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Twenty-five years ago, aliens visited Earth. They were remarkably human-looking and had learned to speak English before their visit. The Vardeshi spent a brief time meeting with diplomats outside the U.N. headquarters in New York and then left, with no more communication.
More than two decades later, Avery Alcott is a graduate student in California, and her linguistics professor plays her a recording of the Vardeshi language. He tells her he created a program to teach people the alien language, and he’s going to secretly allow her to use it to learn the very complex language. As it happens, a year later, the Vardeshi return, and an exchange program of sorts is set up between the aliens and residents of Earth. Avery, thanks to her knowledge of the language, not only gets a prime spot in the program, but she is invited to become a minor crew member on a spaceship traveling to the Vardeshi home planet.
Avery becomes the only human living and working among 10 aliens on a smallish spacecraft, with the expectation she will be in this position for a year. She is excited to have this incredible opportunity, and as much as she realizes ahead of time that she will no doubt experience culture shock and make mistakes of many kinds as she gets to know this new race, she still somehow doesn’t quite anticipate all that she will go through.
Ascending reads like a nonfiction account of a real woman’s experience going on an exchange program, immersing herself in a foreign culture that just so happens to be alien. It could very well seem a bit dry or slow to some readers, but I found it fascinating because the author makes it all seem so authentic. She fleshes out the Vardeshi culture and some of the language and approaches it with a scholar’s view. Throughout much of the book, there seems to be little conflict in the way one might expect from a space story except for the clashes of culture and personality that Avery, a human, faces in close quarters with aliens. But then it does lead to a stronger conflict and climax, with Avery then having to decide how she will proceed. Ascending is really a cool book but possibly more for cerebral readers who enjoy the concept, the world-building and well-crafted characters. It also has a sequel that’s just been published; I’ll be happy to read on to see where the story leads.
Rated: Moderate. There are four instances of strong language and occasional uses of milder language. There is really no sexual content. One scene involves brief violence.
* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
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