Customer Reviews

Ascending

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

_Ascending_ is James Alan Gardner's fourth novel about Festina Ramos, an "Explorer" with the Navy of the future Human Technocracy. Festina was the protagonist of Gardner's first novel, _Expendable_, in which we learn the general setup of his future history, to wit 1) humans (and a number of other alien species) have been given the secret of FTL travel as well as some other nice stuff such as life extension treatments by apparently benevolent aliens, 2) the more advanced aliens are the controlling races of the League of Peoples, a very loose confederation of beings that operates with one simple law: anyone who might kill another sentient being is considered non-sentient, and cannot travel outside their own Solar System: if they do, they die, instantly and mysteriously; and 3) the Human Navy's Explorer Corps is composed of disabled and disfigured people who are considered "expendable" because of their handicaps, thus handy for being sent on dangerous missions. John Clute called this last idea the silliest idea he had ever seen in SF, or words to that effect, and I agree.

After _Expendable_ Festina is no longer the POV character, but in each book she is an important secondary character. _Vigilant_ and _Hunted_ are mostly unlinked separate stories. _Ascending_, though, directly continues the story of a character from the first book, with the glass woman Oar of the planet Melaquin having awoken from a 4 year sleep, apparently cured of injuries she suffered in that book. She has been discovered by a criminal of the Divian species named Uclodd Unorr: a short orange humanoid. He has been hired to spirit Oar away before the Technocracy council of Admirals finds her, because they wish to make sure she cannot testify against them about the crimes on Melaquin. So Uclodd, his wife Lajoolie, and Oar are soon running away in the intelligent ship Starbiter. But they find that not only is the Human navy after them, so is a powerful alien species called the Shaddill -- the very species which sold FTL technology to Divians and Humans, and which is believed to have created Oar's people in the distant past. After some hair-raising adventures, they encounter Festina Ramos, then another strange alien species, the Cashlings. All the while Oar is in contact with a weird alien named the Pollisand, who claims to have brought her back from the dead, and who wishes her help in ridding the universe of the evil Shaddill.

The book is quite fun to read. It is told in Oar's inimitable voice, familiar to readers of _Expendable_: she is childish but charming, desperate for attention, very egotistical, profane. The reasons for all this are explained in the book. The voice is fun to read, and the action of the book is quite exciting as well. At the same time, there are caveats. The whole setup for Gardner's future is really absurd. Moreover, the science in these books is extremely rubbery, pretty much whatever it needs to be for plot purposes at any one time. I have seen a number of comments from readers for whom all this is too much, and they can't enjoy the books. I find that thoroughly understandable -- I can only say that I do like the books, albeit with reservations and a certain amount of eye-rolling and eyebrow-raising. I made a comment, in a review of one of the earlier books, that they reminded me, in some ways, of '50s SF: in the rubbery but fun science, and in the whole insouciance of the approach to things. I will say that Gardner's imagination is active: his aliens, though very humanlike in character, are neatly designed, and his tech, wacky is it is, is also often quite clever.

Since Expendable I look forward to each new work by James Alan Gardner. His Festina Ramos books combine space opera with a screwball perspective on the universe. Gardner's style is fast and breezy, a bit scatalogical. Sort of like the 1930's comedies before the Hays Office started censoring them.

[Ascending] is a good story, action driven as always, and highly recommended. I did have a few reservations about his choice of Oar, a character from a previous Ramos story, as narrator. Oar comes across as an amalgam of Candide and Commander Data, and the first person narrative occasionally does become wordy and tedious.

This minor quibble aside, Ascending is a worthy addition to the League of Peoples series. And I'm looking forward to the next novel from this fine writer.

I've generally given Gardner's Festina Ramos books high marks, his previous work "Hunted" I gave 5 stars. Overall, Gardner's books have been action-packed quick reads, even if some aspects of the story are unbelievable. "Ascending" however, never really got going and did little to hold my interest.

For starters, the narrator, Oar, is really annoying to read for 350+ pages. Her childish prose would be acceptable for a chapter or two, but a whole book becomes tiresome.

The book never excited me, but there was a decent pay-off at the end with sufficient action to not be a complete let-down. However, that ending was completely rushed. That was a negative, but at the same time, I wouldn't want to read a 500-page by Oar, it would probably be too tedious to finish.

