Assessment:

Plot: The sprawling first novel in Y.S. Pascal's The Zygan Emprise Trilogy saw the stars of a TV science-fiction series launching off for intergalactic adventure as catascopes for aliens called Zygans, and also traveling in time and visiting Area 51. Redemption, the second volume, simultaneously narrows the trilogy's focus with its emphasis on teen protagonist Shiloh's search for her missing brother, John, while expanding the story's wildness, by incorporating cross-dimensional travel, worlds inspired by L. Frank Baum, fantastic creatures who speak in rhyme, an alternate Earth of airships and North American city states, and the crucifixion of a prophet here only identified as Yeshua. The hero's mission in 33 A.D.: to give that prophet back the Golden Fleece of Greek myth. The novel's selling points are Pascal's audacious plotting and the camaraderie between Shiloh and her co-star/co-catascope Spud. The bold, fast-paced storytelling comes at the expense of emotional engagement, as even momentous revelations get dashed through as the characters race off to the next crisis. The combination of time travel, intergalactic technology, alternate dimensions, and mythic/religious resurrections might be unpalatable for some readers, and it works against the possibility of suspense -- no matter what dangers they face, these characters have a bounty of possibilities to draw upon when crafting fantastical solutions.

Prose/Style: Pascal's sentences move quickly, with clarity and purpose. Action and description are all colored by the perspective of Shiloh. Some figurative language is awkward or overwrought, especially when describing emotional responses. It's an achievement that a novel that so audaciously mixes timelines and genres never skirts toward incomprehensibility, but the prose doesn't always guide readers toward feeling the significance of the story's dangers and revelations.

Originality: No other science fiction novel has ever dared suggest that the resurrection from the Gospels came about because space-traveling clone siblings from the 21st century left the golden fleece of the Argonautica in Jesus' tomb.

Character Development: Shiloh remains a strong, capable, driven protagonist who makes bold choices that drive the story. The novel doesn't often examine how audacious events and revelations throughout the story resonate with her, her belief system, or her conception of what life is about. Other characters come and go without much development, save for John and Skid.

Date Submitted: July 16, 2020