Truth of the Divine

A Novel

By: Lindsay Ellis

Narrated by: Abigail Thorn, Kaveh Taherian, Stephanie Willis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press

©2021 Lindsay Ellis (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Loved the book, but this one might be better read than hard

This is a riveting, page turner of the story that will have fans of Axiom’s End completely gripped. Unfortunately, that grip is likely to lose its hold when Kaveh Taherian’s narration begins. Compared to his co-narrators, Taherian comes across as though he is reading these words for the very first time. He does get better by the end of the book, but for many hours it feels like a rehearsal, and it breaks the story’s urgent pacing.

Mucho más oscuros de lo que esperaba

Una secuela inesperada mucho más gutural y cruda que su predecesora. En general buena. Problemitas con la actuación, hay muchos parches en la edición que rompen la inmersión.

Prepare to cry

This book is an absolute masterpiece. Touching, intense, gutting, funny, philosophically fascinating. Must Read!

Good! Thoroughly decent.

there's a content warning at the beginning - listen to it. Still worth it.

BIG SAD FACE

Good grief is this book a lot to take in. While listening, I couldn't help but compare it to other books: the existential horror of Remembrance of Earth's Past, the stark real life parallels of Parable of the Sower, and the psychological tragedy of A Little Life. A big jump in quality from the first book. Stephanie Willis' narration is so convincing it's legit upsetting. Give her an Oscar.