Ascension (Tangled Axon, #1) in Lambda Sci-Fi

Apr 28, 2014 ambyr rated it it was ok

Shelves: authorㅡpoc, genreㅡscience-fiction, characterㅡdisabled, protagonistㅡfemale, i-am-exactly-the-right-audience, book-club, characterㅡlgbt, authorㅡfemale, ownㅡcurrently, acquiredㅡgift

This book does a lot of interesting things very poorly. I appreciate the diversity of the cast, but I'd appreciate it more if that diversity didn't feel pasted on. The main character has a chronic pain disorder, but the symptoms disappear and reappear whenever it's convenient to the plot, allowing her to be an action hero as needed. At one point she breaks her ribs; then she falls in love, and this is apparently curative, because the injury is never mentioned again and certainly doesn't inhibit This book does a lot of interesting things very poorly. I appreciate the diversity of the cast, but I'd appreciate it more if that diversity didn't feel pasted on. The main character has a chronic pain disorder, but the symptoms disappear and reappear whenever it's convenient to the plot, allowing her to be an action hero as needed. At one point she breaks her ribs; then she falls in love, and this is apparently curative, because the injury is never mentioned again and certainly doesn't inhibit that love's enthusiastic consummation.

The overall worldbuilding was intriguing, and I would have loved to hear more about Transliminal's overall effect on the politics and economy of the protagonist's universe or the role of the spirit guides. Unfortunately, we never really get a coherent view of any of the institutional players' abilities or goals. Meanwhile, the protagonist spends a lot of time holding a planet-sized idiot ball to keep things moving briskly.

Particular nitpicky points of frustration for me include (view spoiler) ...more

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Apr 09, 2020 Kes rated it liked it

Shelves: queer-fiction, queer-science-fiction

When I first discovered and read this book I was starved of science-fiction with LGBTQ+ Protagonists. I enjoyed it in my whirl wind read through. But, now I have had the chance to read more science-fiction with queer leads, and more has become steadily available. So I set out to reread Ascension, to see if it still held the same place in my heart.

TLDR; While a lot of queer science-fiction still lacks the diversity of this novel (expecially with regards to disability/chronic illnesses) it is no l When I first discovered and read this book I was starved of science-fiction with LGBTQ+ Protagonists. I enjoyed it in my whirl wind read through. But, now I have had the chance to read more science-fiction with queer leads, and more has become steadily available. So I set out to reread Ascension, to see if it still held the same place in my heart.

TLDR; While a lot of queer science-fiction still lacks the diversity of this novel (expecially with regards to disability/chronic illnesses) it is no longer a book that I love as I have changed as a reader.

Ascension follows Alana Quick, a starship mechanic, who stows away on the Tangled Axon when the crew comes in search of the services of her sister, Nova. Alana has a chronic illness that requires expensive medication and her ship repair yard barely brings in enough to cover her expenses, so she sees the Tangled Axon as an opportunity to leave her circumstances. However, aboard the Tangled Axon, things do not go according to plan. With a wily crew led by a too-hot-to-handle captain, Alana quickly finds herself in over her head.

In my reread, I didn’t actually get too far into the novel, before I DNFed it. There were several parts of the story that left me dissatisfied. Alana is supposed to be 30 system-years old, but she reads as a very young character. She makes immature and selfish decisions, including ones that could jeopardize her already fragile health and the safety of other people. She often fails to think things through despite her character being highly introspective. She tries to prove herself as “the best damned sky surgeon” with plans that often backfire.

I also don’t typically like polyamoury in fiction, and this book is very poly heavy. Of course, this is just a personal preference, and for some people, this could be exactly what attracts them to the book.
Ascension can read quite slow because Alana is a very introspective character, and the book is from her POV. I didn’t have any problem with this. A lot of what I read could definitely be defined as slow, haha.

Without spoiling anything, the ending was...strange. I didn't see the final plot twist coming and I don't know how I felt about it.

Now, having had more opportunities to read sci fi books with queer MCs, I don't think that Ascension lives up to my tastes or romantic storyline preferences. But we had fun together in that stage of my life. It’s an interesting experience to outgrow a book you used to recommend, but I have changed as a reader and this book no longer fulfills my needs.
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