In her childhood, Rose Franklin accidentally discovered a giant metal hand buried beneath the ground outside Deadwood, South Dakota. As an adult, Dr. Rose Franklin led the team that uncovered the rest of the body parts which together form Themis: a powerful robot of mysterious alien origin. She, along with linguist Vincent, pilot Kara, and the unnamed Interviewer, protected the Earth from geopolitical conflict and alien invasion alike. Now, after nearly ten years on another world, Rose returns to find her old alliances forfeit and the planet in shambles. And she must pick up the pieces of the Earth Defense Corps as her own friends turn against each other. – Goodreads.com

Sleeping Giants, the first book in this series, is still my favorite, but Only Human is a close second.   This is a dual timeline novel – events that occurred during the nine years spent on an alien planet, and what happens after returning to Earth.

Vincent, with his snark and intelligence, is undoubtedly my favorite character and he has some incredible moments in this book.  His struggles to protect his daughter, Eva, while also giving her space to become her own person are both heartwarming and humorous.  Although as strong, determined, and principled as her mother, to me, Eva’s rants seemed more along the lines of a spoiled brat teenager to the point that it was somewhat distracting.

The world-building on the alien planet isn’t explored in depth.  It’s interesting and somewhat similar to Earth, but what I enjoyed most is that it’s also flawed.  Their world is just as imperfect as ours, many of their struggles the same.

With its action-packed robot fights to its social commentary, this series has been an epic and thought-provoking ride from beginning to end and one I highly recommend to sci-fi fans.  Only Human is scheduled for publication May 1, 2018.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.