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Humanity's Fire #3
The Ascendant Stars
Darien's future hangs in the balance as conflict rages across the planet's surface and, in the skies above, interstellar power politics has turned to war. On one side lies the Construct AI and its millennia-long mission to protect sentient species. On the other is an army of twisted machine intelligences and its allies, whose goal is nothing less than the destruction or subversion of all organic life. They were caged in a hyperspace prison beneath Darien in a past age but now they are roaring to the surface, to freedom and an orgy of destruction which will rend the planets - starting with Darien. Their allies circle above Darien and their armies are rising from below as an ancient battle is about to recommence. Machine vs human. Life or the sterile dusts of space.
591 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2011
46 people are currently reading
711 people want to read
About the author
Michael Cobley
20 books137 followersMike Cobley was born in Leicester and has lived in Scotland since the age of seven. Although the Scottish cultural heritage informs much of his own outlook (egalitarian, argumentative yet amiable, and able to appreciate rain), he thinks of himself as a citizen of the world.
While studying engineering at Strathclyde University, he discovered the joys and risks of student life and pursued a sideline career as a DJ, possibly to the detriment of his studies. The heady round of DJ'ing, partying and student gigs palled eventually, but by then his interests had been snagged by an encounter with Pirsig's 'Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance' which led him off on a philosophical and political odyssey which continues to this day.
The desire to write had its first burgeoning when he was 20/21, resulting in the creation of a short fantasy novel (that has never seen the light of day!). He later wrote a string of articles/rants for the campus paper at Strathclyde University under the pen-name Phaedrus, at the same time as he began writing short stories. Mike harbour much affection for the short story form, but has had little opportunity to write them since beginning work on the Shadowkings trilogy.
The 1st 2 volumes of the trilogy - Shadowkings and Shadowgod - have been published by Simon & Schuster's now-defunct imprint Earthlight, and the 3rd part - Shadowmasque - will be published by Simon & Schuster-Pocket at the end of 2004. Mike has a number of ideas and concepts for his next big project but they're being kept on the backburner for the time being. The publication of Iron Mosaic will be a personal milestone for him, as well as a showcase of the topics and techiques which have intrigued him since the publication of his first short story back in 1986. And just recently, he has had appeared in the Thackery T Lambshead Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases, with a monologue upon the malady known as 'Parabubozygosia', which is not for the faint-hearted!
While studying engineering at Strathclyde University, he discovered the joys and risks of student life and pursued a sideline career as a DJ, possibly to the detriment of his studies. The heady round of DJ'ing, partying and student gigs palled eventually, but by then his interests had been snagged by an encounter with Pirsig's 'Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance' which led him off on a philosophical and political odyssey which continues to this day.
The desire to write had its first burgeoning when he was 20/21, resulting in the creation of a short fantasy novel (that has never seen the light of day!). He later wrote a string of articles/rants for the campus paper at Strathclyde University under the pen-name Phaedrus, at the same time as he began writing short stories. Mike harbour much affection for the short story form, but has had little opportunity to write them since beginning work on the Shadowkings trilogy.
The 1st 2 volumes of the trilogy - Shadowkings and Shadowgod - have been published by Simon & Schuster's now-defunct imprint Earthlight, and the 3rd part - Shadowmasque - will be published by Simon & Schuster-Pocket at the end of 2004. Mike has a number of ideas and concepts for his next big project but they're being kept on the backburner for the time being. The publication of Iron Mosaic will be a personal milestone for him, as well as a showcase of the topics and techiques which have intrigued him since the publication of his first short story back in 1986. And just recently, he has had appeared in the Thackery T Lambshead Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases, with a monologue upon the malady known as 'Parabubozygosia', which is not for the faint-hearted!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
January 12, 2022
The monster is dead, but at great cost.
This has become a fairly recognizable theme in Science Fiction: humans being thrust into politics and circumstance far beyond their kin, with associated access to mind bending technologies and tools of war that are far beyond their wildest imaginations. Much like a child being left in a playroom filled with both deadly weapons and innocent toys, and not being able to tell the difference. The sudden loss of “race innocence”, so to speak.
Consequences? There are bound to be a few.
A nice touch that has been added to these novels are the summaries in the preface. It helps to get a quick catch-up / refresher of what came before. This is a big sweeping space story with loads of characters, factions and races (each with their own vested interest in unfolding events).
Despite the above, however, I was (almost) lost from the outset. There is a lot happening right off the bat, no doubt continuing directly from events in the previous novel.
It’s a kitchen sink approach. It’s Military Science Fiction and Space Opera with dollops of Body Horror (one word: cyborgisation), elements of fantasy and, well, you get the idea. It is Peter F. Hamilton(ish) in fewer pages.
