Reviews with content warning for Grief - Truth of the Divine

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Truth of the Divine by Lindsay Ellis

29 reviews

frahhn's review

dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Very torn—I liked the introduction of a second POV because Cora can grate on me, sort of feel like she is Bella Swan-esque. After two books I thought I would have a better sense of who this character is, but in book two she’s been through so much trauma that dealing with that is the focus rather than further exploring the character and encouraging her growth. The character herself expresses a total inability to know herself so maybe it’s fully intentional and I just don’t like it! That said, I think this was the better ending between the two books, and I’m really hoping the next book will have major growth for Cora and Ampersand (Jude), or if not, that the tragedy of being too alien to each other is played out meaningfully. Going back to the dual POV, I was pretty torn about the relationship that develops—I liked Kaveh a TON and then felt more meh once romance and sex was involved, but not enough to be unmoved by the really devastating development towards the end of the book. I really loved the introduction of Nic and his and Kaveh’s relationship throughout the text. I think Nic is my favorite character in the series yet, and I’m really curious to see how addiction will be handled in the third book, with Kaveh’s words and lessons in mind. Nit picky stuff, I need the word existential to stop being in the text (lol sorry! I feel the same about GRRM’s use of jape) and also sometimes the application of modern terms and modern discourse are jarring to me—I know the alt-right has existed forever with journalists and more covering them forever but I would have appreciated slightly different terms/adjacent terms for some of the contemporary phenomena happening in an alternative, earlier time that obviously serves as a comment on ours—Takes me out of the narrative a little, and I even often agree with the politics. I think it would then work a little better for the purposes of an engaging science fiction novel in addition to being contemporary political commentary—which of course informs any book fiction or not—but I think working well as both the novel and the commentary is what makes a classic? Anyway, hoping the next book goes full “I <3 My Monster Boyfriend” per a piece of LE merch :) and that Cora’s dad gets some supervillain-esque send-off akin to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

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htsrokin's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lastcomment314's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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nelldiaz's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book builds of the first book and takes it further! I'm so excited for the rest of the series. This book made me cry.

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claremcg's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Still interested in the world and the bigger questions this book raises, but overall it wasn't as strong as Axiom's End. The plot felt more aimless and contrived at points and the alien characters less completing. The biggest drawback for me was how dark the content matter got, and how uncritically much of it was presented. The reading experience was so dark I almost gave up reading at multiple points.

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pizzasprite's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I have strongly conflicting feelings about this book.

It a took a while for me to get around to reading this one, since the plot of Axiom's End was so heavily based in American politics, which I am completely uninterested in as a non-American. However, Truth of the Divine does a better job exploring the international implications of first contact than Axiom's End did. The first half of this book was, well, divine - I was extremely interested in the relationship between Cora and Ampersand, and the urgency of resolving the main political conflicts continued on from the first book. I thought Kaveh was a much-needed different perspective to contrast Cora's limited viewpoints. I think that telling the story of first contact from a journalist's POV much more interesting than from a "militarist" perspective. I also loved Nikolas! The alien culture that Ellis has fabricated is truly fascinating, I almost wish this series was all about aliens with no human characters. The way Cora's PTSD and panic attacks were depicted were equally heartbreaking and sympathetic. This book depicts mental illness more earnestly than anything I have read recently.

The second half of the book is much weaker. The tension between Cora and Ampersand dissolved completely, since Ampersand is largely absent beyond Act 2. The sexual relationship between Cora and Kaveh made me so, so, so uncomfortable. It felt very gratuitous and came out of nowhere, almost like an editor insisted on their romance. In the author's notes, Ellis mentions that Kaveh used to be two characters, and you can definitely see that in the writing. There were many instances in which I felt like I could not continue reading, because their age difference and unbalanced power dynamic made me feel that uncomfortable. Early on, it's established that Cora feels very lonely, and needs another human to talk to: if Kaveh had remained her friend/mentor, this dynamic would have been perfect. However, the fact that they begin sleeping together makes their bond feel extremely creepy and toxic. This makes it difficult to "root" for Kaveh as a protagonist. I wish the book focused on the relationship between Ampersand and Cora, especially since their romance is alluded to early in the book. I suspect/hope this will be explored more in the next book.

I will probably read the next book in the series, to ultimately see what happens to Ampersand. But this one definitely left a foul taste in my mouth.

