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A review by funktious
In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A tough one to review, this, as while I can see what it was going for, it didn't quite always get there for me.
I saw a review where someone said this would be too SF for the litfic crowd and too litfic for the SF crowd and there might be something in that. I don't read a lot of 'hard SF' so I really struggled with the midsection of this; the labwork and the training. And while the prose was undeniably beautiful in places, and the themes of symbiosis, connection and the cycle of life were perfect for me, I ended up feeling more cold and kept at arms length from it all than I was expecting. It's left me thinking though, and that ending is sublime.
It's an interesting one to compare with 'A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding' - I'd like to put some of the slowness and beauty of this book into that one, and some of the warmth and hyperactivity from that one into this.
I saw a review where someone said this would be too SF for the litfic crowd and too litfic for the SF crowd and there might be something in that. I don't read a lot of 'hard SF' so I really struggled with the midsection of this; the labwork and the training. And while the prose was undeniably beautiful in places, and the themes of symbiosis, connection and the cycle of life were perfect for me, I ended up feeling more cold and kept at arms length from it all than I was expecting. It's left me thinking though, and that ending is sublime.
It's an interesting one to compare with 'A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding' - I'd like to put some of the slowness and beauty of this book into that one, and some of the warmth and hyperactivity from that one into this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Dementia