Reviews

Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

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kaamezcua2's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Set in 2007, the novel is about a U.S. government coverup of contact with extraterrestrial life. You follow the story of Cora, daughter of an exiled whistleblower, who finds herself in the middle of the whole 'alien' situation.

I haven't read any fiction in almost three years.

I decided to read this.

I somehow was able to read through it all. It was well-written and weird in a bunch of interesting ways.

videoglee's review against another edition

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3.0

Hmm. Prose was ok, but not great. It was entertaining, but I think this could've been more somehow. The truth theme could've been more, the whole Nick thing was left a little bit unexplored I feel.
Still, enjoyed reading this!

thecurseofchris's review against another edition

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2.0

I really wanted to like this book. It's a first contact story set in the late 2000s, what more could I have asked for? Unfortunately, "Axiom's End" is an overly long novel that's not really well-written to begin with, and in hindsight, not a ton happens until you get later on in the story. Advance the plot, or trim up your chapters. I don't need endless pages of character exposition when I don't really like them to begin with. Just get to the point. And don't get me started on the relationship between the protagonist and the alien...blegh. Maybe the sequel will help save this one, but I'm not optimistic. I doubt this book would have received as much notoriety had it not been for the author's YouTube channel, which I have never seen before so this review was not influenced by that.

The one positive thing I will say about this book is that I think despite its flaws, it makes for a decent (and that's being generous) intro to sci-fi for someone who may want to get into the genre without feeling too overwhelmed. But there are far better books out there.

jayraytan's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

snaillydia's review against another edition

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2.0

Well, that was a letdown.

fake_gyllen's review against another edition

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1.0

I’m a huge fan of Lindsay Ellis. Her video essays on YouTube make it clear that she understands what makes or breaks a story, at least from a screenwriting standpoint, so when I first started reading Axiom’s End, I was excited to see how her sharp and witty commentaries would translate to an original story, especially knowing her influences and inside jokes.

Unfortunately, none of that could salvage this book. It’s clear from the very first page that she would’ve rather written a screenplay, resulting in prose that is downright unreadable. It’s chock-full of adverbs, it spends way too much time describing small interactions, and the writing has no rhythm or flow.

The story itself is derivative, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing and can easily be compensated for with strong characters and good worldbuilding, but sadly, none of these characters are interesting enough to root for, and the mythos is uninspired.

It gives me no pleasure to write this. I wanted it to be good, but sadly, I can only recommend it to aspiring authors because it’s a great example of everything you should NOT do when writing your first book.