The sudden appearance of a mountain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean leads a group of scientists to a series of revelations that challenge the notion of what it means to be human.
The novel is smartly paced, deploying twists and turns strategically to keep the reader moving ... Binge’s crisp prose moves well between science fiction concepts, Gothic terror and fast-paced action sequences. Some of the supporting characters, including, frustratingly, Naoko, remain as thin as the upper atmosphere. But the ideas are big and the journey is a whole lot of fun.
In classic old-school adventure style ... Ascension is a lovingly retold version of a classic horror thriller, but with more humanity and real emotion; it is the story of a broken man and what redemption looks like in the real world. Plus, of course, tentacles ... It would be hard to deliver an ending that satisfies all the curiosity built in the first 95% of this excellent page-turner; there’s a reason that the heroes in these kinds of stories tend to go mad, rambling on vaguely about horrors incomprehensible to the mind of men ... And yet Mr. Binge does actually try to explain everything that happens, and why. He deserves credit for the spectacular chutzpah of the attempt, but I will leave it to the reader to judge how successful it is ... Thoroughly recommended.
The doomed expedition that drives Harold mad is akin to H. P. Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness ... An expert story of creeping dread and cosmological horror.
