Unexpectedly, this middle volume of the series is my favorite so far. Without major spoilers, stakes are raised and, while the aliens continue to alien, we get to see more of some particular aliens and how their aims are becoming clearer.

And wow, it really hit me in this volume how Lindsay Ellis can write and how this book is both a love story to other first contact tales and a burning indictment of American politics. Maybe this was too subtle in the prior volumes for me to catch and I’m a dummy, but there are some powerful themes in here about what the truth is and a thoughtful exploration of how humanity would react to aliens given the West’s long history of colonialism.

We also see some character and relationship development. Cora’s relationships continue to evolve, from Ampersand, Nil, and Sol. I really like the author’s handling of Ampersand here– while previously it was more of a physical alienness/squikiness, we get to start exploring what first contact with ultimately incomprehensible beings might look like. Cora herself has gone through quite an evolution from emotionally damaged teenager to confident alien whisperer. Cora’s behavior in this volume is a striking contrast to Truth of the Divine where we saw her reach new lows, and I wonder if we’ll find out more about this transition in future volumes.

My complaints about the prior volumes do persist, namely the inscrutable book titles and that each alien has at least 2 names, sometimes more. Minor stuff.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the copy of this eArc. I read this book way back in May 2024. Sometimes life gets in the way of reviews despite the reviewers best intentions. This is this reviewer's attempt to make up for past regressions. Another good installment of the Noumena series by Lindsay Ellis, but I felt it was the weaker of the three. Cora and Ampersand start doing more globetrotting expanding the politics and complexity of the story. At the same time, it dwells too much on the results of the previous book. Cora's character is very well done and continues to evolve. I hope there will be a book 4.

This Aliens-on-Earth story is the 3rd in a series depicting an alternate recent history. The series began with a leak about first contact and has continued to depict the struggle from micro- and macro- viewpoints.

At the micro level is Cora – the human who has become the interpreter between the humans and one alien in particular – Ampersand. In fact, there are multiple sects of aliens that Cora and humanity must deal with and none of them are a) impressed with humans or b) easy to get along with. Earth is viewed pretty much as a resource for the aliens to use.

At the macro level is all the world governments. Governments that may or may not cooperate and who all want whatever benefits they can get from the Aliens.

If this sounds familiar, it is. The scenario is not unique among Aliens-on-Earth stories. What gives this story heart is Cora. Over the 3 books she has matured and even evolved with the aid of and in spite of Ampersand. Cora plays the key role in the telling of the story.

First contact is not going well. Earth is about to become a battleground. The questions is this: Who among humans and aliens are allies and who are friends?

The story has gotten more complex and builds with each installment which means, I struggled to remember what happened in the first two books. I’m not a fan of this type of series, so, while I can recommend this series, especially if you are able to bing read it, I doubt I will read any more of it.

Through NetGalley, the publisher provided a copy of this book. My review is my honest opinion.

This series is one of my obsessions and I’m so glad I had an early look at this one! A belated review, but this was another excellent addition to Ellis’ series, and I loved the sapphic rep with Paris and Cora but I’m still patiently shipping Cora and Ampersand 🤞

I absolutely loved this! It's definitely better than the second installment and might actually be my favorite of the three so far. The implications of the world-building are fantastic, and I can't wait for future books to explore it even more.

I really enjoyed how the story intensified its focus on the immense and unfathomable power of these aliens, whose inscrutable way of observing humanity becomes even more intriguing in this third book with the addition of more mysterious beings to be both fascinated and baffled by. It makes those rare glimpses of our Amygdaline favorites' softer sides even sweeter.

There's also a ton of action packed into this installment. The pace is relentless, filled with rapid, dynamic, and unexpected plot twists that keep you constantly on edge. I loved the deeper and more nuanced exploration of a few key characters, as well as the suspense and second-guessing that the story masterfully maintains throughout.

what an incredible third installment of a series that i wish more people were talking about!!! lindsay ellis’s writing gets exponentially better, as would be expected with more experience. cora as a protagonist has qualities i find likable and unlikable. it’s easy to empathize with her, thrust into a whirlwind of government agents and otherworldly alien species and becoming an intermediary of communication without intending to. but she, of course, has elements of chaos to her that frustrate me from time to time. i will say, i liked her most in this book, and i loved getting to know paris and sol better through their POVs. i can’t wait for where else lindsay will deign to take us on this insane ride. the pinky and the brain ending goes crazy.

