Axiom's End

A Novel

By: Lindsay Ellis

Narrated by: Abigail Thorn, Stephanie Willis

Length: 15 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Not usually a sci fi fan but...

That was the wildest ride I’ve been on in my most recent memory and it’s 2020

Read the Paper Version

I like the story from this a lot, it’s a very poignant exploration into human communication, and how much we understand ourselves versus the other. It starts a bit slow but picks up after the first few chapters, so if you’re having a hard time at the start, try to keep going. However, I wasn’t as pleased with the va of the book, she’s a little too emotive imo, and it sometimes distracts from the actual content of the story. I was aware the whole time that I was listening to an audio book and found it hard to get lost in the book itself. But, definitely give this book a try if aliens are your thing.

Great start for a series & performance by narrator

Stephanie Willis does a wonderful job narrating the book (with some parts by Abigail Thorn)!
I loved the story and can't wait to read the other books coming in the series.
I thought the story had a good flow and it was very endearing in some points, which I didn't expect as much. The world building worked for me as well and characters felt real.

Started slowly but...

... I became engrossed about 1/3 of the way in.
I don't know why she set it in 2007. Nothing in the story actually required that time period.
It's like Lindsay Ellis started writing so long ago and she didn't want to ipdate the pop culture references.

not bad

a bit overacted and the protagonist lacks a bit of agency. not bad, though. potatoes

Just great

Amazing work.

A great mix of high concept science fiction and an entertaining story. Excellent narration.

Great! loved it!

Great story and characters! A formidable debut for Lindsay Ellis as a solo author!

Beautiful

I don’t know how to describe this, but hooked me in and made me cry!

I'm glad I read this.

At first I thought I was listening to a first-contact story as told by Holden Caulfield, which I found pretty enjoyable. As I began to listen more intently, I swear I heard Samuel Delaney whispering into my head, asking all kinds of interesting questions.
I liked this book a lot.

fantastic first contact fiction

as far as first contact fiction goes, I rank this book up among Contact by Sagan. such a good deep dive into the emotional effects of fist contact with aliens and how we cannot really understand no matter how hard we try, while understanding fr deeper than we can possibly imagine. excellent read!