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tbrnichols's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Eating disorder
Minor: Sexual assault and Forced institutionalization
kharlan3's review against another edition
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racism, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Confinement, Blood, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Alcoholism
Minor: Alcohol
wrzlprmft's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Sexual content, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Torture, War, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Confinement, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, and Police brutality
erynlasbelin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Abandonment, Antisemitism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Islamophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
balfies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The promise of the series - an alien first contact story set within post 9/11 Bush administration (well, now the Cheney administration for them) - continues to interrogate how American militarism, conspiracy, exceptionalism, and immigrant cultures react to the warring factions between intergalactic asylum seekers.
Must reiterate - I am not big on sci fi or fantasy usually, but I make an exception for Lindsay, in part because I wanna support her but mostly because she's an excellent, witty writer and I trust her voice.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Genocide, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Racism, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Grief, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Dementia, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, and Racial slurs
christinecc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
- The bad news is that I was super nervous about reading this sequel because the first book left me confused (entertained, but confused).
- The good news is that reading "Truth of the Divine" felt like eating a bucket of popcorn at the movies, and I got hooked in spite of my better judgment. (Much sleep was sacrificed to this book. Just one more chapter...)
"Truth of the Divine" is the second installment of the Noumena series and picks up right where "Axiom's End," well, ends. Main character Cora is recovering (poorly) from the ordeal of the first book's finale, Ampersand the extraterrestrial is somehow more comforting and less trustworthy than when she met him in the back of a van, and a minor character makes a big, big comeback in the form of Kaveh Mazandarani, journalist & globe-trotter extraordinaire (complete with bad jokes and many internal narration exclamation points). Plus we keep Sol Kaplan, CIA agent and resident Sad & Frustrated Man (who gets some added depth this time around!).
The story starts off slow and fairly rough: Cora's working for the government now, interpreting for the ETs (or ETIs, as they go by here), and having, as the kids say, a Straight-Up Bad Time. She can't turn to anyone but Ampersand, which isn't great considering she barely knows him and he's not terribly thrilled about being mind-connected to a human he can't begin to understand. (Not that this isn't his fault, it's totally his fault.) And then we meet Kaveh, and more aliens, and suddenly the ball gets rolling like a boulder chasing after an 80s action hero. As a bonus, author Lindsay Ellis gives us more repulsive glimpses of Cora's manipulative father Nils (from afar) and some good old American political circus adventures to boot.
If you read "Axiom's End" and feel ambivalent about picking this up: squash that feeling. Seriously. This is a great time. Darker, with some content warnings for trauma and suicide, but it grabs you with earnest emotions and a boost in energy that was missing from the first installment.
Recommended for anyone who likes a summer-popcorn adventure that isn't afraid to delve into the bad consequences of living through the previous summer-popcorn movie. Also good for anyone who wants to laugh one second and tear up the next.
One more warning: if you know any elderly people who speak Farsi,,, maybe don't ask them what "Jendeh" means when used as a greeting. Just google it.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for granting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gun violence
Minor: Forced institutionalization