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Axiom's End

Written by: Lindsay Ellis
Narrated by: Abigail Thorn,Stephanie Willis
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Publisher's Summary

The instant New York Times best seller

The alternate-history first-contact adventure Axiom's End is an extraordinary debut from Hugo finalist and video essayist Lindsay Ellis. Truth is a human right.

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 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.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press 

"Axiom’s End is one of the most unique science fiction novels in years. It’s a heartfelt story of alien first contact, but, luckily, unlike so many 'big idea' sci-fi books, it’s utterly unpretentious." (SYFY.com)

©2020 Lindsay Ellis (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

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    3 out of 5 stars

Pulpy and silly, but worth your time.

I am a big fan of Ellis's other works, and I went into this with no expectations...and, well. I sorta wish someone had prepared me for what I was getting into. It's a Saturday Morning Cartoon version of ARRIVAL, or ALIEN meets a magical girl anime. It's fun, but deep sci-fi it ain't.

2 people found this helpful

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Couldn't stop listening

I loved this book. I finished The Carls Series by Hank Green recently and enjoyed it immensely, so I was a little worried about reading another first contact book so little apart because I didn't want to draw comparisons. I eventually did, though. but they were different enough that it wasn't the first thing to come to mind. I liked how the characters were written, even at their least likable points. I was invested in their destiny. Even with characters that we didn't spend a lot of time with (genome) or characters we weren't supposed to like. I saw a lot of the twists and reveals coming but I was still a little surprised by a few. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience for me and I am looking forward for part 2.

Note: I admit I bought this book because I like Lindsay's content and expected her book to be good, but I have to say it's not why I liked the book. If anything, it set my expectations higher. I did hear some of the lines in her voice, especially the really sarcastic ones, which I enjoyed as a little inside joke of sorts. I almost felt like maybe she should've voiced the whole thing herself but I do get why she didn't.

1 person found this helpful

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Couldn’t put it down

So happy I spotted the unique looking cover and gave the synopsis a read. I downloaded it the next day and CONSUMED this book is a matter of three days, having to pace myself so I didn’t rip through it in one go.
What an incredible first contact telling. I almost don’t want to write a review so I can just get onto the next one. Narrator did great. Managed to put fear and terror into her voice without sounding over the top but believable. Check it out! You won’t be disappointed.

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Highly entertaining

Ellis has written a simply wonderful story that will keep you glued to what comes next. The production is excellent and I can’t recommend this enough.

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Thrilling!

Lots of suspense and some really fun in-jokes if you are a fan of Lindsay Ellis' videos.

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Good but didn't get me invested

let me first state that I did enjoy the book, right to the end. it lags a little at a couple points but is consistently enjoyable and the narrator was wonderful to listen to. Sadly, I never felt invested until a couple of last chapter reveals that, had they been dropped earlier in the book, could have gone a long way to helping.

Totally worth the read, though. get on it.

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Slow start, well worth the wait!

I found the first few chapters really lagged and I left the book for awhile... but I’m here to say it’s well worth hanging in there! The story itself has great moments of action and suspense, combined with a genuinely fascinating plot. This the alien contact and tech is handled really well, with a fully realized world and culture. The central character at times seemed a bit too much like Bella from twilight but the relationship she has is far from it, keeping you guessing and invested til the last sentence.

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An excellent story,

Lindsay has crafted an excellent story with one of the most thoughtfully constructed alien species I have seen in a long time. Coupled with a solid narration this is well worth it. I am really looking forward to the sequel coming this fall. Pre-order placed.

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Wonderful story

This book started off a bit slow, but then omg was it a fun ride once it took off. I love this story so much and I hope there’ll be more books in the future.

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Good SciFy from a new author.

Lindsay has crafted a very interesting sci-fi story containing believable human characters and very alien ETs.
I hope she continues to hone her craft of story telling.
My major complaint: The voice actor did a poor job at making the characters feel/sound different enough for it to not be confusing at times. Also, I don't recall too many happy moments, tones, or inflections. Looking back, this gives the overall emotional outlook a negative one.
Lindsay, please allow your characters time for happiness, triumph, jubilation etc in your next book. I spent many hours just feeling pitty for your characters. You have that skill mastered. keep up the good work.

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  • Eric
  • 2020-08-05

Short Circuit w Aliens?

I mean that in a good way. I imagine this was probably a pretty hard sell for Ellis. I imagine a publisher looking at this and asking "whos the target audience?". As a 37 year old male who loves deep sci fi of the likes of Dune, the initial impression was that this was made for a different reader than myself. A much younger one, but I was surprised at how dramatically the story gears up and becomes quite engaging by the end. I found myself pausing it frequently in the last act, waiting till the next day, the next drive to follow up on the latest events, not wanting it to end. There are many revelations and touching moments by the end which were very rewarding.

The highlight of the novel is undoubtedly the relationship of Cora and Ampersand. It feels oddly believable and entertaining, and the story felt lacking until they met one another. In fact, the beginning was a little weak. Ive seen other reviews comment on the lack of background on Cora, but I really dont feel like thats necessary. Its not that kind of story, its about their relationship. What did Romeo do before he met Juliet? Who cares? I actually felt like the character was established by just a few pages, and further back story would have weighed it down further. But once it sheds the dead weight of introduction, the story takes off.

I loved the aliens. They were extremely well written. I always "leaned in" when they were present. They were simultaneously vulnerable and omnipotent. Terrifying, yet scared. The concepts discussed were always intriguing. The realities of what an advanced race would do, could do, to a population like our own were clearly demonstrated.

Overall this was an enjoyable book from a first time author. Perhaps it is intimate knowledge of her channel, or knowing how difficult it is become published that let me ignore some weaker aspects of the book. But theres no denying that by the end I was deeply hooked. This novel felt like an avalanche to me, slowly building and building in momentum and impact. I look forward to a sequel or other novels by Ellis.

44 people found this helpful

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  • Miss Gibson
  • 2020-07-25

a tedious story even more tediously narrated

this reviewed well however after an hour I found I was skipping to the end of chapters as the story progression was incredibly slow, even worse the narrator was speaking so slowly seemingly trying to build tension with elongated pauses. speeding the app read speed up to 1.4 helped but after 2 hours the story just wasn't engaging enough. I think I was expecting more sci-fi and less 'days of our lives' drama.

41 people found this helpful

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  • Umar
  • 2020-07-23

A Well Done Character Driven First-Contact Story

This is a great debut book, not filled with the usual traps a lot of first-time authors fall into. It's not a spoiler to say it's a first-contact story. We sci-fi fans read a lot of those and so few stand out. Axiom's End stands out because it's an epic story with so much personality you find yourself caring. It's a character-driven story that brings up so many interesting questions about life, ethics, love. Lindsay Ellis has some balls imagining this story at a specific period of time we will all recognize and going "what if this happened.) At first, the time-period seems innocuous and for a few pages, you worry a story like this could become dated. But as the story plays out and you're carried along the journey with the protagonist you realize that this is one of those stories that might last the test time. We've got ourselves a fresh face in science fiction and can't wait to see what other things she has in store for us in the future.

Fan note: If you know Linsay Eliis work, get ready to crack up at a reference you just know she sat with her manuscript and went "I HAVE to put this in here." And it worked.

33 people found this helpful

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  • Lisbet Barrientos
  • 2020-07-22

Not usually a sci fi fan but...

That was the wildest ride I’ve been on in my most recent memory and it’s 2020

26 people found this helpful

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  • DoYouEvenPrime?
  • 2020-08-10

The narrator’s whiny voice is grating

4 hours in and she will not relent on being a shivering, nervous victim tone!

