This review may be unfair... I've loved previous volumes of this series... I just couldn't take the prospect of an entire novel written in the perspective of the SUPREME Archetype Of Conceited Ditz that is apparently where this is going.
Yes the character made for some fun dialogue in one previous volume, but there's only so much of her I can take ( )

I plowed through this whole seven-book series in less than two weeks time, joined the author's Patreon, tweeted at him (and received a reply!) and then went looking for more of his books (sadly, there aren't many -- yet!). I don't remember each of the books individually very well (should have reviewed them right away), but I'll leave this review for the series as a whole:
The basic premise is that we aren't alone in the universe, there is a League of Peoples who have agreed to an edict handed down by a far superior (and never actually seen) species, which is basically not to cause harm to any member of any sentient species. There are still people living on Earth: those who refuse to agree to this rule or who have already broken it, but the sentient individuals who can abide by it flit around the universe, investigating new planets and species and making trade relationships.
Throughout the series we get to meet various fascinating races of 'aliens' and learn about their cultures and species. We also get to explore the theme of what constitutes "harm" intentional or otherwise, and towards the end make some hypotheses about the nature of this superior race who enforce the no-harm rule by basically immediately killing anyone who has broken it the next time they try to leave one planet for another. The series is packed with fun characters the reader comes to understand and even love, but they are properly flawed and dynamic individuals who are living their own journeys.
I really, really wish (hope?) there were (will be?) more books in this series. You should do yourself a favor and read it. I'll definitely revisit it someday. ( )

Gardner was a new author for me, with this book. To me, this novel suffered a lot due to the fact that it seemed like the author couldn't decided whether he wanted to write a tongue-in-cheek, funny farce or a serious sf adventure. The result was something that can't really be taken seriously, but isn't really funny, either.
The narrator is Oar, the last (conscious) woman of her kind - a woman made of transparent glass, who looks, we are told "llike a digital effect." She is also incredibly self-absorbed, naive, and childlike. It turns out that there is a plot-related reason for her character flaws, but reading a story narrated by this incredibly tiresome character gets, well, tiresome.
Oar is worried bout succumbing to the problem all her people have succumbed to 'Tired Brain Syndrome'. Around the age of 50, they get tired, confused, and just go to sleep. People though Oar was dead, but she is not, and now an interplanetary team including her friend Festina Ramos has showed up - but another group wants to kidnap her as well - and a mysterious alien who is always associated with terrible disasters has appeared to her as well, offering her a cure in return for her cooperation with an unspecified plan.... the story is rather unmemorable. ( )

James Alan Gardner's science fiction novel Ascending is a well-crafted and thoroughly engaging novel in the genre. The world and the characters in it draw you in and make you keep reading. I will definitely be checking out the rest of this series! ( )

A fun romp through a universe. The twist at the end wasn't so twisty, but thats okay. Oar is a very likeable character. The plot was consistent, the writing well done. But I didn't enjoy the rest of the characters. I found most of them tedious. But, the adventure through space is quite interesting and the Zarret Space Ship was very well done. I would read more about the continuing adventures of Oar. ( )