Book Review: Ascendant Sun

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Ascendant Sun     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Catherine Asaro
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction
Series: Skolian Empire # 5
Tor, Feb 2000, $24.95, 380 pp.

After spending nearly two decades as a prisoner on Coba, Kelric finally escapes. However, during his incarceration many changes occurred in his family’s Empire. The Radiance War has left Kelric’s kin either dead or imprisoned by the Allied forces of Earth, who now rule the Skoalian Empire. The powerful telepathic communication link between Skoalian, Eubian, and Aristo has collapsed.

Into that void, Kelric, now the heir to the Skoalian Empire flees by accepting a job on a merchant vessel, but he is captured by the Aristo, who also hold his brother prisoner. The Aristo plan to use the siblings to open the Lock to the time-space continuum portal that will make them the most powerful beings in the universe. Kelric is the only hope to stop this dastardly plan of universal domination.

ASCENDANT SUN, the fifth novel in Catherine Asaro’s fabulous Skoalian Empire saga, is an exciting and enthralling work of science fiction. The primary story line is crisp and never slows down for a nanosecond. Kelric is a wonderful hero whose previous struggles (see THE LAST HAWK) seem soft compared to his current troubles. Though newcomers will be lost with the complexities of the tale, they, like series fans, will become gripped by the lightning speed of the action and the radiant vastness of the plot, sending new readers searching for the previous novels. Ms. Asaro continues to rise in ascendancy to the apogee of the science fiction universe with this triumphant novel.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner