Scan barcode
A review by writerrhiannon
Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis
5.0
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I have been gravitating toward more speculative fiction and science fiction lately and love how it holds my attention so I can really get lost in the stories—a necessity during these crazy COVID days. Axiom’s End kept my attention from the very first page until the last. The story opens with Cora’s car dying, a meteor blast near her office, her losing her job because she leaves the building without permission, government agents coming to her home to take her family into custody, and Cora going on the run—and that’s just in the first 50 pages! What follows is a dual story of Cora’s whistle-blower father leaking information about the government’s knowledge of First Contact with aliens and Cora’s first hand experience as an interpreter for one of the aliens in the Fremda group, Ampersand. Not only is this an “us vs them” story of humans vs aliens but there is discord among the hierarchical (political, societal, scientific) ranks of the Fremdans. I especially loved the detailed discussions and dissections of multiple languages, the abilities of Cora and Ampersand to understand each other and their frustrations at not being able to fully communicate about species unique characteristics, like fusion bonding in Fremdans and the language of music in humans. This novel was so smart and intense—I loved it!
I was unaware before reading this novel that the author is a beloved YouTube pop culture critic. This may have given me pause prior to reading the novel due to the fact I have seen YouTubers produce subpar products to create an income stream from their established followers. My judgement in those cases isn’t that they are monetizing their platform, it’s that they aren’t providing a quality product and followers are buying the product not for the sake of it being a great product but because they love the YouTuber. Not the case here! Lindsay Ellis just wrote a dynamite debut novel!
Also pictured: Sausage Breakfast Casserole. Seriously, my favorite breakfast but no one else in my family likes this...that's ok, more for me!
Come chat with me about books here, too:
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest
I have been gravitating toward more speculative fiction and science fiction lately and love how it holds my attention so I can really get lost in the stories—a necessity during these crazy COVID days. Axiom’s End kept my attention from the very first page until the last. The story opens with Cora’s car dying, a meteor blast near her office, her losing her job because she leaves the building without permission, government agents coming to her home to take her family into custody, and Cora going on the run—and that’s just in the first 50 pages! What follows is a dual story of Cora’s whistle-blower father leaking information about the government’s knowledge of First Contact with aliens and Cora’s first hand experience as an interpreter for one of the aliens in the Fremda group, Ampersand. Not only is this an “us vs them” story of humans vs aliens but there is discord among the hierarchical (political, societal, scientific) ranks of the Fremdans. I especially loved the detailed discussions and dissections of multiple languages, the abilities of Cora and Ampersand to understand each other and their frustrations at not being able to fully communicate about species unique characteristics, like fusion bonding in Fremdans and the language of music in humans. This novel was so smart and intense—I loved it!
I was unaware before reading this novel that the author is a beloved YouTube pop culture critic. This may have given me pause prior to reading the novel due to the fact I have seen YouTubers produce subpar products to create an income stream from their established followers. My judgement in those cases isn’t that they are monetizing their platform, it’s that they aren’t providing a quality product and followers are buying the product not for the sake of it being a great product but because they love the YouTuber. Not the case here! Lindsay Ellis just wrote a dynamite debut novel!
Also pictured: Sausage Breakfast Casserole. Seriously, my favorite breakfast but no one else in my family likes this...that's ok, more for me!
Come chat with me about books here, too:
Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest