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Axis [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert Charles Wilson
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)

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Book Description

June 3, 2008

Wildly praised by readers and critics alike, Robert Charles Wilson's Spin won science fiction's highest honor, the Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Now, in Axis, Spin's direct sequel, Wilson takes us to the "world next door"—the planet engineered by the mysterious Hypotheticals to support human life, and connected to Earth by way of the Arch that towers hundreds of miles over the Indian Ocean. Humans are colonizing this new world—and, predictably, fiercely exploiting its resources, chiefly large deposits of oil in the western deserts of the continent of Equatoria.

Lise Adams is a young woman attempting to uncover the mystery of her father's disappearance ten years earlier. Turk Findley is an ex-sailor and sometimes-drifter. They come together when an infall of cometary dust seeds the planet with tiny remnant Hypothetical machines. Soon, this seemingly hospitable world will become very alien indeed—as the nature of time is once again twisted, by entities unknown.


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this outstanding sequel to Wilson's Hugo-winning Spin (2005), we are taken to the mysterious planet Equatoria, a world apparently engineered for humanity by the inscrutable machine intelligences known as the Hypotheticals. Turk Findley, a man with a criminal past, runs an aeronautical charter service on the newly settled planet. Lise Adams, who hires Turk, is a would-be journalist searching for her vanished father, a scientist obsessed with the Hypotheticals and their illegal life extension technology. Meanwhile, young Isaac, genetically manipulated by rogue scientists so that he may become a conduit between humanity and the AIs, is coming of age, and something enormous and unknown is assembling itself far underground. The various science and thriller plot elements are successful, but this is first and foremost a novel of character. Turk and Lise, who might well be played by Bogart and Bacall, are powerfully drawn protagonists, and their strong presence in the novel makes the wonders provided all the more satisfying. Those unfamiliar with Spin may flounder a bit, but Wilson's fans will be ecstatic. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Critics enjoyed Axis as much as they did Spinâ€"but suggested that readers embarking on the second novel in the series may wish to start with the first, which introduces Robert Charles Wilson’s compelling, fully developed characters and provides a context for Earth’s time warp. Be warned: this is the second book of a planned trilogy, and it has that getting-deeper-in-our-world-without-resolving-everything approach at which middle books excel. But even for readers unfamiliar with Equatoria, Axis is a suspenseful, smart, and well-crafted book with characters who, even amid alien, AI creatures, face real-life dilemmas. Although Axis provides very few answers to questions raised in Spin, it starts to fit the details of life and life quests on Equatoria (which somewhat resembles Australia) into a larger framework. In sum: another masterful addition to the series.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 355 pages
  • Publisher: Tor Science Fiction (June 3, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0765348268
  • ISBN-13: 978-0765348265
  • Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

The ending seems very rushed. Matt Lewis Reese  |  8 reviewers made a similar statement
Moving forward to the events of Axis, the story has changed but the depth of the characters has not. Christopher Fry  |  9 reviewers made a similar statement
Axis also does what Spin did very well: provide a good story with some great characters. Alexandro C. Telander  |  6 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 54 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars An adequate, well-written sequel to a superb novel. September 20, 2007
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I don't know if Axis is meant to be the middle book of a trilogy, but it certainly feels like it. It falls in the same trap as many other "middle stories", attempting to build upon the ideas and themes of the first novel, with stunning revelations of its own, but unable to fully flesh out its own purpose without bringing the entire arc to conclusion.

This may be up for debate, but I do believe reading Axis requires one to have read Spin. While the most of the primary players in Axis make their debut here, the story truly builds on the events of Spin. And let's just say the Hypotheticals (the galaxy-spanning artificial intelligence that set the Spin in motion) "remember" the events of the first novel.

This is not a great Robert Charles Wilson book...which is kinda like saying "this is a slow Ferarri". Wilson has been in a class of his own since "A Bridge of Years", writing character-driven sci-fi for geeks with a passing knowledge of cosmology and physics. To me, Axis reads a bit like Bios. Its short and to the point, hurtling along like a freight train toward a brick wall. Things feel like they won't end well. Characters get short-shrifted in service of the inscrutable plot.

But like most "middle stories" (I hate to say this, but I think "The Matrix Reloaded" is a good example), I think Wilson is building toward something huge. Spin was great because he expertly juggled big ideas, big science and great characters and the end of the book felt like closure. Things are much more open-ended in Axis.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, Not Great September 23, 2007
Format:Hardcover
I couldn't wait to read Axis. Wilson is one of my favorite writers, and a sequel to Spin would surely be awesome. It's hard to live up to expectations like that, though, and now that I'm done, I'm trying not to feel disappointed. On its own, Axis is a fine book, one of the few decent sci-fi novels this year. The problem is, I've come away from every other Wilson book going, "Wow, that was amazing!" With Axis, although I enjoyed it, I just wasn't blown away like I expected to be.