This is my least-favorite of Gardner's books besides "Commitment Hour" which is more of a spin-off. I was really disappointed because "Hunted" was an awesome book that I literally couldn't put down, but "Ascending" didn't come close to filling its shoes. In my opinion, this is in part because Gardner has pumped out one of these books a year since 1997, he should probably take a year off to refresh his persepctive a little. Unfortunately, at the end the mysterious Pollisand remarks that he'll see Festina & Oar real soon, which can only mean that next winter another adventure will be on the shelves. Let's all hope it's better.

I said this recently about, "Shadow of the Hegemon" by Orson Scott Card, but it bears repeating. If you're a fan of the Ramos series, read "Ascending" just so you don't get lost, but rent it from the library, buy it used, or borrow it from a friend, because it isn't worth [the money].

This is the fourth installation in Gardner's series involving Festina Ramos, an Admiral and an ex-expendable explorer. As usual, the novel is filled with interesting aliens and mind-boggling technology that makes no sense, but fits the plot oh so perfectly.

Overall, this is not a book representing heights of
literature, but then again, who reads sci-fi in order to appreciate allegories, alliterations, rhytms, patterns, etc? This book is a thoroughly enjoyable read - great for the story, interesting new aliens, totally alien technology (which, if a bit implausible, totally adds to the alien feeling of the world). If you've read any of the other Festina Ramos series, this novel is a must for you - otherwise you might miss out on some important concepts. I admit, the premise that the devil is really a highly developed alien is pretty far-fetched, but I promise, the book is very relaxing and sometimes even funny.

The last time we saw of Oar -- a beautiful crystal woman -- she was dead, and laid to rest in one of the Towers for those with "Tired Brains" [Oar's people don't age, their brains just grow Tired]. But even death can't keep this woman down! Slowly, Oar awakens, to the discovery that she is the last of her people still awake. With the help of a kind [altho *Uclod* wouldn't describe himself that way!] Orange Man and his Large Wife Lajoolie, Oar sets out on a starship owned by Uclod to protect her people's legacy. The whimsically-named and -behaving living ship -Starbiter- finds herself in trouble almost too quickly, and only the appearance of Oar's Faithful Sidekick Festina Ramos -- yes, Oar's tale does include all those capitalizations! -- saves the day.

And that's only in the first hundred pages! This book is a fast read, so be warned; once you start, you *won't* want to put it down.

Written in the brashly self-confident style of a secure teenager [Podkayne of Mars *should* have been this good, & i like Heinlein], Oar's narrative zips along merrily with only a hint of Tiredness. Along the way, we learn more about the League of Sentients, and why they aren't as nice a people as they seemed in Garner's earlier tales. Before she's done, Oar learns that even she can grow Tired, and must face the difficult process of growing up, or face a fate far worse than death. There's even an appearance by a Strange Headless Person to complicate matters, for Oar is even more pivotal than she herself realizes...

Highly recommended!

Someone described John Wayne in the role of Ghengis Khan in the movie "The Golden Horde" as "the willing suspension of disbelief until dead, dead, dead." James Alan Gardner is testing the limits of your ability to suspend your disbelief. Whether it is silly science, silly premises or silly characters, Gardner's writing repeatedly runs the risk of losing its audience to disbelief. Which is a shame because the writing itself isn't that bad.

When Gardner keeps the operating rules of his dubious universe away from the central focus, the stories do better; "Vigilant," for example, as compared to "Hunted." But in this most recent book, Gardner sets out to explore the roots of his universe and the flaws, inconsistencies and other goobers are out there on plain display.

Oar, the glass woman left for dead in "Expendable," turns out to be very much alive, although why and how are at the heart of this new story. And this new story is told from the point of view of Oar. Which is more complicated than it might seem. Oar is the last conscious member of a re-engineered subspecies of homo sap., given immortal bodies by alien species unknown, which bodies, in addition to being nearly indestructible, are as transparent as glass. Since Oar is a knockout, this gives the folks who do the book covers a certain licentious freedom... But Oar's people got shortchanged: in return for the facile learning skills of a child, they also got "Tired Brain Syndrome," which causes them to go into a near-coma before age 50. And Oar is approaching that deadly age. Remember I warned you about silly science...

In this continuation of the events of "Expendable" and the culmination of "Hunted," and in particular the death of Admiral York, the misdeeds of both the Council of Admirals that governs the human worlds and some shady aliens are all threatened with exposure. Oar, who is in many ways a self-centered, arrogant child, is chased or harassed by seemingly most of the intelligent species in the universe.

