a minor, but this is something for each listener to decide for themselves.

    Hope you’ll keep us posted on your further adventures in listening!

  17. If I may brag for just a moment, narrator extraordinaire Joel Froomkin recently won an Earphones Award from AudioFile Magazine for his work on one of MY books!!! PICKPOCKET’S APPRENTICE, the companion prequel to my John Pickett mystery series, was the book in question. And since it’s a novella, it’s only a couple of hours from beginning to end–long enough to let you decide whether or not to pursue the rest of the series.

  18. roserita says:

    I am not a big audiobook fan, but then, when I want background noise while I’m cross-stitching, I “watch” sports. But I love love love the Sweet Potato Queens audiobooks narrated by the author, Jill Conner Browne. Humor, advice, and recipes–all good!

  19. Brandy says:

    I have this book on my try list for audiobooks, so it’s great to hear someone else who doesn’t have great luck with audiobooks speak so highly of it. An audiobook I’m currently enjoying a lot because of the narrator is a Sherlock/Ripper novel – Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye. The narrator is Simon Vance, who has already been praised in these comments. Audible Channels (free for Amazon Prime members) has two books narrated by Simon Vance available for streaming – Dust and Shadow by Faye and The Prestige by Christopher Priest.

  20. Amanda says:

    @Susan: I know those feelings. I devoured the first five of KMM’s Fever series when they were first released, but I won’t be picking up anything new by her.

  21. Megan says:

    My husband and I listened to You by Caroline Kepnes, read by Santino Fontana, on an interstate road trip. It was FANTASTIC. His voice was absolutely perfect for the story, especially as the main character. We were both so engaged, the time in the car flew by. I then read the sequel, Hidden Bodies, and it wasn’t the same without his voice in my ear.

    I’ve been wanting to read this novel, so I might check out the audiobook instead! Thank you for the review!

  22. Michelle says:

    I love audiobook and listen to them while driving or knitting. A multi-narrator one that I loved was One Plus One by JoJo Moyes. I just listened to Pretty Face by Lucy Parker and realize that I love Contemporary British audiobooks when the humour can come through.

  23. Rebecca says:

    The Lunar Chronicles by Marisa Meyer (YA Sci Fi romance, fairy tale retellings) was my most recent amazing listen via audible. The quartet starts with Cinder for book 1. Interconnecting stand alone, so you can read Cinder as a stand alone (think of a cyborg Cinderella written in a Starwars/Firefly world) I dare you not to want to binge though. I’m still a bit book hungover, I don’t know what to listen to next.
    Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha series (starting with Shadow and bone) was also amazingly narrated. (Polish folk lore, magic, fantasy, romance).
    A Court of thorns and roses series by Sarah J Maas (beauty and the beast reselling with beastly fairies, sexy romance), has one of my favourite audible narrators of all time, this narrator also narrates The All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness, which is an extraudinary blend of PNR/history/science.

  24. Rebecca says:

    An above comment recommended narrator Nicholas Boulton. He narrates Laura Kinsale. He also narrates a favourite m/m book Glitterland, by Alexis Hall. He is outstanding.
    I also recommend narrator Matthew Loyd Davies, who sounds very similar, who narrates for KJ Charles, historical m/m. I highly recommend the Society of Gentlemen series.
    Great voice actors!

Add Your Comment

Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

↑ Back to Top