It’s a big story, and the continuity between novels is pretty demanding (each one basically continues where the previous one left off, without breaking stride).
It was nearly a thousand light years across at its widest, and ninety at its deepest.
One of the more interesting aspects of this setting is still the way “Hyperspace” is envisioned; different tiers, each almost like a galaxy unto itself. Some of this is baffling to read and envision, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting.
This has become a fairly recognizable theme in Science Fiction: humans being thrust into politics and circumstance far beyond their kin, with associated access to mind bending technologies and tools of war that are far beyond their wildest imaginations. Much like a child being left in a playroom filled with both deadly weapons and innocent toys, and not being able to tell the difference. The sudden loss of “race innocence”, so to speak.
Consequences? There are bound to be a few.
A nice touch that has been added to these novels are the summaries in the preface. It helps to get a quick catch-up / refresher of what came before. This is a big sweeping space story with loads of characters, factions and races (each with their own vested interest in unfolding events).
Despite the above, however, I was (almost) lost from the outset. There is a lot happening right off the bat, no doubt continuing directly from events in the previous novel.
It’s a kitchen sink approach. It’s Military Science Fiction and Space Opera with dollops of Body Horror (one word: cyborgisation), elements of fantasy and, well, you get the idea. It is Peter F. Hamilton(ish) in fewer pages.
It’s a big story, and the continuity between novels is pretty demanding (each one basically continues where the previous one left off, without breaking stride).
It was nearly a thousand light years across at its widest, and ninety at its deepest.
One of the more interesting aspects of this setting is still the way “Hyperspace” is envisioned; different tiers, each almost like a galaxy unto itself. Some of this is baffling to read and envision, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting.
February 21, 2022
Cobley's impressive imagination is once again on full display here in the concluding volume to his first space opera. As I mentioned in my review of the previous installment, this series is really one big story; the first two books lacked any sort of conclusion, but Cobley gives us one here. We left the last one with Darien in serious peril, with a huge Hegemony fleet on the way, and Darien only managed to muster a small fleet-- they will be outnumbered 100 to one. Furthermore, the ancient Knights-- a massive army of deranged cyborgs-- are due to arrive on Darien via the warpwell any day...
The Ascendant Stars does have some pacing issues that bothered a bit. We are all set for some massive showdown and then Cobley takes us many side plots involving many protagonists, so in the end, this volume only covers about a week of real time, but it moves in fits and starts. Overall, this was a fun series, but nothing too deep for sure. Cobley dazzles us with his many tiers of hyperspace-- levels of prior civilizations and universes, some huge, some tiny. He also takes us on a 'Tron' like dive into AI and a massive artificial world on Earth. All of this is punctuated with glimmers of events around Darien and its forest moon. I could do without the love affair between Greg and Cat, but so be it. A fitting end to the series, which of course, leaves a few threads hanging, begging for sequels. This and the series-- 3 shooting stars!!
The Ascendant Stars does have some pacing issues that bothered a bit. We are all set for some massive showdown and then Cobley takes us many side plots involving many protagonists, so in the end, this volume only covers about a week of real time, but it moves in fits and starts. Overall, this was a fun series, but nothing too deep for sure. Cobley dazzles us with his many tiers of hyperspace-- levels of prior civilizations and universes, some huge, some tiny. He also takes us on a 'Tron' like dive into AI and a massive artificial world on Earth. All of this is punctuated with glimmers of events around Darien and its forest moon. I could do without the love affair between Greg and Cat, but so be it. A fitting end to the series, which of course, leaves a few threads hanging, begging for sequels. This and the series-- 3 shooting stars!!
April 20, 2018
This was disappointing... Finally, this story was looking to become something great, as have been promised in the previous two books. But no. The end unfortunately ruins it. The last 50-100 pages gives a feeling similar to "whoops, my pizza just got delivered, best I eat it before it gets cold, let me just wrap this up". When it finally started to get good, the author kills it.
In my (not so humble) opinion, the author should have skipped the two first books, and written three full books of what happens in the third book.
In my (not so humble) opinion, the author should have skipped the two first books, and written three full books of what happens in the third book.
October 23, 2015
The book starts with something more books in a series should do. Apart from the useful reference pages of characters, species and political systems, a very handy précis of the previous two novels - what each character had got up to and where they were left at the end of the previous book. Very useful as I certainly couldn't be bothered to read the previous book again - marks gained. That said, these things are only useful if the editor reads them before publication. Too many errors to be forgiven in this section - marks docked. Luckily the editor that did(n't) read the catch-up sections was on better form for the main novel.
