Content warning - self-harm, mental health issues, racism discussion It took me a long time to get through this book. If I really am engaged with a novel, I can finish even a fairly long one in a couple of weekends. Rarely takes me more than a month. But this one took me about two months to finish, and that's because I simply had no desire to pick it up again after each reading session. I read for fun, and only a few chapters in, it was starting to feel like a chore. I tend to start what I finish, but at around the halfway point, my eyes were starting to feel a bit of strain from rolling back into my head so frequently. I am careful with my book purchases, maybe even a little bit too careful. Rather than take chances, I prefer to go by recommendations, positive reviews, or just go by the reputation of the author. Or if I enjoyed the author's previous works, such as in this case. Axiom's End is a very enjoyable sci-fi adventure about a young woman (a lost, unsuccessful college dropout, bit of a loser type) and the alien who she eventually befriends. I was hoping for more of the same with Truth of the Divine, but alas, it stinks. This is mostly because the main character has been transformed from your typical fish out of water, likeable, relatable protagonist into this insufferable train wreck. Near the end of the first novel, Cora is eviscerated by one of the bad guy aliens, and then patched back together by her good alien friend. The focus of the sequel is on Cora's trauma from this incident. I'm not sure why so many new books, shows, and movies have to be all about working through trauma. I'm trying to be entertained here, and I don't find this entertaining. I lost count as to how many times the author took us through an anxiety or panic attack in excruciating detail. Fortunately there are only a few depictions of self-harm. Not to sound callous, but I prefer my protagonists to rise above what they're dealing with to save the day, rather than run away into the bathroom, lock the door and bawl their eyes out whenever they encounter a stressful situation (this happens several times). The author intends for the reader to sympathize with this character, but instead she comes off as helpless, useless, and quite irritating. The love interest (Iranian immigrant, multiple Pulitzer-winning journalist, recovering alcoholic, rich, attractive), Kaveh, never has any reason to like her or even think of her as an interesting person, never mind fall in love with her. No suggestion as to why he has an interest in her is provided. There is no plausible scenario where this character thinks she is a suitable romantic partner. Cora is not a great beauty, though he does monologue about thinking of her as cute. Maybe that's enough? For his first relationship since becoming sober? I should also mention that she is 21, and he is 35. That doesn't even pass the "half your age plus 7" rule. Little icky for the people who like to focus on power dynamics. Anyway, for reasons unknown, Kaveh has an interest in her, and somehow is also a licensed psychologist, since he knows how to say all the right things at all the right times, and can guide her through the worst of her panic attacks and psychotic episodes. He is forever patient with her and is always sympathetic, never becoming annoyed with how difficult it must be to live with someone in such a state. He is able to help her with her suicidal tendencies as well. He provides her with a place to stay, pays for all her expenses, and near the end he even pulls some strings to get her enrolled at Columbia. These things start happening just days after they've met. It writes like a total fantasy. No men are this perfect. That's about enough I wanted to say about the characters. The protagonist is insufferable, and her boyfriend is a ridiculously unrealistic fantasy caricature. The other thing that set this book apart from the original is the addition of Ellis' politics. Withholding such commentary from this novel wouldn't have saved it anyway, but it was another thing that rubbed me the wrong way. Usually when someone complains about an entertainment product being unnecessarily political, I don't see their point. Having diverse casts of characters is fine and normal, not political. But this book, let me tell you. There are a few examples that I couldn't help rolling my eyes at. The police who question Kaveh at a hospital following an episode of Cora engaging in self-harm are racists. Here's an excerpt from that scene: Turner eyed him. "I know in your culture . . ." Hearing this word, the way he said it, culture, like it was a bad infestation of termites, Kaveh's vision dropped out, replaced by white-hot rage. "Women are treated differently. We understand that. So I'm going to ask you one more time. Did you have anything to do with the injuries on her body?" "Officer, I . . ." I grew up in Palos fucking Verdes. "I understand your concerns . . ." You don't know shit about me. You don't know shit about anything but this cartoon caricature you've constructed about every culture that isn't your own meathead version of whiteness. "But I give you my word, I didn't have anything to do with it." I want you to look me in the eye and tell me you've never abused your power before, you absolute fucking ghoul. "Is there a possibility she might have done this to herself?" asked Lanning, the slightly less dumb of the two. And a few paragraphs later: Cora was silent from the moment he put his arm around her shoulder to guide her out of the hospital, and he caught a glimpse of the way the doctor and RN looked at him. At first, he mistook it for judgement, that, like the police officers, they looked at him and saw only a crazed, Muslim invader who had infiltrated this country to beat and rape white women before eventually strapping on an AK-47 and shooting up a mall. But instead, he saw concern in their faces. Pity, even. They knew he didn't do it. They knew who did. There's another scene where the LAPD are involved. Cora is wondering about (more like suggesting) if police officers enjoy murdering people after a civilian (white male, right-wing extremist) pointing a gun at our protagonist is shot and killed by police. And of course, a bystander is also killed by police as a result of their saving her life. There are many such scenes in this novel, and I can't recall anything like this being in the first book. I thought of including an example of one of the many, many mental health crises she goes through (over many, many pages at a time), but I'll spare the reader here, as to properly share the full scope of what I am complaining about, I would have to include several hundred more words from the book here. In addition to the anti-police propaganda (and I should mention, I am not exactly pro-police, and understand why there is criticism of them), we also get to enjoy many pages about consent when it comes to a person experiencing a mental health crisis but who still apparently wants to engage in sexual activity. I don't really enjoy reading about a girl who just washed all of her blood off in the shower from a self-harm event, rigidly laying in bed with her arms pulled tightly around her chest, giving permission over and over to a man that yes, he can penetrate her right now, even though it appears that she really, really does not want him to. Ellis also uses the new alien, Enola/Nikola, as a innocent foil who is unaccustomed to human concepts. In this way, we get to enjoy a lecture about the proper use of pronouns, as well as a quick one in microaggressions. "Don't touch a black woman's hair without her permission, you silly alien!" And now we get to what kept me going to the end. The plot. I am a big plot guy, and I was kept interested in the fate of the aliens, and humanity in general. There are some good philosophical insights regarding human nature and how we cannot seem to stop barreling towards our own self-destruction. But it's just not enough for me to get past the simply awful main character, and the constant political jabs that often come across as jarringly propagandistic. In summary, this is by far the worst novel I have read in many years, and I would not recommend it to anyone. It's a shame that such a fun and promising debut with series potential could devolve into this absolute rubbish. I'll keep watching Ellis' mostly excellent YouTube videos, but I think I am done with her as a science fiction author.
