So the trilogy ends (how many times have I written that in the last few years?) – and Humanity’s Fire reaches its conclusion. Following on from the packed Seeds of Earth and The Orphaned Worlds, Cobley has given himself plenty of loose ends to tie up: the fate of Darien hangs in the balance, with the forces of the Legion of Avatars in control of the Warpwell, a portal to the dimensions of hyperspace that could allow them to re-invade the galaxy and re-ignite aeons-old conflicts, Artifical Intelligence against flesh-and-blood sentience. Meanwhile, other human groupings have to decide how best to help Darien and oppose the Sendrukan Hegemony that now oppresses it.

Although aided by a summary of preceding books (a welcome addition), the reader is still very much thrown in at the deep end. There are numerous races, factions, characters and locations to keep track of – and in to the mix this time Cobley introduces a virtual reality that spans the galaxy, a medium explored by several characters in their quest to prevent the end of the universe. This is because while the Legion of Avatars just wants to reinvade the galaxy and destroy everything in its way, there is another, ghastlier plot involving the ancient entity known as the Godhead, whose agents are trying to detonate nuclear warheads in such as way as to ignite numerous supernovas and obliterate its enemies.

It’s pretty convoluted stuff, and there were times when I felt all at sea, regularly referring to the primer on characters and races that’s included in the front of the book (“Whose side are they on?”). While such complexity is perhaps an inevitable consequence of the nature of this kind of writing, and Cobley is by no means the only writer to fall prey to it, it can make The Ascendant Stars feel like a bit of a chore at times, which is a shame because I found the first book engaging and wanted to follow the fates of the Darien colonists and their allies all the way to the end. If the problem can be summed up in one sentence it would be “Too many bad guys” – there are so many people on the side of chaos and misrule in this book that it becomes almost overwhelming trying to work out how they relate to one another and who’s really pulling the strings.

Nevertheless there are some strong and enjoyable characters here and I am sure readers who have invested in the series will find much to appreciate. As a postscript, Cobley has just been signed up for a standalone follow-up book set in the Humanity’s Fire universe – so it will be interesting to see how his work fits in to a more condensed story arc.

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