ASCENSION The Trysmoon Saga, Book 1

The regal expansiveness in Simon Vance's elegant British accent and tone is a superb match for this intricately honed underdog epic. Listeners are introduced to Gen, an orphan of noble birth whose gentle manner sets him apart from the hard-scrabble peasantry that inhabits the planet Ki'Hal, which is surrounded by three moons--Trys, Duam, and Myn. The plot unfolds gradually, with Vance's patient elocution concurrently teasing out the suspense and jarring the listener into the action when the stable life of a small town comes to a shattering end. The entrance of the swarthy Shadan Khairn spurs the story onward as he facilitates Gen's unwilling evolution into a warrior through draconian methods. Vance never loses the note of hope in Gen's youthful tone, even when all seems lost. E.E. 2016 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2016]