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Noumena #3
Apostles of Mercy
Apostles of Mercy is the new alternate history first contact novel from the instant New York Times, Wall Street Journal and LA Times bestselling Lindsay Ellis.First Contact has not been going well. The nations of Earth are rapidly militarizing against the arrival of the Superorganism, an alien civilization that promises to destroy humanity before it can develop into a real threat. The Superorganism has done it before–to their distant transient relatives–and they could easily do it again. But the alien Ampersand and his human interpreter Cora Sabino are done with trying to save humanity from both the Superorganism and itself; to them, this is a civilization that does not deserve to be saved.When a strange new form of communication between the two of them reveals to Cora how alien Ampersand truly is, she begins to question her blind devotion. But she soon learns of a danger that may force them to leave Earth before either of them are a group of superorganism enemies that have been wreaking havoc on Earth for decades. Existence on the margins has made them desperate and bent on revenge against any of Ampersand's race whose path they cross. Before Cora and Ampersand can make their final escape, these hostile aliens stage an attack, and take that which is most dear to both of them.Ampersand's enemies will not consider any form of truce; the greatest threat to them is not from the Superorganism, but from an increasingly fearful and violent human civilization newly aware of their existence. Cora and Ampersand must go to extreme measures to take back what was stolen and prevent wholesale human extermination–but in doing so they may be no better than the civilizations they are trying to escape.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published June 4, 2024
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June 13, 2024
6/12/24 update:
FINISHED! HOLY SHIT! this is probably my favorite book of the series so far. after how much i didnt care for cora in truth of the divine, I'm glad to say her character in this was is far more tolerable. she felt more grounded and mature, which makes sense considering how long its been since the events of the first book.
ellis continues to be really good at making characters that are believable and so lifelike. even ampersand and nikola and the other aliens introduced here, for all the incomprehensible-ness of their existence outside of science-fiction, their actions and motivations feel real. i could understand why they and the humans acted the way they did. even if it pissed me off sometimes.
cora and ampersand's relationship gets... better, but they probably are on a one track route to dangerous codependency. paris was a lovely addition to the book, and i can only hope that's also something that continues (as, iirc, this is a five book series now and not three... riiiight?)
im feel relieved to love this book the way i do. if it continued going downhill i would have been so grumpy about it, esp after "court of wanderers" this year was such a bust for me.
6/5/24 update:
i have it. we're really in it now, boys...
original review:
ah shit here we go again
FINISHED! HOLY SHIT! this is probably my favorite book of the series so far. after how much i didnt care for cora in truth of the divine, I'm glad to say her character in this was is far more tolerable. she felt more grounded and mature, which makes sense considering how long its been since the events of the first book.
ellis continues to be really good at making characters that are believable and so lifelike. even ampersand and nikola and the other aliens introduced here, for all the incomprehensible-ness of their existence outside of science-fiction, their actions and motivations feel real. i could understand why they and the humans acted the way they did. even if it pissed me off sometimes.
cora and ampersand's relationship gets... better, but they probably are on a one track route to dangerous codependency. paris was a lovely addition to the book, and i can only hope that's also something that continues (as, iirc, this is a five book series now and not three... riiiight?)
im feel relieved to love this book the way i do. if it continued going downhill i would have been so grumpy about it, esp after "court of wanderers" this year was such a bust for me.
6/5/24 update:
i have it. we're really in it now, boys...
original review:
ah shit here we go again
July 15, 2024
3.5 stars
The strongest thing about this series is that it’s so different and the aliens are REALLY alien. Honestly I’m starting to find Cora a bit tiresome, along with the consistently icky male characters that populate these books.
Reading some other reviews it seems there are people interpreting some metaphors that I just don’t get from the story, but whatever; there’s no doubt that in the game of who are the real monsters here the humans are very much in the running alongside both sets of aliens.
I felt this book was a bit more disconnected than the first two, the story splitting in some odd directions. I was engaged while reading it, but I’m not exactly sure I can say I liked it. I don’t think it will be to everyone’s taste, but if you have been following this series you will obviously want to read it.
The strongest thing about this series is that it’s so different and the aliens are REALLY alien. Honestly I’m starting to find Cora a bit tiresome, along with the consistently icky male characters that populate these books.
Reading some other reviews it seems there are people interpreting some metaphors that I just don’t get from the story, but whatever; there’s no doubt that in the game of who are the real monsters here the humans are very much in the running alongside both sets of aliens.
I felt this book was a bit more disconnected than the first two, the story splitting in some odd directions. I was engaged while reading it, but I’m not exactly sure I can say I liked it. I don’t think it will be to everyone’s taste, but if you have been following this series you will obviously want to read it.
June 21, 2024
Rating: 3.3 / 5
Friends, Romans, Countrymen...
I did not like this book.
Seeing as I was on this ship when it first sailed and a strong supporter of both the first and much-disliked second book, I suppose that an explanation is in order, no?
So...phew, we start off the story with a flashback from 2005 for an event unrelated to the first two books, but that gives us some backstory into the main conflict of this one--hint hint, it has to do with the "transients" we've only alluded to before in the previous books.
Ahem, but anyway, Cora's storyline picks up over a year later from where the events of Book 2 left us off. She and Ampersand are continuing with their proposed experiment for "high language", but...well, let's just say that a lot has changed during that timeskip and...that's my first PROBLEM with this book.
A timeskip happens, sure, and there are bound to be changes, sure...
But they are NOT explained well.
Like...I think part of it is pressure from her readers, honestly. Ellis got a not-so-great reaction with the direction she chose to go in for Truth of the Divine, but in order to backpedal from that decision, perhaps a timeskip was just acheat easy way to do so. Honestly, I usually don't mind those things that much, as long as they're realistic and EXPLAINED.
In this case, what's NOT accurately or satisfactorily accounted for is Cora's almost complete 180 personality change. Like...remember how in Book 2 she was dependent, mistrustful, whiny, desperate, obsessed, traumatized, and basically just mentally unhealthy in her interactions with everyone and her relationship with Kaveh? Well, considering what happened at the end of TotD, you'd think that she'd be even MORE so now, but...NOPE! Cora's all of a sudden cold, calculating, indifferent, distant, calm, and, most shocking of all, not even interested in Ampersand anymore, and in fact kinda wants to just get away from him and live a normal life.
Hold. the. FUCK. up!!!!!!
First off, let me just say that it's not that I don't believe that at least SOME of these changes could come about in her personality, but why?! There is some minor mention of reading-between-the-lines of why this is happening, but this is NOT the direction that things were going in at the end of Book 2, and it's a HUGE change without explanation. I get that having closer interactions with an ET can be traumatizing and too much for a human--like Ampersand warned Cora that it would be--but even so, from a narrative point of view, it NEEDS more time to be explained than what the author is giving us. Like, in the first 100 pages or so, we only get one minor (1/2 page) traumatic-ish experience between Cora and Ampersand as they attempt to share a consciousness--the rest are only alluded to--and then the rest of the time is just Cora trying to avoid Ampersand or acting as a translator for him.
Um. Nope. Nope, I can't get behind a character like that, especially not without due reason. If anything, it's like she's the ANTI-Cora from before, with Ellis just wanting to set the stage for her becoming emotionless and more ET-like herself, but it. doesn't. mesh. well. (Especially not with how Cora WANTS to be in a relationship.)
And, oh yeah, let's talk about that.
Paris.
Yup, Kaveh's old friend, whom we briefly meet in TotD. Turns out that she and Cora are going to be together now. Yep. Forget the wishes for weird-but-"it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world"-alien-sex that you were hoping for, folks. Instead, we've got an interracial same-sex couple, which...in a general context I totally support and wouldn't mind reading about, but in THIS context just feels completely out of left field here.
Basically, it feels like Ellis wants a new Kaveh on the scene, this time a-la-strong-Black-woman.