Michael Cobley was also on much better form for this final novel in the trilogy. None of the dragging slowness of the second novel, almost a return to the promise of the first one. The finale seemed to be a long time coming, but I didn't feel it was being held off for the sake of it. Neither did it feel rushed when the ending did come.
A good ending to the trilogy, I just think the second novel could have been tighter and the editor should go on some retraining.
Michael Cobley was also on much better form for this final novel in the trilogy. None of the dragging slowness of the second novel, almost a return to the promise of the first one. The finale seemed to be a long time coming, but I didn't feel it was being held off for the sake of it. Neither did it feel rushed when the ending did come.
A good ending to the trilogy, I just think the second novel could have been tighter and the editor should go on some retraining.
November 7, 2024
Science fiction is a genre of limitless possibilities, but to quote Wikipedia: "Sometimes the term space opera is used pejoratively to denote bad quality science fiction...", in the case of the Humanity's Fire trilogy I would say that this definition applied.
This series failed to engage me at any level, and I found myself not caring about the characters or multiple plot-lines. All I wanted to do was finish the book(s), which is something that I have never experienced so completely before.
In a list of the worst books I have ever read this series filled 3 of the 'top' ten places. I cannot understand the critical acclaim for the individual books or series, as I found they lacked energy, readability, and a satisfying climax!
This series failed to engage me at any level, and I found myself not caring about the characters or multiple plot-lines. All I wanted to do was finish the book(s), which is something that I have never experienced so completely before.
In a list of the worst books I have ever read this series filled 3 of the 'top' ten places. I cannot understand the critical acclaim for the individual books or series, as I found they lacked energy, readability, and a satisfying climax!
April 10, 2013
This may be the worst book that I've ever finished. It says something that I finished, something in the world and characters made me care enough to want to see the end. But each page was painful.
Layers upon layers of unbelievable magic pretending to be technology. Untold crazy coincidences. The worlds dumbest plot twists. Every sacrifice or death meaningless when it was undone or a trick.
Ugh.
Layers upon layers of unbelievable magic pretending to be technology. Untold crazy coincidences. The worlds dumbest plot twists. Every sacrifice or death meaningless when it was undone or a trick.
Ugh.
July 3, 2017
Going to keep this review short because (a) I’m ridiculously behind on writing reviews and (2) I feel like I’ve said almost everything I can about this series in my reviews of the first book and the second book. The Ascendant Stars concludes the Humanity’s Fire trilogy (I know there’s a fourth book, but it appears to be a standalone), but if you’ve made it this far, then you know pretty much what to expect.
As with The Orphaned Worlds, this book includes a synopsis of the previous books at the beginning. I found this extremely helpful. Michael Cobley’s space opera series spans so many worlds, has a cast of so many characters, that I had no hope of remembering everything. The style of narration is somewhat pompous and melodramatic, reminding me of the narrator of the Robotech anime, which I’m currently rewatching after discovering it on Netflix. And that fits with the scope of this series, which leans heavily on the opera side of space opera.
If you have made it this far through the series, then you’re going to like The Ascendant Stars as well. The trilogy is essentially one, long book broken up into three volumes: the continuity is very tight, and there is no real difference between a break between the books and a break between chapters within one book. All the characters from the previous books are back, ready to take on the Legion of Avatars, the Godhead, the Hegemony, etc. As the various players converge upon Darien’s space and the Forerunner warpwell activates to spew forth the Legion of Avatars, everyone prepares to pitch in however they can.
By the same token, however, this book doesn’t do much that is new or different from the other books. I’m kind of over this series. They are fun adventures, but like I said in a previous review, Cobley doesn’t do anything new with this genre. He has remixed a lot of old tropes, and it’s quite well done, but it doesn’t stimulate me the way something like Linesman has. I read this book because I had a copy lying around and kind of wanted to find out how the story ends (even if I could guess at the broad strokes).
Part of me wishes Cobley slowed down enough to ponder the philosophical implications of so much of the technology here. Mind uploading, copying, etc., is commonplace—what does that mean for identity and continuity of consciousness? He comes close with regards to Catriona, who spends most of this story as a disembodied consciousness within Segrana. She exists as a kind of interface between Segrana and the Zyradin, and she ruminates on what she is now that she no longer has a body. In contrast, though, Julia turns into a “fractalized sentience” but is otherwise no worse for wear, apparently. (I will not spoil the ultimate fates of either of these characters, though.)
I appreciate the vast scope of this story. This really is space opera done right, at least in the sense of grandeur that Cobley’s storytelling evokes. It’s a double-edged sword, because this many characters and plots means it is difficult to spend enough time with everyone. And perhaps I just wasn’t in quite the right mood when reading this, maybe I actually hankered for a more character-driven novel. Whatever the reason, I wouldn’t say that The Ascendant Stars excited me as much as it could have—but if you want a vast, plot-driven, star-system–spanning story, then you could do worse than tackling this series.
