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    Ascendance: Dave vs. the Monsters
    Ascendance: Dave vs. the Monsters
    Ascendance: Dave vs. the Monsters
    Audiobook11 hours

    Ascendance: Dave vs. the Monsters

    Written by John Birmingham

    Narrated by Mark Zeisler

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    As a hardworking monster-slayer, Dave Hooper tries not to bring his work home with him. But nowadays it's hard to keep them separate. Email, cellphones, empath daemons, they never let a guy rest. The Horde has been raising hell and leveling cities from New York to Los Angeles, keeping Dave and his fellow monster-killer, Russian spy Karin Varatchevsky, very busy. But when the legions of hell invade the small seaside town his boys call home, Dave has to make a call. Save the world? Or save his family? Not as easy a choice as you'd think, since Dave's ex-wife expects to be saved too. And there's no convincing her that the supersexy Russian spy isn't his girlfriend. She's just his sidekick-and an assassin.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJun 30, 2015
    ISBN9781490668802
    Ascendance: Dave vs. the Monsters
    Author

    John Birmingham

    John Birmingham was born in Liverpool, United Kingdom, but grew up in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. Between writing books he contributes to a wide range of newspapers and magazines on topics as diverse as biotechnology and national security. He lives at the beach with his wife, daughter, son, and two cats.

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    Reviews for Ascendance

    4/5

    34 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I received this ARC for free from the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Del Rey Spectra, through NetGalley.com in exchange for a review.

      Dave Hooper, Monster Slayer and otherwise bad-ass, is back in his third book of demons coming out to take over the world. The demon attacks have become more abundant, and there is only the one man, Dave, to do it all ... or is there? The Russian spy, Karen, we met in the last book, we have found out is just as powerful as Dave, so maybe there are more? Dave heads back to NY to help protect his ex-wife and sons from the demons. I am sure you can imagine some of the issues going on there!

      Character development was fine. Dave seems to get what I think we all would call a more appropriate conscience, well ... a little. It does seem to be getting a bit repetitious with all the demon killing, and only he knows how to talk to them. Though, new characters introduced will obviously have skill sets to help spread out the need to rely so heavy on Dave. Book ended with the day being saved, or at least Dave's family, and leaves an opening for more books to come. I don't know if I would so much recommend this to a more YA crowd due to language and some situations. Would continue reading the series just to find out how it all ends.
    • 5/5
      The final book in the trilogy and just like the previous two, after having borrowed the audio book from the library I purchased it for myself from audible.com.au.In this final book, the fight comes to a climax. It is another action packed adventure. I continued to have a love/hate relationship with Dave Hooper. In this book he shows just how selfish he can be, but there are a number of moments when good Dave shines through. This story contines to have a lot of violence and gory details. However, I found I didn't know how to feel about the ending. I can see why the book ended the way it did, you'll have to read it to understand, but it still left me stunned.Once again Sean Mangan does a great job narrating. He is one of the reasons why I opted to buy the audio version of the book. I may still get a physical copy, but Sean does such a great job in bringing the characters to life, that it really made listening to the story that much more interesting. Ultimately, this final book was a great ending to the trilogy.
    • 3/5
      Received via NetGalley and Penguin Random House/Del Rey in exchange for an completely unbiased review.
      Also posted on Silk & Serif

      It took me awhile to get through book three of the Dave Hooper trilogy. I've never been much for military fiction so I think that perhaps the amount of fighting scenes in Ascendance might have slowed me down. It's not that Ascendance wasn't very good or that I disliked it, in fact I still loved it, but I found the beginning fighting scenes that take up a good 40% of the book were unnecessary for someone reading this series for the wit, sarcasm and fantasy elements. Birmingham is extremely well written and his action sequences are believable and inspiring.

      I struggled mostly because it wasn't relevant to my interests. It doesn't mean I didn't appreciate the skillful writing or masterful plot development.

      However, once we return to the main story line everything went along much quicker. There are more mysteries revealed! Mysteries that have me salivating for book four. Karin Varatschevsky is a Russian spy and fellow Champion who makes Dave look like the bumbling idiot he is. She also has some really neat powers that Dave doesn't have that come in handy during the battle of New York. The chemistry between these two is refreshingly not romantic (or sexual) and Karen's constant disdain for Dave is amusing. Best of all, Douchebag Dave is no longer in the picture and we get Good ol' Dave back. No more over the top man whoring or self-congratulations from Dave! Instead, we start to see Dave's character grow into his new role as human Champion..sort of..he still kind of sucks at it.

      There is a crafty Lord of the Rings reference, lots of action, blood and huge plot developments that only make Dave vs The Monsters all the more legendary. A main character might die tragically and some fantastic character development may be on the horizon.