Paris, I'm sure, is FINE as a character, but personally I just found myself NOT caring about her at all, and not caring if Nikola would kill her on sight just because.
Because, heck, she's in this BOOK just because, so why not kill her off just BECAUSE?
And then, also, there's just the treatment of other characters, old and new alike.
First off...BARNEY? Who sets out a CHAIR for Paris to visit Nikola? And Nikola asking Paris to come CLOSER to show him Kaveh's notes through the GLASS WALL of his PRISON?
SOUND. FUCKING. FAMILIAR?!?!?!?!?!
Also, Luciana and Cora? Remember all the rifts between them and all that drama?
Oh yeah, FORGET THAT.
And how much of an asshole-boss-but-still-boss CIA agent Sol was?
NOPE! Just have him be accused of wanting to fuck Cora as part of his intro, then relegate him as a carry-on accessory, pretty much.
Anyone else?
Well, Ampersand himself just becomes more and more distant as a presence, but THAT, at least, I could accept as Ellis wanting to write about what a genuine ET presence would be like, without "anthropomorphizing" him anymore. While this does make it harder and harder to care about him as a character, is Cora's character could only HAVE PICKED UP THE SLACK FROM THAT, then we'd honestly be good to go.
__________
*sighs* All of these things, I realize, are mainly character-based, and therefore should not be as central to the plot, except...
Yeeeeeah, they totally are.
Like...*sighs and sighs and sighs again*
It's slow-moving. Or, at least it felt like it to me. Yeah, there's the whole "transients are also here and they're dangerous" plot to contend with, but, honestly, I didn't care. It just felt way less personal and urgent than the other plots, especially since, as I've learned over and over again from reading, if you don't care about the characters, then even the best plot in the world kinda won't matter.
*shrugs* Just saying. Just saying. Just saying.
So, anyway, brainchild though this may be and intended as Ellis's comeback to appease more fans, I don't like the direction that it's going in. I'm sure that there's an eventual harbour where this ship is bound to sail, and perhaps it will be Ellis's magnum opus in one way or another; but, personally, I'm ready to step off this ship here and now, please and thank you very much.
Pre-Read Review:
Oh. My. GAWD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friends, Romans, Countrymen...
I did not like this book.
Seeing as I was on this ship when it first sailed and a strong supporter of both the first and much-disliked second book, I suppose that an explanation is in order, no?
So...phew, we start off the story with a flashback from 2005 for an event unrelated to the first two books, but that gives us some backstory into the main conflict of this one--hint hint, it has to do with the "transients" we've only alluded to before in the previous books.
Ahem, but anyway, Cora's storyline picks up over a year later from where the events of Book 2 left us off. She and Ampersand are continuing with their proposed experiment for "high language", but...well, let's just say that a lot has changed during that timeskip and...that's my first PROBLEM with this book.
A timeskip happens, sure, and there are bound to be changes, sure...
But they are NOT explained well.
Like...I think part of it is pressure from her readers, honestly. Ellis got a not-so-great reaction with the direction she chose to go in for Truth of the Divine, but in order to backpedal from that decision, perhaps a timeskip was just a
In this case, what's NOT accurately or satisfactorily accounted for is Cora's almost complete 180 personality change. Like...remember how in Book 2 she was dependent, mistrustful, whiny, desperate, obsessed, traumatized, and basically just mentally unhealthy in her interactions with everyone and her relationship with Kaveh? Well, considering what happened at the end of TotD, you'd think that she'd be even MORE so now, but...NOPE! Cora's all of a sudden cold, calculating, indifferent, distant, calm, and, most shocking of all, not even interested in Ampersand anymore, and in fact kinda wants to just get away from him and live a normal life.
Hold. the. FUCK. up!!!!!!
First off, let me just say that it's not that I don't believe that at least SOME of these changes could come about in her personality, but why?! There is some minor mention of reading-between-the-lines of why this is happening, but this is NOT the direction that things were going in at the end of Book 2, and it's a HUGE change without explanation. I get that having closer interactions with an ET can be traumatizing and too much for a human--like Ampersand warned Cora that it would be--but even so, from a narrative point of view, it NEEDS more time to be explained than what the author is giving us. Like, in the first 100 pages or so, we only get one minor (1/2 page) traumatic-ish experience between Cora and Ampersand as they attempt to share a consciousness--the rest are only alluded to--and then the rest of the time is just Cora trying to avoid Ampersand or acting as a translator for him.
Um. Nope. Nope, I can't get behind a character like that, especially not without due reason. If anything, it's like she's the ANTI-Cora from before, with Ellis just wanting to set the stage for her becoming emotionless and more ET-like herself, but it. doesn't. mesh. well. (Especially not with how Cora WANTS to be in a relationship.)
And, oh yeah, let's talk about that.
Paris.
Yup, Kaveh's old friend, whom we briefly meet in TotD. Turns out that she and Cora are going to be together now. Yep. Forget the wishes for weird-but-"it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world"-alien-sex that you were hoping for, folks. Instead, we've got an interracial same-sex couple, which...in a general context I totally support and wouldn't mind reading about, but in THIS context just feels completely out of left field here.
Basically, it feels like Ellis wants a new Kaveh on the scene, this time a-la-strong-Black-woman.
Paris, I'm sure, is FINE as a character, but personally I just found myself NOT caring about her at all, and not caring if Nikola would kill her on sight just because.
Because, heck, she's in this BOOK just because, so why not kill her off just BECAUSE?
And then, also, there's just the treatment of other characters, old and new alike.
First off...BARNEY? Who sets out a CHAIR for Paris to visit Nikola? And Nikola asking Paris to come CLOSER to show him Kaveh's notes through the GLASS WALL of his PRISON?
SOUND. FUCKING. FAMILIAR?!?!?!?!?!
Also, Luciana and Cora? Remember all the rifts between them and all that drama?
Oh yeah, FORGET THAT.
And how much of an asshole-boss-but-still-boss CIA agent Sol was?
NOPE! Just have him be accused of wanting to fuck Cora as part of his intro, then relegate him as a carry-on accessory, pretty much.
Anyone else?
Well, Ampersand himself just becomes more and more distant as a presence, but THAT, at least, I could accept as Ellis wanting to write about what a genuine ET presence would be like, without "anthropomorphizing" him anymore. While this does make it harder and harder to care about him as a character, is Cora's character could only HAVE PICKED UP THE SLACK FROM THAT, then we'd honestly be good to go.
__________
*sighs* All of these things, I realize, are mainly character-based, and therefore should not be as central to the plot, except...
Yeeeeeah, they totally are.
Like...*sighs and sighs and sighs again*
It's slow-moving. Or, at least it felt like it to me. Yeah, there's the whole "transients are also here and they're dangerous" plot to contend with, but, honestly, I didn't care. It just felt way less personal and urgent than the other plots, especially since, as I've learned over and over again from reading, if you don't care about the characters, then even the best plot in the world kinda won't matter.
*shrugs* Just saying. Just saying. Just saying.
So, anyway, brainchild though this may be and intended as Ellis's comeback to appease more fans, I don't like the direction that it's going in. I'm sure that there's an eventual harbour where this ship is bound to sail, and perhaps it will be Ellis's magnum opus in one way or another; but, personally, I'm ready to step off this ship here and now, please and thank you very much.
Pre-Read Review:
Oh. My. GAWD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 26, 2024
June 26th, 2024:
This installment is probably my favorite so far. Maybe I’ll go into detail after I sorted my thoughts.
December 10th, 2023:
FINALLY!!!!
I am SO excited for this after thinking it might not be continued… Thank you, Lindsay Ellis for not letting us down!
Brb talking to my therapist to prepare for this next installment
This installment is probably my favorite so far. Maybe I’ll go into detail after I sorted my thoughts.
December 10th, 2023:
FINALLY!!!!
I am SO excited for this after thinking it might not be continued… Thank you, Lindsay Ellis for not letting us down!
