Ascending

League of Peoples, Book 5

By: James Alan Gardner

Narrated by: Christine Marshall

Oar is the last of her kind - a resident of the so-called "planet of no return", once the Admiralty's dumping ground for undesirables and those who had become expendable. Oar's transparent body is indestructible. Yet the mind it houses grows weary and will soon surrender to the catatonic torpor that has already claimed the others of her genetically altered human race. But Oar cannot sleep, not yet. There are powerful forces seeking her destruction for reasons unknown. There are old allies who need her assistance and a true history that must be revealed. There is much Oar must accomplish before the "apathetic hibernation" overcomes her, though time is decidedly her enemy. Together with her friend, Admiral Festina Ramos, she must find her final destiny ... and in a vast and volatile universe, destiny is never a sure thing.

©2001 James Alan Gardner (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Another solid League of Peoples story

If you've read any of my other reviews, you know I like the League of Peoples series. Ascending has more humor than any of the others in the series that I've read, but you may have to read the earlier books to understand some of humor. Oar returns and stumbles her way through the entire novel saving the day. If you like a bit of science fiction and hope for mankind, start the League of Peoples series and listen to every book. Its a fun ride of astronomical proportions!

A fun light read

This is book 5 in The League of Peoples. For the most part, all the books in this series are of the less than totally serious type. Oh, the protagonists get into trouble, there is mayhem and characters die, but still generally fun light reading.

This book is in the voice of Oar (as she always introduces herself, an Oar is an implement used to propel boats). Oar is a charming childlike, self-centered, beautiful, transparent (literally) woman who we met in book 1. She was not in books 2, 3, or 4.

Don't look for hard science in this series. It isn't like that. Read or listen to these when you want something light and entertaining.

There are quite a few humor gems. For example, top military council is made up of corrupt and incompetent people. One of the characters seriously complains that just a few hundred years ago, such people would never be put in charge of anything. :)