Jack Campbell does it again with this prequel series. Excellent characters, mostly logical battle scenes and a lively plot make this story a fun read. ( )

Military science fiction novel Ascendant, released in hardcover in 2018 and mass market paperback in April, 2019, is the second novel in the Genesis Fleet series. The series began with Vanguard and concludes with Triumphant. Although I had not read the first book in the series prior to picking up Ascendant, the novel contained sufficient background to allow me to easily follow the story line.

In the future society depicted in Ascendant, humanity has established thriving colonies in the far reaches of space. Many of those who went to the stars did so seeking freedom. This fundamental value is threatened when systems like Scatha, Apulu, and Turan develop empire-building aspirations. Scatha and its allies are attacking human colonies one by one, placing them under tyrannical rule while they skim off their resources. To make matters worse, Earth can no longer be counted on to come to the defense of the colonies. As one character notes, “ ‘The mother has sent her children to the stars and turned her back on them.’ ” (p. 23) This leaves the colonies uneasily trying to balance the fierce desire for independence with a dawning recognition that sometimes, alliances are needed in order to preserve one’s way of life. Unfortunately, the reluctance of the independent colonies to get involved in the struggles faced by others makes it easier for the Scathans and their allies to divide and conquer.

Not everyone is willing to take the Scathans’ aggression lying down. The Glenlyon System decides to call Scatha’s bluff, sending the destroyer Claymore to escort one of their freighters, Bruce Monroe, to its destination. Scatha responds by blowing the Claymore to bits in the novel’s opening scenes.

Glenlyon’s Senior Dock Officer Rob Geary is called upon by the governing council to take command of the warship Saber, seeking to avenge Claymore and proactively take the battle to Scatha. Geary and the crew of the Saber arrive just in time to achieve partial vengeance by destroying one of the Scathan warships they find harassing the Bruce Monroe.

Though he’d like nothing better than to head back to Glenlyon where his pregnant wife and three-year-old child await, Geary feels drawn to pursue a second Scathan ship, which appears to have made a jump to Kosatka. Kosatka is, relatively speaking, one of Glenlyon’s neighbours. Geary recognizes that there might be something to be gained if Glenlyon can help Kosatka fend off the Scathans. When the Saber speeds to Kosatka, they find the planet under attack by Scathan forces. One of Kosatka’s warships, the Shark, has been damaged, putting it out of the fight.

As the battle unfolds, we see the assault on Kosatka, and its fallout, through several third-person viewpoints. We follow Geary as he takes on the Scathan warships. Mele Darcy, who is in charge of the Glenlyon Marines, leads a running battle through Kosatka’s orbital facility, trying desperately to buy time for necessary repairs to be completed on the Shark. On the planet’s surface, volunteer intelligence officer Carmen Oocha assists in the hand-to-hand struggle to repel the invaders. Meanwhile, Lochan Nakamura is sent on a diplomatic mission to seek out alliances. Despite the multiple viewpoints, it’s easy enough to follow the story line, and there is plenty of action—space battles, explosions, even a skirmish with a pirate vessel. The characters struggle against difficult, yet realistic, odds as the drama unfolds.

Ascendant provides the reader with characters they can root for. Geary, though competent at his job, is haunted by the memory of past failures. His wife Lyn, better known as Ninja, tells him he says the names of those who died under his command at night, in his sleep. Oocha’s motivation to defend Kosatka is based, in part, on her experiences on Mars, which she describes as “ ‘a place where every dream is dead and force is the only law.’ ” (p.113) She is determined not to let Kosatka be taken by hostile forces and suffer a similar fate. Lochan Nakamura is a diplomat rather than a soldier, but he’s willing to venture to other planetary systems to see if he can win support for Kosatka’s cause, even though he knows the inherent danger in that mission should the Scathans get wise to his plans.

Characters of both genders are depicted as being strong and competent. Mele Darcy whips the Kosatkan forces into shape, providing leadership when the Kosatkan commander is killed in the line of duty. Carmen Oocha demonstrates bravery and courage as she gathers intelligence on the movements of the enemy forces. The Saber’s chief engineer, Lieutenant Vicki Shen, plays a key role in expediting the repairs on Shark. Geary is a determined, compassionate, and resourceful leader.

Ascendant provides compelling action scenes, but it doesn’t stop there. The novel also delves into the nature of war, the reasons it sometimes is worth fighting, and the toll it takes on the men and women who gear up for battle. Though Ascendant is set in the far future, some aspects of warfare haven’t changed. Mele Darcy muses:

For how many thousands of years had humanity waged wars, developing better and better weapons? And how many times during those thousands of years had someone proclaimed that some latest weapon had made foot soldiers obsolete? But here, on and above Kosatka, the fight would once again be decided by grunts, fighting face-to-face and maybe hand to hand. Because that’s what grunts did, and that’s why, in the end, they were always needed no matter how many other fancy toys people came up with to wage war. (p. 184)

Carmen Oocha ponders the ironic gap between the image and reality when it comes to the nature of the intelligence-gathering function:

She had once imagined that intelligence offices were like they were shown on vids, all-seeing centers where quirky individuals discovered important insights from the smallest possible clue picked up by the most amazing possible sources. The reality was more like this back room: dark, dingy, smelling of old coffee and too many people who hadn’t had time to get clean for too long, and a perpetual headache as analysts often unsuccessfully tried to fit too few bits of information into some sort of useful picture. (p. 111)

Oocha ponders the irony of fighting over empty buildings for their symbolic value, and Geary observes that “sometimes victory tasted only a little less ugly than defeat.” (p. 251) Ascendant does not glorify war; rather, the lead characters are battling to preserve their beliefs, while at the same time remaining cognizant of the cost of that battle. Characters like Geary fight heroically, yet are also possessed with spasms of self-doubt. In the end, they are only human, not superhuman—which makes them easier to relate to, and renders the story more believable and compelling.

As the second book in a series, Ascendant offers a satisfying conclusion to its main plot line, while leaving the door open for future action. One of the questions left unanswered is whether the human colonies will be able to forge effective alliances, and how much independence they will be willing to sacrifice in order to do so. Glenlyon’s Leigh Camagan notes, “ ‘we all need the same thing. Sufficient force to repel aggression against any of our homes. And allies who will stand with us to deter any further aggression.’ ” (p. 331) In the end, it will take the combined efforts of soldiers and politicians to make that intention a reality. But if it’s left in the competent hands of the characters in Ascendant, there’s a reasonable prospect a solution will be found.

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Second in the Genesis Fleet prequel series, covering the early years of Glenlyon and surrounding colonies, as they work to build up their defenses against those bent on conquest.

Interesting characters and exciting, non-jingoistic military action make for a fine read. ( )