Brb talking to my therapist to prepare for this next installment
July 15, 2024
He loved her. Not in a way that wanted or expected anything from her, not in a way that he wanted to make her his. Not even in a way that wanted love in return. He simply loved her.
July 9, 2024
Definitely the best one so far
June 17, 2024
You can tell parts of this book (and the second one) had to be condensed or rushed but still very good. Can’t believe there was no alien sex scene WHO SAID THAT
June 12, 2024
Wooooow what an awesome continuation. The stakes are constantly being raised and Ellis’ writing only gets better. That ending 😮💨🤯 cannot wait to see Lindsay Ellis in person tonight
April 29, 2024
Between you and me I am never quite sure where this series is going to go when I pick up one of the book, I lock in for an experience and hope for the best. In this installment we obviously have to spend some time with characters processing the character death that was at the end of the second book, something that gutted me more than I thought was going to happen. That's not the only thing going on though. We have to deal with the fact that Ampersand and Co definitely aren't the only aliens in the universe, but they also aren't the only aliens on Earth and what those implications have for our characters. Once again Ellis does a really good job balancing the human characters and their alien counterparts; interjecting the political backdrop of the mid aughts that is the setting. What we're building toward in terms of a series plot still feels mostly nebulous in favor of zeroing in on the questions that this specific book wants to answer. It's something that I think works, not only for this book, but the series overall. Like really good TV it has the sense of telling a contained story that will ultimately benefit the overall season arc. It's also just very refreshing to have a science fiction series that is so grounded on Earth and the characters having to wrestle with the issues they face with resources that feel relatable in an era that still feels close but also has a thin veneer of nostalgia.
September 3, 2024
This novel continues in a direction I was very uncertain of at first. While the first novel, Axioms End, provided quite a fresh persepctive of First Contact, I found the second novel a little lacking in clear direction and purpose. I do not need my novels to have a clear endpoint or a guessable ending, but especially now that I have read this one as well, I feel a bit lost.
The second half of this book is by far the superior half, with a quite interesting last quarter and a few nice new developments, yet the new characters kind of didn't really click for me. Especially Paris, who is quite cool and interesting on the surface, lacks what it needs to keep me gripped to her storyline. Nikola has lost some of his bite as well, not really seeming the most interesting character anymore, as I felt he was in Book 2. I did like the addition of Saul as a new POV, but only because I am a sucker for a good spy story, and his covert op with Cora was my favorite part of the novel, especially because of the strange and uncomfortable dynamic between them. Ampersand continues to be a highligt and Cora's chapters shine among the rest, but I just couldn't get into it like with the other novels.
(The 2 stars are very reluctant, I would much rather give it 3 but I already gave Truth of the Divine that rating and I liked this one quite a bit less, so I guess it'll have to do in a flawed 5 Star rating system.)
My mood might have been a factor as well, but I feel that this series is starting to meander, with the middle always being the hardest part of a story to get right it isn't any wonder though. Its just unfortunate. I hope the next novel that is being teased in the final few pages is going to make up for this dip, and I have hope for the future of the series!
The second half of this book is by far the superior half, with a quite interesting last quarter and a few nice new developments, yet the new characters kind of didn't really click for me. Especially Paris, who is quite cool and interesting on the surface, lacks what it needs to keep me gripped to her storyline. Nikola has lost some of his bite as well, not really seeming the most interesting character anymore, as I felt he was in Book 2. I did like the addition of Saul as a new POV, but only because I am a sucker for a good spy story, and his covert op with Cora was my favorite part of the novel, especially because of the strange and uncomfortable dynamic between them. Ampersand continues to be a highligt and Cora's chapters shine among the rest, but I just couldn't get into it like with the other novels.
(The 2 stars are very reluctant, I would much rather give it 3 but I already gave Truth of the Divine that rating and I liked this one quite a bit less, so I guess it'll have to do in a flawed 5 Star rating system.)
My mood might have been a factor as well, but I feel that this series is starting to meander, with the middle always being the hardest part of a story to get right it isn't any wonder though. Its just unfortunate. I hope the next novel that is being teased in the final few pages is going to make up for this dip, and I have hope for the future of the series!
July 30, 2024
Cora Sabino and Ampersand/Jules are now living in a remote part of Japan after the violence that occurred in book two. They are both done with Earth and trying to save it from itself. The Superorganism is coming, and Earth powers are arming themselves, though Ampersand has said that Earth stands no chance against the vastness of the Superorganism's power.
A number of things happen in this novel:
-Ampersand decides he wants to connect directly with Cora's brain using a technique his people use. She has an extreme negative reaction to the experience and feels frightened of Jules, consequently.
-The US president is eager to push through legislation that will allow him to begin production of nuclear weapons, despite disarmament treaties
-Kaveh Mazandarani's colleague Paris Wells begins carefully monitored conversations with Nikola, while she and Cora begin a relationship
-A sister species is found on Earth, which terrifies people, as encounters with them have resulted in extreme violence
-Sol Kaplan is deployed by his superiors at the CIA to find this species.
So, lots of stuff on the go.
The part I think I liked best about this book, and this series, was how we see Cora gradually evolve from kind of aimless and needy, to becoming increasingly traumatized with each new experience she has because she is Ampersand's translator and companion/pet. Then, finally, in this book, Cora is maturing, and is beginning to make her own choices, rather than be a passive observer in her life.
Ampersand and Cora's relationship is both codependent, but also seems in some ways to become a little more equal in this book, despite the vast differences between a human and the utterly alien, cybernetic being he is.
The pacing felt a little slow at first, but picked up the further in I read. I like the strangeness of all the aliens in this series; they're not just humans with some latex on their foreheads.
I had thought, till I got to the end of this book, that this was the end of the series, but I can only assume that author Lindsay Ellis has more in mind for this pair of characters. Considering I enjoyed this book more than book two, I am eager to find out what happens next.
Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.
A number of things happen in this novel:
-Ampersand decides he wants to connect directly with Cora's brain using a technique his people use. She has an extreme negative reaction to the experience and feels frightened of Jules, consequently.
-The US president is eager to push through legislation that will allow him to begin production of nuclear weapons, despite disarmament treaties
-Kaveh Mazandarani's colleague Paris Wells begins carefully monitored conversations with Nikola, while she and Cora begin a relationship
-A sister species is found on Earth, which terrifies people, as encounters with them have resulted in extreme violence
-Sol Kaplan is deployed by his superiors at the CIA to find this species.
So, lots of stuff on the go.
The part I think I liked best about this book, and this series, was how we see Cora gradually evolve from kind of aimless and needy, to becoming increasingly traumatized with each new experience she has because she is Ampersand's translator and companion/pet. Then, finally, in this book, Cora is maturing, and is beginning to make her own choices, rather than be a passive observer in her life.
Ampersand and Cora's relationship is both codependent, but also seems in some ways to become a little more equal in this book, despite the vast differences between a human and the utterly alien, cybernetic being he is.
The pacing felt a little slow at first, but picked up the further in I read. I like the strangeness of all the aliens in this series; they're not just humans with some latex on their foreheads.
I had thought, till I got to the end of this book, that this was the end of the series, but I can only assume that author Lindsay Ellis has more in mind for this pair of characters. Considering I enjoyed this book more than book two, I am eager to find out what happens next.
Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.
June 19, 2024
Love this series but I really hope this is not the final one.
June 11, 2024
wish I could rate this a 6 even though I basically had a panic attack the whole way through
June 11, 2024
I would really prefer to rate this one three and a half stars rather than three.
I LOVE book one and really like book two, but I think that while there are parts of book three I enjoyed there were also a lot of parts that fell flat in comparison to the prior books.
- We get new POV characters, but one of them is a prisoner for most of the book (Paris) and the other is sort of bland (Sol), while Cora's POV chapters are just not as numerous as I'd like.