I enjoyed Axiom's End and Truth of the Divine but found Apostles of Mercy less so. It is very possible I just was not in the right frame of mind for AoM. I am giving it 3-stars and waiting for book four to see if it loses me completely.

Cora Sabino and Ampersand/Jules are now living in a remote part of Japan after the violence that occurred in book two. They are both done with Earth and trying to save it from itself. The Superorganism is coming, and Earth powers are arming themselves, though Ampersand has said that Earth stands no chance against the vastness of the Superorganism's power.

A number of things happen in this novel:
-Ampersand decides he wants to connect directly with Cora's brain using a technique his people use. She has an extreme negative reaction to the experience and feels frightened of Jules, consequently.
-The US president is eager to push through legislation that will allow him to begin production of nuclear weapons, despite disarmament treaties
-Kaveh Mazandarani's colleague Paris Wells begins carefully monitored conversations with Nikola, while she and Cora begin a relationship
-A sister species is found on Earth, which terrifies people, as encounters with them have resulted in extreme violence
-Sol Kaplan is deployed by his superiors at the CIA to find this species.

So, lots of stuff on the go.

The part I think I liked best about this book, and this series, was how we see Cora gradually evolve from kind of aimless and needy, to becoming increasingly traumatized with each new experience she has because she is Ampersand's translator and companion/pet. Then, finally, in this book, Cora is maturing, and is beginning to make her own choices, rather than be a passive observer in her life.

Ampersand and Cora's relationship is both codependent, but also seems in some ways to become a little more equal in this book, despite the vast differences between a human and the utterly alien, cybernetic being he is.

The pacing felt a little slow at first, but picked up the further in I read. I like the strangeness of all the aliens in this series; they're not just humans with some latex on their foreheads.

I had thought, till I got to the end of this book, that this was the end of the series, but I can only assume that author Lindsay Ellis has more in mind for this pair of characters. Considering I enjoyed this book more than book two, I am eager to find out what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I am very ambivalent about this final book in the series. I love the way aliens are portrayed as alien. Ellis does an excellent job of showing that aliens are not just that way because of their biology, but because of the way their minds work so differently from humans. Kudos for that. However, I did not like the way the book ended and I did not like how it meandered all over the place to that point. I simply didn't love this conclusion. To be fair, it was well-written. Ellis can write and do it in a thoughtful manner, but I I thought this was going to be the series conclusion, so when nothing was resolved at the end, I got a little miffed. Apostles of Mercy felt more like a transitional book than the end of a series. I liked the character of Cora but I don't understand why everyone falls in love with her-- including Ampersand! Overall, something was missing in this novel. Excitement? Character development? Energy? Coherence? I am simply not sure.

"Apostles of Mercy" by Lindsay Ellis is a thrilling conclusion to the author's Noumena science fiction series. Set in an alternate history where first contact with an alien civilization known as the Superorganism has gone horribly wrong, the story follows Cora Sabino and her alien companion Ampersand as they try to escape Earth before humanity is destroyed.

Ellis skillfully blends elements of political thriller, interstellar warfare, and hard-earned romance in this page-turning novel. The author's worldbuilding is impressively detailed, with the reader fully immersed in the complex geopolitical situation facing Earth. The characterization is also a strength, with Cora and Ampersand's relationship feeling authentic and well-developed.

While the novel can be read as a standalone, readers will get the most out of it by being familiar with the previous books in the series. Ellis doesn't waste time recapping, instead diving right into the action. The pacing is relentless, with the stakes constantly escalating as Cora and Ampersand are forced to make difficult choices.

The novel's ending is both satisfying and thought-provoking, leaving the reader with a lot to unpack. Ellis doesn't shy away from the moral ambiguities of her characters' actions, and the reader is left questioning who the real "apostles of mercy" are.

Overall, "Apostles of Mercy" is a stellar addition to the Noumena saga and a must-read for fans of intelligent, character-driven science fiction. Ellis has cemented her place as one of the most exciting new voices in the genre.

Apostles of Mercy is the third book in the Noumena series by Lindsay Ellis. When it begins, Cora and Ampersand are in Japan, hosted by a wealthy benefactor who plays no other role in the story. They have decided to leave Earth in the near future as Ampersand has decided Earth cannot be saved from climate chaos and its militaristic nihilism. Cora has been modified with implants that allow her to commute to school in New York City.

Meanwhile, Ampersand’s familial nemesis Nikola is locked up, deemed mentally ill and prevented from committing suicide. His killing of several soldiers at the end of Truth of the Divine is understood as self-defense, but it also instills increased fear of these aliens. Paris, a journalist, made a connection with Nikola and wants to interview him about his relationship with an activist/writer who died in the second book. Their growing understanding of each other is an important development in the series.

Meanwhile, the U.S. President is trying to increase the military budget in order to be able to fight the aliens he suspects are coming, the ones Ampersand and Nikola fled. And of course, it doesn’t help when there are rumors of aliens killing several people in the Philippines. Ampersand and Cora investigate and we learn that alien teenagers are just as troublesome and rebellious as human teens.

I liked Apostles of Mercy, but in some ways, I am more ambivalent about it than the first two books in the series. Personally, I think any science fiction book taking place on Earth is ethically obligated to address climate change and Lindsay Ellis keeps that dystopic future omnipresent in her series. I am glad of that, but hypocritically, I thought the discussion of our climate’s future to be too catastrophist and dogmatic. It took me out of the story.

Apostles of Mercy felt like a transitional book, not like the end of a series. I found myself distracted by the taxonomy of the alien species. There is as a lot more telling than showing and made the story feel less urgent. Even in moments of great peril, it feels a bit alien ex machina.

Nonetheless, I was engrossed in the developing and changing relationships and the puzzle of those rambunctious, impulsive, and typical, despite their extra-terrestrial origins, teenagers.

I received an e-galley of Apostles of Mercy from the publisher through NetGalley

The third book in Lindsay Ellis's Noumena series continues to be my favorite first contact/alien story that I've ever read. APOSTLES OF MERCY continues the trajectory from the second book with the alien amygdalines having recognized personhood and all the fallout that entails, along with a new wrinkle in the first contact story--a sister species that has been on Earth for decades. We also continue the story of Cora as she tries to find out what her new role should be in this world, and even if she should have one in the first place.

This book took me longer to finish than I expected considering I flew through the first and second books, but I think like most middle sections of stories, this one had a lot of baggage attached to it--following up two other parts and then setting up the back half of the series. However, I do think it did those things admirably, and I loved the addition of Paris as a new character who I hope will continue to show up in the series.

Would definitely recommend this series to anyone interested in alternative histories and sci-fi stories with aliens!

I want to thank Lindsay Ellis, the publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Apostles of Mercy is the 3rd installment in Lindsay Ellis' Noumena series. Noumena is a first-contact, science fiction series that takes place in the early 2000s. Overall, the series ranks as a solid 3.75, with the first and third books ranking the highest, and the second book ranking as mediocre. In many ways, this review about the third book is hard to write, mainly because I felt that the book was both interesting and mediocre at the same time. Therefore, I assigned it as a 4-star book, although the honest rating is closer to 3.75. The characters and stories told within each chapter are interesting, and well written. However, I feel that the story overall adds little to the story that is Ampersand and Cora. The introduction of new characters and side stories don't bring closure to many of the outstanding questions that are left lingering from the second book. Rather, they seem to distract from the book's end game foreshadowed in books 1 and 2: Cora and Ampersand leaving Earth, I hope that Ellis has additional books planned to conclude the Noumena series, as the conclusion of book 3, in my opinion does not provide proper closure to the reader. I would recommend this book to friends, but with the caveat that it is both exciting and frustrating.

Just when I was starting to worry that we'd never get a new installment in this series, it came back, and with a vengeance! I have noticed that with both the second book and this one, it does take me a minute to get back into the world/characters. Probably didn't help that there was a lot of time between, but as always, once I got going, I was invested!

In this book, we finally get a better look at the other entities that Ampersand has been talking about, and I think that helps a lot with the understanding of the world. We also start out with a quite despondent Cora. In fact, she is almost unlikable for parts of the book, even though you can wholly understand why she is feeling certain things, doing certain things, etc. Without giving anything away, I was glad to see her have to face some of these more toxic behaviors, including the way Ampersand has treated her. We're introduced in depth to Paris, who is an absolute breath of fresh air as a character, and challenges Cora in ways she needs to be challenged to keep growing.

I thought this was a trilogy, but it is clearly not, as it ends quite openly. So you'll have to wait for the next installment to see who the heck is going to remain on Earth- unless all the factions kill each other in the meantime!

Bottom Line: So glad this series is back for another great installment!

I completely PLOWED through this. I was extremely grateful to get access to Apostles of Mercy!

I liked Axiom's End, but it felt like Ellis was flirting with some excellent ideas, but it was Truth of the Divine where I really felt compelled by the prospect of this becoming a long-form epic I'd follow. Looking back on how the series began, it's wild to see how far things have progressed, Ellis' prose keeps improving (nothing wrong with how she wrote before, but she's just so much better now), and I just ripped through this.
I may be due for a reread of the first two of these, both of which I read once when they were originally published, due to (I think) me forgetting a bit more than I'd expected. I think a reread of all three will help.

When I first picked up Axiom’s End in 2021, I didn’t expect to be so captivated by this unique first contact saga. I was eagerly awaiting book 3 after the ending of Truth of the Divine, and it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed the direction in which Apostles of Mercy took the plot, both Cora and Ampersand’s character arcs throughout the series, and the increase in pacing from the first 2 books.

4 stars

I’ve read each of the Noumena books right around their release date, and so there has been at least a year in between reading each installment, which I think did my read of <i> Apostles of Mercy </i> a disservice. While the narrative did provide enough context that I was never lost, there were characters and plot points from the first book I struggled to remember, who nonetheless played large roles in the story. I’d recommend that anyone interested in the Noumena series read them all closer together.

This book really excelled at pacing and momentum. I was swept along from the very first chapters and found it extremely difficult to put the book down—continuously ‘one more chapter’-ing my way through until I was done.

I also admired the way that the narrative forced me to reexamine aspects of Ampersand and Cora’s relationship that I had thought I understood from the previous books, and how thoughtfully it reflected on the various human relationships Cora has and how healthy or unhealthy they may be. Cora is vulnerable for much of the book, and that makes her easy to exploit.

It did feel a little of a stretch that Cora’s clear vulnerability made her seemingly irresistible to so many characters in a romantic/sexual sense, and she undergoes a transformation near the end of the book (butterfly-like, which was appropriate given the themes built up along the way) that I didn’t feel was entirely earned by her character arc.

I was under the impression that the Noumena series would be a trilogy, which would make this the final installment. However, the book didn’t feel as though it were concluding the macro arcs that have been ongoing; perhaps this is a stylistic decision about the ongoing nature of humanity’s problems, but I left the novel wondering if this was really the end of what Ellis wants to write about this world.

While at times the alien subject matter can veer into the goofy, and the centering of Cora as hapless protagonist can feel a little indulgent, Ellis’s overall writing style is thoughtful and sometimes profound. I look forward to seeing how she tackles new projects in the future.

Thank you to Lindsay Ellis and St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Apostles of Mercy is the third book in the Noumena series. I have a deep love for this series that has steadily grown since book one. While I’m a fast reader, each book has always taken me a surprisingly long time to finish. This is due to the complexity of the plot and the vast amount of characters. I dearly love the characters, especially Ampersand/Jude, Enola/Nikola, and all the other aliens. I also love the human cast, and I think the way Ellis is handling Cora’s severe trauma and complicated relationship with Jude very well.

I am very hopeful for future installments of this series and I can’t wait to find out more! I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves character driven stories and sci-fi based plots.

Part three of the Noumena series reunites us with Cora, Jude (&), and Sol in the aftermath of the conclusion of the second book (Truth of the Divine). The main focus of this book is a new character, Paris, and her interactions with Cora and Nikola. We also meet some other new characters that change everything for humanity. This one took a little while to warm up, but once it did, I kept reading straight through to the finish. Overall, a hopeful story with themes relevant to our current society. 4/5

4.5/5 ⭐️

I'm always strapping in and not quite sure where things are going to go when it comes to these books, but I know it will be a fun time. This book is no different and I really enjoyed the ride.

Some aspects that I loved:
- Cora's growth and agency! I've loved her character arc across the series and this book really showcases just how much she has overcome while highlighting how comfortable and confident she has become.
- This book probably has the most action of the three and includes some moments of suspense that made me want to keep reading.
- There are some great themes about humanity - what it means to be human and so on that Ellis does a great job of interweaving throughout each book.
- Romance - I won't get into it for spoilers but there are some, let's say interesting moments between Ampersand and Cora.

I think of the three, book 2 was my favorite. The themes about mental health were so good and I really connected with them. Something that stands out to me about these books is that while they are all part of a series, they really stand out individually with how they tackle what first contact might mean on Earth. I'm sad to be leaving this series but I'm looking forward to what Ellis writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley, Lindsay Ellis, and St. Martin's Press for my early access to this.