My reviews of the Humanity’s Fire series:
← The Orphaned Worlds
As with The Orphaned Worlds, this book includes a synopsis of the previous books at the beginning. I found this extremely helpful. Michael Cobley’s space opera series spans so many worlds, has a cast of so many characters, that I had no hope of remembering everything. The style of narration is somewhat pompous and melodramatic, reminding me of the narrator of the Robotech anime, which I’m currently rewatching after discovering it on Netflix. And that fits with the scope of this series, which leans heavily on the opera side of space opera.
If you have made it this far through the series, then you’re going to like The Ascendant Stars as well. The trilogy is essentially one, long book broken up into three volumes: the continuity is very tight, and there is no real difference between a break between the books and a break between chapters within one book. All the characters from the previous books are back, ready to take on the Legion of Avatars, the Godhead, the Hegemony, etc. As the various players converge upon Darien’s space and the Forerunner warpwell activates to spew forth the Legion of Avatars, everyone prepares to pitch in however they can.
By the same token, however, this book doesn’t do much that is new or different from the other books. I’m kind of over this series. They are fun adventures, but like I said in a previous review, Cobley doesn’t do anything new with this genre. He has remixed a lot of old tropes, and it’s quite well done, but it doesn’t stimulate me the way something like Linesman has. I read this book because I had a copy lying around and kind of wanted to find out how the story ends (even if I could guess at the broad strokes).
Part of me wishes Cobley slowed down enough to ponder the philosophical implications of so much of the technology here. Mind uploading, copying, etc., is commonplace—what does that mean for identity and continuity of consciousness? He comes close with regards to Catriona, who spends most of this story as a disembodied consciousness within Segrana. She exists as a kind of interface between Segrana and the Zyradin, and she ruminates on what she is now that she no longer has a body. In contrast, though, Julia turns into a “fractalized sentience” but is otherwise no worse for wear, apparently. (I will not spoil the ultimate fates of either of these characters, though.)
I appreciate the vast scope of this story. This really is space opera done right, at least in the sense of grandeur that Cobley’s storytelling evokes. It’s a double-edged sword, because this many characters and plots means it is difficult to spend enough time with everyone. And perhaps I just wasn’t in quite the right mood when reading this, maybe I actually hankered for a more character-driven novel. Whatever the reason, I wouldn’t say that The Ascendant Stars excited me as much as it could have—but if you want a vast, plot-driven, star-system–spanning story, then you could do worse than tackling this series.
My reviews of the Humanity’s Fire series:
← The Orphaned Worlds
October 30, 2013
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 ongoing 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.
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 ongoing 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.
January 3, 2012
Just a few quick words on this one. First off, to review it properly I'd have to go back and re-read the first two books in the series and re-familiarise myself with the story. As it was, thanks to the gap between reading the first and second books and finally getting hold of the third, meant I had lost something of the thread by the tme I started reading. Because of that, it took a while to re-connect with the story, but I can say that this is a worthy follow up to its predecessors and certainly ends the trilogy with a bang. Overall, it's a highly enjoyable read, both broad and deep, and no doubt I shall be re-reading the entire trilogy in sequence at a later date so that I can return to write a more in-depth and cogent review.
April 1, 2018
It was admittedly a slow beginning. Then things started to ramp up. Characters who had lesser roles early on became prominent. There was also a lot of willingness by the characters to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. In the end, I could predict the outcome. It was the details that were in question, as well as who would live or die. I really did enjoy the ending and the promise of a better future.
As for the critics of the book, I'd love to hear specific critically rather than the simple 'it was terrible'. No one has to like anything but constructive criticism is surely better for the author. Note: I have no connection to the author and have only ever read this trilogy from him.
As for the critics of the book, I'd love to hear specific critically rather than the simple 'it was terrible'. No one has to like anything but constructive criticism is surely better for the author. Note: I have no connection to the author and have only ever read this trilogy from him.
April 24, 2018
Okay, the story gets moving in this one and we get to see how the threads all come together and some of the weird stuff makes more sense and some of it is still 'why are these plots in the same story?' and maybe I just missed something important along the way.
Regardless, I quite enjoyed it and I wanted to see what happened to some of the characters and how it all turned out and I was pleased with it at the end and enjoyed reading it
Which, I must say, except for one possible hint of a further volume, seemed to be the end. All wrapped up, finished.
So, what about Book Four 4, Ancestral Machines?
Well . . . . . .
Regardless, I quite enjoyed it and I wanted to see what happened to some of the characters and how it all turned out and I was pleased with it at the end and enjoyed reading it
Which, I must say, except for one possible hint of a further volume, seemed to be the end. All wrapped up, finished.
