Where the Axe Is Buried - by Ray Nayler

Book Synopsis

All systems fail. All societies crumble. All worlds end.

Following the success of his debut novel, The Mountain in the Sea, Ray Nayler launches readers into a thrilling near-future world of geopolitical espionage where an authoritarian Federation ruled by a near-immortal President is beginning to crumble, paralleled by the collapse of AI-governed Western societies.

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. Lilia, a brilliant scientist on the run from the authorities, may have invented a way to bring down the President and escape a near-impenetrable web of Federation surveillance. Her fate is bound up with a worldwide group of others fighting against the global status quo. All systems fail. All worlds end. But what will rise to take their place?

A cybernetic novel of political intrigue, Where the Axe Is Buried combines the story of a near-impossible revolutionary operation with a blistering indictment of the many forms of authoritarianism that suffocate human freedom.

Review Quotes

"[Where the Axe is Buried] boldly imagines how we might escape authoritarianism . . . Deserves to be read and discussed for its futuristic, philosophical exploration of our era's problems. The questions [Nayler] asks could not be more timely or better formed."
--Jacob Brogan, The Washington Post

"Where the Axe is Buried shows how the embers of hope smolder long after they should have been extinguished, and how they are always ready to be kindled into a roaring, system-consuming wildfire"
--Cory Doctorow, author of Picks and Shovels

"Roll over, George Orwell: This post-apocalyptic dystopia makes Airstrip One look like a summer camp. . . A richly detailed evocation of a grim future that is, sadly, absolutely believable."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Nayler's twisting, turning political thriller has spectacular surprises, grounded by realistic, complex characters who are determined to change their world, however hopeless it may seem. A bold, epic sf story and an inspiring tale about taking down all forms of authoritarianism."
--Booklist (starred review)

"Nayler blends quantum theory and gulag history . . . The scene-setting is on point . . . Nayler's writerly bravado impresses."
--Publishers Weekly

"An engrossing exploration of consciousness, autocracy and global politics . . . A cybernetically enhanced thriller with the pacing of a literary novel. . . Where the Axe Is Buried successfully strikes a balance between creating a global narrative and a deeply personal one."
--Bookpage

"Thought-provoking in the extreme . . . will trap fans of technothrillers in its web."
--Library Journal

About the Author

Ray Nayler is the author of the Locus Award-winning novel The Mountain in the Sea and the Hugo Award-winning novella The Tusks of Extinction. Born in Quebec and raised in California, Ray lived and worked abroad for two decades in Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans.
Ray most recently served as international advisor to the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and as visiting scholar at the George Washington University's Institute for International Science and Technology Policy. He lives in Washington, DC.