Wilson is an accomplished storyteller. He specializes in taking big, crazy "What-If" scenarios, making them plausible, and viewing them through the lives of credible human characters. What if Europe were suddenly replaced by a wilderness? What if gigantic war memorials began appearing from the future? In Spin, the Earth is enclosed in a barrier by an unknown alien power, nicknamed the Hypotheticals. After a few years inside the barrier, Earth emerges four billion years into the future, with a transdimensional gateway in the Indian Ocean that leads to a new, inhabitable planet, Equatoria.

Axis takes place thirty years later on the new frontier world. The story follows Lise, an intelligent, 30's-ish woman who is looking for clues to her father's disappearance 15 years earlier. Her search leads her into the shadowy world of the Fourths, humans who have illegally taken a Martian longevity treatment. The ultimate goal of the group is to establish contact with the Hypotheticals, through Isaac, a boy with special abilities. On the run from the authorities, Lise and her companions end up learning more about the Hypotheticals than they bargained for.

As with any Wilson novel, the writing is superb and the characters well-drawn.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A solid sequel that suffers from middle-child syndrome (not getting enough respect or praise), AXIS is a much more intimate, smaller scaled novel when compared to the superb Hugo Award winning SPIN.

WARNING: SOME SPOILERS AHEAD:

Author Robert Charles Wilson deals with the post-SPIN world and where the arch that the Hypotheticals erected on Earth leads to combining two different narrative threads that ultimately converge. The first involves Lise Adams who is searching the new world for clues to the disappearence of her father a supporter of the Fourths who had a fascination with both their culture as well as the Hypotheticals themselves. Lise enlists a former lover Turk to help her find the last person who may have seen her father.

Intertwined with that story we also learn about Issac a boy specifically bred to communicate with the Hypotheticals by an off-shoot of the Fourths led by a former collegue of Lise's father. All of this is topped off with the threat of ash falling from the sky that appears to be the remains of Hypotheticals (biological, mechanical or both...we're not really given a clear answer on this)and the bizarre creatures that sprout out of the soil when they settle on the planet's surface.

AXIS is much more character driven and smaller in scale than SPIN was. Lacking that story's grander story makes it appear that AXIS is somehow a lesser novel but that's not the case at all. We may not make huge strides in finding out who the Hypotheticals are, what they want and what their interest is in humanity but we are given some answers even if many of them aren't quite as conclusive as we'd like. It appears that Wilson is setting the stage for a third more comprehensive novel with AXIS.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars middle book
definately a middle book. it strings you along and then ends. nothing seems to happen. blah blah blah blah blah. ok amazon. i have to make this longer? Read more
Published 19 days ago by L. C. Pinkerton
5.0 out of 5 stars Great sequel
I recommend both books. I liked the first one better but this still a good story. It is nice to learn more details another the hypotheticals.
Published 1 month ago by Lobuche East
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this whole series
You must read this series in order, however. But it's absolutely fantastic, and I couldn't wait to start the next one after I'd finished the previous. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Stefanie
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Intro to Next Installment
Spin is something less than Axis. Perhaps it's because we already know what's going on. In any case the story is engaging and, hopefully, a good introduction to the third volume... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ken Rahmes
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic event followed by very credible consequences
Excelent awe-inspiring science fiction with an equally awe-inspiring ending that serves as a perfect cliffhanger for the other books in the series.
Published 4 months ago by Lucio De S. Coelho
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
It was a good sequel to Spin. It helped explain a lot. It has an interesting if not predictable ending.
Published 5 months ago by Read 2 Much
2.0 out of 5 stars A poor continuation to the brilliant SPIN
This is really an unreadable book. I liked SPIN very much, and VORTEX (the conclusion of the trilogy) is also good, but this middle book is driven mainly by a forced romance and... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Stelios Touchtidis
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
It is rare to find a story that is original and well developed in its characters. This is one. Not built to tech fanatics, and very engaging. Highly recommended.
Published 7 months ago by fpessolano
4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good read!
Having never read anything by this author I was prepared to be disappointed, as I have been by several other new authors that are new to me. Read more
Published 7 months ago by kirKauai
3.0 out of 5 stars I was disappointed
I enjoyed Spin, the prequel of this book, and I was looking forward to read Axis. The story is interesting. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Gyula Meszaros
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What is Sci-Fi Coming To?
Maybe its the area that you live? Here in Denver Metro(Littleton/Highlands Ranch area), most of the major bookstores are carrying Axis. I've seen three copies so far.

That said....no one in Kansas City? That sucks. Over the past several years, I've noticed a definite downturn in quality,... Read more
Sep 20, 2007 by Chris Lee Mullins |  See all 3 posts
What happened to the Kindle version of this and the other Wilson books?
Interestingly, Axis is now available, and Spin is not....[cue Twilight Zone theme]....
Feb 18, 2010 by Soozie |  See all 3 posts
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