So, what about Book Four 4, Ancestral Machines?
Well . . . . . .
December 20, 2013
A bit disappointed with this. The trilogy started off very well but has faded a bit as it progressed. In this episode there were to many "fortunate coincidences" in the plot for my liking. Still worth 3 stars though.
November 28, 2018
The concluding book of the Humanity's Fire trilogy comes to a satisfying conclusion.
The story is a complex one with many protagonists but with each chapter focusing on one of the individual participants, it mean that the reader can maintain a good understanding of the ongoing narrative.
The story is a complex one with many protagonists but with each chapter focusing on one of the individual participants, it mean that the reader can maintain a good understanding of the ongoing narrative.
June 22, 2020
‘Ascendant Stars’ is part three of a big trilogy, ‘Humanity’s Fire’, which can be a problem. The book opens with a pretty efficient summary of what has gone before from author Michael Cobley. Unfortunately, so much has gone before it was hard to get my head around. Deciding the best thing to do was carry on regardless, I kept reading and presently it made sense, mostly.
The centre of the action is Darien, a planet occupied by humans sent forth in an emergency centuries ago. They lost contact with home. There are two other colony worlds in the same condition for three were sent forth when Earth was threatened at that time. Earthsphere found Darien in book one, ‘Seeds Of Earth’, but the main human worlds are under the sway of the Sendrukan Hegemony, a not very nice empire. Darien also seems to be a holding ground for ancient forces that fought a titanic war long ago and are reviving for another go at it. Nasty types from all over the galaxy and even the depths of Hyperspace are now converging on a slightly bucolic settlement of rough-hewn frontier type boys and girls for whom it may all be too much.
There are quite a few characters to follow and they usually get a chapter each, one after the other. Greg has chapter one. He is moping about on Nivyesta, Darien’s moon, because his girl-friend, Catriona, has become one with the forest. Catriona is next up, then Julia, an enhanced type who is being held prisoner and forced to design weapons of mass destruction for an evil terrorist with an unknown agenda. Kuros has a chapter, too. He’s the Sendrukan ambassador to Darien but has been taken over by his AI. Kao Chih is from another lost human colony and has had an exciting time getting near Darien. Greg and Theo are from the target planet, as is Chel, one of the native Uvovo. Robert Horst is the Earth ambassador to Darien and there are copies of him running around to complicate things.
As well as numerous characters, there are numerous landscapes, many of them odd. Julia spends some time as a fractalised sentience inside the Datastream, the ‘internet’ which stretches across the galaxy, more or less, full of virtual realities, codes, AIs, security systems and so forth. Robert goes through a warp and ends up in the subconscious of the Godhead, an ancient sentience of unknown origin. Cobley is endlessly inventive in describing these backgrounds, inevitably in human terms. They are very fluid and change quickly though, unlike real landscapes of trees and hills.
Thankfully, there are some real landscapes of trees and hills still around and real humans with arms and legs to occupy them, mostly on Darien. The key points are frequently occupied by enemy powers, so sieges and battles form a large part of the story. Space, that final frontier, is another important battleground and Cobley does a good job of describing combat among the stars. Some of it has an inevitable ring of familiarity. Beam weapons and torpedoes are deployed against shields which flicker and glow under the assault. Sneaky use is made of fighters and shuttles and the enemy computer systems can be fiddled with at times.
All in all, this is an excellent space opera, full of imagination and invention. The human characters are mostly likeable and the inhuman ones send a shiver down the spine, especially the ones with machine parts and the parasites. There is a pleasing familiarity to much of it for those well-read in the genre and even for those who only do their Science Fiction on film and television. The writing is crisp and clear throughout and it all leads beautifully to a glorious conclusion. If I lost the plot occasionally it is because I am old and the little grey cells are fading away, not through any fault of the author. Even you young people must have trouble at times with the third parts of complex trilogies when you read part two more than a year ago. If you are lucky enough not to have read part one and two yet, then I highly recommend the series. Michael Cobley has added a fine piece of work to a grand tradition and I think old E.E. ‘Doc’ Smith is lying tranquil in his grave.
Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/
The centre of the action is Darien, a planet occupied by humans sent forth in an emergency centuries ago. They lost contact with home. There are two other colony worlds in the same condition for three were sent forth when Earth was threatened at that time. Earthsphere found Darien in book one, ‘Seeds Of Earth’, but the main human worlds are under the sway of the Sendrukan Hegemony, a not very nice empire. Darien also seems to be a holding ground for ancient forces that fought a titanic war long ago and are reviving for another go at it. Nasty types from all over the galaxy and even the depths of Hyperspace are now converging on a slightly bucolic settlement of rough-hewn frontier type boys and girls for whom it may all be too much.