- We get to see Ampersand and Cora finally have a "normal" relationship for what they are, but after a time skip I really wish I had seen (the conservatorship) and they don't bone. We do get cool high language scenes though, but so little of it that I was disappointed.
- We see Nik make a new friend of Paris, but 75% of the book he is a glorified alien language translator and doesn't really bond with Paris to the depth of Nik and Kaveh. This makes his confession near the end of the book feel like it came out of left field, and he and Paris's relationship incredibly shallow.
- We get to learn great details about the sister-species, how they live, the culture of one of their pods, their family structures. But though Paris speaks to several of them, including juveniles, she never actually befriends or bonds to any of them, making these new aliens relationship to her also very shallow. I would have liked her to get to know one of them a little more personally.
- Kaveh remains an important character in everybody's lives, his death still influences all of them. I enjoyed his send off and the consequences that Nils has to face based on what he did in the prior book, what he thought he got away with but didn't.
Overall, while book three is solid, it is not nearly as iconic, heart-wrenching, or character-based as the last two. It told me what happened next, but it didn't give me the deep, emotional character-to-character relationship building scenes that I'd grown to love from the earlier parts of the series. There was some of that, but just far too little and in far too short quantities, not enough to justify some of the relationships between characters (such as Paris and Nik) that occurred by the end.
I LOVE book one and really like book two, but I think that while there are parts of book three I enjoyed there were also a lot of parts that fell flat in comparison to the prior books.
- We get new POV characters, but one of them is a prisoner for most of the book (Paris) and the other is sort of bland (Sol), while Cora's POV chapters are just not as numerous as I'd like.
- We get to see Ampersand and Cora finally have a "normal" relationship for what they are, but after a time skip I really wish I had seen (the conservatorship) and they don't bone. We do get cool high language scenes though, but so little of it that I was disappointed.
- We see Nik make a new friend of Paris, but 75% of the book he is a glorified alien language translator and doesn't really bond with Paris to the depth of Nik and Kaveh. This makes his confession near the end of the book feel like it came out of left field, and he and Paris's relationship incredibly shallow.
- We get to learn great details about the sister-species, how they live, the culture of one of their pods, their family structures. But though Paris speaks to several of them, including juveniles, she never actually befriends or bonds to any of them, making these new aliens relationship to her also very shallow. I would have liked her to get to know one of them a little more personally.
- Kaveh remains an important character in everybody's lives, his death still influences all of them. I enjoyed his send off and the consequences that Nils has to face based on what he did in the prior book, what he thought he got away with but didn't.
Overall, while book three is solid, it is not nearly as iconic, heart-wrenching, or character-based as the last two. It told me what happened next, but it didn't give me the deep, emotional character-to-character relationship building scenes that I'd grown to love from the earlier parts of the series. There was some of that, but just far too little and in far too short quantities, not enough to justify some of the relationships between characters (such as Paris and Nik) that occurred by the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2024
When Netgalley emailed me to offer me an ebook ARC I was both elated and a little annoyed that they had foiled my plans to re-read the first two books before starting this one. I must plan better for next time. I thank them wholeheartedly for the opportunity to read this early.
Lindsay Ellis has once again crafted a novel that encompasses the breadth of people's (very pointedly not referring only to "human" here) emotions when faced with desperate situations. The myriad reactions to fear, the things we will do to save ourselves and those we love, the urges to be cruel or compassionate in the face of impending doom, and how there are always choices.
There is infinite nuance in how Ellis writes her characters. It makes one wonder what one would do in those circumstances, between a rock and a hard place. The times when we would choose cruelty over mercy. It's easiest to imagine oneself as noble and self-sacrificing, but I know how irritable I am when I haven't slept well, so I cannot possibly imagine being my very best self when faced with horrific existential quandaries. I hope never to find out. Some of these characters are irredeemable, and it comes down to their own choices when the only unforgivable sin is protracted callous self-interest.
I believe we are, slowly but surely, societally moving away from finding earnest hope and love as a way to move forward naïve. Ellis very carefully steps away from nebulous revolutions as a solution to anything and advocates for slow, steady changes in policy as the only way to fix any problems we are dealing with. The solution is not blowing up the Bad Guys because there are fundamentally no collective Bad Guys. There are individuals who make choices. American imperialist politics and the military are scrutinised from within.
And then there's the romance. How the characters love each other is incredibly compelling. I can't go into any detail without spoiling things, but one of the most touching scenes in the book is one I did not expect at all. I simply can't wait to read what Ellis publishes next.
Lindsay Ellis has once again crafted a novel that encompasses the breadth of people's (very pointedly not referring only to "human" here) emotions when faced with desperate situations. The myriad reactions to fear, the things we will do to save ourselves and those we love, the urges to be cruel or compassionate in the face of impending doom, and how there are always choices.
There is infinite nuance in how Ellis writes her characters. It makes one wonder what one would do in those circumstances, between a rock and a hard place. The times when we would choose cruelty over mercy. It's easiest to imagine oneself as noble and self-sacrificing, but I know how irritable I am when I haven't slept well, so I cannot possibly imagine being my very best self when faced with horrific existential quandaries. I hope never to find out. Some of these characters are irredeemable, and it comes down to their own choices when the only unforgivable sin is protracted callous self-interest.
I believe we are, slowly but surely, societally moving away from finding earnest hope and love as a way to move forward naïve. Ellis very carefully steps away from nebulous revolutions as a solution to anything and advocates for slow, steady changes in policy as the only way to fix any problems we are dealing with. The solution is not blowing up the Bad Guys because there are fundamentally no collective Bad Guys. There are individuals who make choices. American imperialist politics and the military are scrutinised from within.
And then there's the romance. How the characters love each other is incredibly compelling. I can't go into any detail without spoiling things, but one of the most touching scenes in the book is one I did not expect at all. I simply can't wait to read what Ellis publishes next.
Read
June 14, 2024i love love love being in this world but my god this girl CANNOT catch a break :( fingers crossed the romance works out for her in the next book (it probably won’t)
April 3, 2024
What a big, beefy, glorious adventure.
I really enjoyed the evolving and intense focus on the looming, impossible to fully grasp power of these aliens. The pure, unadulterated, unfathomable nature of how they survey humans, made more rich and complex in this third book with the addition of even more aliens to be excited and confused by. It makes it all the sweeter when we get glimpses of our Amygdaline sweeties' soft sides.
There's also just, so much action here. We're always on the move, and there's so many rapid, dynamic, engaging, and alarming plot developments. I loved the closer and more complex look at a few key characters, and I loved the level of suspense and sudden second-guessing the story maintained.
Can't wait for the Noumena video game for ps3 where I will enjoy completing 999 fetch quests for Nikola.
I really enjoyed the evolving and intense focus on the looming, impossible to fully grasp power of these aliens. The pure, unadulterated, unfathomable nature of how they survey humans, made more rich and complex in this third book with the addition of even more aliens to be excited and confused by. It makes it all the sweeter when we get glimpses of our Amygdaline sweeties' soft sides.
There's also just, so much action here. We're always on the move, and there's so many rapid, dynamic, engaging, and alarming plot developments. I loved the closer and more complex look at a few key characters, and I loved the level of suspense and sudden second-guessing the story maintained.
Can't wait for the Noumena video game for ps3 where I will enjoy completing 999 fetch quests for Nikola.
March 18, 2024
I received this as an arc from the Goodreads Giveaway so this review is based on that version. That being said I thought this was a fitting conclusion to the series. So if you enjoyed the first two books then you will probably enjoy this one as well.
I gonna sit with it a bit and might add more thoughts later, but initial instinct is it’s a 4-5 star book for me. Look forward to possible future novels on different subjects from Ellis.
I gonna sit with it a bit and might add more thoughts later, but initial instinct is it’s a 4-5 star book for me. Look forward to possible future novels on different subjects from Ellis.
Want to read
August 28, 2023just pre-ordered! cannot wait
June 15, 2024
Whew! Book 3!
