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A review by wynnz
Ascendant by Jack Campbell
2.0
"The only difference between this book and the first book is the title! Otherwise, they are very similar. Oh, I don't know. I'm feeling very confused and frustrated. On the one hand, I want to enjoy these books, but on the other hand, the author is making it really difficult for me. In the previous book, Vanguard, the main character was sent out on a mission in a cruiser with basic armament to deter an enemy attack on his own people of Glenlyon. His orders were to “tell them to stop and go home, but under no circumstances fire on them.” It almost seems like the planet should have been called Glenpussies.
The enemy had previously attacked and nearly destroyed the last planet they had visited. I mean, what was the point in sending him on that mission? I’m all for diplomacy and diplomatic solutions, but when the other team comes out shooting and hell-bent on world domination, what can you do? It reminds me of that military idiom FUBAR.
Spoiler alert: after saving the day and everyone on Glenlyon, the government turns around and tells him to "F**k off." Well, that's gratitude for you.
And now, in the first few paragraphs of Ascendant, a warship escorting a freighter comes under attack, and the commodore and the captain do nothing whatsoever to defend themselves because of some checklists that conflicted with their orders. Come on, man, give me some credit. If you want me to read these books, give me something believable to hang on to. Throw me a lifeline here. These are highly trained officers, and all they did was look at each other and shrug their shoulders and then died. Bloody good strategy. Is that what they teach them in naval school? I know the genre is called science fiction, but it's not called science f***ing stupid fiction,(SFSF) is it?
Guess what? Now that same government is asking him to put his life on the line once more. I know what I would tell them, but then, there wouldn’t be a book to write. Disappointing and repetitive, same Modus Operandi as the first book."
The enemy had previously attacked and nearly destroyed the last planet they had visited. I mean, what was the point in sending him on that mission? I’m all for diplomacy and diplomatic solutions, but when the other team comes out shooting and hell-bent on world domination, what can you do? It reminds me of that military idiom FUBAR.
Spoiler alert: after saving the day and everyone on Glenlyon, the government turns around and tells him to "F**k off." Well, that's gratitude for you.
And now, in the first few paragraphs of Ascendant, a warship escorting a freighter comes under attack, and the commodore and the captain do nothing whatsoever to defend themselves because of some checklists that conflicted with their orders. Come on, man, give me some credit. If you want me to read these books, give me something believable to hang on to. Throw me a lifeline here. These are highly trained officers, and all they did was look at each other and shrug their shoulders and then died. Bloody good strategy. Is that what they teach them in naval school? I know the genre is called science fiction, but it's not called science f***ing stupid fiction,(SFSF) is it?
Guess what? Now that same government is asking him to put his life on the line once more. I know what I would tell them, but then, there wouldn’t be a book to write. Disappointing and repetitive, same Modus Operandi as the first book."