Today I’m reviewing the YA Fantasy/Time Travel novel Inevitable Ascension by V.K. McAllister. This book follows Violina and Lux, two young ladies who have a very Robin-hood style approach to life: hunting down extinct critters and selling them to a museum, they get involved in a heist from that same museum when they get stiffed for their fee. A chance encounter with a mysterious and addled woman involves them in adventures that lead them back and forth through time to save their world. Or destroy it.
Oh, and whatever they do, they’ll have a blast. Lux insists.
I give this book a 3.75/5. Here is my breakdown.
Characters: 3/5. This is the weakest part of the book. I enjoyed the adventures that Violina and Lux put themselves through (or found themselves put through, or...you’ll see), and I enjoyed the background of characters that they interacted with. There just...wasn’t much about them that made me understand or empathize with them. Their banter was funny, but occasionally the circumstances made funny banter seem strange. I just couldn’t connect well with them.
Plot/Storyline: 4.5/5. The storyline here was reminiscent of Chrono Trigger, a very well-loved RPG from the Super Nintendo era. Time hops back and forth to make things right, action and adventure and danger...it was a lot of fun, a lot of fun. The author wraps up the story well and elegantly, and the plot is consistent with little to no “gotcha” factor. Well done!
Flow: 3.5/5. This goes hand-in-hand with the character development issue. The two protagonists were go-go-go! from the beginning, and that left little to no time to get to know them. Even gravely wounded, they never took a break, never performed at any less than their best. A little more pacing might have improved the book.
Grammar/Spelling: 4/5. Mostly clean and consistent. I didn’t note any misspellings, but did see a few places where a comma was needed or extraneous. High quality, but not perfect.
Overall: 3.75/5. This book deserves the positive attention it will get. For many people, the fast pace and hurried development will detract little, and they’ll be pulled into the great and engaging storyline. For others, they’ll be left wanting more in a few areas, as I was. Regardless, this was a solid first outing in a projected series, and I’m very, very curious as to where Violina and Lux will end up next!