Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - In Ascension

Let's start with the main criticisms about this book: it moves slowly and it has very little of what is popularly demanded these days: page-turning action. I, too, wondered for a time where MacInnes was going with In Ascension, but I reminded myself about that old concept of the author-reader contract: I as a reader promise to give the book my fair attention and the author in return promises to make it worth my while. I'm glad I stayed.

I will not reveal the big moments here--this is all spoiler-free, I think--but they come in small doses right along the way. Perhaps to the surprise of all those DNFers (the ones who Did Not Finish), just about everything in the books early and middle chapters becomes vitally woven by its ending, and that's quite a range of detail.

MacInnes' first-person narrative of a young, ambitious, but emotionally distraught female microbiologist Leigh digs fairly deeply into her family relationships, her collegial relationships, and how her competencies themselves may mask other issues. Her initial project work on a deep sea anomaly equally lays fundamental groundwork not just in biology, but in her particular framing of the importance of that science. Like the best hard-science fiction novels, MacInnes does not get squeamish over detailing thicker principles of molecular engineering nor later of space travel. Better than many such novels, though, we find that this orientation is actively working to develop the strengths and psychological stress marks on our narrator Leigh. More, as we will discover, it is these moments--a photograph of a childhood sister-love, a phone call of passive-aggressive blame, a regret over a loss, a wounded nostalgia over idealism--that become almost essential to a larger question completely.

And what is In Ascension about? Crafted in our own environmental politics advanced to a point of crisis, one may expect the title to be spiritual in nature. I will only say, though, that it has far more than a single meaning. With the wonder and reverence of an Arthur C. Clarke novel, and a willingness to allow the uncertainties of science lead us to deeper questions, <i>In Ascension</i> will leave readers both fulfilled and bewildered. It teases old SF tropes without lazily fulfilling them; and it offers instead a completion of Leigh's personal and scientific journal which is uniquely and wholly satisfying.

Yes, it's a big book, and readers who seek a page-turner need not stop here. If instead, however, you miss the novel that isn't afraid to find that the most particular details--right down to the molecule--are themselves momentous, settle in.

Content Warnings

mlewis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

sophee_568's review against another edition

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challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

With thematic similarities to Interstellar and an atmospheric counterpart to Arrival and The Martian, In Ascension is one of the most mesmerizing books I've read. In Ascension is 500+ pages long and encompasses many different ideas and themes. Seeing many negative reviews about this book saddens me. MacInnes wrote something truly stunning and thought-provoking, but not many people can see its beauty.

After moving from Rotterdam to California, Leigh leaves her unhappy childhood behind to pursue a career as a microbiologist researcher. She boards Endeavor – a ship designed to carry scientists to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where lies a previously discovered hydrothermal vent. Leigh is especially drawn to those peculiar underwater places as they mimic conditions where first cells could have blossomed. Things go awry on the expedition, but discovering a new deep-sea species of archaea propels the story in an unexpected direction. From the abysmal depth of the Atlantic Ocean, we are thrust into deep uncharted space. Leigh's pursuit of the origin of life forces her to abandon everyone she loves. Leigh and her crewmates' voyage into the cosmos will take them further than anyone thought possible.

To me, the scope of this book is nearly indescribable. MacInnes shows us Leigh's physical journey from her flooded hometown of Rotterdam to the sunny coast of California and her mental journey escaping the trauma of parental abuse. By being further away from the place she spent her childhood in, she creates this physical barrier to her past, yet the memories remain to haunt her. The story has constant intermissions in the form of flashbacks to the instances where her father laid his hands on her and her mother's tending to her aching bones. Leigh is above average height, and her bones grew faster than average, which caused her immense pain when she was a child. At night, her mother would knead her limbs to help ease the pain. Leigh comments on how that might have been her mother's way of indirectly offering relief from the abuse. Neither her mother nor her sister ever acknowledged the abuse. In the penultimate part of the book, the POV switches to Leigh's sister, Helena, who claims the beatings were not as bad as Leigh said. Helena thinks Leigh is playing the victim card. As jarring as that switch in narrative voice is, it offers us a coup d'oeil into Helena's mind. Leigh is not a good person, and we see Helena is not either. Despite Leigh's timid characterization, she feels like a real person. Her path in life is being selfish and avoidant while obsessively focusing only on work. As her mother's health continues to deteriorate throughout the book, she persistently tells Helena and herself she doesn't have time to check up on her mother.

One of this book's reviews accentuates Leigh's childhood trauma, how horrible all family members are, and the lack of a point behind the two. The reviewer claims there are no healthy counterpoints to the awful characters and no reflection on them. Writing about any trauma is unquestionably difficult. Not everyone will resonate with how you portray the abuse through characters and their inner voices. I don't think every book that includes trauma is supposed to be about healing. Sometimes people cannot heal for whatever reason. Leigh never heals. Helena heals in a way that's dismissive of her sister's abuse. There is no perfect recipe for healing from trauma. Leigh's toxic beliefs about her trauma are her way of unhealthy coping. She actively avoids seeking help. Before Leigh's journey into space, she talks with a psychologist. During that conversation, her belligerent attitude toward the psychologist's inquiry into her past is glaringly noticeable. Leigh is confident her past will not become a future problem during her stay on Nereus (the spaceship).

In Ascension, a mix of sci-fi and literary genres offers plenty of general musings on the nature of life. At times, it reads like an intellectual and profound novel. MacInnes includes a lot of technical language related to marine biology, microbiology, and later aeronautics. The biology parts were my favorite, while the ones focused on engineering were tedious to read and lessened my enjoyment. The overall pacing is slow but not dull.

I started reading In Ascension while in a reading slump, and it honestly helped me regain the will to read. I kept returning to this book every day. One reason why this book resonated with me is my academic background. I am a biology major with a keen interest in biochemistry and microbiology. I, too, obsessively think about life and its many forms. Certain areas of biology seek answers to the most entrancing and complex questions, such as where life comes from. And how? But not why. I don't think there is an answer to that, but I appreciate MacInnes devoting his book to bringing awareness to the philosophical nature of scientific questions.

In the fifth part, titled Nereus - after the spaceship, Leigh, Karius, and Tyler are traveling toward the Great Perhaps. The atmosphere becomes more dreamlike and surreal, but the story ultimately stagnates. Things start to fall into place. Without revealing the wondrous mystery, it is during this part that the story most resembles the movie Interstellar. The ending is abrupt, purposefully left painfully open, and unresolved. While my main issue is the lack of emotional connection to the characters and the story, I am willing to overlook it on behalf of the diverse themes. MacInnes masterfully explored the themes of isolation and connection through Leigh's character and her relationship dynamics with other characters. Another theme that emerges in the novel is Earth's ecological future and the implication of human ignorance concerning the well-being of our planet.

Thank you Netgalley and Atlantic Books for the review copy!

Content Warnings

feebles640's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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