Ascension (2023) by Nicholas Binge

 Book Review

Ascension (2023)

by Nicholas Binge

  I checked out the Audiobook of Ascension by Nicholas Binge after reading the the New York Times book review.  The mere fact of a work of speculative fiction getting a full length book review in the Times is unusual.  Ascension is also a take on the genre known as "cosmic horror"- pioneered by H.P. Lovecraft and his ilk.  I was intrigued.   As it turned out, Ascension was almost too faithful to the conventions of the genre.  Start with a clunky format- letters discovered by the relatives of a scientist who has gone mad after an expedition to a mysterious mountain that has just "appeared" in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean.   Add a healthy dose of the "nameless horror" situation as the crack team of soldiers and academics makes their way up said mountain.  Conclude with a prototypical white male narrator who spends most of the book regretting his emotional unavailability which caused him to split up with his ex-wife (who of course, is also on this same expedition).   It made, quite frankly, for a tedious Audiobook and I think the print version would have been a better experience. 

   On the positive side, Ascension does deliver a fun adventure yarn with a suitably mind-blowing conclusion-none if it makes a lick of sense, but that is cosmic horror for you.