Book Review: Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 3 of Themis Files
Publisher: Del Rey (May 1, 2018)
Length: 336 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
What a crazy ride it’s been. Only Human is the third book of the Themis Files trilogy, bringing an end to a saga that first began in Sleeping Giants, where as a child, protagonist Rose Franklin quite literally stumbled upon a discovery of a lifetime. While exploring the woods near her home in Deadwood, South Dakota, she accidentally fell into a square hole in the ground containing what was later identified as the hand of a giant metal robot. Fast forward many years, and the world has now become a very different place, with humanity hovering on the brink of war against an unstoppable alien threat. A lot has clearly happened, and if you’re not caught up on the series yet, be aware that this review will contain plot details from the first two books.
First of all, it has been nine years since the end of the second volume, Waking Gods, which left us with one hell of cliffhanger as the giant robot Themis (carrying Rose Franklin, Vincent Couture, his 10-year-old daughter Eva, and General Eugene Govender inside at the time) was suddenly and inexplicably transported to another world. In Only Human, we find out exactly where they went, as well as what exactly happened in the intervening years.
Once again, the story is presented as a collection of mostly journal entries, transcribed interviews or recordings, letters and other forms of personal communication, etc. so by now the format feels very familiar. The greatest challenge the author had to overcome in this book, however, was the establishing of two timelines—one taking in the present, the other filling in the events of the last nine years—and there’s even the problem of a language barrier to consider this time. The book begins with the return of Rose, Vincent, Eva, and a fourth mysterious passenger, as Themis suddenly shows up again on Earth following its almost decade-long disappearance. Many of us had guesses as to where Themis ended up, I think, and sure enough, we soon get confirmation that the characters had been transported the giant robot’s homeworld, Esat Ekt.
As you would imagine though, spending nine years anywhere, let alone on an alien planet, would be enough to change anyone. Upon their return, both Rose and Vincent are shocked at what life has become on Earth, and Eva, now nineteen years old and who had spent most of her formative years living among the Ekt, is having a particularly hard time adjusting. They’re also being detained by the Russian government (because Themis reappeared in Russian territory), who are pressuring them to give up all the deets: Are the aliens coming back? Do they still want war with Earth? How do we fight them?
Except, of course, the aliens aren’t at all what we’ve been led to believe. They’re actually kind of a mess. In some ways, they’re even more clueless than humans, despite being lightyears ahead of us in technology. It made this somewhat of a dreary read because I spent most of it feeling pissed off at everyone, Ekt and human alike. The universe is apparently full of jerks. And if an advanced alien race capable of creating gargantuan robots that can disintegrate mountains in an eyeblink can’t even get it together, then what chance do we have? I also found myself annoyed with the characters, many of whom came across as sanctimonious, selfish, and careless. In a world where conditions have devolved so far, pitting countryman against countryman, friend against friend, daughter against father…at one point I asked myself if I would even care how this ended. It was just too depressing.
Thankfully, the plot took a turn for the better in the second half. It made me see how things were meant to fit together. I now understand that much of the conflict was meant to set up the events of the last hundred pages or so, in order to have the ending feel that much more satisfying and emotionally impactful.
That said, there were still a few things I wished this final novel did differently. For one, I wanted a lot more about the aliens. The limited information we received about the Ekt was sorely disappointing, considering our protagonists were on their planet and stayed among them for nine whopping years. Also, there were a couple downsides to the epistolary format that I confess still sort of bug me even after three books. It’s just hard to buy into the whole oral dictation angle when so many scenes in the story that are not conducive to carrying a recorder around, conveniently capturing all our characters’ conversations about their thoughts and reporting exactly what they are doing. There are still plenty of these awkward moments, with the trade-off being realism and immersion.
I don’t want to sound too negative, however. I did have a lot of fun with this book—with all three books, in fact. Given the complex nature of this series, Sylvain Neuvel had his work cut out for him, and that’s on top of dealing with obstacles that challenge all new authors. A few minor hiccups notwithstanding, I have to say he managed to pull off his debut trilogy marvelously, sparking imaginations and offering action-packed entertainment along the way. The Themis Files is a masterful storytelling experience, one I will not soon forget.
More on The BiblioSanctum:
Review of Sleeping Giants (Book 1)
Review of Waking Gods (Book 2)
The BiblioSanctum 
I dropped out after book 1 (which was fun indeed, but had too much implausible stuff for my taste to continue) but its still nice to catch up and read where Neuvel took the story!
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Yeah, it gets a little crazy! In terms of implausibility, book 1 has got nothing on book 3, haha!
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I really should try this series….or tell the library to get it! They do not have enough stuff like this
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Especially now that the trilogy is complete! Hope they listen to your recommendation 😀
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I saw this one around but didn’t realize that it was book 3. Though not sure it’s for me.
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Yep, it’s the last book of the trilogy!
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I loved your review! I wonder what my opion will be, since I think I would welcome the darkish turn in the last part of the trilogy. Can’t wait to read it
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Yeah, things get pretty dire and angsty for a while, but I think you will like the mix of dark and light. Hope you enjoy!
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I read the first book but haven’t continued, although I do read these reviews when I see ’em since I may go back to the series- I keep changing my mind! Glad it mostly ended well though- I suspect I would want more on the aliens too, and the time spent on the other planet, but glad it mostly worked 🙂
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It just felt like such a tease! Take us to an alien planet, let us live among the aliens themselves, but we still get so little about them! But oh well, at least we got plenty of giant robots 😀 I’ll take what I can get!
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Oh noooo, the words “daughter against father” fill me with fear…
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You’ll just have to see… 😉
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I was definitely hoping to see a higher rating from you. I think one of the toughest things for readers is that final book in the series that doesn’t quite hit the mark. But I’ll remain optimistic until I can read it myself😊
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These books have always been “3.5ish” to me…haha, you know what I mean! Still, while I might not be head over heels in love with them, I still think they are a boat load of fun 🙂
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Nice covers, but I’m going to skip this series. The premise sounds cool but I heard too much criticism.
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The premise is probably the best thing about this series. But yes, there have been some very mixed opinions, and it’s definitely not for everyone! 🙂
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I only read the first one – not sure if I’ll catch up or not. I’d like to complete it but we’ll see. Bit disappointing that it didn’t end on a more positive note.
Lynn 😀
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Yeah, I seriously wanted more aliens! Still, I had a great time with this series. Despite my gripes, this might have been my favorite book of the three!
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I haven’t read the review in its entirety because I have only read book 1 and I plan on reading the second one soon but it’s a shame that it was a bit disappointing.
I didn’t like book 1 that much but since the second book is said to be different, I hope I will end up liking it more. If I don’t then I will drop the series.
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My enthusiasm for this series has pretty much hovered around the same level over the three books. I think they’re a lot of fun, but the series doesn’t really go that extra mile, imo. But I definitely don’t regret reading, if nothing else for the sheer entertainment value 🙂
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I confess finding it quite weird to see those aliens described as somehow clueless: genre literature (and movies as well) have taught us that alien civilizations are either advanced and well meaning, or advanced and dangerous – but unable to get their act together? That’s a new one indeed… 😀
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Well, the book does go into that a bit. These types of aliens delegate a lot, and they have to vote on EVERYTHING. So, imagine the gridlock experienced by some of our world governments, and multiply that by like a thousand and think about the inefficiency and slow speed at which they do things, lol!
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