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pizzasprite's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Eating disorder, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
Minor: Misogyny
mlovesbooks's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, and Suicide attempt
jjreads331's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Colonisation
robbie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Racism is clearly depicted as being communicated by racist characters, not the author. The author lists a more full content warning at the start of the book.alrauna's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Police brutality, and Islamophobia
Minor: Alcoholism
kharlan3's review against another edition
Graphic: Confinement, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Alcohol
cold_boy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
In particular, the way that this book depicts
The plot did struggle a bit, in that it was mainly characters both new and old reacting to the events of the previous book rather than tangibly expanding the world and story, but Ellis develops and explores this so well that it's hard to complain.
The only real issue I took with the book was the introduction of the new point-of-view character, Kaveh. I understood his importance to the plot and to Cora, but I just really didn't like him as a person, which made it hard for me to connect with him.
tl;dr this was a difficult book to read, but worth it. I'm very excited to see where Ellis takes the series from here.
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs
wrzlprmft's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Hate crime, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Genocide, Infertility, Torture, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
linguisticali's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Alcoholism
erynlasbelin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail