Where the Axe Is Buried

I was a big fan of The Mountain In The Sea, and rated it as one of the most interesting debuts to come along in a while. This one also deals with non-human intelligence, but one closer to today’s headlines. Yes, it’s an AI novel. But what’s most interesting here is the form. It’s told from many different viewpoints, all of whom of have different levels of access to what’s really going on, and it ends up reading like a classic twisty espionage story. More than anything, I was put in mind of Dave Hutchinson’s fantastic Fractured Europe books. And like those, be prepared to be left scratching your head at the end, as you piece together what was really going on. A reread will, I think, throw lots of new perspectives on the novel, but even after a single read through it’s clear Ray Nayler is a hugely promising talent.

4.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
The world is divided into rationalized economies run by AIs, and the Federation, run by the same autocrat for decades. But both societies are about to break down, with substantial help from shadowy but powerful cabals whose aims and allegiances aren't entirely clear. Each of a half dozen characters have an important part to play, despite never being quite sure what it is.

Review
The central theme of Where the Axe is Buried is a familiar one – systems containing the seeds of their own collapse – but Nayler's approach to it is astonishingly good. I liked Nayler's previous novel, The Mountain in the Sea, but it also left me a little cold. Here, there's also a bit of a clinical, distant feel, but the story is so well done that he gets away with it. This is one of the best constructed novels I've read for a while.

There are a lot of characters in the story; Nayler shifts among half a dozen to allow each to give us snippets of information and perspective on systems collapsing. None is really at the center (one is slightly more central) and none is indispensable. For the first third of the book, that left me intellectually interested, but not really emotionally invested. After that, my emotional engagement grew in small increments, though it never quite reached my heart.

It's generally clear where the story is going, though there are enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. One final twist toward the end feels like a step too far, and unnecessary. That's in part because, despite the emotional distance, Nayler is focused on the characters' experiences, and the system collapse that is the story's backdrop is too vague to really fit the pieces together. In that sense, this is an impressionist story – you get the gist of the theme without ever really seeing quite how the pieces fit together (and my feeling, frankly, was that they don't). The key, though, is that it works. It's an impressionist sketch without a central focus point or character, but it's also extremely well executed.

It probably helps that it appears Nayler draws on a professional background quite similar to my own, so the names, cultures, and concepts are familiar. In any case, just as the last book moved me from uncertain bystander to impressed onlooker, this books is moving me closer to enthusiast status – I still can't really say ‘fan', because I look for more emotional involvement, but I certainly enjoyed this story.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.