Ascension

May 20, 2013
Koyanagi’s debut, an uncomfortable mix of space opera and science fantasy, disappoints. A struggling economy leaves starfaring surgeon Alana Quick scrambling to make ends meet, with no way to get off-planet. Her crippling medical condition makes a bad situation worse. When the crew of the Tangled Axon come looking for her sister, Nova, a spirit guide, they take little notice of Alana’s professional skills but embrace her hostage value. Then a world dies and the Tangled Axon is blamed; Alana’s salvation depends on exposing the true villains. The romance between Alana and Capt. Tev Helix is not so much true love as a profound case of Stockholm syndrome, and what could have been an interesting mélange of influences instead is muddled and clichéd. Agent: Rachel Kory, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency.