Okay, so a book about an authoritarian hellscape might not have been the best choice for this exact moment in time. It’s pretty bleak at times but it does leave off on a hopeful note. The book is very well written and well paced, the plot kept my interest, and the sci-fi elements were very interesting. Unfortunately though, I sometimes had a difficult time keeping the characters and all of the generically-named political entities straight in my head.

The audiobook narrator is great BUT I have a real problem with the lack of any accents in character voices when the cast of characters is very clearly multinational. Everyone speaks with the same American accent but as far as I can tell absolutely none of these characters is American. I don’t blame that on the narrator, as I said she does a great job. I feel like that’s down to the producers of the audiobook making a choice to not do any accents, which I personally dislike. I prefer audiobooks to be performed rather than just read.

Overall a very good sci-fi book! 4.5 stars (4 stars for the audio).

Read this via an Audiobook ARC, kindly provided by NetGalley. 3.5 ⭐️

Disclaimer that my review is through the lens of listening to the audiobook, with no physical text to reference. Disclaimer to the disclaimer that the latter half of it will change - I want to re-read this with book in hand.

With that in mind, I got the characters all jumbled up. The names were just too difficult to focus on to decipher and digest without being able to physically read them. Maybe that's a me thing, and certainly not a valid criticism. I am familiar with Ray Nayler's books, so I knew to expect something a bit more "hard" sci-fi, but I actually found this to be probably the least so of his books. And I liked that he pumped the breaks a bit in that respect, let some characters have some more pedestrian moments against the tapestry of totalitarian society that he's woven here.

You get the mundane, the regular days under this sort of surveilled life; optimized and dictated by AI. But then you get drama, crime, intrigue. Themes of displacement, or rather the inability to leave a place, is prevalent. And it begs the question of, once we (humanity) hand the reins over to AI, can we really wash our hands clean of whatever it is they decide to do? I would like to opt out of the "finding out" part of that fuck around, find out phrase.

I had a good time, and will likely rate it higher once I can re-read physically.

This piece of speculative fiction is scarily close to an image of what authoritarianism could look like in our near future. AI used poorly but too often resulted in “prime ministers” that are running the show all over the world, and immorality has won out. Power for power’s sake is the only thing left, and the “regular people” just trying to survive.

The afterword of the book touches on the fact that it is a terrifying reflection of our issues today, but also gives us hope that there could, in fact, be an end to the horrors.

This is a science fiction in the near future that's hitting a little too close to home. Of course, a lot of factors are beyond realistic for us at this point, but boy, sometimes it feels like I'm just reading truly in that near future. It's timely and rather interesting for sure, but I was muddled by the numerous characters at the beginning that left me in a weird haze for the rest of the book.

I mean, I got the world build for sure, and yes, it was absolutely creative and at times, mind blowing. But yet the characters themselves just didn't get to the height that it could when the world build was rather brilliant. I was more fascinated by all the surroundings and all the events, but not much of the characters themselves, which was a bummer. I listened to the audiobook, which did just fine, but somehow it stayed stagnant for me most of the time. I appreciated the underlying tone of hope with the characters and the need, yet I longed for a deeper exploration of them when the world was so well done.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for a copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

A complex novel with expansive world building. It took me a bit to get into to it but with a running start I enjoyed it quite a bit. Like other readers — I found the multiple POVs difficult at times. Great premise, great book. Thanks NetGalley!

This is a book that I feel will really hold up on reread. There are so many political moves and philosophical ideas included in this story that I think I need another read through to really grasp everything.

Not that this book is bad on first read, in fact, I think it is flawless on first read and will just get better and better as I think about the story and the ideas Nayler presented.

I don't think this is a character story, rather, this is definitely a story with a message that the characters are telling. This might not work for everyone, but I really liked the plot and ideas enough that I loved this experience.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every book Nayler has written so far and I look forward to reading everything else that he publishes.

Where the Axe Is Buried
Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nayler has earned my respect as a serious SF author. You know, not one that just panders to trends, but one that seriously explores issues, often philosophically and, better, to a sharp point.

This new one is no different, except that it is faster-paced and quite a bit more angry. I mean, what else can we expect when showing a different kind of dystopia, one that goes beyond robot overlords or ham-fisted dictators, but a seriously smart and even reasonable tragic end.

Wait... a reasonable tragic end?

Well, yeah, if security is what you want and when authoritarian governments have learned from the past mistakes of other authoritarian governments, it's only reasonable that they do EVERYTHING in their power to retain absolute control. The point? Don't half-ass it. Use those AIs to go whole-hog on the ideological vice-grip. You know, like what has just been happening in our world, now. Don't let anyone have a single inch. It's not just China that has social scores and micro-managed restrictions anymore.

This novel shines a pretty bright light on an extreme future that seems almost exactly like our own. Updated. Sharp. Scary. But with a little hope. There always has to be a little hope.


My synesthesia tastes the sweet scent of tulips and acetylene torches.

I’ve been on a speculative fiction reading kick lately and this one absolutely worked for me. I had really enjoyed Nayler’s previous books The Mountain in The Sea and this one was also fantastic in many of the same ways. While his debut focused more on the personal sides of AI, nature, and what intelligence means, this one is definitely more political.

Nayler balances worldbuilding and giving a great snapshot of the wider world really well with intriguing characters with rich inner worlds and an interesting plot. Nayler has had a very international career and I find the way he approaches politics in his stories to be very compelling. While cities are mostly unnamed, it's easy to make guesses. But beyond that the systems he imagined are not only cool concepts, but they feel very believable.

I had planned to eyeball read this one, but when I saw Eunice Wong was the narrator, I decided to listen to it instead. Her narration was, as usual, fantastic. That being said, there are a lot of POVs in this one and I think that might feel a bit chaotic for some.

As terrifying as it is ultimately hopeful, however heavy-handed it might seem (and I hope that the future will render this work an odd piece of naive and short-sighted fatalism), Nayler has written the quintessential 1984 of our time. Whether it stands the test of time is anybody's guess, but right here, right now in the year of our lord 2025, few other books have captured the fears and anxieties of our current age and extrapolated them to a future in the disturbing middle-distance that is just far off enough to reassure ourselves these horrible things can be avoided and just near enough to make it feel like the Sword of Damocles that it is.

The main criticism I have for this work is the odd pacing. After a fascinating introduction, I personally got a little bogged down in the number of characters (which are ultimately manageable and well-juggled), trying to keep straight who was where in the world, and the typical sci-fi/futurist problem of having to explain the rules of a foreign world to those in our present place and time. Despite those things which make this sound like a dense, impenetrable tome, the story moves along at a brisk pace. Nayler has something to say with this book and it shows because he is much more interested in telling the story than in explaining the palace intrigues, the rules and parameters of the featured technology, or indulging in overly florid/descriptive language of any sort. He gives you just enough to make it feel real, to assure you that there is a hierarchy in the government, that the featured technology has an internal logical consistency, and describes just enough to render the fully formed future in your own mind.

Bringing together our present anxieties regarding the socio-political challenges the world is presently facing, the rapid development of AI, concerns about the surveillance state, and the general feeling that resistance is pointless, Where the Axe is Buried may or may not in the long-term sit alongside Brave New World and 1984 as a nouveau classic dystopian novel, but it is hard to imagine a more succinct and comprehensive illustration of the present zeitgeist.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for advanced access to the audiobook version of this book. Where the Axe is Buried is set to be published April 1, 2025 at time of writing.

The world in Where the Axe is Buried is just not really that different from today which makes it more of a techno-thriller or political thriller than just sci-fi. The characters are secondary to the intrigue, strategizing, and world-building, so much that I would say the characters are defined purely by their chess position in the set piece. It was not my thing but I did find it reminiscent of William Gibson or Neal Stephenson both of whom are also quite popular but I could never get into.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc (audiobook).

Where the Axe Is Buried by Ray Nayler

I read this book at the wrong time.

I had never heard of Ray Nayler until I saw his book The Mountain and the Sea on the nebula nomination list. (It’s still on my TBR pile!)

When I saw a new book by him on NetGalley, I decided to give it a go. This book was hard. It’s set in a world with an incredibly brutal fascist regime where the leader’s mind keeps getting transferred into new clones bodies when the body degrades. Some of the imagery was evocative and some of the language was beautiful, but reading about this brutal government as my own country descends further into fascism was not the diverting SF novel I was looking for. I also felt like many of the characters were ciphers with no interiority.

An interesting book, but not for me at this point in in time.

I listened to this at 2x speed.

Where the Axe Is Buried: A Novel by Ray Nayler, Palmer, Zoya, Nikolai, Nurlan and Krotov are working toward fighting against the global oppression of “Rationalized” leaders, holding their citizens under constant surveillance and crushing all freedoms.

I had the opportunity to be able to review both the book and audio version simultaneously. This dystopian/speculative fiction is wonderfully written. The narration by Eunice Wong was clear and well-paced, giving distinct voices to each of the characters, making it an engaging experience.

Thank you, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, | MCD for the opportunity to read the eARC & Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4 stars
Audio Release Date: Apr 01 2025
Print Pub Date: Apr 01 2025

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Where the Axe Is Buried is a richly imagined looks at the potential effects of AI programs serving as leaders, and the mysterious purposes they might pursue contrary to what we typically think of as humanity's wellbeing. The title is a reference to burying the hatchet at the end of a war, where of course people will unfortunately just dig it back up and return to their violent nature at opportune times. It's full of intrigue and plotting from the AI PMs that are running each country to the people trying to restore some sense of humanity. It's a great thought experiment and entertaining as well.

This is perhaps my favorite style of speculative fiction, and if the themes hearken back to the 1960s era UKL, PKD, and Stanisław Lem books I love, it is because we face the threat of a different rising authoritarianism today. Speculative fiction is a lens in which we can analyze our own time and the near future and then challenge with radical ideas to look to shift ideology.

In the frightening future society Nayler envisioned, it is not human dictators we watch out for, though human greed does contribute, but AI prime ministers, built to make aggressive decisions the people cannot see and presidents seeking immortality of mind.

Where the Axe is Buried is centered around perspectives of the ordinary and extraordinary people some pushing the limits of rebellion, others of science, and others who just happen to be caught in the web. The technology feels terrifyingly real to the 2025 reader, and the politics even more so.

Where the Axe is Buried by Ray Naylor is a dense and thought-provoking story of a collapsing government in an unstable world. The novel looks at artificial intelligence, and examines power, resistance, and political structures. This multifaceted novel looks at society and technology though a dark lens.

The story left me thinking about how it applied in the real world. However, while the author skillfully prompts readers to draw their own conclusions, the lack of closure for many characters left me a bit unsatisfied. Much like real-world politics there are no neat or tidy resolutions. I found the action occasionally difficult to follow.

I listened to this as an audiobook and Eunice Wong delivers a commendable narration, adding depth and texture to the listening experience. This multifaceted novel looks at society and technology though a dark lens.

In the authoritarian Federation, there is a plot to assassinate and replace the President, a man who has downloaded his mind to a succession of new bodies to maintain his grip on power. Meanwhile, on the fringes of a Western Europe that has renounced human governance in favor of ostensibly more efficient, objective, and peaceful AI Prime Ministers, an experimental artificial mind is malfunctioning, threatening to set off a chain of events that may spell the end of the Western world.

This was a very interesting sci fi novel. Ray Naylor is a science fiction author to watch forsure. I have read and very much enjoyed his two previous books and this one was his best work so far:)

#gifted I received an early audiobook from netgalley and MacMillan Audio. The narrator is very well suited to the book! She did the variety of accents beautifully. 4.75 stars, if that were possible. Mountain in the Sea got 5 stars from me.

I am baffled at how much Nayler was able to fit into this book without it being overly long. I could not summarize the plot without writing something at least half as long as the book lol!

The plot is sharp, the themes well thought through, the characters a complex web of drama that is yet simple enough to push the action forward at a steady pace through the end.

I love dystopian literature. This absolutely fits on a shelf with We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, 1984 by Orwell, Brave New World, and so on. It's a brilliant modern take on the same issues. The context is updated for our technology now and the dark potential we fear, yet the same political fears still exist around the world.

What I took from the book is how inevitable that decline is if and once that Pandora's Box of technology and autocracy is opened, yet that personal courage and anarchy is still beautiful and worth it.

I found the writing beautiful and quotable. The characters were well fleshed out. What one reviewer considers too simple and childish in the technology, I judged to have kept the story from being too bogged down. I appreciate that for the dark and intense themes of this book, I was able to enjoy and follow the audiobook while my kid was at baseball practice or walking around Costco.

The authoritarian Federation is ruled by The President, who thanks to modern technology will never die, and no one is free. The west is stagnant, under the rule of AI MPs who haven't changed anything. On the brink of the world either being destroyed or replaced by something better, the lives of Zoya, Lilia, Palmer, Nikolai, Nurlan, and Elmira are intertwined.

This is an incredible dystopian novel imaging a techno-authoritarian future that considers what is good and what is evil and what does it mean to act. It is a complicated story that is both sad and hopeful, and I could not put it down.

I thought the narrator did a good job switching between all the different POVs.

I will need to read this again to understand everything but I'm still giving it 5 stars because it had everything I love in a great science fiction novel: there were intriguing ideas, lots of action, and compelling personalities. In fact, I had to sit on this for a while after finishing because I was heartbroken, especially after the author's note.
The themes are dark but you get to see some people's weaknesses and how they try to make things better. The narration was fantastic and held my attention. Thanks so much to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

As an avid dystopian reader, I was very confused about this story until about 75% of the way through, and honestly I still don't really know what happened in this book. This book followed multiple POVs and getting them to connect and come together took way to long for it to make any sense to me. I understand the overall message of the book, but I could not tell you what actually happened. If I did not receive this as an ALC I would have DNFed.