Blackstone Fortress: Ascension

    I had gotten this book on a whim when I was in Books a Million while I was in Indiana for a wedding in mid-November, largely because I had earlier bought the boardgame Blackstone Fortress. I could go on about the story of why I bought the Blackstone Fortress boardgame, but it would take far too long and would not add anything besides making me seem very silly, so I will not. While I was flying up to Canada I finished the book, and while on the whole I enjoyed it, the book's conclusion left something to be desired.

    To give some broad background, Blackstone Fortress: Ascension is the concluding chapter in a duology (I had no idea that this was the case when I bought it, silly me) that along with a collection of short stories forms a sort of novelization trilogy of the boardgame of the same name. In the boardgame, you and a number of other players play as intrepid explorers/treasure hunters/fanatics in the 41st millennium trying to get to the innermost depths of a space station built by a mysterious and completely alien precursor race. There are also a number of expansions to the boardgame, one of which shares its name with this book. A number of names from the boardgame, including about half of the player characters (rather disappointing to be honest), make their appearance in the book. 

    The plot of the book is basically the same as what you would assume from the gist of the game. However, as this is the apparent narrative climax of the setting's story, the book begins with high stakes that only ever rise. Eventually, in response to the threat of the roughneck outpost being obliterated by the Blackstone Fortress and said fortress falling into the hands of demon worshippers, the "heroes" assemble, with most of them being under the coerced employ of a mysterious figure known as the Archivist. Throughout the book, I found the identity of the Archivist to be the most compelling mystery in the story, but a line of dialogue towards the end of the book revealed that apparently this guy was the antagonist in the last book? Go figure. There's gripping action, some pretty effective situational comedy delivered by the ratling twins, and a good variety of tone in the many combat sequences that range from desperate to swashbuckling. As opposed to the heroes sallying forth at the head of a gang of easily-disposable mooks (a few of which actually survived I believe), in my opinion the plot would have benefitted from all the player characters from the boardgame being involved from the beginning.

    For as enjoyable as the book is however, Ascension really fumbles the landing. There's so much compelling drama and suspense as the lives of the otherwise despicable residents of Precipice are threatened by demon-worshippers, the Blackstone Fortress itself, and shadowy forces. Ultimately though, each one of these threats are practically removed with the stroke of a pen. There's a very real feeling of "wait, that's it?" at the conclusion of the story, and Janus Draik's epilogue was overshadowed and undercut by the abrupt resolution of all of the conflicts. The novel handled confusing and shifting environments of plain black stone quite well, but these choices were less mind-bending and more baffling. It just seemed like the author either ran into a deadline or just wanted the thing to be done.

    In total, as much I want to recommend Blackstone Fortress: Ascension, I just can't. While there's so much good build up and compelling drama from the start of the book, the way it ends just guts the book's narrative, and it made the whole thing feel as if it could have better functioned as a short story if the same ending was to be used. Maybe it would have worked better if the first book and Ascension were combined, but who knows. For now though, it's just a missed opportunity.