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View Full Version : Max Axen - Jerk or What?


Logan
08-02-2007, 10:18 AM
As the author suggested, I'm making a thread about Max.

I think Max didn't get enough hugs as a child. :)

Seriously, he doesn't like Rem when he comes into the unit because everyone is touting Rem as the best thing since sliced bread, a typical jealous/competitive reaction. Then he grows as a character and at the end we see that Max is really a hard-working, stubborn individual, not just a one-dimensional jerk. This is good.

Basically, I think Max was a middle child in a family that had an over-achieving older sibling and a "golden-child" younger sibling, making Max feel like he has to fight for every scrap of attention he got. He probably took a military path because he never truly excelled at anything other than being aggressive. Its obvious he's a hard-worker and is competent in many regards, especially in the technical field. More than likely he found a love in technology when his love for humanity began to fade.

Since he IS a three-dimensional character, he's changed over the years and grown. EDEN has molded him into someone that others have grown to rely on and thus he's grown into a more personable characters. You still have to fight to win Max's trust, however, because he's never had anything handed to him on a silver platter.

In the future I think we'll see Max develop a closer connection with the group from Richmond, especially considering all the hell they've been through, sort of a bonding through mutual blood shared. I don't think Max will make it to the end of the series, however, because he played such a polarizing role in the first book. He's got the reader's attention as a jerk. He wins the reader over through hard work. And in the end I think we'll see him go out with a sudden and heroic effort.

I only say this because its fairly obvious the author doesn't hesitate to kill off individuals, regardless of stature. It makes us feel that no one is safe. That's an ideal emotion. It makes us care more for everyone involved. And the best place to hit someone is to take away someone they care for but isn't absolutely vital to the over-arching plot.

Of course, I can't tell if Max is vital to the over-arching plot yet, but it'll be fun to look back several years from now and read this and go, "Boy, was I wrong!"

Any thoughts?

Pewter Picaroon
08-02-2007, 08:15 PM
Wowza... how do you follow that up?!

I understand the whole jealously of popularity thing he had with Remmy, but I thought it was a bit weak. I mean, it isn't like Rem came in flaunting himself and acting high and mighty. I thought Max's 'reaction' to him was almost unjustified.

I saw him as the jerk, but I didn't understand why he was being a jerk. The hype that came with Rem didn't seem enough to justify it in my opinion.

Furrier678
08-18-2007, 12:46 PM
Max Axen is a bit cocky. But most guys are, right? I think he has a chip on his shoulder about something. He could have a story that we know nothing about ... So I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, and say that I think this guy is rather harmless.

Sveta81
08-26-2007, 02:42 PM
Max to me has some serious issues. He has that child mentality where if I'm not going to get attention on merit, I'll get it by acting negatively. My 2 year old does this frequently. So in essence, Max is a big mean 2 year old :)

Logan
08-27-2007, 11:08 AM
So in essence, Max is a big mean 2 year old :)

I like that! Very nice! Hahaha!

Pariah Deviant
09-05-2007, 03:02 AM
I agree that Max is probably misunderstood but he was still a punk to Scott. It was hard to read that part where Scott got his butt kicked

Scout07
10-08-2007, 08:17 PM
My two cents: Any time someone new comes into a group, whether its a military unit, work crew, etc., and is being highly touted by the head man (Clarke in this case) it's a natural reaction for some of the incumbent members to want to knock them down a few notches, make sure they know their place in the chain. Max just takes it a little further since Remington is, as Logan put it, "the best thing since sliced bread." I think if he sticks around for a while, he'll start to come around.

spolice88
02-13-2008, 07:46 AM
I didnt like Max from the beginning. It seems to me that he was Mr. I'm The Best Kiss My Bum and now that Scott came around he was knocked off his pedestal. Even though Scott didnt flaunt himself and was very modest about the Golden Lion ordeal, all the hype the Clarke made about it was enough for Max to form his own judgement which was stupid on his part. He probably feels overshadowed by Remmy, but I dont pity him at all. He is a jerk. And a cocky one at that.

Pariah Deviant
02-15-2008, 10:17 AM
I kinda pity him I guess. It just makes me wonder who he really is, cuz its obvious he's got a lot more to him that just being a butt to everyone.

I think...

ahhhh, i got a thought, but I'd better put it in the spoiler section for the other book :)