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A review by ally_camel
Asp of Ascension by B.R. Myers
3.0
Terry Hughes has had a rough year. While on an archaeological dig with her parents, a cave-in permanently damages her leg and kills her mom. Now, months later, it’s time to reveal the artifacts from that dig -- the final treasures of Mrs. Hughes’s life’s work -- to the world. Terry thought it was just a bunch of coins. She didn’t know they found a sarcophagus after the accident, much less the sarcophagus of Cleopatra! The only way to open it safely is using Cleopatra’s asp, though, and that was stolen 50 years ago from the very museum in which they are setting up the exhibit. Crazy Dr. Mullaca thinks Terry is the key to finding the asp. How do you find a relic that’s been missing for 50 years though?
Asp of Ascension had a bit of a retro feel to it. Aside from the occasional use of cell phones (usually by people other than Terry) and some discussion about the unrest in Egypt this could have been set in the 1990s. Which was kind of nice. Nostalgic. Terry clearly has no use for social media and may not even know it exists. She turns her cell phone off at bedtime and runs the battery down repeatedly. She also climbs a fire escape to her boyfriend Zach’s apartment because she forgot phones were useful (“She rolled her eyes to the sky. She was so stupid. Why hadn’t she called him from downstairs?”). In short, she’s hard to reach. Even when she does get Zach’s texts, she often leaves him hanging. It`s refreshing to see technology left in the background. It`s still essential to the story – a weird text from her dad keeps Terry wondering, best friend Maude googles the gorgeous Prince Kamal, and another friend uses his special access to the local paper’s database to discover important information for her. The tech just isn’t the focal point.
The powerful asp IS. They think about it and search for it. When Terry finally does find it, she also finds it is not just a relic. It makes her stronger than she ever was before, though the strength does come at a price. Actually, the asp it comes with different prices, depending on how she chooses to use it…
A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley for an honest review.
Asp of Ascension had a bit of a retro feel to it. Aside from the occasional use of cell phones (usually by people other than Terry) and some discussion about the unrest in Egypt this could have been set in the 1990s. Which was kind of nice. Nostalgic. Terry clearly has no use for social media and may not even know it exists. She turns her cell phone off at bedtime and runs the battery down repeatedly. She also climbs a fire escape to her boyfriend Zach’s apartment because she forgot phones were useful (“She rolled her eyes to the sky. She was so stupid. Why hadn’t she called him from downstairs?”). In short, she’s hard to reach. Even when she does get Zach’s texts, she often leaves him hanging. It`s refreshing to see technology left in the background. It`s still essential to the story – a weird text from her dad keeps Terry wondering, best friend Maude googles the gorgeous Prince Kamal, and another friend uses his special access to the local paper’s database to discover important information for her. The tech just isn’t the focal point.
The powerful asp IS. They think about it and search for it. When Terry finally does find it, she also finds it is not just a relic. It makes her stronger than she ever was before, though the strength does come at a price. Actually, the asp it comes with different prices, depending on how she chooses to use it…
A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley for an honest review.