Truth of the Divine

A Novel

De: Lindsay Ellis

Narrado por: Abigail Thorn, Kaveh Taherian, Stephanie Willis

PLEASE NOTE: An earlier version of this audiobook had chapters out of order, but this error has been corrected.

Truth of the Divine is the latest alternate-history first-contact novel in the Noumena series from the instant New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times bestselling author Lindsay Ellis.

The human race is at a crossroads; we know that we are not alone, but details about the alien presence on Earth are still being withheld from the public. As the political climate grows more unstable, the world is forced to consider the ramifications of granting human rights to nonhuman persons. How do you define “person” in the first place?

Cora Sabino not only serves as the full-time communication intermediary between the alien entity Ampersand and his government chaperones but also shares a mysterious bond with him that is both painful and intimate in ways neither of them could have anticipated. Despite this, Ampersand is still keen on keeping secrets, even from Cora, which backfires on them both when investigative journalist Kaveh Mazandarani, a close colleague of Cora’s unscrupulous estranged father, witnesses far more of Ampersand’s machinations than anyone was meant to see.

Since Cora has no choice but to trust Kaveh, the two must work together to prove to a fearful world that intelligent, conscious beings should be considered persons, no matter how horrifying, powerful, or malicious they may seem. Making this case is hard enough when the public doesn’t know what it’s dealing with—and it will only become harder when a mysterious flash illuminates the sky, marking the arrival of an agent of chaos that will light an already-unstable world on fire.

With a voice completely her own, Lindsay Ellis deepens her realistic exploration of the reality of a planet faced with the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence, probing the essential questions of humanity and decency, and the boundaries of the human mind.

While asking the question of what constitutes a “person,” Ellis also examines what makes a monster.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

©2021 Lindsay Ellis (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Great Story, sometimes narration too quiet

I loved the story and having different narrators added a lot. Sometimes the performers would speak very quietly (because the characters are whispering or whatever) and that's nice and all if you're in an ideal listening environment, but it was hard to hear over ambient noise. Small complaint. I really dig the story and the characters very well written.

Remove the Filter?

A truly heartbreaking follow up which will probably become even better in hindsight as the story continues. It sets up interesting questions about intelligence and ways of communication that were mentioned in the first book and will probably be focused on for later installments. However, that voice filter that they use for the amygdalines detracts significantly from the performance. The standout performance from the last book was Stephanie Willis’s Ampersand voice (before and after he learns to make it sound more natural). It’s frustrating that they chose to dampen that to make the aliens sound more alien—especially since that contradicts the whole journey this book takes. There are unknowable differences between beings, but there’s also so much that is knowable and understandable; we may find comfort in the most surprising connections. Not trusting the performances and the human imagination does a disservice to listeners, and that’s what the robot filter does. There’s a brief bit towards the end where they left it off, and it was such a relief before they snapped right back to it. Not holding my breath for if, but I do hope that a version of this would be released without that filter, and that future installments bring back the respect that Willis’s performance deserves.

Somber, delightful, realistic. A new favorite.

This book comes with a content warning I can appreciate. Ellis writes honestly and accurately about the messiness and non-linear nature of trauma—especially in the face of something you don’t understand and can’t control when you have minimal support. Cora is a hot mess who could, in fact, benefit from a little saving. But she is not a trope. She is human and vulnerable and has faced unspeakable and not-at-all-romanticized trauma. Same is true of Ampersand. And Kaveh.

Ellis spends much of the his book building our relationships and personalities of supporting characters as well as world-building. It’s nice to see supporting characters evolve in opinion and personality in organic ways. Can’t wait for the third installment.

The Truth is... it's Devine!!

I loved this book, it's themes, it's characters. Truly relevant in today's context of fearing others, anxiety about a world changing beyond our control, and love that can hopefully conquer all. Lindsay Ellis' second book made me laugh, cry, and gasp in horror. Cannot wait to see what comes next

Better then the first book!

This book is gripping all the way though. I listened to the whole thing in under a week.

Smart, Contemporary and Jarring

I don't think I have ever read a story like this.

Ellis gives us a narative of deeply personal trauma filtered through the mind of a young woman thrust into an intense emotional connection to an extraterrestrial intelligence caught in the apex of global (and universal) geopolitics. The prose is so raw and scathing that I found it seeping into my mood and psychology in a way that other books have not. Being male myself and admittedly, perhaps like many, having read scifi primarily by male authors I found her voice to be both foreign and compelling in a way that left me asking what gaps in my perspective should be reevaluated and pondering what tragic real life experiences might have served as the author's creative substrate.

The book(s) take place in an immediate past present alternative history which gives the story a sense of familiarity and relevance that is frightening. The political, social and philosophical themes that serve as the framework for the story are bitingly contemporary and intellectually engaging.

This description might suggest that the story sacrifices scientific validity for emotional and political currency. I found this not to be the case as the author clearly has spent plenty of time thoughtfully constructing and researching themes of consciousness, post natural human evolution (think Yuval Noah Herari's Homo Deus), linguistics and quantum theory among others.

On the cutting edge of modern science fiction.

Ellis Is Now Among Speculative Fiction's Elite

I am utterly in awe of this author, Lindsay Ellis's mastery of the craft of both storytelling and linguistic talent. I was a big fan of this book's predecessor, Axiom's End, and despite its impressiveness, was skeptical about what a sequel might look like or add to the narrative but I am happily proven wrong. Although this novel, in my opinion, cannot work as a stand-alone story and heavily relies on the foundation built up in Axiom's End, it is no less impressive than if it were not a piece in a series. I compare it to arguing the worth of Tolkien's Two Towers against that of The Hobbit. If you find philosophical speculate fiction up your alley, this series will knock your socks off.
9/10

A Genius Allegory For The Politics of The 2010s.

This is so good. Every aspect of Truth of The Divine is well thought out to the point that even the content warning (that while true) is a clever misdirection to play with expectations. The author Lindsay Ellis has for over a decade been targeted by hate groups for the perceived crime of bring a prominent woman online. This gives her a unique on the ground perspective of how the US moved from the n neoliberalism of the Bush era to the radical populism of today. If you've ever heard people claiming that accused rapist Julian Assange is responsIble for the election of Donald Trump you will understand why after reading this wonderful political allegory.

The ugly truth

This is not an easy read, it's sad depressing and pretty damn entertaining! hope your emotions are ready for a workout!

What A Ride!

I could not put it down! it's exiting, compelling, it shattered and rebuilt me.