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fifth_magpie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Antisemitism and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Islamophobia, Rape, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism
elysareadsitall's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
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
2.0
I read 75% of this book. I read as much of Cora's PTSD and suicide attempts and Kaveh's helplessness and feelings of guilt as I could, and then I skipped ahead to the last chapter and newspaper insert. I don't understand what happened between the first book and the second. Book one became one of my favorite books because the first contact aspect was fascinating, the pace was fast, and the question of personhood was intriguing. In book two, the aliens' personhood is the big question, but the book barely focuses on that part. The majority of the book is stuck in Cora's and (to a lesser extent) Kaveh's trauma Their inner thoughts and problematic relationship would have been fine to explore, but not this much! I think the book completely lacks focus and reads more like literary fiction that focuses on trauma than science fiction.
I was extremely disappointed in this sequel. However, because the styles are so different, I'd give a third book a chance if she writes one. I don't know if I'd be motivated to pick up anything else she writes though.
I was extremely disappointed in this sequel. However, because the styles are so different, I'd give a third book a chance if she writes one. I don't know if I'd be motivated to pick up anything else she writes though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Racism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Self harm
madmadmaddymad's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’m very captivated by this world and these characters, and amazingly, somehow, I’m still rooting for Ampersand and Cora’s relationship. But Ampersand is hard to love in this book.
Somewhere around the 200 pg mark we get the reveal thatAmpersand has kept Obelus alive, and when Cora is rightfully horrified by this information, Ampersand tells her he’ll modify her mind and suppress the memories. AMPERSAND, THAT IS THE REDDEST FLAG.
Lindsay please. I just wanted a quirky alien/human romance. Please have him snap out of it.
New characters introduced in this book really won me over. I find Kaveh to be extremely easy to love, and he treats Cora well. He also treats Nikola well! He’s probably my new favorite character, even if he can be a little bit of a goofball, and his positive outlook can get in the way of the realism sometimes, I found myself smiling like an idiot when I read from his perspective. I also liked watching the budding romance(?) between Kaveh and Nikola. Maybe that’s not what the author intended, but I felt that they had just as strong of a connection as Ampersand and Cora’s. (Maybe stronger!)
This series reminds me of Lilith’s Brood by Octavia Butler, not in the plot or the themes necessarily, but just the general vibe. The lens it casts on human nature and the argument of what makes someone a person, how society can endure when we come face-to-face with a spacefaring civilization whose goals are different than our own. It’s insightful and enthralling and I hope to read more of this series!
Also, literally, the sex between human characters was so. Uncomfortable. Please, for the monsterfuckers. Two entire books and nothing more intimate than cuddling has happened! I’M WAITING.
Somewhere around the 200 pg mark we get the reveal that
Lindsay please. I just wanted a quirky alien/human romance. Please have him snap out of it.
New characters introduced in this book really won me over. I find Kaveh to be extremely easy to love, and he treats Cora well. He also treats Nikola well! He’s probably my new favorite character, even if he can be a little bit of a goofball, and his positive outlook can get in the way of the realism sometimes, I found myself smiling like an idiot when I read from his perspective. I also liked watching the budding romance(?) between Kaveh and Nikola. Maybe that’s not what the author intended, but I felt that they had just as strong of a connection as Ampersand and Cora’s. (Maybe stronger!)
This series reminds me of Lilith’s Brood by Octavia Butler, not in the plot or the themes necessarily, but just the general vibe. The lens it casts on human nature and the argument of what makes someone a person, how society can endure when we come face-to-face with a spacefaring civilization whose goals are different than our own. It’s insightful and enthralling and I hope to read more of this series!
Also, literally, the sex between human characters was so. Uncomfortable. Please, for the monsterfuckers. Two entire books and nothing more intimate than cuddling has happened! I’M WAITING.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Hate crime and Xenophobia
Minor: Rape
pizzasprite's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Murder, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Ableism, Eating disorder, Islamophobia, Sexual content, and Addiction
Minor: Misogyny
slimy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A wildly different book in both tone and purpose from the first of this series. Truly they feel like night and day. Raises some of the same types of questions as the first in regards to humanity and our place in the universe. In honesty, I much preferred the first book. This second lacks a lot of the witty humor that made the first approachable while still feeling like a true sci-fi novel. It does however carry the extremely well-researched and thoughtful construction of worlds, both ours (as in America, 2008) and alien.
We get a second perspective in this book with the addition of Kaveh, who begins helping our main character Cora.
Kaveh's perspective is hideous and nauseating. He’s often lusting after Cora in strange and uncomfortable language, fully acknowledging the inappropriate nature of his relationship with her and deciding to continue taking sexual and manipulative advantage of her anyway. He enjoys increasing her dependency on him. He does not take her mental illness seriously, and actually uses it to push for sex. I read one scene in particular as straight up rape. I could not empathize with his character after that point, and am not sure why exactly the choice to make him do that was made. That is really the only glaring issue I had with this book, but it is a huge deal.
We get a second perspective in this book with the addition of Kaveh, who begins helping our main character Cora.
Kaveh's perspective is hideous and nauseating. He’s often lusting after Cora in strange and uncomfortable language, fully acknowledging the inappropriate nature of his relationship with her and deciding to continue taking sexual and manipulative advantage of her anyway. He enjoys increasing her dependency on him. He does not take her mental illness seriously, and actually uses it to push for sex. I read one scene in particular as straight up rape. I could not empathize with his character after that point, and am not sure why exactly the choice to make him do that was made. That is really the only glaring issue I had with this book, but it is a huge deal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness
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