Gears of War: Ascendance

Full disclosure, Baird is my favorite character, and Delta squad of course. I've played the original trilogy and read all the books written by Karen Travis. The fact that this book has a lot of Baird in it is a major reason why I enjoyed this book so much, including Delta squad. The beginning of the book is my favorite part since all the major characters are all together. However, there were things I didn't like and I'll need to disclose some spoilers to explain why but I'll try to keep it minimal.

My major gripes with this book are two things. One, there was a lack of character development for Del and JD, and two, regarding one scene in particular that made Baird look like a jerk (to avoid cursing).

The best part of the book is the beginning in my opinion because we learn a few new things about the world of Sera since the last trilogy. Specifically, we get to see New Ephyra, we learn more about First Minister Jinn and her connection with Anya Stroud, and we get a good idea of how Jinn is running the place. The pace slows down though once the group parts ways back into the world outside the safety of New Ephyra.

The book jumps between Marcus/Kait, JD/Del, and Jinn/Baird/Sam who stay behind. The sections with JD and Del were mostly boring for me. It's funny because these sections are written from Del's point of view and there are a lot of them, and yet, we don't really learn more about his character or JD's. I was hoping to get some insight into his past or his friendship with JD. Instead, we mostly get standard banter between the two and nothing deeper than that. I'm not sure if that was done on purpose (maybe the author was told not to expand on them and to focus on Kait or something?), but I would have loved to learn more about Del and JD. Funny enough, I feel like we learned more about Jinn than these two and one is related to Marcus Fenix, the main protagonist of Gears of War.

My second major gripe involves a particular scene with Baird (warning for spoilers in this paragraph). In chapter 4 of Part 2, Baird, Sam, Cole and Jinn find out that Del and JD are stranded on a crater at the Locust Burial Site and things aren't looking good for them. Considering Baird's relationship to JD (we know that JD call's him Uncle Baird and that Baird thinks of JD as his son), and Baird's relationship with Marcus, most would think that Baird would be one of the first to suggest sending a rescue team to save them. He doesn't do this. Instead, his first thought is to use the Hammer of Dawn (which doesn't work) to obliterate the site and he says, “There's no getting off that tower. They're already dead.” To paraphrase, he says he loves JD, but there's no hope. I know that Baird really wants to get the Hammer of Dawn working again, but I have a major problem with the thought of him disregarding the life of someone he loves so quickly just to win the debate with Jinn to let him get the Hammer of Dawn back online.

Baird was part of Delta Squad and worked closely with Marcus during the war. Delta Squad got out of some seriously bleak looking situations, and the audience who played the games know that no matter how bad things looked, Delta squad figured a way out. Hell, we all remember when they were SWALLOWED by the Riftworm and how Delta squad managed to cut their way out. They SURVIVED. Baird experienced this, and he's one of Marcus' closest friends. Even if things look like shit, Baird knows that JD is a Fenix and if anyone can figure out how to get out of trouble apart from Marcus, it's his son. At the very least, Baird should have requested to send a raven to pick them up. His first thought should be to save the man who he considers his son, a boy he watched grow up and made toys for as a child, or to at least brainstorm SOMETHING. I felt like Baird didn't even TRY to figure out a way to save them. He took one look and was like- well, there's nothing we can do. Let me get that weapon functional again, please! If this is really what Baird is like now, that really sucks. Baird has always been the “asshole” of the group, but I never felt he was heartless. Those who read Karen Travis' books also know that Baird is actually a nice guy despite his attitude. Has Baird changed so much now that he's rich and successful? Has he lost compassion for those closest to him that he considers family? Even Cole questioned Baird, asking him if he would really use the Hammer of Dawn on JD. Maybe Baird IS really like this now, but I have a hard time accepting that.

I actually agree that the Hammer of Dawn should be online, and I understand Baird's argument. Again, my problem is that I felt that Baird jumped on the idea of using the Hammer of Dawn without much consideration for JD. If he said “There's gotta be a way to save them” or “let's send a raven” before saying, “we should consider using the hammer of dawn”, I would have been fine with this scene. I felt that he didn't even TRY to save them. To reiterate, Baird is my favorite character so I'm totally biased here, but the scene really upset me as I personally just have high expectations for this character. It also made me cringe later on when they reunited and JD went to hug Baird and called him “Uncle”.

Most of the book was slow and just OK. It picked up a bit towards the end when everyone got back together. The only parts I would consider re-reading is the first few chapters where most of the world building was. I hope the next book is better with more details and character development. Karen Travis went into details about the characters, even minor ones like Birdie, and I loved that. If you're a gears fan who really likes the world of Sera and wants to delve deeper into the world apart from the video game, it's worth reading this book. However, don't expect much. I liked the book, but it's not one of my favorites.