There are quite a few characters to follow and they usually get a chapter each, one after the other. Greg has chapter one. He is moping about on Nivyesta, Darien’s moon, because his girl-friend, Catriona, has become one with the forest. Catriona is next up, then Julia, an enhanced type who is being held prisoner and forced to design weapons of mass destruction for an evil terrorist with an unknown agenda. Kuros has a chapter, too. He’s the Sendrukan ambassador to Darien but has been taken over by his AI. Kao Chih is from another lost human colony and has had an exciting time getting near Darien. Greg and Theo are from the target planet, as is Chel, one of the native Uvovo. Robert Horst is the Earth ambassador to Darien and there are copies of him running around to complicate things.
As well as numerous characters, there are numerous landscapes, many of them odd. Julia spends some time as a fractalised sentience inside the Datastream, the ‘internet’ which stretches across the galaxy, more or less, full of virtual realities, codes, AIs, security systems and so forth. Robert goes through a warp and ends up in the subconscious of the Godhead, an ancient sentience of unknown origin. Cobley is endlessly inventive in describing these backgrounds, inevitably in human terms. They are very fluid and change quickly though, unlike real landscapes of trees and hills.
Thankfully, there are some real landscapes of trees and hills still around and real humans with arms and legs to occupy them, mostly on Darien. The key points are frequently occupied by enemy powers, so sieges and battles form a large part of the story. Space, that final frontier, is another important battleground and Cobley does a good job of describing combat among the stars. Some of it has an inevitable ring of familiarity. Beam weapons and torpedoes are deployed against shields which flicker and glow under the assault. Sneaky use is made of fighters and shuttles and the enemy computer systems can be fiddled with at times.
All in all, this is an excellent space opera, full of imagination and invention. The human characters are mostly likeable and the inhuman ones send a shiver down the spine, especially the ones with machine parts and the parasites. There is a pleasing familiarity to much of it for those well-read in the genre and even for those who only do their Science Fiction on film and television. The writing is crisp and clear throughout and it all leads beautifully to a glorious conclusion. If I lost the plot occasionally it is because I am old and the little grey cells are fading away, not through any fault of the author. Even you young people must have trouble at times with the third parts of complex trilogies when you read part two more than a year ago. If you are lucky enough not to have read part one and two yet, then I highly recommend the series. Michael Cobley has added a fine piece of work to a grand tradition and I think old E.E. ‘Doc’ Smith is lying tranquil in his grave.
Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/
October 24, 2020
I picked up this series because I was quite intrigued by the description of the first book - 3 colony ships are sent out from earth to escape a devastating attack and so that humanity can continue on and establish a foothold somewhere else in the galaxy. Sounded really intriguing.
Unfortunately this plot line quickly became rather minor as the plot expanded and expanded to become grander and grander and to include more elements, more species, civilizations and characters. I think for me, I eventually started losing interest in most of the major plots - they just started becoming a little to surreal. Also meant that less time could be spent really developing that initial plot line and the characters involved in it.
At the end of the day, the bits of the book that interested me most were still the bits hinted at by the original description of the trilogy ... the tale of those 3 earth colony ships. If the book had kept to this with a bit of Sendrukan intrigue to spice up the plot, I would have enjoyed the book a lot more.
( Caution spoiler below....
And the whole warpwell prison concept seemed to have a rather large hole in it ... why did the legion need the warpwell to escape from hyperspace, when so many ships seemed capable of flirting back and forth between the various levels of hyperspace anyway?)
Unfortunately this plot line quickly became rather minor as the plot expanded and expanded to become grander and grander and to include more elements, more species, civilizations and characters. I think for me, I eventually started losing interest in most of the major plots - they just started becoming a little to surreal. Also meant that less time could be spent really developing that initial plot line and the characters involved in it.
At the end of the day, the bits of the book that interested me most were still the bits hinted at by the original description of the trilogy ... the tale of those 3 earth colony ships. If the book had kept to this with a bit of Sendrukan intrigue to spice up the plot, I would have enjoyed the book a lot more.
( Caution spoiler below....
And the whole warpwell prison concept seemed to have a rather large hole in it ... why did the legion need the warpwell to escape from hyperspace, when so many ships seemed capable of flirting back and forth between the various levels of hyperspace anyway?)
May 19, 2023
Loved this series! So much cool technology and a story that ultimately came together and made sense across the 3 books (which DO need to be read in numerical order).
I loved the concept of hyperspace here, which isn't just something that allows for faster interstellar travel as it is in many other writings but is also a series of tiers (at least 150) where old universes that came before and died out over billions of years collapse into a new tier, sort of like the stratum of rocks in geology. Yet there are living things and machine intelligences in each of these tiers (because they don't get collapsed flat), some of which are good, but many are evil and bad.
