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The Ascendant Stars (2011)

by Michael Cobley(Favorite Author)

3.55 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1841496359 (ISBN13: 9781841496351)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Orbit

series

Humanity's Fire

review 1: The mistake I made with this book was waiting so long to read it. It is the third part of Michael Cobleys ambitious “Humanities Fire” trilogy and there are so many characters following different strands of the story that it took me ages to get myself reacquainted with them all. But this was my error, not the authors.Ascendant Stars is the climax of a galaxy spanning tale of war and intrigue, with the human race finding itself split on different sides of a conflict that threatens to tear the galaxy apart. I have read similar books before, with humanity being both hero and villain, an approach similar to that of my favourite Science Fiction TV series, Babylon 5. No race can be all good or bad, and in this series, humanity is a relatively new and small player in the ongoi... moreng conflicts between the various races that inhabit the galaxy.But at the same time, it is humans who hold the key to how the story unfolds.On the one hand we have the “Earthsphere”, made up of the numerous colonies for whom planet Earth is home. Then there are the humans descended from explorers who formed the crews of the first colony ships, sent out beyond the solar system to help spread humanity amongst the stars. It is the later who find themselves fighting for their very existence against some of the oldest and most powerful entities in the galaxy.As fleets of star ships face each other, and powerful weapons tear ships and planets apart, the conflict goes beyond the physical universe, with several strands dropping into both hyperspace and cyberspace. Throughout the story we find that the battle is really between organic and inorganic life forms, the most deadly being the ancient enemy – the Legion of Avatars. It seems that the war that has broken out is not a new one, but a continuation of a conflict that has been raging for millennia. And even as the various antagonists prepare to go into battle, their every move is being manipulated by Artificial Intelligences far older than the human race itself.Coupled with the presence of two seemingly all-powerful enemies – the Construct and the Godhead – you begin to see just how complex this tale can be.It is certainly a very ambitious story and although I can think of others who have talked this type of thing better, it is a very well written, fast paced tale. I would recommend the trilogy to any sci-fi reader but would recommend reading it on one go.
review 2: A solid conclusion to an accessible space opera. In this final book of a trilogy the story is nicely finished. To my surprise some new elements were introduced in this book as we get introduced to the virtual worlds where AIs (and human fragments) reside. While not fully escaping the feeling of reading a book with similarities to Mass Effect or other SF inspired work, it does end properly (unlike the game).The story may not be the most original, but the author does keep you reading, as he is a good story teller. Because it's an easily accessible space opera, and certainly entertaining, I'll remember this book. less

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