Ascending

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.

_Ascending_ is another outstanding installment in Gardner's increasingly excellent League of Peoples science fiction novel series, books ultimately featuring the recurring heroine Festina Ramos but starting with the second volume in the series, _Vigilant_, told from the point of view of another character. Though a follow-up to both _Vigilant_ and the previous installment in the series, _Hunted_, _Ascending_ is most clearly a sequel to the original volume, _Expendable_. In _Expendable_, the reader was introduced to a Technocracy-wide conspiracy of corrupt and criminal admirals, the "Planet of No Return" known as Melaquin, the transparent glass-like human-form sentient beings that inhabit it, and most of all the irrepressible Oar, the self-style superb and gorgeous (but also endearingly child-like and arrogant) heroine of the first book (in her mind Ramos is her sidekick). Thought dead at the end of _Expendable_ to the grief of Ramos, we find that she is not dead after all when agents of one of the corrupt admirals, in an attempt to deal with the fallout of Ramos' investigations of the Navy, comes across her on a "clean-up trip" to Melaquin. What follows is a grand adventure starring (and told from the point of view) of Oar, one that involves vast conspiracies (or as Oar would right it, Vast Conspiracies), Powerful Enemies, and a Gorgeous Heroine with Her Faithful if Not Particularly Attractive Sidekicks. A very enjoyable book, Gardner answers many of the questions raised by _Expendable_, such as who created the obviously artificial glass-like transparent race on Melaquin, why they live underground, and why despite being basically immortal they generally retire to tomb-like structures at around age fifty due to "Tired Brains." We also get some nice follow-up to events in _Hunted_ and are introduced to new alien races, notably the Zarett (sentient living ships, ultimately lovable despite being Gross and Excessively Gooey), the Cashlings (once powerful race in decline, self-absorbed and immature to a breathtaking degree, in what was probably a comment on today's culture, a race that embraced "[i]dle entertainment...[a] deadened inner emptiness, reinforced by a self-righteous conviction that there was no more worthwhile way to live"), the Shaddill (a mysterious elder race that has shaped the universe of this setting to a surprising degree), and the Pollisand (is he one individual or an entire race?). Oar take on things was frequently hilarious and I loved her little footnotes describing what things really meant, at least in her opinion. If you liked the previous installment in the series you will love this one.

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.

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!