Axl is a talented driver in a world where the Roman Empire never came to an end, and those in power as well as the masses are entertained by a competition called Truckus Maximus in which drivers and teams are pitted against each other in something resembling stock car racing and demolition derby. Axl is the glue that holds the Apollo team together, and he takes winning just as seriously as he takes doing things in the honorable way. But things are never as honorable as they might be when it come...

I really enjoyed the storyline and Axel's character. Surprisingly, I didn't care about Piston at all, and I usually love the plucky, underdog. Anyway, the artwork is excellent and has a personality of its own. The black shadows with the sunset-palette work well together. There are some themes of inequality and social class and being a puppet to the system that don't get resolved but add a good layer to the story. I liked the ending a lot, but I wouldn't mind a sequel.

This could've been like reading a good action movie (like with Crowded), but instead it was more like a bad action movie, whose action did not keep me engaged enough to not think about the details (or lack thereof). The analogy of truckus drivers is to gladiators, but...they aren't slaves. People clamor to become drivers, which is the opposite of gladiators. Aside from the risk of death, their lives aren't terrible? Also it's never explained how/why they heal so well, because we see characters s...

In a future world where the Roman Empire never ended, gladiator contests include modern technology in Truckus Maximus, a monster car and truck race where lives are on the line. The best driver is Axl, who is on the verge of winning 100 races, giving him the stunning honor of becoming the first Centurion and, thus, winning his freedom. But his road to Centurion is dangerous. He must navigate around the machinations of his team's owner, the ego of the Caesar, and the sadistic meddling of the Domin...

I liked the color scheme and I think kids will love the fast racing in the book, but I wasn’t all that impressed.

This book was a fun space ride, but it does give the reader a sense of deja vu. The story line is very similar to Alita Battle Angel, and other space racing graphic novel that came out last year that I can not name. If you are not the Elite, you are in the Salt Mines. Unless you are a racer. And these races are deadly. There is a bright spot, become a Centurion. What happens when you win 100 races, no one knows for sure. It’s a virtual impossibility because the race master can change the rules a...

The Truckus Maximus is an extreme race, where "where only two things matter: Honor and the Game." The best racer is Axl, and when one of his team members is disabled, he picks a racer from another team - Piston - a young, inexperienced racer who has some smart ideas, but she is a novice and makes a lot of mistakes, however, Axl sees potential so the team embraces her training. A futuristic, dystopian world where the slightest mistakes can get you sent to your death, exciting races (also to the d...

In a near-future dystopian world where the Roman Empire never fell, modern-day gladiators who race monster trucks for reality TV.

Despite my low rating, this was cute, nothing groundbreaking, it's just not really my topic interest, but students will like it and I would definitely recommend it to students, it's just not my thing. Has a good story of friendship though and inventive world. Also clean language

There's some good found family stuff in here, and the race scenes could be fun and exciting, especially the weirder races. Mixed feelings about how Peterson approaches inequality here, as something omnipresent and hopeless. It's pretty realistic, sure, but it makes the ending incredibly bittersweet in a way that I'm not sure I was onboard for.

Feels younger than middle school level but not especially appealing for young readers. While there is no flaw with the artwork execution, there were several times where I didn't know what was happening without speech, particularly on the race with the huge vertical ramp. In fact, most of the racing scenes were not clear to me from the illustrations other than I could tell there were lots of wrecks. The ending with Axl's quest to be a centurion could provide some good talking points.

I liked it until the end and the storyline was a little hard to follow. The book was okay.

I'm not necessarily a fan of racing or stories about racing. That being said, I did enjoy this book. Some of the racing panels were hard for me to follow. There was so much happening in them, sometimes I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. But that's only my perspective. I'm sure others will really like it. I did enjoy the storyline, however, as well as the characters. They were easy to root for or, in the case of Dubius, utterly despise. The themes of honor, family/friendship, an...

So much fun! Which, for a story that is basically about truck gladiators, seems a little glib, but it is. The Roman Empire was never defeated, and now reigns globally. The gladiator tradition has grown with it, as well; now drivers race through unpredictable courses, with rule changes possible any second, all aiming for that elusive centurion status. Axl, so far, has 99 wins...I am always a sucker for fight-for-your-life races (Velocity, Wolf By Wolf,, the Mad Max series...), and Truckus Maximu...

I was honestly not expecting to like this book, but dang it surprised me. Between these awesome depictions of different learning styles and class differences and found families there was this stunning dystopian world that felt so expansive despite the limits of the medium. And this dystopia DIDN'T end in a chosen one fixing everything. It was just about a found-family surviving and making the best of a sucky situation, and I love it for that.

In the future society in the new Roman Empire is starkly divided between the haves and the have nots. The nobility has lives of ease and pleasure. The lowly classes have two choices, drive for a team in the races and live life with some ease though there’s a daily threat of death or horrible injury in the unpredictable races dictated by the whims of the Dominus, or go work in the salt mines. Axl is one of the winningest drivers the games have ever seen. He is carrying Team Apollo to victory afte...

The best racer in the Truckus Maximus competition must take a wild young racer under his wing. Will they get along? Will the young racer become a pro? Will the vaguely Roman future-world ever be properly explained? Will I care?Truckus Maximus aspires to dumb, simple fun and doesn't even reach that low bar. It's boring and tedious and done-to-death. The art is bad, basically attempting manga but with none of the precision. The racing scenes are incoherent, none of the cars touching the ground. Ev...

This book has it all - found family, a Rome-based dystopia, racing with intense course and epic driving and big crashes, but what it has the most is heart. I really, really enjoyed this world and Axl and Piston (and the entire Apollo Team) are characters that will burrow into your heart.

Amazing races! I'd have appreciated more emphasis on the cars, but this is really a character study of the lead racer and his team.

I'm amazed at the number of 3 star reviews for this one. I loved it. And I could care less about car racing. The graphics are stunning. The driving is fast paced and action packed. The characters and especially the end kind of made my heart melt. I think this will be incredibly popular with middle grade kid especially.