Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Ascension Wars #4

Second Encounter

Rate this book
FROM MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER JASPER T. SCOTT Comes the stunning conclusion of the Ascension Wars series... THE ROAD TO SALVATION IS PAVED IN BLOOD With a fragile peace established in the Enclave between humans and Chimeras, both species must learn to put aside their differences to ensure their continued survival. But racial tensions are simmering just beneath the surface, ready to explode. Meanwhile, Clayton and Samara’s daughter, Dora, might be the answer that everyone is looking her immunity to both strains of the Chimeran virus could soon lead to a cure, making it possible to establish new settlements beyond the Enclave. Mysteriously, the Kyra’s reinforcements never arrived to blockade and quarantine Earth. Clayton worries that it’s because the Kyra are losing the war to the Chrona. He’s no friend of either side, but the Kyra might actually be the lesser evil. He wants to take the Enclave’s stolen transport beyond Earth to learn what’s going on. Yet, when Clayton learns of a sinister plot within the Enclave that directly threatens his family, he’s forced to execute his plans early. With old enemies lurking in the shadows, nothing goes as planned, and little does Clayton know, the revelations waiting beyond Earth are far more shocking than he ever could have imagined…

498 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 21, 2020

431 people are currently reading
95 people want to read

About the author

Jasper T. Scott

102 books513 followers
Jasper Scott is a USA Today bestselling author of more than 20 sci-fi novels. With over a million books sold, Jasper's work has been translated into various languages and published around the world.

Jasper writes fast-paced books with unexpected twists and flawed characters. Join the author's mailing list to get two FREE books: https://files.jaspertscott.com/mailin...

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
386 (51%)
4 stars
246 (33%)
3 stars
83 (11%)
2 stars
21 (2%)
1 star
8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for Jim.
1,229 reviews50 followers
October 13, 2020
In the last book, “Fractured Earth”, we actually left with everything looking pretty good. Former Captain Clayton Cross and his wife, Samara (a clone of the original), plus their two daughters, Nova and Doris, were all relatively safe and secure within the compound known as "the Enclave”. There was plenty to eat and drink with comfortable living conditions and life was good, except for one thing.

Doris, their youngest daughter, was stil in isolation in the medical section while her unscrupulous doctors were still trying to use her to find a cure to the original virus and now the new strain left by the Chrona. They are no closer then when the family arrived and Doris wasn’t showing any symptoms nor was she apparently contagious, so her parents, rightly, wanted her released. Still, she did have the ragged bit that, for some reason, wouldn’t heal, but they could keep that covered while she was treated as an out patient, if necessary. The family wanted to be together and couldn’t believe any of the doctors excuses for keeping this little girl locked up and away from them.

So, they went to the leaders of the Enclave and demanded and explanation. Unfortunately, the leadership wasn’t interested in releasing the young girl and if they ever did, she and her family would have to be banished from the Enclave. Both Clayton and Samara understood this and, while it was going to be a very deadly challenge living in the wilds, they were willing to do so if they could have all their family together. After hearing the leaderships definite lack of support and then sometime later finding out that the doctors had no intention of letting Doris leave to the extent they planned to kill her and make it look like she died of the infection, Clayton and his wife, decided to bust Doris out and leave on their own.

Doing so wasn’t going to be easy and it certainly wasn’t. At the same time, the banished enemy named Tyris was plotting to get back into the Enclave and retake what he felt was his compound. Make no mistake about it, this guy or Chimera was a bad guy and if he couldn’t rule in the Enclave, then he was determined to make sure no one lived in comfort. He was breaking into the Enclave at about the same time Clayton and his former Phoenix rebels were trying to breakout.

Tyris’ breakin involved letting in the Dregs! Thousands swarmed the Enclave on the first level setting fire to almost everything. All the crops were burning and everything was getting destroyed. The humans and friendly Chimeras were fleeing to the top-most floors since the Dregs didn’t have a way to climb up and reach them. Clayton manages to rescue his family and the rest of the Phoenix rebels and they flee to their old base.

Now they have to make plans on what to do next. Those plans either involve staying on Earth or possibly fleeing the planet to find one of the other Forerunner colonies. They didn’t have any assurances that there were any other surviving humans in space, but staying on Earth didn’t seem all that safe either. So, what are they going to do?

