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Title: Ascending by James Alan Gardner ISBN: 0-380-81329-7 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 30 October, 2001 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.29 (7 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: The Dangers of a First Person Novel
Comment: Novels written in the first person can be very affecting. In "Expendable", Festina Ramos was very effective in this role. Her complex personality, with pain and paranoia foremost, came across as believable because she was telling the story, and made the entire book compelling.
In "Ascending", Oar is the first person narrator. And (excuse the pun) Oar is a bore. We have no reason to like her, or care about her at all. In fact, the tedium of reading her banal comments virtually destroyed any joy in what otherwise might have been an interesting story concept.
The moral of the story: Only try the first person ploy if it's a person you would want to hang out with. I'd probably skip this book if I had it to do over again.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good Addition to the Series
Comment: 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.
Rating: 2
Summary: Wherein I Give "Ascending" the Thumbs-Down
Comment: 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].
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Title: Vigilant by James A. Gardner ISBN: 0380802082 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Trapped by James Alan Gardner ISBN: 0380813300 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Expendable by James Alan Gardner ISBN: 038079439X Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 March, 1999 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Commitment Hour by James A. Gardner ISBN: 0380798271 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 April, 1998 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Hidden in Sight (Webshifters, 3) by Julie E. Czerneda ISBN: 0756401399 Publisher: DAW Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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