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  • Wistful Ascending

  • Hybrid Helix, Book 1
  • Written by: JCM Berne
  • Narrated by: Wayne Farrell
  • Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (3 ratings)

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Wistful Ascending cover art

Wistful Ascending

Written by: JCM Berne
Narrated by: Wayne Farrell
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Publisher's Summary

The il’Drach have conquered half a galaxy behind the civilization-ending powers of their mixed-species children.

Half-human Rohan, exhausted by a decade fighting for their Empire, has paid a secret and terrible price for his freedom.

Now retired, he strives to live a quiet life towing starships for the space station Wistful. His most pressing problems are finding the perfect cup of coffee and talking to a gorgeous shuttle tech without tripping over his own tongue.

A nearby, long-dormant wormhole is opened by a ship full of angry refugees, and the many eyes of the Empire focus uncomfortably on Wistful.

As scientists, spies, and assassins converge, reverting to the monster the Empire created is the surest way to protect his friends. And the surest way to lose them.

©2020 Joseph Berne (P)2022 Joseph Berne

What listeners say about Wistful Ascending

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Tollywood, Anime inspired, Kaiju battle book?

Tollywood, Anime inspired, Kaiju battle book with a Canadian MC who fights space bears? this book was quick paced, with lots of action. It took advantage of a fairly simple story of a man trying to move on from his past and who he once was and leaned in allowing us to learn a lot about our MC.

This fun and focused character piece has lots of great sci fi including sentient AI and lots of fantastic battles akin to DBZ maybe leaning a bit closer to something like invincible. cant wait to dig into book 2!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Superhero Space Opera You Don't Want To Miss!

4.5/5 Stars Rounded to 5 Stars

Wistful Ascending is a promising start to a new series with a main character you can’t help but feel for. Book one in the Hybrid Helix Series, we find artificial intelligence, first contact, assassins, a superhero, action, impactful moments, mystery, and romance.

Rohan is a Hybrid, half human and half il’Drach. After years of fighting for the il’Drach armies, he retires in hopes to live a quiet life where no one knows his past. Can this peaceful life last and his past stay secret?

While we get space battles and fight scenes, that’s not all this Superhero Space Opera is. This is the story of a man, who wants to do better, and be better. Rohan felt like any other person I might meet, a genuine character that felt more realistic as I read. Rohan attempts to lead a new life, away from his il’Drach nature and old life. His internal struggles to maintain control of his powers were gripping.

Rohan is an endearing, complex and witty character. His developments and motivations are well explored. We’re also treated to a great cast of side characters and found family.

While I’m not a romance reader, I enjoyed the romance in Wistful Ascending. The romance felt down to earth, contributed to the characters developments and I truly appreciated the integrity to the characters personalities. It didn’t feel like a plot device or fall into dramatic emotional reactions but rather made the romance feel natural to the story.

The pacing felt medium to fast, with a smooth and natural story progression. I also read both the physical copy along with the recently released audiobook narrated by Wayne Farrell. I can’t imagine this audiobook being narrated by anyone else, as Wayne Farrell did a phenomenal job with bringing the characters to life and capturing the tone of the book.

For me, this was reminiscent of Legends and Lattes in the sense of the main character wanting to be more than their nature and creating a found family. Along with similarities to the MCU humor and action.

With moments that felt like a slice of life, mixed with great action, heart hitting moments and memorable characters, this is a superhero space opera you don’t want to miss.

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