Axis (Spin, 2)

This is a story of discovery and redemption, driven by mysteries that span the personal through to the galactic, and navigated by the power of self-delusion. It is also the second of a trilogy, and I recommend that you read "Spin" first, but "Axis" it is not the direct 'next chapter' with regards the players, so can be picked up standalone. I am not going to go into much detail regarding the plot, because like many of Wilson's novels, it is detailed and delicate. But if you have read Wilson's other work, you will recognize his style here. If not, understand that Wilson focuses on the personalities of his players, their foibles and their reactions to events large and small. Unlike many authors, he manages to flesh out even minor characters without straying into stereotypes or caricatures. The science behind many aspects of this future Human universe remain opaque to the players (and to us) but that is the galactic mystery that underpins this trilogy and triggers the narrative arcs. There are aliens afoot, the enigmatic and non-communicative Hypotheticals. Their actions are a continual background noise of `why?' and they are as immune to our entreaties for answers as the wind is for reasons to blow. Still, "Axis" chips away at this mystery, step by step, as our protagonist, Lise Adams, searches for answers to the disappearance - abandonment? - of her father a decade ago. This is a quest for Lise and it consumes her being, her relationships and perhaps her very existence, as she dives headlong into the fanatical fantasy of one of the "Fourths", a clandestine cabal who have taken proscribed Martian pharmaceuticals that extend their lives. What we don't get with Wilson's aliens are spaceships and warp drive and firefights and the petty politics of interspecies interactions. The Hypotheticals are called that because they are assumed from events, conjectured from outcomes. Nobody has seen one that we know of, and those who may have communicated with them appear to die from the experience. Clearly they exist, but their motives and motivations are hints and shadows and supposition, not answers writ in the stars. When the aliens do arrive, it as sulfurous grit or unstable analogs of biologicals such as flowers and trees, none of which provide the clear, unambiguous answers that the characters expect or are seeking and the circumstances of these abstruse revelations merely clouds the issues of the who, what and why of the Hypotheticals. And the effort to elicit even this response from what are essentially Gods, exposes human nature at it most self-serving, venal worst. So, who might be interested in "Axis"? Clearly, if you've read Wilson before, you are a candidate. I feel "Axis" is as good as "Spin" but note that it is a different book in style and approach (as other reviewers have noted in detail). If you enjoy character-led science fiction where inscrutable aliens trigger visceral responses that are then explored in detail, "Axis" is worth reading.

After reading this book I am now certain that RC Wilson is my favorite writer of science fiction, and one of my favorite authors in any genre. What I love about Wilson is that he creates outrageously trippy situations that are experienced by ordinary people. The people he creates are interesting and believable. The trippy situations are backed up by enough science to make them feel plausible - but not enough to take away the wonder or make his novels read like textbooks. I have actually sighed with contentment after reading his books, and thought to myself, "this is the way science fiction is supposed to be." Axis is no exception. I could not put it down, and it is as trippy a book as I have ever read. At times, it makes me think of Lem's Solaris , though I enjoyed Axis much more. At other times, it made me think of the more psychedelic covers of 1970s SF paperbacks - in a very good way. (and with that said, I so wish for different cover art on this book, but I can understand why that might have been avoided.) Or Dali paintings. Occasionally I got a whiff of Lovecraft. But all of this written in clear, unpretentious language, with believable characters, and a story worthy of Stephen King. I loved this book and can't yet decide if I like it more than Spin or if they are in a dead heat for my favorite SF novel ever. (I have not yet read Vortex.)