Julia was a great character and her romps with Harry through the tiernet (the equivalent of our internet and another sort of universe onto itself) was fantastic imagining.
I like how the author wraps up events in a nice epilog but there were some parts left unanswered, such as what happened to the Hegemony and their AI partners? Also same for the Legion of Avatars mastermind?
Cobley is a great SF talent but strangely, hasn't released any new books since 2018. Is he still writing?
I loved the concept of hyperspace here, which isn't just something that allows for faster interstellar travel as it is in many other writings but is also a series of tiers (at least 150) where old universes that came before and died out over billions of years collapse into a new tier, sort of like the stratum of rocks in geology. Yet there are living things and machine intelligences in each of these tiers (because they don't get collapsed flat), some of which are good, but many are evil and bad.
Julia was a great character and her romps with Harry through the tiernet (the equivalent of our internet and another sort of universe onto itself) was fantastic imagining.
I like how the author wraps up events in a nice epilog but there were some parts left unanswered, such as what happened to the Hegemony and their AI partners? Also same for the Legion of Avatars mastermind?
Cobley is a great SF talent but strangely, hasn't released any new books since 2018. Is he still writing?
March 17, 2017
I just finished The Ascendant Stars, the third book of the Humanities Fire series by Micheal Colby. I read the first book over the summer, and completed the other two over the two months.
***WARNING: SPOILERS TO COME***
I'd give this book a 3/5. This book did not wow me, but it also did not completely disappoint me. Really, my problem with this whole book is a problem with the trilogy as a whole. These books thrust the reader into an expanded universe, where AI's have grown in power, and humanity routinely interacts with other species. The premise is that 150 years prior, a humanity on the brink of extinction launched out three colony ships, now Earth, aided by a universe spanning hegemony finds one of the colony ships on a planet with a portal to the prison of an ancient AI race intent on destroying all sentient life. That premise is huge!
It took Colby three whole books to tell this story, and honestly, I feel like he could have used one or two more to complete the story. There was so much happening and so many POV's involved that it feels rushed. Things happen in the blink of an eye, and other moments take chapters. Overall, I think this story suffers from pacing issues.
That being said, there are some really awesome points to this universe. The world is clearly thought out and developed. There are many different species, each with their own unique history and culture. Colby has put a lot of time into universe development. The universe is incredible, I think it's just handled wrong. The pacing needed to be evened out in order to really make this trilogy pop for me.
Another thing I loved was the dialogue. To me, most of the characters actually spoke with voices that seemed authentic. That made the characters very enjoyable and interesting to me. Overall, I think this was a good read, but could have been better.
***WARNING: SPOILERS TO COME***
I'd give this book a 3/5. This book did not wow me, but it also did not completely disappoint me. Really, my problem with this whole book is a problem with the trilogy as a whole. These books thrust the reader into an expanded universe, where AI's have grown in power, and humanity routinely interacts with other species. The premise is that 150 years prior, a humanity on the brink of extinction launched out three colony ships, now Earth, aided by a universe spanning hegemony finds one of the colony ships on a planet with a portal to the prison of an ancient AI race intent on destroying all sentient life. That premise is huge!
It took Colby three whole books to tell this story, and honestly, I feel like he could have used one or two more to complete the story. There was so much happening and so many POV's involved that it feels rushed. Things happen in the blink of an eye, and other moments take chapters. Overall, I think this story suffers from pacing issues.
That being said, there are some really awesome points to this universe. The world is clearly thought out and developed. There are many different species, each with their own unique history and culture. Colby has put a lot of time into universe development. The universe is incredible, I think it's just handled wrong. The pacing needed to be evened out in order to really make this trilogy pop for me.
Another thing I loved was the dialogue. To me, most of the characters actually spoke with voices that seemed authentic. That made the characters very enjoyable and interesting to me. Overall, I think this was a good read, but could have been better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 25, 2021
Due to various commitments I took a lot longer to get through this than the preceding two books in the series, and a gap of several months at one stage made it hard going to get back into when I returned due to the multi-threaded plot. But I was intrigued to see how Michael Cobley would draw together and conclude the many elements of the remarkably complex tale he had woven in book two of the series. My perseverance paid off as Cobley did indeed manage to bring his story to a satisfying conclusion with many heroes playing their part in its ending. The story could end there, and for me it will for a while as I turn my attention to other books waiting on my shelves to be read. Yet, Cobley sets the stage for a continuance in his epilogue, which will no doubt bring me back for another helping of this five book series in future.
