Axiom's End

A Novel

By: Lindsay Ellis

Narrated by: Abigail Thorn, Stephanie Willis

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

a romance novel dressed up as sci-fi

I can't believe I made it through the whole book. It was a struggle. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen or to discover why others liked it. Neither of those things happened. This book is a generic romance novel dressed up as science fiction. The strong, handsome foreigner takes the role of a lizard-like alien. And the trope even includes the whole "I looked into his big, beautiful eyes" line... except he's an alien. It was genuinely cringe-inducing at times. If you love romance novels and want to break into a new genre, give it a go. If you like hard science fiction (classic or contemporary) don't bother.

Kina tacky, mostly predictable

I feel like this book should fall in the YA category because its simplistic writing and the naiveté (leaning toward ignorance) of the lead character is something that could only be linked to a young person without the wisdom that only age can bring. Other than that the story was pretty predictable in that you could see most major plot points coming a good while before they happen and also everything is OVER explained to us like the reader is slow on the uptake. Characters in general werent that deep and it was altogether basic. It was mindlessly enjoyable enuff where i actually finished it insted of giving up on it. Wasnt BAD, but damn sure wasnt good... Only got it cus it was buy one get one anyway

Meh.

In the author's acknowledgments after the story's conclusion, she thanks a bunch of people for helping her bring this "word cloud" to life. It's a revealing description of her own work that put it in perspective for this listener. While a coherent narrative, there are a bunch of sci-fi terms basically name-dropped ("Dyson sphere" "great filter" etc.) that have little or no bearing on anything. It's as if the author felt the need to prove her sci-fi bonafides, with the same insecurity of un-belonging her main character feels. Ellis, if you read this, you don't have anything to prove, and it's better to throw out some of your word cloud terms than squish them in.

Aliens Feel Truly Alien

I've listened and read a lot of alien fiction in my lifetime and this one was done extremely well. This book never felt hollow, like when something doesn't need to be in the book, and everything felt real and tangible. Not only that, but this book goes above and beyond to create aliens that truly seem alien til the very end. Lindsay Ellis has surprised me as this book was captivating throughout where even the best writers sometimes lack. I'm very excited to read the sequel and anything more from Lindsay Ellis. Not only am I a fan of her video essays, but now I'm on the verge of being a fan of anything she produces into existence. Thank you for writing an alien book that I can recommend to people without bringing up a caveat like, "Just ignore the absurdity of the alien," or, "Once you get past the sexy alien stuff it gets pretty good," and it has the best accommodation I can think of; I feel comfortable recommending this to my Mom.

Divine!

I absolutely loved Axioms End! The entire story seemed well paced and I couldn't help falling in love with our protagonists. At points I was terrified, thrilled, laughed so hard I cried, actually cried, and of course fell in love. The twinge of bittersweetness from a relationship that defies even the stars brought me back to relisten to this book which isn't something I do often! I can't wait for the sequel! Lindsay is an author I not only follow for her well written works but her relatabilty on her channel. I always feel true companionship from her videos and can't wait to continue following her wherever the future leads!

The voice actors did a wonderful job of conveying the emotion in this work and I couldn't help but chuckle at Ampersand's Mac voice!

A great look into how Bush could've failed more

Couldn't put it down. A bit too nice to the CIA. but beyond that perfect.

Cool book, dude

Dug it, I liked the big dude, my boy &. Looking forward to the next one

A whole plate (of expectations exceeded)

I expected it to be good but it was so much better than I imagined. The plot was very well paced, it was written beautifully, characters feel believable; performances are strong and I think they help to bring an overall experience of listening to this book to a higher level. Highly recommend.

Rocky start but so good once it gets rolling

I'll start by saying I almost didn't finish this book. I'm not a fan of the main character. To me she seems more like a 16 year old teenager than a lower 20 something that dropped out of college (coming from a lower 20 something who dropped out of college). I can understand why she acts how she does but the part I do not enjoy is how she continues to act theat same way through nearly the entire story. I'm fine with not liking Kora as a character but to me it felt like there really wasn't a payoff where she learned from her experiences. A lot of the time I found myself thinking of questions that I would have asked if I were in her shoes that were asked way, way later.

That said, the story itself is fantastic and the design of the aliens is probably one of my favorite in any story. I enjoyed how this book tries to NOT humanize the aliens. Yet despite that, I still found myself empathizing with them regardless.

I can't wait for the next book!

Excellent

This has become one of my favorite books I've listened too, excellent writing and narration and I love the premise. I can't wait for the next book in the series!