The Ascension Warrior (Horizon War, Book 2) [Paperback]

Robert Weinberg (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: White Wolf Publishing (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565048482
• ISBN-13: 978-1565048485
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,648,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born on August 29, 1946, making me one of the famous "baby boomer" generation. I attended Hillside High School in New Jersey, then got my B.S. degree in mathematics at Stevens Institute of Technology. I later obtained by M.S. in mathematics at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where I taught math for two years. I was working on my Ph.D. in Number Theory at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago when I met my (future) wife Phyllis in 1972. We were married in 1973 and I left college to start my own business. I ran three very successful corporations after leaving college and did some writing on the side. When I was 40, I decided I wanted to concentrate more on writing fiction, which I had done in college but had abandoned afterwards. So I started writing novels in 1986. My first book, THE DEVIL'S AUCTION, was published in 1998 and I've written another 15 novels since then. I'm probably best known as the author of a popular trilogy I wrote for White Wolf Games entitled THE MASQUERADE OF THE RED DEATH. These three novels have been published in a number of different languages (including French, German, Spanish and Hungarian) and I've gotten well over 1,000 fan letters about them since they first appeared.

I also have written 17 non-fiction books, many of them in the pop-science field with my friend, Lois H. Gresh. And, in my spare time, I've edited around 150 anthologies. I like to keep busy!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still outstanding, March 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ascension Warrior (Horizon War, Book 2) (Paperback)

I have been hooked since book one and had to order the last book in the triology. No one carried it. I have never been in such suspense before. Most of the books I have read I figured out the ending before I finished. These, however, I can only narrow it down to a couple different ways it might end. I recomend these books to everyone.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked this book., April 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ascension Warrior (Horizon War, Book 2) (Paperback)

This is a good book for a second volume in a trilogy managing to sustain my interest in both the protagonist and the mystery of who is the main antagonist. The supporting characters both hero's and villains are also interesting. I enjoyed having characters that had appeared in his earlier trilogy (the Masquerade of the Red Death) showing up and continuing thier story.

3.0 out of 5 stars Improving, but there`s still a long way to go, April 12, 2011

By 

thiagomf - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ascension Warrior (Horizon War, Book 2) (Paperback)

The second volume of the "Horizon War" trilogy is way better than the first one, but it still has many flaws.

The good part is less gore and more plotting development. Like the Red Death, now the reader can see that there is more than meets the eye. Also, some characters are better explored, like Ernest "X344" Nelson and his comrade-of-the-hour, Sharon "the Progenitor" Reed. The description of Horizon Realms are also good, as well as the careful unveiling of Seventeen`s past-life as an Euthanatos.

However, a good review would be very much appreciated in this volume before sending it to publishing. Here are some points that should be improved:

- First, there are passages almost identical to the Red Death trilogy. Madeline Giovanni falls for children and has to fight to save them again; Nephandi packs attack a building from where characters have to flee for their lives (Dire Mccain had the same problem with the Sabbath); there is a powerful villain which uses screams to attack an underground chamber (the Nosferatu Nictuku in Phantomas lair in Read Death, the Wailer in the Progenitor`s house in Horizon Warrior); among others;

- Second, there are some holes in the narrative: if Pietro, the Master of the Mausoleum, was killed by Enzo plotting, how would Enzo grasp the control of the Giovanni clan? (probably the elders would just choose a fitting replacement and that`s all); why was there so much description of Porthos being crazy, if he was so heroic in his only scene? if the final confrontation took place in a toxic waste dump, why was not there a single bane? Why the Verbena magic (considering those particular Verbena mages, which were so much attuned to mother Earth) worked so well? Ok, three minor wizards (I don`t even recall any name) died, but it was more than good, since they fought hundreds of foes, some of them powered-up by Ezra and Enzo;

- Third, there is an almost endless repetition of the main descriptions and motivations. Ok, let's assume that maybe someone would pick this second volume and have problems to grasp the story, but keep repeating Aliara`s description and motivations over and over only upsets the reader who is following the trilogy. I confess I keep hoping she never shows up again, so I don`t have to skip two or three useless paragraphs. And this is just an example;

- Fourth, many passages could be better explored: the confrontation between Terrence Wade and the Changing Man is frustrating, to say the least. There is a lot of preparation for it, good tension-building scenes and... a push???!? This simple solution worked very well on the first volume with Aliara, but repeating it was catastrophic. This is a confrontation I would like to read, much more than a lot of hack-and-slash of a Halloween party costumed Seventeen (oh, great idea! Let's give him a scythe! He will be so much more Euthanatos this way...); also, where is Ezra`s family blood feud? "Oh, his sister came and beat him up"... Come on! I hope Elisha at least shows up in the last volume.