June 13, 2023
This is the third book in Cobley’s Humanity’s Fire trilogy, a vast sprawling space opera on set on a huge scale with labyrinthine plots with multiple POVs. Which makes it likely to appeal to readers of authors like Peter F Hamilton and Iain Banks (whose recommendation led me to this trilogy). However, the quality falls rather short of those authors; I think the whole set up becomes a little too elaborate making following the many different threads something of a trial for the reader. An enjoyable space opera but maybe a little over cooked. The level of techno babble almost pushes things into magic. But then as the great Arthur C Clarke famously said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” There is another duology set in the same universe but with generally lower ratings than this trilogy I’ll probably not bother with them.
December 18, 2024
This is the final episode in the author’s Humanity’s Fire space-opera trilogy. By now the redoubtable and horny-handed residents of the colony planet Darien find themselves assaulted on many fronts, not only by the forces described in the earlier episode, but also some completely new ones. It’ll be no surprise to learn that everything turns out well for the good guys in the end — with the help, I regret to say, of a few McGuffins seemingly plucked from the air — but the roll-call of characters, civilisations, plots, counter-plots and counter-counter plots has by now grown so long and the story arcs so labyrinthine that I quite lost track of what was going on and in the end had to simply let myself get carried along for the ride. The ride, such as it was, was a lot of fun, but at times I just longed for it all to end. One can have, it seems, too much of a good thing.
August 29, 2017
After reading the 1st book in the series i was quite excited but the 2nd turned out to be boring. This was a nightmare, the story was such a mix up of different genres and heavily a mashup of star wars and star trek with the one of the villains being a cheesy borg rip-off. The main characters just weren't interesting enough or in the story enough to care and the continual introduction of new plot lines and characters right upto the end was annoying. I was glad when this book was finished, so badly structured and executed it felt like a cheap soap opera in space. I noticed there's a 4 book in the series and i will be avoiding that like the plague.
May 27, 2021
So many words... and I don't just mean that this is a thick book. I kept reading, waiting for something to happen, but missing it because big events seemed to happen in the midst of interminable descriptions, often using those made-up words and phrases that are prevalent in much SF, but here just looked made-up. I wish I could be bothered going back to give some examples, or noted some down when I came across them, but I just wanted to finish this book. To get to the big denouement of a galaxy-spanning war. Imagine my disappoint when I realised it had happened and I had barely noticed.
Sorry, too many characters I didn't care about, doing things I found difficult to follow.
Sorry, too many characters I didn't care about, doing things I found difficult to follow.
October 27, 2018
Well, a trilogy that was a big mess finally went off the rails. Boring, confusing, with only a few scenes of interesting action, culminating in such a lousy ending that I changed my rating from two stars to just one. The first two books weren't great, and the plot always left a lot to be desired, but this final book is really the pits. If I hadn't already read the first two, I probably wouldn't have finished the third. Glad that it's over.
August 6, 2025
I have been reading science fiction for more than fifty years. I have never encountered a worse novel. In fact, I have never encountered a worse series.
A continuous sequence of deux e machina events, coupled with meandering and nonsensical plot developments and insipid dialogue. I gave this series two stars because the first installment, began reasonably enough. But the second book is terrible and the third is unreadable.
A continuous sequence of deux e machina events, coupled with meandering and nonsensical plot developments and insipid dialogue. I gave this series two stars because the first installment, began reasonably enough. But the second book is terrible and the third is unreadable.
May 18, 2017
So yeah, idiots just end up blowing up the well which they should have done in the first place. Chel traps himself and gets killed by the Legion, Major jumps into the well with the bomb because they've never heard of timers or grenades. Robert dies because he's like in the Godhead when it gets nuked.
Everyone else makes it, except the forest, which was dumb too so no loss there.
Everyone else makes it, except the forest, which was dumb too so no loss there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2023
Everything tied up a little too nicely for my liking. The characters had a lot of dues ex Machina occur, also not my favorite.
This is harsh but a forgettable series for me, I didn't find the characters compelling, nor was the story overly well thought out. I don't know, maybe the plucky underdog was a little wayward for me here.
This is harsh but a forgettable series for me, I didn't find the characters compelling, nor was the story overly well thought out. I don't know, maybe the plucky underdog was a little wayward for me here.
January 4, 2018
I enjoyed the series (and this book), it had great ideas but ... in the end it just felt like the interesting stories hadn't been told. It was as if it got wrapped up to keep the books to three.
February 9, 2022
Oceniam tak samo jak 2 tom, nie zamierzam tego zaczynać dopóki nie skończę przygody z poprzednia częścią. Te książki na razie czekają na swoją drugą szansę.
August 20, 2023
Nice!
Best of the three!
Best of the three!
March 2, 2024
Why are so many of the adult fiction books at the library genres I hate
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