      I think the majority of the satire is focused on our Monst'r element - Compt'n ur Threshrend. He's becoming a whole new creature who is becoming less Threshrend and more human by the minute. It's interesting to see how Compt'n's story is proceeding from low level lackey to Procounsul who is simultaneously developing a forbidden lust for a human creature (much to his chagrin) and a rise in disrespect for his lead Monster. Will Compt'n inevitably defect or take over the Monsters? Meanwhile, Guyuk has discovered the timeless beer-and-pork rinds meal combination. Seriously, he loves them.

      The series of Dave vs The Monsters has been opened up to a confirmed fourth book to be published at a later date. The world of The Dave will continue to develop with another potential twelve heroes to make their entrance in the coming novels. I cannot wait for book four..I love where Birmingham is going with Dave and the wider world building he's developed in Ascendance. So, never fear fellow Dave readers, this is not the end of this amazing series!

      This book will appeal to committed fantasy readers and action lovers. Almost as amazing as the first book of this series Dave vs The Monters: Emergence, Ascendance is a strong tale of human strength, an apocalyptic situation and a brand new set of fantastical creatures from the lower realm. A must read for those who enjoy the rise of the under dog, strong female leads and tons of gory action.
    • 4/5
      Dave has a problem with a angry wife, a demon invasion fronted by an expert on human warfare, and a russian spy with the same powers as he has combined with better training. A good fun read.
    • 4/5
      Review copySometimes it's OK to jump into a series without reading the books from the beginning, other times it not such a good idea. If you decide to check out Dave vs. the Monsters: Ascendance I strongly recommend starting at the beginning with Emergence and then reading Resistance. There were times, particularly at the beginning, where I had no idea what was happening. That I blame on myself for jumping in mid-steam.Combine a Lovecraftian horror novel with an acid trip from the seventies and you might have some idea of the world created by novelist John Birmingham in his Dave vs. the Monsters series. The book certainly gets to the action quickly and barely lifts its foot from the accelerator until the very end.Early on, I wanted to put this one down and move on to another book, but I really hate to do that. When I pick a new read it's always with a reason, a favorite author, interesting subject matter, a recommendation. In this case the following description for the book sold me..."For fans of Jim Butcher and Kevin Hearne comes an exhilarating new urban fantasy series featuring monster-slayer Dave Hooper and his magical splitting maul.Kids, there are no monsters under the bed. They’re in the front yard.As a hardworking monster-slayer, Dave Hooper tries not to bring his work home with him. But nowadays it’s hard to keep them separate. Email, cellphones, empath daemons, they never let a guy rest.The Horde has been raising hell and leveling cities from New York to Los Angeles, keeping Dave and his fellow monster-killer, Russian spy Karin Varatschevsky, very busy. But when the legions of hell invade the small seaside town his boys call home, Dave has to make a call. Save the world? Or save his family?Not as easy a choice as you’d think, since Dave’s ex-wife expects to be saved too. And there’s no convincing her that the supersexy Russian spy isn’t his girlfriend. She’s just his sidekick—and an assassin."Hell, I'm in. I'm not sure why I didn't like this as much as I wanted to. At times I found Dave vs. the Monsters: Ascendance very entertaining, laced with pop-culture and literary references, and ultra-violent. All things I like in my urban fantasy.Dave vs. the Monsters: Ascendance will be available in paperback and e-book formats beginning June 30, 2015. Published by Del Rey Books, the Science Fiction & Fantasy imprint from Random House.Recommended, but not for everyone.
    • 4/5
      The final novel to feature rig engineer turned superhero monster slayer Dave Cooper, Ascendance picks up right where Resistance left off.Super Dave, newly teamed with the katana wielding Russian spy Karen Warat (aka Colonel Ekatarina Varatchevsky), is in New York. Dismissing Trinder, they race to defend areas of the city under siege but are nearly overwhelmed as the Hunn continue boiling up from the underworld realm. The powers that be soon realise that the Horde is using Professor Compton's theoretical model for collapsing western civilisation, and the world is in real peril. However Dave's primary concern becomes his sons when he learns New Harbour is under attack and if he can't save the world, he is determined to at least save his children.Dave suffers badly in comparison to Karen whose training and discipline allows her to exploit her gifts, which includes an empathic ability. Not only does she wield her deadly katana like a master, she thinks strategically and seems to have her powers sussed out. Dave is pretty much left trailing in her wake like a meat-head while the choices he made in Resistance come back to haunt him.The action in Ascendance is non-stop, violent and bloody. This is not a story for the squeamish what with splattering ichor and demon flesh and babies being tossed from buildings like confetti. To be honest I got a little bored with all the fighting, though the final confrontation was tense and exciting.There is plenty of the bold and crass humour I've come to expect in this series. Dave is still a dick, Threshy's thinkings are riotously confused and Karen adds her own brand of dry humour.While this is supposed to be last book of a trilogy, the story definitely feels unfinished. It has been fun though.