Book 2 (Truth of the Divine) was such a hard read with Cora handling (rather mishandling) trauma, that I was a little nervous for where this series would go.
Obviously spoilers ahead.
Book 2 ended with Cora and Ampersand deciding to make plans to go off Earth. Book 3 Cora is still set on this, but has healed significantly and is now less anxious to leave, but honestly, Earth is so fucked so why not? (A super cute girl, that's why not!)
The tension becomes - should we stay, should we go. Is Earth worth fighting for, or should we cut losses? Which is so valid and very much a concern. Cora and Ampersand's relationship is also explored - what is Ampersand's intentions? can he love and can they be enough for each other?
And then we encounter another alien species and have themes regarding immigration/refugees and I just really dug a lot of what this book was doing.
Perfect ending too. It could be an ending or it could lead to a really cool new arc.
There are some parts that were hard to deal with. Cora with any man was a hot mess. Kaveh, her father, the CIA guy. It was all so uncomfortable!! I think it has to do with Ellis working through some things for herself, because it felt so specific, but who knows? Maybe we're getting Transformers references. BUT we do get the slow growth of Cora's character - someone whose heart is in the right spot but has to learn to advocate herself, so I do hope we get another book and Cora becomes queen of the world or something crazy like that.
If we're ending here, well-done. It makes me want to reread Axiom's End to meet Ampersand all over again and to see the plot from his eyes. I also got a kick out of putting Ampersand in Japan and with a cute outfit!! And when they comforted each other!! That is my SHIT!!!!
The audiobook is a treat with various narrators.
As always, I hope Ellis is doing well and that we'll get treated to more stories by her, maybe a super explicit alien fucking scene?? (I dare to dream)
Book 2 (Truth of the Divine) was such a hard read with Cora handling (rather mishandling) trauma, that I was a little nervous for where this series would go.
Obviously spoilers ahead.
Book 2 ended with Cora and Ampersand deciding to make plans to go off Earth. Book 3 Cora is still set on this, but has healed significantly and is now less anxious to leave, but honestly, Earth is so fucked so why not? (A super cute girl, that's why not!)
The tension becomes - should we stay, should we go. Is Earth worth fighting for, or should we cut losses? Which is so valid and very much a concern. Cora and Ampersand's relationship is also explored - what is Ampersand's intentions? can he love and can they be enough for each other?
And then we encounter another alien species and have themes regarding immigration/refugees and I just really dug a lot of what this book was doing.
Perfect ending too. It could be an ending or it could lead to a really cool new arc.
There are some parts that were hard to deal with. Cora with any man was a hot mess. Kaveh, her father, the CIA guy. It was all so uncomfortable!! I think it has to do with Ellis working through some things for herself, because it felt so specific, but who knows? Maybe we're getting Transformers references. BUT we do get the slow growth of Cora's character - someone whose heart is in the right spot but has to learn to advocate herself, so I do hope we get another book and Cora becomes queen of the world or something crazy like that.
If we're ending here, well-done. It makes me want to reread Axiom's End to meet Ampersand all over again and to see the plot from his eyes. I also got a kick out of putting Ampersand in Japan and with a cute outfit!! And when they comforted each other!! That is my SHIT!!!!
The audiobook is a treat with various narrators.
As always, I hope Ellis is doing well and that we'll get treated to more stories by her, maybe a super explicit alien fucking scene?? (I dare to dream)
May 28, 2024
4.5/5 ⭐️
I'm always strapping in and not quite sure where things are going to go when it comes to these books, but I know it will be a fun time. This book is no different and I really enjoyed the ride.
Some aspects that I loved:
- Cora's growth and agency! I've loved her character arc across the series and this book really showcases just how much she has overcome while highlighting how comfortable and confident she has become.
- This book probably has the most action of the three and includes some moments of suspense that made me want to keep reading.
- There are some great themes about humanity - what it means to be human and so on that Ellis does a great job of interweaving throughout each book.
- Romance - I won't get into it for spoilers but there are some, let's say interesting moments between Ampersand and Cora.
I think of the three, book 2 was my favorite. The themes about mental health were so good and I really connected with them. Something that stands out to me about these books is that while they are all part of a series, they really stand out individually with how they tackle what first contact might mean on Earth. I'm sad to be leaving this series but I'm looking forward to what Ellis writes next!
Thank you to NetGalley, Lindsay Ellis, and St. Martin's Press for my early access to this.
I'm always strapping in and not quite sure where things are going to go when it comes to these books, but I know it will be a fun time. This book is no different and I really enjoyed the ride.
Some aspects that I loved:
- Cora's growth and agency! I've loved her character arc across the series and this book really showcases just how much she has overcome while highlighting how comfortable and confident she has become.
- This book probably has the most action of the three and includes some moments of suspense that made me want to keep reading.
- There are some great themes about humanity - what it means to be human and so on that Ellis does a great job of interweaving throughout each book.
- Romance - I won't get into it for spoilers but there are some, let's say interesting moments between Ampersand and Cora.
I think of the three, book 2 was my favorite. The themes about mental health were so good and I really connected with them. Something that stands out to me about these books is that while they are all part of a series, they really stand out individually with how they tackle what first contact might mean on Earth. I'm sad to be leaving this series but I'm looking forward to what Ellis writes next!
Thank you to NetGalley, Lindsay Ellis, and St. Martin's Press for my early access to this.
May 1, 2024
I was so happy to get a chance to read this early, I've been eagerly awaiting the continuation to Cora & Ampersand's journey and it did not disappoint.
We deal with the impact of Kaveh's death in the previous book on both Cora & Nikola. The dynamics between Cora & Ampersand are further explored and Cora is finding her voice when it comes to the differences in norms between the two, which is great to see. Paris is a great addition to the core group and helped contribute to Cora's character growth and provided another point of view. I was happy to see more of Luciana & Sol too. The personal stakes seem ever higher in this one than in any of the previous entries and I was constantly at the edge of my seat in certain chapters revolving around specific characters.
The Physterines were fascinating and I could hardly put the book down as the conflicts between all the species escalated. The last 20% of this book especially, was just non-stop. You won't want to stop reading. The last chapter as well!!! I was expecting the story to wrap up with this novel but with that ending, I hope this is not the last we've seen of these characters.
Thanks to Titan Books & Netgalley for the chance to read this arc!
We deal with the impact of Kaveh's death in the previous book on both Cora & Nikola. The dynamics between Cora & Ampersand are further explored and Cora is finding her voice when it comes to the differences in norms between the two, which is great to see. Paris is a great addition to the core group and helped contribute to Cora's character growth and provided another point of view. I was happy to see more of Luciana & Sol too. The personal stakes seem ever higher in this one than in any of the previous entries and I was constantly at the edge of my seat in certain chapters revolving around specific characters.
The Physterines were fascinating and I could hardly put the book down as the conflicts between all the species escalated. The last 20% of this book especially, was just non-stop. You won't want to stop reading. The last chapter as well!!! I was expecting the story to wrap up with this novel but with that ending, I hope this is not the last we've seen of these characters.
Thanks to Titan Books & Netgalley for the chance to read this arc!
July 30, 2024
my problem with this series is that i kept reading it for the freaky relationship of cora and ampersand except only ever the first book was about that. i don't care about alien drama! i especially don't care about cora's instalovey bisexual escapades with other human characters! this was such a weird story - a boring first contact sci fi spiced up with women's issues and an interspecies romance which would likely put off the typical target audience of sci fi books like this, which however weren't explored in a way interesting enough to entice other kinds of readers - i don't know who this was written for but it was unfortunately not for me
May 8, 2024
Each instalment of the Noumena series has felt fresh and different from the others - with the one key similarity being me hopefully using "series" to refer to these books, and already eager for a further follow-up. Apostles of Mercy felt even more action-packed than the previous instalments - which is quite a feat. However, this is balanced alongside brilliant character development - even from characters you would previously have thought incapable of it. In terms of newer characters, I adored Paris. It was really interesting to see Cora's mindset changing and developing, and the world itself is slowly diverging more and more into alternate history as well. Once again, I eagerly await the follow-up, and hope there is one!
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
Thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the ARC.
4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
Thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for the ARC.
June 29, 2024
I really liked this, definitely better than the second installment - it actually is probably my favorite of all three so far! I love the implications of the world-building here, and I'm excited for more books to explore it further.
To start with, my big complaint in the first two novels was about the audiobook reader's performance as Cora. It was the same woman this time, but I wonder if I wasn't the only person to find her a little over the top, because she's toned it down significantly here, and it made for a much better listening experience. So that's nice! I also love a multi-narrator audiobook with distinct readers, and I thought the readers for Sol and the interstitial bits were also great.
Mostly, though, I just love how every book, and indeed every chapter of every book, in this series grows the stakes, and plays with the ramifications of what happened before. So many of the turns in the narrative felt surprising while they were happening but then also made perfect sense within the logic of this sequence of events, if that makes sense. Ellis writes in an accessible way about international politics and law and things that might be alienating (haha) to some readers, but feels very smooth here.
And I just love all the fucked up, complicated, hopeless romantic relationships going on here. I don't know that I've ever read a love story between a human and a non-human before that was this dedicated to keeping the non-human a truly alien and incomprehensible force. Cora can't even speak Ampersand's language with him, and only through extreme pain and suffering is she starting to be able to communicate with him in the way most natural for his kind.
And then you've got Paris and Nikola's developing bond, which I loved as this parallel to Ampersand and Cora. The fact that Kaveh was Paris's mentor before he died, and Nikola loved him and now grows to love Paris, provided such interesting color. Then of course there are the obvious love stories developing between Cora and Paris, and the preexisting bond of deep devotion between Ampersand and Nikola. What a fascinating polycule this is proving to be, honestly!
A few quips I'd like to make, here: I actually really liked a lot of the stuff with Sol, even including the way he was treating Cora and the way Cora resisted him, and his heroic sacrifice, then later apology to Cora after helping her to honor Kaveh's memory. All great stuff. But I really didn't like that ending note where Sol basically has a version of Spike's speech to Buffy in that one amazing episode running in his head - that he loves her, but not in the way where he wants anything from her, or what have you. I could have done without making it so explicit. I was moved by when he cried and said Cora had been one of his only real friends. It should have been left there.
The other quibble is bigger, honestly - it's been a few years since I read Truth of the Divine, but I do not remember Kaveh being quite so worthy of the extremely martyred and benevolent reputation he's managed to find for himself posthumously. Everyone loves him and thinks he can do no wrong, except for characters like Sol who then have to learn the error of their ways. I'm sorry, but I'm kind of with Sol on the perspective that Kaveh did take advantage of a young and vulnerable woman and probably shouldn't have been having sex with her? Especially since their relationship felt so tonally strange to me in the last book. I also remember finding Kaveh's essay about hope for humanity extremely trite and cliche, so to hear Cora praise him for having this amazing way with words was also a bit jarring. The lens of this book wanted me to grieve for Kaveh and think back on him fondly, but honestly reading it just soured my memory of the character from when I first read the second book.
But setting that aside - this was such an interesting read! Humanity now has two distinct but related alien species on their planet, and doom is hovering ever closer. The novel ends on a haunting and super powerful ending note, with Cora and Ampersand contemplating how they might take over the world and save it from destruction. Cora's acceptance of High Language and the consequences of that showing up in how she thought about Ampersand's powers as a benevolent dictator... oof. Really interesting stuff. I'd love to find out where that goes in future books!
To start with, my big complaint in the first two novels was about the audiobook reader's performance as Cora. It was the same woman this time, but I wonder if I wasn't the only person to find her a little over the top, because she's toned it down significantly here, and it made for a much better listening experience. So that's nice! I also love a multi-narrator audiobook with distinct readers, and I thought the readers for Sol and the interstitial bits were also great.
Mostly, though, I just love how every book, and indeed every chapter of every book, in this series grows the stakes, and plays with the ramifications of what happened before. So many of the turns in the narrative felt surprising while they were happening but then also made perfect sense within the logic of this sequence of events, if that makes sense. Ellis writes in an accessible way about international politics and law and things that might be alienating (haha) to some readers, but feels very smooth here.
And I just love all the fucked up, complicated, hopeless romantic relationships going on here. I don't know that I've ever read a love story between a human and a non-human before that was this dedicated to keeping the non-human a truly alien and incomprehensible force. Cora can't even speak Ampersand's language with him, and only through extreme pain and suffering is she starting to be able to communicate with him in the way most natural for his kind.
And then you've got Paris and Nikola's developing bond, which I loved as this parallel to Ampersand and Cora. The fact that Kaveh was Paris's mentor before he died, and Nikola loved him and now grows to love Paris, provided such interesting color. Then of course there are the obvious love stories developing between Cora and Paris, and the preexisting bond of deep devotion between Ampersand and Nikola. What a fascinating polycule this is proving to be, honestly!
A few quips I'd like to make, here: I actually really liked a lot of the stuff with Sol, even including the way he was treating Cora and the way Cora resisted him, and his heroic sacrifice, then later apology to Cora after helping her to honor Kaveh's memory. All great stuff. But I really didn't like that ending note where Sol basically has a version of Spike's speech to Buffy in that one amazing episode running in his head - that he loves her, but not in the way where he wants anything from her, or what have you. I could have done without making it so explicit. I was moved by when he cried and said Cora had been one of his only real friends. It should have been left there.
The other quibble is bigger, honestly - it's been a few years since I read Truth of the Divine, but I do not remember Kaveh being quite so worthy of the extremely martyred and benevolent reputation he's managed to find for himself posthumously. Everyone loves him and thinks he can do no wrong, except for characters like Sol who then have to learn the error of their ways. I'm sorry, but I'm kind of with Sol on the perspective that Kaveh did take advantage of a young and vulnerable woman and probably shouldn't have been having sex with her? Especially since their relationship felt so tonally strange to me in the last book. I also remember finding Kaveh's essay about hope for humanity extremely trite and cliche, so to hear Cora praise him for having this amazing way with words was also a bit jarring. The lens of this book wanted me to grieve for Kaveh and think back on him fondly, but honestly reading it just soured my memory of the character from when I first read the second book.
But setting that aside - this was such an interesting read! Humanity now has two distinct but related alien species on their planet, and doom is hovering ever closer. The novel ends on a haunting and super powerful ending note, with Cora and Ampersand contemplating how they might take over the world and save it from destruction. Cora's acceptance of High Language and the consequences of that showing up in how she thought about Ampersand's powers as a benevolent dictator... oof. Really interesting stuff. I'd love to find out where that goes in future books!
July 27, 2024
I haven't written one of these yet (mostly used the review section for notes lol), but here it goes. In short. Views are personal and this might be totally useless. (spoilers possible)
I started reading the Noumena series few weeks ago, finished Apostles of Mercy few days ago.