I will say that this is the end of this series. It has gone on for awhile with several twists and turns. I don’t know if the author had really planned all four books out the way they went, but he did manage to get a good story out of it all. Captain Calyton Cross went from a starship Captain who had just lost his wife, heading to the stars to start a new colony, to driving a garbage truck back on Earth and then surviving in the wild without any kind of modern technology and then back to the stars to a destination he would never had imagined. Very interesting story!
6 reviews
September 19, 2024
Great end to the series even if was a little rushed on the last part of it. Compelling story and great characters.
364 reviews8 followers
September 25, 2020
Mr. Scott included a brief synopsis of each of the three previous books in the series, which was a good refresher to get me started on this, the final episode of the Ascension Wars series. It begins in The Enclave, a fortified city built on the ruins of Fort Worth, Texas. It is inhabited by humans united with the Chimera in a peace agreement, to protect them all from the Dregs. However, all is not as stable as it seems. Captain Clayton Cross and Samara’s immune daughter Dora is confined in armed quarantine, being used to find a cure for the Chimeran virus, but an evil plot among the city’s leaders that threatens Dora’s life is exposed. Additionally, racial tensions are reaching the boiling point. Clayton convinces their ex-Phoenix compatriots to free Dora and attempt to commandeer a ship to escape Earth and the Dregs for good.

I was pulled into the story at once, fully engrossed in the building suspense as their plans ran head-long into one obstacle after another. This book ended in a great surprise finale that tied up loose ends and left me satisfied. I thoroughly enjoyed the series. I recommend that it should be read from the beginning to fully understand the story.
66 reviews
November 9, 2020
From the depths of space and leading Aliens to earth in the first book, to fleeing earth to try and save the human race, this is Non-stop military SF action right through to the end. A great conclusion to the Ascension series and my only regret is that there is not going to be more stories and adventures with the likeable (mostly) gang of characters. Well done Jasper for an exciting and thrilling series.
Profile Image for Trish R..
1,772 reviews58 followers
October 31, 2021
This was a really good series, and except for all those you learned to care about were killed, it had a great ending. Clayton, Keera and Lori took their few stragglers from one end of the galaxy to the other, only to be returned to where they'd started, with a few differences, of course.

No romance and the F-bomb was used 18 times.

As for the narration: Ben Jaeger-Thomas was awesome through the entire series. I would definitely listen to him again.
104 reviews7 followers
March 15, 2022
Pretty Dang Good

Hey, fine literature this series isn't.

But the author keeps the plot going through actions, reactions, tumult and chaos.

And the series finale (in this book) is a great surprise...I figured it out a page or two before the bombshell expose dropped, but the author does a great job of filling in details that I didn't expect.

Read this one just for the fun and novelty of it...and some closure to all Kyra-related novels.
10 reviews
July 18, 2022
Friendship arises after witnessing kindness.

More than an amazing read, the author portrays the many emotions of different entities. All living, thinking creatures want to be accepted and valued. This journey was not easily achieved, by the verious races of thinking individuals. Brutality, slavery, war, and hatred were just some of the barriers that prolonged the acceptance and appreciation of the differing species. Very interesting series. Truly enjoyed it!
Profile Image for Ron.
761 reviews2 followers
October 18, 2020
Great finish to an excellent series. Clayton and his band of survivors have reached what they believe to be a safe haven. But his daughter Dora is being held in quarantine due to her Dreg bite still not healing. There is plenty of action and adventure in this finale with a very interesting and fascinating
final twist. Would definitely recommend this excellent series
Profile Image for Ami.
2,402 reviews14 followers
October 19, 2020
Second Encounter is a grand finale to the series. I’ve been a big fan of Captain Cross and fellow rebels since the very beginning of book one and I will miss them and all of their many battles and adventures. I highly recommend the series but please read in the order written or you will miss quite a bit of the storyline.