23 people found this helpful

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  • Lee W. Young
  • 2020-09-08

Overly dramatic narrator

I couldn't finish this one. The narration was driving me nuts. Everything was a crisis. Ms Willis needs some valium. Ugh.

17 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 2020-07-25

More than surface level sci-fi

This is not a story set in a sci-fi setting, it's more like the classics where it takes your reality and explores would happen if X was introduced. The book did not only deal with both the immediate response and the long term effects but also a expanding viewpoint after the realization.
Another point on the book not beeing surface level: it feels like the world already exsists and we are just takeing a peek into it, knowing there is much more behind the veil.
The world feels realistic. I can see how this could have happened in reality.

The narrator did a good job portraying emotions through the robot voice but there were instances when there was lot of robot talk where it could get tedious.
Didn't like the begining but after that it keept me interested all the way through.

10/10 well done, would recomend.
Sequel plz

14 people found this helpful

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  • Rj
  • 2020-07-23

I am a big Fan of Ellis

I love the Ender series. I love Old man’s war, and I liked this.

I was enveloped by the story throughout. I enjoyed Ellis’ writing style and the characters overall. I was surprised at times and I was correct at others which is nice. I don’t always want my expectations subverted.

I will definitely be waiting for additional books from Ellis and likely devour them just as quickly.

Some of the references felt a little too hard hammered. I didn’t care for the family relationships nor for how.... intense ... things were. There was a bit of an over dramatic pacing.

Despite this. Enjoyable. :) Ellis is worth a listen. It’ll go by quickly.
The narrator Stephanie Willis is fabulous.

11 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2020-07-22

Stellar debut for Ellis

I would be very surprised if the Hugo Awards didn't include this for next year. The book remains strong throughout, and has an interesting lead in for futher books.

11 people found this helpful

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2020-08-24

Messy

This book was all over the place. So many continuity errors. A lot of it didn't make any sense. Characters were not fleshed out very well. Unsatisfying ending.

I will proceed into this with two inconsequential spoilers. Just FYI if you want no spoilers at all.

I love Lindsay Ellis's videos on YouTube. Her videos have that perfect mix of informative and funny that keeps my attention. I have watched a couple of her videos multiple times and I am constantly referring people to them. So, I thought I would take a look at this book.

My big issue with most new books these days it that editing has gone right out the window. We excuse misspelled words and grammatically incorrect sentences. Continuity errors were extremely distracting. One example in particular was two paragraphs in which the first talked about the main character seeing red and blue lights in her rear view mirror, and the second paragraph saying they never showed up. Which was it?

Also, what kind of world does this take place in where if a giant something fell from the sky and somehow made a boom loud enough to break all the windows of a building, you would still be expected not to panic and stay at work... inside the building that has a bunch of broken windows... I can only suspend my belief so much when you are writing about events that are supposed to have taken place in our world 2007. Everyone would have evacuated that building in a panic.

The characters were not fleshed out very well. Most of the descriptors were just an attempt to make a joke that didn't really land.

I did appreciate the websites. She references two in the book and of course I typed in to see where they led. They were well put together and a brilliant addition to the narrative.

All in all, this was a poor attempt at a first book. If you were in a college course on writing maybe, it would be a good first draft, but it really needed to be worked on more before being thrust into the world.

9 people found this helpful

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  • Friot Clara
  • 2022-01-15

E.T. meets Arrival

I'm not a SciFi fan, but this brand of human sized story involving SciFi elements is really great. The writing needs a lot of polishing, however as a debut novel it's impressive. If you're curious and want to try something a bit outside of the box, grounded in reality yet involving elements associated with SciFi and extraterrestrial life, give the book a shot.

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  • Map Reduce
  • 2020-08-15

Not bad, but nothing special

The book started out well enough, continued somewhat better but the ending was forced and over-the-top. I will not spoil it. I'll just say it's not so much a first contact story but a Beauty and the Beast with aliens and a girl that has no reason to fall for the beast.