'Reading' might be a lie, since I opted for listening to the audiobooks which are all quite beautifully produced - great voices, reading rhythm, sound production effects (just enough for contrast and nice dynamic between actants and situations, especially love the High Language scenes in AoM, and Nikola's voice read by Stephanie Willis). When I picked Axiom's End I wasn't originally expecting to fall into an all out romantic summer read, turned angsty and then back to adventure fic (still hard on the romance). My expectations were more on the conspiracy theory side, and I was excited to read a book that had a character named Ampersand in it (obviously..). I really enjoyed what felt like an entertaining, well researched, very well written narrative. Felt often it was paced like a tv-series or an action film, which was delightful to have to read instead of watch and be nauseated by 70 different camera angles constantly moving or changing. However this is also my critique of the novels, they are indeed a bit too well written, or better put, too tidy. What I mean by this is that they read off as too intentional, less as something that started leaving/fermenting on its own so to speak. You can also feel that this has been written by a person who was brought up on different forum and image boards, and has ingested and produced a lot of fanfiction - a lot of it reads like what fanfiction feels like. This isn't neceserily bad, but it does leave little to be imagined. For books that deal in problems of interspecies xeno-translation, enigmatic encounters and moral thresholds they are afraid to open themselves to the possibility of the abstract. For instance, whenever there is something that might be hard to imagine, we are given a cultural (2007-08 era relevant) reference. This insistant inter-textuality is used more and more as the novels progress. It's not that this strategy is out of place, it is indeed very much in character for Lindsay's time period of choice and online upbringing as an author, however it does make the novels land on the entertainment side of SF, and sometimes feel a bit tacky. This tackyness is a bit off beat when oposed to how well the political spectrum is illustrated in the novels. Might be a matter of taste, and the particular flavouring. There is something akin to 00's Gibson's usage of neologisms but in the other direction timewise. To both the tackyness and overwritten/overlydirect card I would add Cora's infinite post-fusion bonding suffering/self-harm (which to me read like - ok we got it gurl, she hurt, hee bad, otherness is though, emotions suck) which, conceptually and intentionwise I understand, however in it's execution.. Which bring me to the redeeming qulity of this strategy, and that is to provide us with multiple distancing perpective from Cora as main focalization point. I enjoyed every other voice, not because they are compelling/relatable characters - not that that's a factor, it is troubling how many of these reviews are about readers judge a novel's success based on their expectation to relate to a character's perspective, demonstrating our eerie inability to even virtually empathize with others, I digress - but because they give me space from this emotional centrifuge and make it have a function within the structure, whilst still permitting us to navigate this alien and fasho ridden world.
I started reading the Noumena series few weeks ago, finished Apostles of Mercy few days ago.
'Reading' might be a lie, since I opted for listening to the audiobooks which are all quite beautifully produced - great voices, reading rhythm, sound production effects (just enough for contrast and nice dynamic between actants and situations, especially love the High Language scenes in AoM, and Nikola's voice read by Stephanie Willis). When I picked Axiom's End I wasn't originally expecting to fall into an all out romantic summer read, turned angsty and then back to adventure fic (still hard on the romance). My expectations were more on the conspiracy theory side, and I was excited to read a book that had a character named Ampersand in it (obviously..). I really enjoyed what felt like an entertaining, well researched, very well written narrative. Felt often it was paced like a tv-series or an action film, which was delightful to have to read instead of watch and be nauseated by 70 different camera angles constantly moving or changing. However this is also my critique of the novels, they are indeed a bit too well written, or better put, too tidy. What I mean by this is that they read off as too intentional, less as something that started leaving/fermenting on its own so to speak. You can also feel that this has been written by a person who was brought up on different forum and image boards, and has ingested and produced a lot of fanfiction - a lot of it reads like what fanfiction feels like. This isn't neceserily bad, but it does leave little to be imagined. For books that deal in problems of interspecies xeno-translation, enigmatic encounters and moral thresholds they are afraid to open themselves to the possibility of the abstract. For instance, whenever there is something that might be hard to imagine, we are given a cultural (2007-08 era relevant) reference. This insistant inter-textuality is used more and more as the novels progress. It's not that this strategy is out of place, it is indeed very much in character for Lindsay's time period of choice and online upbringing as an author, however it does make the novels land on the entertainment side of SF, and sometimes feel a bit tacky. This tackyness is a bit off beat when oposed to how well the political spectrum is illustrated in the novels. Might be a matter of taste, and the particular flavouring. There is something akin to 00's Gibson's usage of neologisms but in the other direction timewise. To both the tackyness and overwritten/overlydirect card I would add Cora's infinite post-fusion bonding suffering/self-harm (which to me read like - ok we got it gurl, she hurt, hee bad, otherness is though, emotions suck) which, conceptually and intentionwise I understand, however in it's execution.. Which bring me to the redeeming qulity of this strategy, and that is to provide us with multiple distancing perpective from Cora as main focalization point. I enjoyed every other voice, not because they are compelling/relatable characters - not that that's a factor, it is troubling how many of these reviews are about readers judge a novel's success based on their expectation to relate to a character's perspective, demonstrating our eerie inability to even virtually empathize with others, I digress - but because they give me space from this emotional centrifuge and make it have a function within the structure, whilst still permitting us to navigate this alien and fasho ridden world.
August 23, 2024
Outstanding ending (?) to the Noumena series by Lindsay Ellis! This will be one of the new classics in science fiction. The book has a different feel than the second installment, _Truth of the Divine_, a book in which the two main characters, Cora Sabino and Ampersand, were broken, shattered, the author wisely and adeptly bringing into the story two other characters to drive the plot, and the overall tone of the book rather bleak. In _Apostles of Mercy_, there is if anything more danger, as Cora and Ampersand seriously contemplate leaving the Earth to avoid the very probable extermination of humanity from the Pequod Superorganism, yet the tone is more hopeful. I wouldn’t say light, lots of bad things happen, but Cora and Ampersand (and their allies) are very proactive in dealing with the various threats and both show real personal growth (as do several secondary characters).
Some threats fade a bit, with the culture war aspects of _Truth of the Divine_ absent and government intrigue not the focus in much of the book. The main threads are the relations between Ampersand, Nikola, and their cohort, worry about the coming Pequod Superorganism, the conflict between the amygdalines and the physeterines and the physeterines and humans, and following the various character arcs, notably Cora, Ampersand, Nikola, Nils Ortega, Sol Kaplan (my favorite character), to an extent President Todd Julian, and a new major character for the series, Paris Wells. Lots of exploration of the complicated legacy of Kaveh Mazandarani, which to my surprise figured into the story in a meaningful way right to the very end. We learn a lot about the physeterines in the book and I really enjoyed that.
Though there are definitely still things to explore in this universe and many unresolved issues, it felt like this novel had a real ending, with the character arcs of the major characters largely if not completely finished. I both would like a fourth book yet, given how the author finished the storylines, I am happy if this was the final installment. I highly recommend the series.
Some threats fade a bit, with the culture war aspects of _Truth of the Divine_ absent and government intrigue not the focus in much of the book. The main threads are the relations between Ampersand, Nikola, and their cohort, worry about the coming Pequod Superorganism, the conflict between the amygdalines and the physeterines and the physeterines and humans, and following the various character arcs, notably Cora, Ampersand, Nikola, Nils Ortega, Sol Kaplan (my favorite character), to an extent President Todd Julian, and a new major character for the series, Paris Wells. Lots of exploration of the complicated legacy of Kaveh Mazandarani, which to my surprise figured into the story in a meaningful way right to the very end. We learn a lot about the physeterines in the book and I really enjoyed that.
Though there are definitely still things to explore in this universe and many unresolved issues, it felt like this novel had a real ending, with the character arcs of the major characters largely if not completely finished. I both would like a fourth book yet, given how the author finished the storylines, I am happy if this was the final installment. I highly recommend the series.
August 8, 2024
I don’t really get the discussions of “at least better than the second book” and “this is just a way for Ellis to regain some readers after the second one”-narratives, as I don’t feel that way at all.
First of all: All three books are fun reads, they really are. And YES the second book IS heavier than the first and third, but it is FAR from a badly written book. To me, Truth of the Divine is probably the best of the three when it comes to literary quality - it has some excellent storytelling and great new interesting characters, and it is a bold move by Ellis to nearly shift the main protagonist role from Cora to a new guy, only to kill him off in the end. It is a solid, fast paced and engaging read.
