lachese's review against another edition
3.0
Spin was a big piece of silky rich chocolate ganache cake. Axis is a dollar store fruit cake with too much mushed together, and none of it working cohesively. It feels like a completely different genre than Spin. As a standalone novel, it would be mostly fine: an adventure novel with a "get the ring to Mordor" type storyline. The characters were not particularly relatable or well developed, and due to that I internally eye-rolled at a few parts. Some characters and organizations were clearly added for tension, but then disappeared halfway through the book, making their beginning presence completely pointless. Unlike Spin, in which every sentence, every single word was a finely crafted work of art, very little in this book had that cohesive beauty.
The ending of the book felt rushed, like the author just wanted to get the story over with to get to the "good stuff." Perhaps that was the entire point of this book. Perhaps that's why it wasn't written to the same quality as Spin, which was clearly a well developed labor of love. This book comes off as a quickly written bridge between Spin and Vortex (book 3). Perhaps that's all it is.
The ending of the book felt rushed, like the author just wanted to get the story over with to get to the "good stuff." Perhaps that was the entire point of this book. Perhaps that's why it wasn't written to the same quality as Spin, which was clearly a well developed labor of love. This book comes off as a quickly written bridge between Spin and Vortex (book 3). Perhaps that's all it is.
dan_at's review against another edition
2.0
Soap Opera with sci-fi elements. Totally boring till about 80% of the book. No comparison to the first book.
jessring's review against another edition
3.0
This was just ok for me. I loved Spin and enjoy the way Wilson writes. Axis starts out strong but seems to lose focus and momentum. It takes place 30 years after Spin ends and has a new cast of characters. My biggest problem is that there are still so many questions. This book seems a bit like filler. I'll read Vortex because I do like the story and I'm hoping some of my questions get answered.
titusfortner's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book, but it's nowhere near as amazing as Spin. The pacing was good, the characters interesting. There wasn't enough weight to what was happening. Perhaps book 3 will make this book feel more rewarding.
spinnerroweok's review against another edition
1.0
Aaack! A very disappointing sequel to Spin. I had to force myself through it. It was not really worth the time. I don't think I'll read the third book Vortex. I do recommend Spin. His characters in that book were engaging whereas the ones in Axis are flat and dull.
okenwillow's review against another edition
4.0
Wilson fait désormais partie de mes auteurs que j’aime d’amour et s’il arrive que certains romans soient un chouïa moins bien que d’autres, ou plus enthousiasmants pour X raisons, globalement, c’est un auteur qui décoiffe. Je l’ai découvert en 2007 avec Spin, la première partie de cette trilogie. Ce fut un coup de cœur immédiat. Avec Axis l’action reprend sur Equatoria, continent cosmopolite du Nouveau Monde, à des années-lumière de la Terre. Nous retrouvons certains personnages de Spin, mais l’intrigue est nouvelle. Une jeune femme dont le père à disparu quelques années plus tôt part sur sa trace et se met du même coup hors-la-loi en enquêtant sur les Quatrièmes Âge, ces humains dont la longévité à été modifiée par la technologie martienne et qui vivent cachés. Son chemin rencontre celui de Turk, un pilote d’avion qui a quitté la Terre en traînant une encombrante culpabilité, et un garçon de 12 ans, Isaac, dont la destinée s’avèrera exceptionnelle. Je n’en dévoilerai pas plus que ça, car le récit ressemble à un thriller avec gros suspense inclus. On tremble avec les personnages et on reste hypnotisé par leur pérégrinations. Wilson fait preuve d’une créativité et d’une imagination à toute épreuve, et le final en deviendrait presque bouleversant. Une suite efficace de Spin, peut-être un peu moins exaltante, car on a l’impression de lire une transition entre Spin et Vortex, la dernière partie.
woltram's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
ghilimei's review against another edition
2.0
A slow read and a disappointment to me as the sequel of Spin, which had me dreaming with my eyes opened about Hypotheticals and the disappearance of stars. Oh, well... Looking forward to Vortex :)
alibrareads's review against another edition
5.0
Listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it! This was shorter than the first book and was faster paced, and was more plot driven. In general, those are things I prefer when I’m reading! Book one was SO character driven and slow and focused on a lot of “mundane” slice of life things, though surprisingly I really liked it. This book had more of a straightforward plot, including uncovering the mystery of what happened to Lise’s dad, what is so special about the boy Isaac, and of course what is the nature of the strange ash falls on Equitoria.
I loved that we got to see things that were more “alien” in this book, whereas in the last book the aliens themselves were very esoteric and not really the focus of the story (of course, they are STILL very mysterious in this book, but we actually get to “see” them, so to say). I do wish we would have gotten to see a bit more of Equitoria rather than just being confined to one area of it that is very desert-like (I can’t recall if the entire planet is supposed to be like that, or just that continent). It did make the setting feel a bit plain. There were some very freaky scenes that gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I just really enjoyed seeing more of the alien side of this story.
The ending did feel a little abrupt, and there are still questions the reader will probably have about the Hypotheticals that aren’t answered. But I was interested the entire time reading this, I like the narrator Scott Brick, and the faster pace/shorter length doesn’t leave too much time to get bogged down or bored with anything (in my experience with it anyway). It was great! I just read the blurb for book 3 and WOW, I can’t wait to read the conclusion to this saga!
YouTube Review: https://youtu.be/ZMQX17DmNDM
I loved that we got to see things that were more “alien” in this book, whereas in the last book the aliens themselves were very esoteric and not really the focus of the story (of course, they are STILL very mysterious in this book, but we actually get to “see” them, so to say). I do wish we would have gotten to see a bit more of Equitoria rather than just being confined to one area of it that is very desert-like (I can’t recall if the entire planet is supposed to be like that, or just that continent). It did make the setting feel a bit plain. There were some very freaky scenes that gave me the heebie-jeebies, and I just really enjoyed seeing more of the alien side of this story.
The ending did feel a little abrupt, and there are still questions the reader will probably have about the Hypotheticals that aren’t answered. But I was interested the entire time reading this, I like the narrator Scott Brick, and the faster pace/shorter length doesn’t leave too much time to get bogged down or bored with anything (in my experience with it anyway). It was great! I just read the blurb for book 3 and WOW, I can’t wait to read the conclusion to this saga!
YouTube Review: https://youtu.be/ZMQX17DmNDM