Reviews with content warning for Child death - Ascension

The science went over my head at times but this philosophical, sci-fi exploration of grief and the meaning of human existence was still gripping and I always felt compelled to finish. The ending didn’t quite hit home for me but I still appreciated the ambitious swing this book took. Felt 3/4 Blake Crouch, 1/4 Susanna Clarke.

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6dan13la's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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legarou's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

3.75

Enjoyed most of the book, wanted to know what happens. very well written. The ending I am feeling split about because it kind of makes sense within the book but

I wanted more of an explanation. It did not feel like enough.

I also found the part with the reveal about what happened to Santi to be too much, I had to skim over that because I could not read it.

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schubertan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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loquaciousleon's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This was a pretty okay book. I really liked certain qualities of it, and I felt some qualities were a little trite.

It also had text that was clearly the author talking to the reader through characters and story, which took me out of it.

All in all, not a stellar read, but not one I regret reading. I can see it being a much better read for other people.

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casparquarius's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

a quick fun read. I enjoyed the sense of confusion and urgency, and loved the format of the narrative. it wasn't particularly scary or as tense as I was hoping, but still definitely enjoyable

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doyleswin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Whatever is going to happen, it’s going to happen. It’s already happened. It’s happening right now. It’s up to you to decide how you make that count. How beautiful you let that be. -Nicholas Binge, Ascension

Conceptually, Ascension is a novel unlike any I’ve read recently, leaving me yearning for more cosmic horror. Nicholas Binge stuck the landing with a very intriguing mystery that builds up to a satisfying conclusion, definitely paying off.

It’s evident that the author enjoys his speculative fiction with the story delving into time distortions, creatures which are made of RNA, evil secret shadow government agencies, which all comes off as bit far-fetched. However,

if you approach the story as a horror fantasy, it succeeds on every level.

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