Read via Kindle Unlimited
9 reviews1 follower
December 23, 2020
Excellent, easy read. Great imagination when it comes to aliens and monsters and their abilities. at times the humans acted a little illogically and way too many favorite characters died. But enjoyed the twists and turns and all the hardships that were very well described that the characters had to endure.
10 reviews
June 19, 2021
Walking Dead on steroids in a galactic scale meets aliens v predators. An awesome series with unexpected twists and a super awesome conclusion. I never would have dreamed of that. For a person that needs to come up with different ways of thinking, this series is an eye-opener to the possibilities out there
233 reviews
November 7, 2021
Great ending to series

Our main characters continue to face impossible obstacles and decisions in order to survive. They muddle their way through second guessing every worrying about action they take. They learn how to trust each other and have a surprise ending in an alternate universe
Profile Image for Kaushik.
14 reviews
September 23, 2020
I would rate this book 3.5 stars! A genuinely great sci-fi series. Really loved reading it. However I didn't really enjoy the ending and the time loop ! Characters are well developed by now ,but still make lot of stupid decisions! Not the best conclusion but still good enough!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Adam.
9 reviews
November 17, 2020
Not a good end to the series. Too many wasted/meaning characters, too many wasted/meaningless plotlines, character decisions that make no sense, and one of the worst sci-fi endings since Battlestar Galactica.
4 reviews
January 14, 2021
Great series from beginning to end

Four complete novels, each a good stand alone read. Unusual ending I would never anticipated. I am looking forward to reading other series of Jasper Scott.
Profile Image for S..
Author 2 books1 follower
January 25, 2021
Great ending to a great book series. The survivors from Phoenix base make their escape from the Enclave, regroup and take to the stars in an attempt to start over. The only question is, where or when. 
Profile Image for Nanette Mitchell.
376 reviews
February 21, 2021
Amazing Journey

Loved the many nail biting stories and from Nove finding friends that get her into a life threatening situation to fights between Chimera and human to a race against the clock to get away from a further plague to find a new home. Enjoyed the characters
Profile Image for Emory Lynn.
78 reviews1 follower
February 3, 2022
Good series

Well written, imaginative, great characters! Entertaining, good plots and twists. A pleasant experience. Very enjoyable. Liked each book in series, more than the previous, which was also enjoyable
205 reviews
September 23, 2020
Great Story. A Virus overtakes the Earth. The remaining uninflected inhabitants seek a way to find ships to use to flee Earth.
68 reviews1 follower
September 24, 2020
Great ending

Wonderful job in tying up the series. Great choice. I really enjoyed the series. Excellent characters and thought provoking ending.
1,037 reviews4 followers
October 28, 2020
Great read...

What a great ride! I have read all of the other books in this series. And I loved the characters in all of the books. I always hate when a series ends!
46 reviews1 follower
December 3, 2020
Was not as good as I was hoping it to be. The ending is ok I guess but nothing out of the ordinary
Profile Image for Donna Eastwood.
31 reviews
January 19, 2021
Great ending

I really enjoyed the ending to this series. So many times I wanted to skip to the ending so I wouldn't be kept in suspense.
5 reviews
February 26, 2021
Rushed

Felt this was a lack luster finale with so many loose ends and a rushed last few chapters. Quite disappointed
Profile Image for Kurt.
93 reviews2 followers
April 21, 2021
Didn't Do It For Me

Too much gratuitous violence that has little relationship to plot, which was itself scattered and unconvincing. But I made it through the series!
29 reviews1 follower
May 25, 2021
Great

Lots of excitement and never ending adventures. Enjoyed reading the whole series. Moving on to the next book and the next and the next
Profile Image for William Oliver.
20 reviews
May 27, 2021
A fantastic series

I was glued to my seat for the entire series. I read them back-back. Definitely 5 star worthy. Sad the series is over.
667 reviews6 followers
July 2, 2021
what a journey

An excellent and beautifully written account of what may be. Written with hints of the present threaded through. Scaryvand inspiring at the same time.
1 review
July 26, 2021
Good ending

Character portrayal is good. Although most of the book is running from aliens or alien zombies like in the previous books in this series.
Profile Image for S D Lawrie.
484 reviews3 followers
March 22, 2022
Completed the series. Zombies in space, maybe. Not a bad read in any way, just didn't quite do it for me, but then again, I did read them all, so something was right.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.