Ascension

A Novel

By: Nicholas Binge

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY VULTURE!

"You've gotta read Ascension by Nicholas Binge. Old-school creepy. . .five-star horror."—Stephen King

"Smartly paced, deploying twists and turns strategically to keep the reader moving. . . The ideas are big and the journey is a whole lot of fun." —The New York Times

"[An] excellent page-turner. . . a macabre, escapist pleasure for the thoughtful set.”—The Wall Street Journal

A mind-bending speculative thriller in which 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 only way out is up. . .

An enormous snow-covered mountain has appeared in the Pacific Ocean. No one knows when exactly it showed up, precisely how big it might be, or how to explain its existence. When Harold Tunmore is contacted by a shadowy organization to help investigate, he has no idea what he is getting into as he and his team set out for the mountain.

The higher Harold’s team ascends, the less things make sense. Time moves differently, turning minutes into hours, and hours into days. Amid the whipping cold of higher elevation, the climbers’ limbs numb and memories of their lives before the mountain begin to fade. Paranoia quickly turns to violence among the crew, and slithering, ancient creatures pursue them in the snow. Still, as the dangers increase, the mystery of the mountain compels them to its peak, where they are certain they will find their answers. Have they stumbled upon the greatest scientific discovery known to man or the seeds of their own demise?

Framed by the discovery of Harold Tunmore’s unsent letters to his family and the chilling and provocative story they tell, Ascension considers the limitations of science and faith and examines both the beautiful and the unsettling sides of human nature.

©2023 Nicholas Binge (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A New York Times Editors' Choice Pick

“A heady mix of wildly imaginative, action-packed storytelling and probing philosophical examination of—quite literally—the meaning of life….[Ascension is] full of frenetic action and packed with twists and turns, gun fights and villains, but it’s also a sustained reflection on the limits of being human."—The Chicago Review of Books

Interesting story despite flaws

Great narration and a generally interesting story. Some huge flaws in mountaineering. I just wish the author had spoken to some mountaineers and changed a couple things to make the story mountaineering part plausible.

Moments of Interest

Interesting and/or exciting moments were scattered too infrequently throughout a rather needlessly prolonged story. I would not recommend this story to others. It’s definitely not a page-turner but I don’t regret reading it.

Just strange

A little bit hard to follow until the last 5 minutes. I don’y know if the book length was helpful in the storyline.

Barely lovecraftian

I was told this was Lovecraftian and it barely tries to be. Even when you try to appreciate the story for what it is, it's slow and boring. The main character is such a coward and pushover it feels like my testosterone is leaving my body listening to this.

Interesting culmination

The story has several plot twist. Some you see coming and some you don’t. I loved the ending! Was Not expecting it!! Great read!!

Did not really meet expectations.

The book was ok. I don’t regret reading but I wouldn’t read again or recommend. The story was very similar to Annihilation. The narrator was not very good. Especially, when he was trying to do other voices.

Fun - Lovecraftian

This could have been plotted using the Mountains of Madness tabletop game. Fun nevertheless.

Was hoping for more

It was ok overall, but the narration could’ve been better. I like the story and the inclusion of some big questions. However, there was very little payoff. If you take on some of life’s big questions, there should at least be an attempt at addressing them. Can’t just bring them up and let them hang there.

solid story with good mostly unexpected ending

I liked the exploration of human motivation and of grief in a creative way. there was good biological sci-fi in it too.

Feels like Ive read this before

The story in general was giving me "annihilation" vibes. Its more horror than sci-fi. A god enough read and one of those books that frankly could be a better movie than the book.