Which brings us to the third book. As Ellis threw us a curveball with TotD, I’m surprised that so many of you seem to not have expected the series to again take another direction. At the end of TofD we are left with the feeling that Cora and Ampersand will soon leave Earth and take to space. In the beginning of Apostles of Mercy however, we learn that this is not the case. At least not anytime soon. Instead, Physesterines are here, and they have been here far longer than we could imagine. Again, this is an interesting move by Ellis, and I again feel like she should be getting more credit for this, “taking our expectations and nuke them from orbit”, as a quote on TotD so poetically states.
It MAY be the slowest read of the three, and also the one which least brings up political consequences of the trilogy - as it instead deals with more monkey brain themes as hate, fear and revenge. I found this to be quite liberating, as too much of cultural analysis (which Ellis does VERY well) sometimes can leave me feeling hopeless about humanity.
As a whole, I really liked it, even though some relationships in the book might have felt a little bit forced. But hey, I’ll take it - as Ellis once again delivers a book that sparks something at my core, something that makes me excited about reading, and about writing. If nothing else, all installments in the Noumena series should be commended for harboring the power of creativity, and its ability to pass this on to the reader.
I can’t wait (though I know better than to expect ANYTHING) for the fourth book.
First of all: All three books are fun reads, they really are. And YES the second book IS heavier than the first and third, but it is FAR from a badly written book. To me, Truth of the Divine is probably the best of the three when it comes to literary quality - it has some excellent storytelling and great new interesting characters, and it is a bold move by Ellis to nearly shift the main protagonist role from Cora to a new guy, only to kill him off in the end. It is a solid, fast paced and engaging read.
Which brings us to the third book. As Ellis threw us a curveball with TotD, I’m surprised that so many of you seem to not have expected the series to again take another direction. At the end of TofD we are left with the feeling that Cora and Ampersand will soon leave Earth and take to space. In the beginning of Apostles of Mercy however, we learn that this is not the case. At least not anytime soon. Instead, Physesterines are here, and they have been here far longer than we could imagine. Again, this is an interesting move by Ellis, and I again feel like she should be getting more credit for this, “taking our expectations and nuke them from orbit”, as a quote on TotD so poetically states.
It MAY be the slowest read of the three, and also the one which least brings up political consequences of the trilogy - as it instead deals with more monkey brain themes as hate, fear and revenge. I found this to be quite liberating, as too much of cultural analysis (which Ellis does VERY well) sometimes can leave me feeling hopeless about humanity.
As a whole, I really liked it, even though some relationships in the book might have felt a little bit forced. But hey, I’ll take it - as Ellis once again delivers a book that sparks something at my core, something that makes me excited about reading, and about writing. If nothing else, all installments in the Noumena series should be commended for harboring the power of creativity, and its ability to pass this on to the reader.
I can’t wait (though I know better than to expect ANYTHING) for the fourth book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2024
**My thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced review copy via NetGalley**
4 stars
I’ve read each of the Noumena books right around their release date, and so there has been at least a year in between reading each installment, which I think did my read of Apostles of Mercy a disservice. While the narrative did provide enough context that I was never lost, there were characters and plot points from the first book I struggled to remember, who nonetheless played large roles in this story. I’d recommend that anyone interested in the Noumena series read them all closer together.
This book really excelled at pacing and momentum. I was swept along from the very first chapters and found it extremely difficult to put the book down—continuously ‘one more chapter’-ing my way through until I was done.
I also admired the way that the narrative forced me to reexamine aspects of Ampersand and Cora’s relationship that I had thought I understood from the previous books, and how thoughtfully it reflected on the various human relationships Cora has and how healthy or unhealthy they may be. Cora is vulnerable for much of the book, and that makes her easy to exploit.
It did feel a little of a stretch that Cora’s clear vulnerability made her seemingly irresistible to so many characters in a romantic/sexual sense, and she undergoes a transformation near the end of the book (butterfly-like, which was appropriate given the themes built up along the way) that I didn’t feel was entirely earned by her character arc.
I was under the impression that the Noumena series would be a trilogy, which would make this the final installment. However, the book didn’t feel as though it were concluding the macro arcs that have been ongoing; perhaps this is a stylistic decision about the ongoing nature of humanity’s problems, but I left the novel wondering if this was really the end of what Ellis wants to write about this world.
While at times the alien subject matter can veer into the goofy, and the centering of Cora as hapless protagonist can feel a little indulgent, Ellis’s overall writing style is thoughtful and sometimes profound. I look forward to seeing how she tackles new projects in the future.
4 stars
I’ve read each of the Noumena books right around their release date, and so there has been at least a year in between reading each installment, which I think did my read of Apostles of Mercy a disservice. While the narrative did provide enough context that I was never lost, there were characters and plot points from the first book I struggled to remember, who nonetheless played large roles in this story. I’d recommend that anyone interested in the Noumena series read them all closer together.
This book really excelled at pacing and momentum. I was swept along from the very first chapters and found it extremely difficult to put the book down—continuously ‘one more chapter’-ing my way through until I was done.
I also admired the way that the narrative forced me to reexamine aspects of Ampersand and Cora’s relationship that I had thought I understood from the previous books, and how thoughtfully it reflected on the various human relationships Cora has and how healthy or unhealthy they may be. Cora is vulnerable for much of the book, and that makes her easy to exploit.
It did feel a little of a stretch that Cora’s clear vulnerability made her seemingly irresistible to so many characters in a romantic/sexual sense, and she undergoes a transformation near the end of the book (butterfly-like, which was appropriate given the themes built up along the way) that I didn’t feel was entirely earned by her character arc.
I was under the impression that the Noumena series would be a trilogy, which would make this the final installment. However, the book didn’t feel as though it were concluding the macro arcs that have been ongoing; perhaps this is a stylistic decision about the ongoing nature of humanity’s problems, but I left the novel wondering if this was really the end of what Ellis wants to write about this world.
While at times the alien subject matter can veer into the goofy, and the centering of Cora as hapless protagonist can feel a little indulgent, Ellis’s overall writing style is thoughtful and sometimes profound. I look forward to seeing how she tackles new projects in the future.
June 10, 2024
4.5*
Just when I was starting to worry that we'd never get a new installment in this series, it came back, and with a vengeance! I have noticed that with both the second book and this one, it does take me a minute to get back into the world/characters. Probably didn't help that there was a lot of time between, but as always, once I got going, I was invested!
In this book, we finally get a better look at the other entities that Ampersand has been talking about, and I think that helps a lot with the understanding of the world. We also start out with a quite despondent Cora. In fact, she is almost unlikable for parts of the book, even though you can wholly understand why she is feeling certain things, doing certain things, etc. Without giving anything away, I was glad to see her have to face some of these more toxic behaviors, including the way Ampersand has treated her. We're introduced in depth to Paris, who is an absolute breath of fresh air as a character, and challenges Cora in ways she needs to be challenged to keep growing.
I thought this was a trilogy, but it is clearly not, as it ends quite openly. So you'll have to wait for the next installment to see who the heck is going to remain on Earth- unless all the factions kill each other in the meantime!
Bottom Line: So glad this series is back for another great installment!
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
Just when I was starting to worry that we'd never get a new installment in this series, it came back, and with a vengeance! I have noticed that with both the second book and this one, it does take me a minute to get back into the world/characters. Probably didn't help that there was a lot of time between, but as always, once I got going, I was invested!
In this book, we finally get a better look at the other entities that Ampersand has been talking about, and I think that helps a lot with the understanding of the world. We also start out with a quite despondent Cora. In fact, she is almost unlikable for parts of the book, even though you can wholly understand why she is feeling certain things, doing certain things, etc. Without giving anything away, I was glad to see her have to face some of these more toxic behaviors, including the way Ampersand has treated her. We're introduced in depth to Paris, who is an absolute breath of fresh air as a character, and challenges Cora in ways she needs to be challenged to keep growing.
I thought this was a trilogy, but it is clearly not, as it ends quite openly. So you'll have to wait for the next installment to see who the heck is going to remain on Earth- unless all the factions kill each other in the meantime!
Bottom Line: So glad this series is back for another great installment!
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
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