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peytonktracy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This book was utterly unflinching in its brutal portrayal of PTSD, grief, and processing incomprehensibly huge emotional challenges and quandaries. It was deeply uncomfortable at times too for a whole multitude of reasons, most of which had to do with the author's very direct approach to these topics. I really enjoyed getting to witness Ellis' take on how the world might react to First Contact, the beautiful and ugly parts, and it felt so realistic at times it was easy to forget it hadn't happened. I also really loved Kaveh as a character and seeing his journey throughout the story as well. I only had two small complaints, and one of which doesn't even feel like a complaint but more of an observation and maybe even praise for Ellis' writing. That one is that sometimes it felt like we, the readers, were so thoroughly encapsulated in Cora's head, that we were also shrouded by her mental illness and it was hard at time to grasp the events happening because we were viewing it through the stormy emotional turmoil of her panic attacks. But this was where having Kaveh as a character and counter-perspective to Cora's really excelled because we could see what was happening from outside that hurricane as well. My second complaint was that I missed Ampersand in this book a lot. I was so invested in their journey as well, and because the plot was what it was (no spoilers) it felt like they just kinda popped in and out, and I hope we see more of them in the third book - which I will definitely seek out.

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hanarama's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Book at a glance:
• Human/alien relationship
• Polyamorous
• Early 2000 alternate history
• First Contact
• CWs: attempted suicide, suicidal thoughts, self harm, toxic relationships, mental illness, panic attacks, gun violence, racism, Islamophobia, death

Several months following the events of Axiom’s End, Cora is suffering from ptsd. She has panic attacks, depression, and night terrors. She relies on Ampersand for support and medication. She struggles to relax and to pull her mind away from what happened with Obelisk.

Meanwhile the American government struggles to determine how to treat the aliens, politically. A growing conservative movement is pushing for a Third Option, that would treat the aliens as people, but with "different" rights than humans. Kaveh, a investigative journalist and immigrant fears that this will open the door to stripping humans of rights. When another alien makes landfall, Cora and Kaveh are thrown together and must fight for the humanity of extraterrestrial beings.

I enjoyed Truth of the Divine more than I did Axiom’s End. The expanded cast helps to flesh out the world building. Kaveh and Nikola's friendship helps to drive the plot. And Kaveh provides a much needed dose of idealism and optimism to the story. Cora's mental illness is portrayed realistically, to painful effect. Her relationship with Ampersand is written as increasingly toxic for both characters, and as he has been her only support system, both characters seem set for a downward spiral. Without Kaveh for hope and levity, the story could easily have been too bleak.

Though Ellis writes compelling internal narration, she flounders with dialog. When not about the aliens, the fate of humanity, and other heavy topics, the characters often feel stilted and forced. I found myself cringing at the dialog more than a couple or times, it felt so awkward.

Despite this, Ellis knows how to set high stakes. The story is steeped in political issues. Though set in an alternate recent past, the story draws on today's most pressing issues of human rights. While I felt that Ellis wrote a good sci-fi that evokes human rights issues and the looming climate crisis, it may feel a little too on the nose for some readers. By pulling inspiration from real issues, I felt that the story was given a greater sense of gravity.

The ending hits hard. That she gives Kaveh the last chapter felt particularly important to me as it seems as though the series appears to be moving towards bleaker territory.

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netthauser's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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momo916's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Ellis covers a lot of ground in this book, from PTSD to the very nature of human society. The tone is, of course, much darker than the first book, but it feels appropriate given the escalating stakes and the unavoidable trauma incurred by the world she has created. This book was much harder for me to finish than the first was, laden as it is with grief, loss, and a staggeringly disappointing view of humanity (or at least the United States) it paints. I recently described this series as the nexus of Phantom of the Opera, aliens, and social commentary, but that comment absolutely indicates more brevity than is accurate. It is all of those things, that is true, but this whole journey is laced with such complexity and darkness that it feels incomplete. It is very well done, cynical as it is.

My only true gripe is that, while their presence was appropriate given the circumstances, some of the social commentary quips were a little on the nose. Granted, their absence would have been notable, so I'm not sure if this is just me being nitpicky. Though this is not at all indicative of poor writing or storytelling, I also did at times get a bit annoyed at Cora

for her pigheadedness and myopic pursuit of reunification with Ampersand at all cost, especially since it did eventually cost her the man she loves

.

I have rated this book 4.75 stars because I reserve a 5 star rating for books that I would immediately read again. This doesn't necessarily mean that I think the other books I have rated at 5 stars were better than this one.

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