Axiom's End

A Novel

by Lindsay Ellis

paperback, 384 pages

Published Aug. 10, 2021 by St. Martin's Griffin.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-79813-8

It’s fall 2007. A well-timed leak has revealed that the US government might have engaged in first contact. Cora Sabino is doing everything she can to avoid the whole mess, since the force driving the controversy is her whistleblower father. Even though Cora hasn’t spoken to him in years, his celebrity has caught the attention of the press, the Internet, the paparazzi, and the government—and with him in hiding, that attention is on her. She neither knows nor cares whether her father’s leaks are a hoax, and wants nothing to do with him—until she learns just how deeply entrenched her family is in the cover-up, and that an extraterrestrial presence has been on Earth for decades.

Realizing the extent to which both she and the public have been lied to, she sets out to gather as much information as she can, and finds that the best way for her …

Realizing the extent to which both she and the public have been lied to, she sets out to gather as much information as she can, and finds that the best way for her to uncover the truth is not as a whistleblower, but as an intermediary. The alien presence has been completely uncommunicative until she convinces one of them that she can act as their interpreter, becoming the first and only human vessel of communication. Their otherworldly connection will change everything she thought she knew about being human—and could unleash a force more sinister than she ever imagined.

3 editions

benwerd@bookwyrm.social reviewed Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

Alien

4 stars

Very readable: a pageturner book that keeps you going through a riveting plot at breakneck speed. I also enjoyed the discussion of alien-ness in the context of building relationships of all kinds. I was a little taken aback by the CIA turning out to be the good guys; the aliens in many ways being as harmful as the knee-jerk reactions against them made them out to be; the truth-seeking indie journalist being one of the bad guys; and the (spoilers) thing that Ampersand does to Cora without permission towards the end. I felt like the themes either weren't thought through as well as they might be, or were otherwise more right-wing than I typically want to enjoy. Which is a shame, because those things aside, I enjoyed the read very much.

Machinedreamread@bookwyrm.social reviewed Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

Too much dialogue, too much weirdness

2 stars

So much dialogue!! I found myself annoyed. It started so great but by the end I found the main character annoying and her actions weird…. iykyk. I didn’t like it and I felt like it had a lot of potential. Not going to read the next one.

bbbhltz reviewed Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

Review of "Axiom's End" on Goodreads

3 stars

I liked the story but I really disliked the way it was written.

William Smith reviewed Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

Review of "Axiom's End" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

First encounter stories are a genre themselves within science fiction. They generally follow a pattern of two beings, alien to each other, overcoming their differences to become friends while being chased by one or more adversaries. Axiom's End is such a story, but it's still engaging.

The protagonist Cora is somewhat along for the ride throughout the book with plot points and other characters directing her what to do next. She lacks control over most of the situation where she encounters an alien who needs her help whether he realizes it or not.

Ampersand, the alien on the run, was really well-conceived and I appreciated the conversations over what makes two or more races "alien" to each other. Ellis did a good job explaining why we shouldn't want to learn an alien's language and the problems that can cause. I would've appreciated much more of this mindful thought-provoking type of discussion.

Throughout the book is a sub-plot about Cora's father, which never really comes to fruition for me. All the elements about her father could've been removed from the book and not affected the story.

The story is probably best suited for young adults or those who wouldn't normally dive deep into science fiction. The writing is straight-forward, which I appreciated, and doesn't bog down in technical detail.