Axis is entertaining and expands on Spin's novel idea, but seems incomplete. By the time it really starts to pickup and get interesting, it ends rather abrubtly. It doesn't exactly leave at a cliffhanger but it doesn't exactly answer all of my questions either. Good thing wikipedia shows a sequel in the works, Vortex, so I know we'll still have more to look forward to. As always, Wilson writes good characters. The main character, Lise, actually seemed a tad underdeveloped, but her companion Turk was definitely interesting. One of my favorite aspects of Wilson's writing is that he always takes the time to focus on the characters and how they mould to the events that take place around them. His books always read like character dramas where the theme happens to be sci-fi. In my opinion, that is a trait of a good writer. Care about your characters first and make your reader care about them and the events and plot that surrounds them will seem more believable and engrossing. The characters here didn't quite have the depth that they did in Spin, but that could be becaue the book is shorter than Spin and focuses on more characters. Still, that's a definite strong point here. I do wonder, however, whether we may have been better off waiting until this story was complete, with Axis and the next installment simply as one book, even it it were a lenghty read. I don't want to get into any spoilers, but the events that happened at the end of this book didn't quite seem... monumental enough to warrant writing an entire book about it. Wilson definitely shows us a new and bizarre aspect of the hypotheticals, but not much has really changed by knowing this. At least not yet. it felt like a pit-stop on the way to an even greater revelation that we've yet to know about. I'm sure that'll be revealed in Vortex, but who knows when that'll be out? Also, seeing as how the book takes place entirely on Equatoria (the newly colonized world given to humans by the Hypotheticals), we don't really learn that much about the planet. It almost seems... boring really. A group of the characters lived in the desert on this planet, but the environment isn't described for any of the other characters with the exception of the major city, Port Magellan. Are there large plains areas or large forests or rivers or anything like that? Because of this, I pictured the entire planet to look like a large, mostly-empty desert. I'd also love to hear if there was any wildlife native to the planet that they'd discovered or if wildlife from Earth had been brought there and how they'd adapted. These little things aren't necessary to the story, but would help to make this new world believable and interesting. Also, concepts of the story that seem important and pretty interesting are barely touched on at all. Like the arches. Not only is there an arch leading folk from Earth into Equatoria, but there's another arch on Equatoria that leads to yet another world and one from that world to another and so on. It's explained briefly that there are expeditions into the other world but it's just a barren rock. So there's not much there, but after several decades wouldn't they have found something? Doesn't anyone wonder why this barren planet was linked to theirs? These are things that I'd like to hear more about. Another thing that bothered me was a character from Spin that makes an appearance. I won't say who, but this almost seemed cheap, like an added attempt to keep us interested in the story. The character makes a cameo at first and I liked that; just a nice reference to Spin to remind us that we're reading about the same world. But then the character becomes a major player and I didn't feel that the character was very distinguishable from many of the others in the book and I wasn't entirely convinced. Just one more thing that could've been expanded on to make the book fell more complete. I did enjoy this book, for all I complained about it. The ashfall scenes were creepy and Wilson instills a sense of realism, even with something so strange as ash and decaying machinery dumping from the sky. He does a great job of making you feel like you are there. The ending of the book isn't bad. It's definitely interesting, but still I left wanting so much more. Granted, Spin is a hard act to follow and is also one of my favorite books of any genre, so maybe that's why I'm being so picky here. I'll still be buying Vortex as soon as it's out.

A bit long winded, but a good story with some very interesting ideas. Author tends to belabour some of the more mundane sections and loops back over details more than needed, then rushes through the big concepts. Otherwise an engaging read. Unique

I really enjoyed this book, it did tie up a few ends from Spin and of course set up more entertainment in book 3.Yet again RCW develops characters with ease and quickly too. But its all sent against the backdrop of the fact something we understand so little of is controlling our destinies and to what end and do they even realise or care Great stuff!

Not so simple to follow-on after spin... Slow to start, characters not all so consistent, but if you enjoyed Spin quite good.

after reading Spin ,I just had to read Axis ,it did not dissaòint enjoyed it .I like the way that the books follow through,yet not just a continuation,whole new concepts are explored ,Mow I have to read Nexus ,then read them all again

This second book was very interesting and left me feeling more emotional than I would have guessed. It really made me ponder humanity and our place in the universe.