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  • 9781732312302 1732312303
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Ascending (The Vardeshi Saga) (Volume 1)
Twenty-five years ago the Vardeshi came to Earth. Then they vanished without a trace. Graduate student Avery Alcott always knew they would return. When they do, she’s the only one who can speak their language. She’s quickly recruited to join the crew of an 11-man starship on a one-year mission into the depths of space. Avery leaps at the chance to leave behind everything she’s ever known. Wearing a Vardeshi uniform, adapting to their culture, following their orders, she’s as close to being one of them as she’ll ever be. But there’s more to interstellar diplomacy than knowing the right words to say. And shedding her identity turns out to be harder than she expected. When her ship, its crew, and the fragile human-Vardeshi alliance are threatened, Avery’s humanity—the very thing putting her at risk—just might be the one thing that can save her.
Reviews
First contact with aliens means learning how to say you’re sorry in this very personal journal of a voyage to another world. Grad student Avery Alcott is the first human to be taught the language of the alien Vardeshi, who visited Earth briefly 25 years earlier. Upon returning, the Vardeshi ask for a representative to travel to their homeworld, and Avery’s fluency makes her the perfect candidate. After hurried training, she wins a post aboard a Vardeshi ship and must begin learning Vardeshi culture by immersion while making a case for alliance with Earth. Courteous and reserved, the Vardeshi are not quick to respond to her overtures, and some are openly hostile. Though Avery starts to make friends, sabotage threatens her hard-won acceptance and even her life. Debut novelist Pechenick takes a slow, deliberate path to unfolding the secrets of her characters and her universe, which allows for close observations but threatens to stall the narrative. Readers who appreciate deep cultural worldbuilding akin to C.J. Cherryh’s Foreigner books will stick with a maturing Avery despite all her journey’s detours. (BookLife)
Formats
Paperback Book Details
  • 9781732312302 1732312303
  • pages
  • $
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