Right Ascension (a science fiction novel)

Declination

Right Ascension and Declination
Science Fiction Novels by David Derrico


Declination (a science fiction novel)

RIGHT ASCENSION
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DECLINATION
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DECLINATION
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"Science Fiction at its Best"
Review by Nina M. Osier
for eBook-Reviews.net
20 Jul 2002

Declination, David Derrico's sequel to Right Ascension, begins a decade after the first novel's conclusion. Admiral Daniel Atgard, the hero who saved humanity from annihilation by the Lucani Ibron, remains retired and the members of his crew have moved on to other ships and other missions. The old team of Dex Rutcliffe, Zach Wallace, and Anastasia Mason (now a starship captain in her own right) finds itself drawn back together, as Zach faces court martial for destroying a fleeing SPACER (Society for Pacifism and Continuing Ethical Reform) vessel following its assault on a Confederation colony--in defiance of orders to take the terrorists alive.

What follows is a fast-paced, somewhat convoluted narrative of Confederation politics in a time of crisis--of would-be rebels exploiting that crisis--and of the alien Vr'amil'een taking advantage of the conflict among humans to launch their own assault. Anastasia Mason must face not just the strategic dilemmas of fighting the Confederation's enemies, but a series of wrenching moral conflicts as she plays the role of diplomat as well as that of captain. Which loyalties should she put first, when giving each obligation its due proves simply impossible? Under what circumstances can she justify using a powerful new weapon, whose horrific effects carry echoes of the massacre that a decade ago drew the Lucani Ibron's wrath? And when the final crisis comes (with, perhaps, the Lucani Ibron putting in another appearance...), will we be hearing from Admiral Atgard again?

Although I found Declination a bit harder to follow than Right Ascension and some of its terminology distractingly reminiscent of Star Trek, I enjoyed my hours in Captain Mason's company quite thoroughly. The Vr'amil'een make me hope to meet more Derrico-created alien species, his human characters have more depth here than in his first novel, and he brings his tale to a wrenchingly ironic (and surprising) conclusion. He offers a morality play transformed into high adventure and that's a working definition of science fiction at its best.


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Right Ascension
eBook

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Right Ascension
paperback

$7.77


Declination
eBook

$2.99


Declination
paperback

$7.77