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julissa_'s review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
eelopez's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
ramen_4477's review
3.0
I am/was a Lindsay fan but am not really a sci-fi person. It was fine IG but I mostly just remember the chapters ending on cliffhangers over and over again.
sunshinesusan's review against another edition
3.75
Good story. No one is likeable and many of the MC’s decisions don’t make sense. Hindered by unnecessary angst. And I’m still weirded out by the whole falling in love with an alien insect thing.
jputzi's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This was an awful book. Poorly written and totally predictable. The characters were flat and undeveloped. The setting of the novel in the Bush-era was clumsy. I skimmed the last third because I couldn't stand to waste any more time on it.
lochnessmaddy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
tokenfemale's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Axiom's End is a refreshing more modern take on a scifi book with interesting elements of secret government organizations, conspiracies, extra terrestrial beings, and complex family dynamics. I found it overall an entertaining read with a slowly unveiling mystery, but at some parts the pacing can be quite dull and the main character can be a little flat.
Overall a fun little read but I think is dampened by my own inexperience in the scifi genre.
Overall a fun little read but I think is dampened by my own inexperience in the scifi genre.
dinosaursatwork's review against another edition
3.0
If the aliens fusion-bond after knowing another person for 1-2 weeks, I'm not surprised some of one's symphiles are in support of genocide.
After thinking about it for a while, I cannot call this as good as expected. Like others, I enjoyed Ellis's media criticism but as I should know by now, critiquing and creating are very different tasks. I will say this: I had fun and it was very easy to consume as an audiobook (however, I don't think that Stephanie Willis is a good narrator - everything was too intense and too slow, e.g. minor confusion being read as "Cora was ... connnfusssed(?)."). Some people have pointed out clumsy similes and in the audio version, I was able to not process most except for the "walls of her wound canyon."
Not only the narration but also the writing felt overly emotional. This doesn't really make sense, as emotions are too be expected in almost any kind of story. I believe my irritation with the emotionality here stems from how inorganic the story seems looking back. How we travel, how things develop, how conversations go, it feels clunky and crafted rather than a logical progression. Especially towards the end, I thought the way how story beats flowed into each other didn't make much sense.
Still, enjoyable and that was what I was looking for.
After thinking about it for a while, I cannot call this as good as expected. Like others, I enjoyed Ellis's media criticism but as I should know by now, critiquing and creating are very different tasks. I will say this: I had fun and it was very easy to consume as an audiobook (however, I don't think that Stephanie Willis is a good narrator - everything was too intense and too slow, e.g. minor confusion being read as "Cora was ... connnfusssed(?)."). Some people have pointed out clumsy similes and in the audio version, I was able to not process most except for the "walls of her wound canyon."
Not only the narration but also the writing felt overly emotional. This doesn't really make sense, as emotions are too be expected in almost any kind of story. I believe my irritation with the emotionality here stems from how inorganic the story seems looking back. How we travel, how things develop, how conversations go, it feels clunky and crafted rather than a logical progression. Especially towards the end, I thought the way how story beats flowed into each other didn't make much sense.
Still, enjoyable and that was what I was looking for.
nikkilpzs's review
4.0
A little background: my experience with science fiction books before this book is limited to Star Wars and YA.
I really think this book is a great introduction to the genre for someone who isn't familiar with the genre as it is relatively approachable. I think Ellis excelled with her set up of the main character relationship and dynamic anddddd it was my first introduction to any sort of interspecies romance (my achy breaky heart!)
I only knocked off one star because I do believe that the book could have gone through another round of editing. I watched a Q&A by Ellis before writing my review where she kind of addressed this and said that she had revised the book to the point that she felt it had done more harm than good. Also, (and this may be because I don't read enough sci-fi) but I feel like I didn't understand some of the scientific explanations given for the ~alien science~.
I really think this book is a great introduction to the genre for someone who isn't familiar with the genre as it is relatively approachable. I think Ellis excelled with her set up of the main character relationship and dynamic anddddd it was my first introduction to any sort of interspecies romance (my achy breaky heart!)
I only knocked off one star because I do believe that the book could have gone through another round of editing. I watched a Q&A by Ellis before writing my review where she kind of addressed this and said that she had revised the book to the point that she felt it had done more harm than good. Also, (and this may be because I don't read enough sci-fi) but I feel like I didn't understand some of the scientific explanations given for the ~alien science~.