The Themis Files trilogy begins with Neuvel's debut novel Sleeping Giants. It follows a group of scientists as they track down and assemble a giant robot of mysterious origins, scattered across the Earth.[2] The idea for Sleeping Giants first came to him when Neuvel's son asked him to build a toy robot with an extended back story.[3] The novel is written in back-and-forth dialogues, journal entries and documentation rather than through traditional narration.[4]
Neuvel first submitted the novel to literary agents in 2014 and received 50 rejections.[1] The novel was published by Del Rey Books in 2016.[1] It began accumulating favourable buzz after Kirkus Reviews published a positive review of the galley copy it had received. The novel, which was a longlisted contender for the 2017 edition of Canada Reads,[5] was optioned by Sony Pictures for development into a film.[1][2] It was a finalist for the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Science Fiction,[6] the 2017 Compton Crook Award[7] and for the Concordia University First Book Prize at the 2016 Quebec Writers' Federation Awards.[8]
Neuvel was announced as one of three contributing authors on a Black Mirror book, but the project was shelved in 2018.[9][10]
Other work
Outside of his literary career, Neuvel runs a professional translation agency.[1]
