At the time I requested this book I was very interested in it. Obviously, it has been a few years since I requested this and I am no longer interested in it now. It doesn't match my current reading tastes and I apologize that I didn't read it and thank you for the kindness you showed offering it to me.

In the future society in the new Roman Empire is starkly divided between the haves and the have nots. The nobility has lives of ease and pleasure. The lowly classes have two choices, drive for a team in the races and live life with some ease though there’s a daily threat of death or horrible injury in the unpredictable races dictated by the whims of the Dominus, or go work in the salt mines. Axl is one of the winningest drivers the games have ever seen. He is carrying Team Apollo to victory after victory, though the owner of Team Apollo never seems satisfied. After an accident takes out one of Team Apollo’s drivers, Axl takes a chance at a new and risky little driver, Piston. Everyone thinks she’s a washout, but Axl and the rest of Team Apollo see something in her. If they can just get her to see it in herself and figure out how to bring it out before she kills herself or their owner sends her to the salt mines. Meanwhile, Axl is edging closer and closer to the elusive 100 wins mark. Supposedly any driver who wins 100 racers is named a Centurion, wins his freedom and a place in the nobility. Half the drivers hope this dream is true and the other half think the game is rigged so no one will ever get there. Will Axl make it to Centurion and can Piston discover the skills her team knows she possesses before it is too late?

This has all the classic makings of a great underdog team story. First, there’s Piston’s training and the team working to bring her potential to the surface. She’s a sweet, tough kid who has never known kindness before and it is touching to see her blossom under Team Apollo’s care. Second, there’s the crazy races they have to participate in. The course can change at a moment’s notice and harbors all sorts of surprises and the Dominus can step in at any second and change rules however he wishes. It is thrilling to watch Team Apollo work together to succeed in these races. And thirdly, there’s Axl’s quest for Centurion which really opens readers eyes to how unjust and disjointed and imbalanced the world they live in is. They are just diversions for the social elite and get a moments’ worth of shelter and relative ease in exchange for putting their lives on the line to entertain. At any moment they could find themselves injured, dead, or kicked out to the salt mines by plunges in popularity or lack of success or just because their owner decides he is tired of them. The book addresses the first two issues well in this book. The third part is addressed partly, but I was really left wanting more. The story screams for a couple more sequels that will rise up to fight the social injustice and disparity in that world. It is definitely the bigger issue, but no one can do anything about it. It leaves a bitter taste and unfinished feel to the story, but in a good way. Readers shouldn’t be ok with the way their world is. And it should prompt some great food for thought. Still, I am really, really, REALLY hoping for sequels to tackle and work at overthrowing this dystopian society. This was definitely a fun read. The world imagined readily comes to life through the characters and illustrations, the characters especially are fantastic. The races are wildly imaginative. And this is a very engaging story. Definitely recommended. And the discomfort at the world they live in is important, and would spark some great book club or class discussions. Hand this to dystopian fans, sports fans, fans of underdog overcomers, and fans of great team stories. Oh, and of course, graphic novel fans.

Notes on content [based on the ARC]: One minor swear word. No sexual content. There are deaths implied in the salt mines and in the races, but only flaming cars or crashes are shown. Some bumps, bruises, and bloody noses shown.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this dystopian YA graphic novel, the Roman Empire never fell and now, gladiators duke it out on the track: Truckus Maximum is a competition where combatants race monster trucks to the death (Gen Xers, think Rollerball meets Death Race 2000). Team Apollo leader Axl is the best driver who can pull a win out in the worst of circumstances and adheres to a strict moral code. If he wins his 1000th match, he'll be free - but at what cost to his teammates? Piston is a racer that's new to Team Apollo. She takes chances, she lives and drives recklessly, and Axl sees something in her that no one else does. Can he teach her to rein herself in before she gets herself traded off to a worse fate than the track? 

If you have manga fans, give them this one! The artwork is very manga-inspired, and the storyline is fast-paced, with car aerodynamics and explosions aplenty. There's good world-building - I like the idea of the Roman Empire's enduring and not moving past this whole entertainment-or-death business. It's a popular dystopian theme, from The Running Man to The Hunger Games, and fits where we are as a media-obsessed, "if it bleeds, it leads" society. Axl is an interesting character, with his stoicism and the big moral choice ahead of him. In a society where everyone is corrupt, the good guy becomes the outlaw - and the team owner and the emperor himself are all in, trying to sway Axl. Piston is Axl's foil, made of passion where Axl represses everything. Her bad decisions get her tossed off one team, and leave her future with Team Apollo pretty tenuous until she starts to harness her own power and channel it in more positive ways. But having a bit of that wild streak also means pulling out some big risks, and that may be what Team Apollo needs.

Truckus Maximus is a fun read, and should be popular with tweens and young teens. I'd like to see this as an animation.

This book was a fun space ride, but it does give the reader a sense of deja vu. The story line is very similar to Alita Battle Angel, and other space racing graphic novel that came out last year that I can not name. If you are not the Elite, you are in the Salt Mines. Unless you are a racer. And these races are deadly. There is a bright spot, become a Centurion. What happens when you win 100 races, no one knows for sure. It’s a virtual impossibility because the race master can change the rules at any time. And while the team leader is pushing for that last race, he doesn’t forget about his team, raising them up, and equipping them better to survive.