Ascendant Sun

A Novel of the Skolian Empire

By: Catherine Asaro

Narrated by: Anna Fields

Ascendant Sun is the direct sequel to the Nebula Award finalist The Last Hawk.

Kelric returns to Skolian space, only to find the Empire in control of the Allied forces of Earth, thanks to the upheaval of the Radiance War. With little more than the clothes on his back and with his family imprisoned by the Allieds, Kelric is forced to take work on a merchant vessel. But when that vessel enters Euban space, Kelric finds his worst nightmare realized: he is auctioned as a slave "provider" to the cruel Aristos, who subject slaves to torture and sex to provide their ultimate telepathic emotional drug.

The best way to listen to this series: Primary Inversion (Unabridged) The Radiant Seas (Unabridged) The Last Hawk (Unabridged) Ascendant Sun (Unabridged) The Quantum Rose (Unabridged) Catch the Lightning (Unabridged)©2000 Catherine Asaro

Critic reviews

"Yet another fast-paced and pleasing entry in the Saga of the Skolian Empire." (Publishers Weekly)
"The best of her Skolian Empire series. Asaro continues to oblige seekers of fast-paced entertainment with literate page-turners." (Booklist)

Great book, but.....

Though written out of chronological order. Each book can be listened to independently. The world building is exquisite. The characters are each well defined. The story incredible and believable. I recommend the complete series. There is only one glaring issue. The various narrators cannot pronounce the same identical words the same way. Good gods, this is English!!! What, they cannot listen to the other books and give it continuity????? If I was Catherine Asaro, I would fire all the producers and get one talented narrator and redo all of the books. She has made a great deal of money on the books. But I still really like the books!

scifi romance

If you want a romance noval with some scifi then this will do you,but if you want a book that keeps you at the edge of your seat than look somewhere else. This book is written well but not my taste.

Kelric sleeps his way across the universe!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

at 1.5 speed on my iPod, yes. Although sometimes I only half listened as it moved slowly in parts. Or he jumps in bed again.

Would you be willing to try another book from Catherine Asaro? Why or why not?

I've read a bunch of her Skolian Empire series. They are entertaining, but Catherine Asaro is no Lois McMaster Bujold, which is a constant disappointment. (Seriously, if you like sci fi and haven't read LMB, you MUST!)

Which scene was your favorite?

No spoilers, but there's a real tear jerker scene near the end of the book that made the rest of the book worthwhile. I actually did shed a few tears, and don't do that often! It says something about Anna Fields' performance as well.

Any additional comments?

Kelric seems to be a sex addict compared to his siblings and relatives followed in the other books of the Skolian Empire series. In both The Last Hawk and this book, Kelric sleeps with most of the women he comes into contact with. It gets a bit tiresome after a while. Is she writing a romance/sex novel or sci fi? Kelric seems like a bit of a dullard compared to his dynamic sister Sauscany. But ah well, still entertaining and worth the read. Somewhat necessary for understanding the context of books further along in the series.

I found it awfully convenient that when Kelric is sold into slavery as a Providor, that his situation doesn't turn out too badly for reasons I won't spoil here. But... awfully convenient. A lot of awfully convenient things happen in this book.

great time, in space

Very entertaining the near reader is fantastic Enjoy her inflection Of the different characters Enjoy the authors descriptions of The mechanical and neurological devices being used Fun read

Great!

Wow! Audible gets more Asaro books! While I'm not a huge fan of narrator (Anna Fields), this is a novel chock full of space opera goodness!

Another Good Asaro Book

Enjoyed this one also. Decided to get the rest of the series in paperback. Now that I'm hooked on the Skolian story I just can't wait for Audible to trickle the books out.

Anna Fields' male voices weren't as bad as usual, but I wish she would not use the nasal teenage-boy voice for the main characters. Makes it difficult to take what they say seriously.

kept me on the edge of my seat threw the hole book

Where does Ascendant Sun rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

for refreshing suspence. one of the best .

What did you like best about this story?

how the action was contenues with out being overpowering. It kept me up most of the night reading it threw.

Which scene was your favorite?

when he finaly got to turn off the KEY. He had to go therw so much to get there. with descriptive violance.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

his slowly dyeing threw out. then the joy of the recovery.

Any additional comments?

truley thoughtful suspence. with out overt vilance. shocking but not over don.