(NetGalley review) Regarding the comparisons to The Martian or World War Z: other than the fact that this is told using scientific files and interviews, I don't believe it has anything in common with either title. I just didn't feel any emotion towards the characters, or even just one character - there was no real hero to root for (like the FANTASTIC Mark Watney of The Martian) or a villain for that matter. The 'mysterious and unnamed character' as interviewer of the people working on this top secret scientific team does this novel a disservice. Not knowing his angle made all the interviews seem lifeless and completely erased my suspension of disbelief. How exactly is this 'nameless person' able to work with the President and our military without anyone knowing who he is?? As for the World War Z comparison, there was no real edge-of-my-seat tension. Which was a real missed opportunity, because the story is pretty original and slick. The idea that thousands of years ago, alien beings (perhaps?) left parts of a giant robot scattered around the globe for us to discover is kind of interesting. It did read pretty quickly, and the plot went in some unexpected directions. I just don't think it was executed as well as it could have been.