The story works, despite the silly premises and slippery science, because Gardner does write well, and conveys the story from Oar's point of view quite well. Once again we see Festina Ramos, the character that links all the stories, from the view of another person. And certain parts of the story work pretty well.

If you bring any skepticism or critical thinking to Gardner's series, you may not enjoy these books. But if you are willing to take it as it comes, and bring the kind of accepting attitude that was the requirement for Golden Age science fiction, then this is a good yarn and good fun. Nothing special, perhaps, but still a bit above the usual fodder cranked out over the last few years.

A great sequel is one which can very effectively stand alone on its own merits, with the flow of the narrative not a all dependent upon the reader or viewer having experienced previous iterations of the series.

To this extent, Ascending is simply a good sequel. While it is not truly necessary to have read Expendable (the first book in this series, and the debut novel by James Alan Gardner), there is A LOT which the reader will not understand without having first read Expendable. Similarly, starting the series with Ascending will likely cause the reader fits, as without the "backstory" of Expendable, the main character - Oar, an all-glass female humanoid - is extremely abrasive in the manner in which she tells the tale.

Many areas from Expendable which leave the reader wondering "Why" and "How" are fortunately explained somewhat satisfactorily in Ascending. This novel also expands much more into the realm of the zany at times, albeit muted by Oar's telling of the story.

Overall, Ascending is a good sequel, as well as a good novel... but only for those who have read and enjoyed Expendable. All others should set Ascending aside and read Expendable first.

I love all the League of Peoples books, but was initially put off of Ascending because Oar (the glass woman from Expendable) is the narrator. However, after reading a comment by James Alan Gardner that he considered the book one of the funniest things he'd ever written, I went back and reread the book -- it was a totally different experience. I found myself chuckling at a lot of the language used and really enjoying reading the book. It's got a much different tone than some of the more serious League of Peoples books, but if you go into it expecting a comedy, it's a great read.

Before reading Ascending, I've read three other Gardner novels: Expendable (4 stars), Hunted (5 stars) and Trapped (4 stars). He has been consistently witty throughout his novels and has always presented clever little twists in plot and personalities. While not entirely genre-redefining nor possessing qualities of space opera, he has shown a limited scope of imagination in his League of People of universe. This scope of imagination reached its limit with Ascending where all items of interest become tedious.

The reader must give credit to Gardner for his randomness within the pages, where the reader is met with strange descriptions of ghostly gigolos, lung-cabined FTL ships and the quote "a woman whose body was covered with more muscles than a dead squirrel has flies." This humor maintains its unique charm for the first 100 pages then quickly becomes silly to the point of stupidity. If the childish humor wasn't enough, attach to this the ramblings of an immature main character and you'll find yourself loathing the plot, cast and even the pages the story is written upon.

Limited, again, is the POV from Oar, who was also a main character from Expendable, where her sidekick portrayal left her a mere silly side dish or fun. But when she takes center stage, as in Ascending, the silliness becomes unbearable. Her immaturity, while still occasionally refreshingly insightful and humorous, becomes tediously juvenile, uppity and foreshadowing. This doesn't make her a prophet or spiritual median, but merely Gardner simple tool for the sake of foreshadowing.

Perhaps the most annoying aspect of Ascending is Gardner's (and Oar's) use of randomly capitalized unspecific subjects, like Scandalous Mess, Valuable Important Thing, Dazzling Regal Beauty, Calamitous Injuries and Technical Features. The only logic I can draw from these capitalizations is that Oar has an insanely detailed filing system whereas she stores all these experiences into each odd folder. When seeing these random capitalizations on every other page and not entirely knowing why they are there (nor ever finding out why she classifies things as such) you get fairly annoyed.

If you haven't been thoroughly annoyed in the first 90% of rambling, you'll stupefy yourself by trying to finish the book in its entirety. The last four pages seem like a desperate attempt to sew together all the loose ends of the plot. Needless to say, it fails to impress me. If you want to read a Gardner sci-fi novel, I'd suggest sticking to Expendable (his first novel) and Hunted. I've lost faith in Gardner's novels from this single read.

The Expendable Crew Member series (is that what I'm supposed to call it?) is an excellent series. I always look forward to reading or re-reading these books.