Rebirth (Age of Expansion: The Ascension Myth #5)

I mean, c’mon, you KNOW how it is. My family room remodel is weeks overdue (possibly many weeks) (but with good reasons), there are THINGS to be done, and my dog, Darcy, wants to go explore a truly beautiful day–and she can’t go without me.

Too bad.

Finishing Rebirth: Age of Expansion over breakfast, after a late night push through chapter XX, was definitely the right choice. And right there you have the proof of a 5-star book. Reading the book was the most important thing in the world. QED.

Putting out this review is clearly the second most important.

The whole Kurtherian Gambit Universe is a master stroke of creativity. The various branches are equally inventive, with something for (almost) everyone. There is a lot to like about the Ascension Myth series as a whole. Cross-connects with the Bethany Anne story line are always interesting: Bethany Anne is MIA, but accounted for. General Reynolds is quite the politician–a fresh face on a familiar character–but some don’t realize he is still a general. Maybe we’ll see a little smackdown action. Who knew there were Professors roaming the stars who could call one of Michael Anderle’s original characters “Dad.” And Sean Royale clearly goes WAY back with the Etheric Empire…but where did he start? So all the KGU connections enrich this fifth story in the Ascension Myth series.

I was baffled by the cover. You know those romance covers that don’t quite match the character descriptions? Some of them would use a bay mare when the story called for an Appaloosa. (Of course that would be a horse romance. Not a bestseller, usually, but you get the picture.) So what’s with Blonde Molly? Let’s just say “Read the story.” Turns out, Ms. Clarke and Mr. Anderle actually pay attention to the details of their story, even with the cover. Trust them.

Then there is the authors’ audacity with locations. Multiple planets, wildly far apart, connected only by our favorite asteroid, Gaitune 67. And, of course, by the active interest of Molly’s team. Imagine the headaches of running a legitimate corporate empire after wresting it from a mobster boss who was anything but legitimate, back in Book 4. Now add the planning and operational execution of what amounts to World War Next on that other, far-distant planet. How would you bypass planetary defenses–use the elevator?

Molly’s Vision Quest was unexpected. Then it was perfectly essential. Quests should be uncomfortable if they are to have meaning. Discomfort comes in small ways and large. Nicely done.

Finally, a note on language. There is a freshness here: contemporary patois, done well. That adds humor and brightness to a story that never slows down. “Killey” is my new favorite for DIY author humor. You’ll see. And at the same time, the relentless editing team left the witty dialogue untouched so it’s still fresh and witty, even whilst tracking down almost every text error. This is one of the best-edited ebooks I’ve read in a year. Kudos.

If you liked this unusual review, please click HELPFUL. Thank you!
If you did not like it then a) you would not have read this far; b) you don’t yet GET the KGU thing; and c) do as you think best.

Either way, read this book. It’s way better than any review.

This is probably the weakest KG book I’ve read so far. Which means it’s pretty good but feels a bit disjointed and episodic.
It starts with a rush of action, like too many tv shows try to do. Then vanishes to nothing – lots of people bumbling about trying to establish their characters (a bit like a “leveling up” chat and backstory in PnP roleplaying games). It establishes some basic character dev, then moves on to the MacBaddy (the usual other trope besides the MacGuffin) which is an excuse for another action scene. Then closes.
In itself it would fit as “an anecdote” for something that happened one day on base.

Beyond that, it doesn’t really fit into the world established as KG or Molly&crew. Sure there’s the ObTies (obligatory tie-ins) but no real feel of involvement there. We don’t know who teh enemy is or why beyond “they’re bad guys out to threaten the universe”. We don’t know why beyond “we are powerful so we will take over the universe”. Nor do we really have any reason to just why it falls to Molly to deal with them, except for the DM setting it up as the next encounter.

I, personally, would have felt it would have been better to split the book in half, and instead of TV style bait&dump crap start, worked on building a lead to why these bad guys are part of Mollys world. Instead of trying to get each actor their contracted face time on the episode, focus on why a couple of them care/connect to the bad guys – so that we also care. The start of the book would have made a good point to end the first half of the story, and left plenty of room for things to dance in a follow up book. This isn’t a technical manual, or lecture system, we don’t want the facts by bullet point, or the aar blow by blow – there needs to be nice wrapping and a mystery gift hinted at inside (lingerie not a usb stick of full frontals).

Am I glad I bought it? yes. Would I buy it knowing what I do now? definitely. It goes places – it just could have gone so much further. Always a problem with a maturing storyline and maturing story writers.

This is the fifth book in the Kurtherian Gambit Age of Expansion (KGAoE) series. The books are co-written by Ell Leigh Clarke and Michael Anderle. For KG universe fans the series is set 150 years after the events in the main KG universe series.
The main cast is Molly and her crew of crusaders for justice at the edge of the Kurtherian universe. The stories are really carried by their leader Molly. Molly is described as broken but that seems to refer to some emotional dysfunction but if she worked in my R&D lab she’d probably be normal (chemists are weirder than physicists; who knew?).
The previous stories have been full of energy with creative ideas, the odd deus ex machina moment but have mainly created the unioverse and not the characters. In this book the characters take center stage with a more thoroughly developed emotional range and some exploration of hopes and aspirations. This makes the book more interesting to read. Unfortunately the story is a bit linear and predictable. It’s a covert action thriller with some suspense but no real surprises. Hopefully the next book will combine the best of both worlds, the great writing shown here and the creativity of the earlier books. Looking forward to Book 6.

The characters are good and interaction is good. This book was particularly bad with the action. You have planning and after action debrief. Your action taken was poor. The way Joel got Molly out on the first op made no sense. He waltzes in and she follows him out of a high security secret installation. Probably the only two humans on the planet. And
what is with facial recognition to find four humans on a planet of eight feet tall blue people? If that wasn’t bad enough… Sean and Molly going back for the last installation and getting it done. HOW! The ‘people on the ground’ left a lot to be desired.
Still, I read it because I like Molly. And I’ll read the next one, because I like Molly.

Great 5th in series , well created characters and plot / sub-plot. However it is a pity that the authors notes etc. now take around 10% of the book. So beware that by the time you are 89% through the actual book , you are nearly finished.

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