Ascension by Nicholas Binge Review

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 jaw-dropping revelations that challenge the notion of what it means to be human.

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, a scientist of mysterious phenomena, 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.

A mind-bending speculative fiction book, Nicholas Binge’s trade published debut Ascension is a unique novel where scientific exploration and philosophical self-reflection meet upon the ascent of an otherworldly mountain summit. An enigma of a novel that has elements spanning multiple genres, this story is a tense and thrilling one that balances intellect and heart as it retraces the journey and life of a reclusive physicist through found letters addressed to his niece. An ambitious and high-concept narrative that’s engaging and complex, it’s an impressive and very Binge-able book provided one can roll with some of its more unexpected out-of-left-field elements (sorry Nicholas, the pun was too tempting).

“Almost as one, like an exhalation of breath, we turned away from the sea and looked at the towering behemoth that loomed ahead of us. Nobody spoke. Words felt insufficient, out of place. In the face of its magnitude, simile and metaphor felt ridiculous. This mountain – it rejects language. It renders it impotent All that exists in its place is utter disbelief, and an almost religious awe.”

With an eye-catching cover and premise, Ascension takes a unique and creative approach to speculative fiction by pairing intriguing scientific theoreticals with the intrigue and dangers of a high-altitude climb. Compared to many other speculative fiction novels based on distorted and bending reality, this book’s setting and creative concept is refreshingly different which Binge makes the most of. The book maintains a strong narrative hook that’s constantly balancing the unquenchable thirst for knowledge and discovery for likeminded scientists and constant reminders of one’s mortality in such an unforgiving and strange environment. The ongoing mysteries of what happened to Harold Tunmore, where did this staggering peak come from, what is its purpose and why unusual phenomena that defy physics and logic are occurring are great questions that keep the reader engaged on the off-chance they’re not invested in the ascent narrative itself (I openly admit that I picked this book up mostly for the speculative elements and not the expedition climb like most other readers).

While first and foremost a speculative fiction book, Ascension is a true genre-bending novel that incorporates a lot of different narrative elements effectively interwoven within its story. Featuring grounded scientific theories, it also has more fantastical scifi ideas particularly in the back half of the book. Harold’s written letters on the mountain also feature many flashbacks and memories to his life and family while discussions around religious beliefs, philosophy, and one’s future start to expand into literary fiction territory. The book’s tense tone and perplexing inconsistencies result in it reading like a mystery thriller novel only supported by its epistolary format and unreliable narrator presentation. Given the altitude that’s conducive to delirium and hallucinations, is what Harold writes about really happened or is he slowly losing his mind and sanity in paranoia. The latter at times even invokes a light psychological horror adjacent feel. This book packs a lot within its sub three hundred and fifty pages without any aspect feeling out of place.

Without going into too much detail to avoid spoilers, the book’s speculative fiction foundation is an interesting one based on physics and theoretical scenarios that can distort the limits of space and time. The iconic peak is not just for show, its effects on the speculative elements via the expedition’s ascent are directly involved and is a really creative concept. Despite having a background in English composition, the science Binge cites is interesting and solid. While I can’t comment on the physics as a biology/environmental science major, the rest of the biology and chemistry points discussed are plausible while also being written in a way that’s accessible for readers without a science background. The grounded approach to the story also helps balance out some of the more fantasy/scifi-based content while acknowledging its characters’ scholastic background and curiosity for discovery; this is not a book that suffers from poor character logic and reasoning.

“You’ve got to watch the seconds. Because they’re watching you.”

Interspersed with the team’s climb, the story also features extensive flashbacks that cover Harold’s life leading up to the fateful ascent. The formula reminds me of books by Andy Weir or Blake Crouch, except with better developed and more nuanced character work. Intellectually gifted and successful while socially awkward, the character writing and internalized reflections are consistently great, an area that I often find separates a noteworthy speculative fiction book from the rest of the genre. While Harold and some of the other characters may seem unlikable at times, they’re effectively done. For those that are interested or familiar with Myers-Briggs or other personality type identifiers, the character narration has a strong introverted thinking judging approach. Harold’s fear and difficulties with family life and relationships contrasting his technical understanding is very well done. Discussions and reflections on his complicated history with religion, mortality, loss and pride are recurring themes that add considerable depth and heart to the otherwise cold and sometimes grim story.

While the book is full of unexpected twists and a mind-bending read, subjectively this book likely won’t be for everyone. Readers that are only invested in speculative scifi stories may find the frequent flashbacks interrupt the progression of the team’s climb while lit fic readers drawn to the themes of human behavior can find the science to be off-putting. While the physics and speculative elements are well-done and appropriately presented, the book’s back half focused on the mountain’s secrets and its purpose may feel too fantasy scifi compared to its more technical first half. While the book’s pacing and length lend it to be a near perfect thriller and marathon read (I finished this book in a day and a half), its final arc could’ve benefitted from additional development and the background behind the expedition’s formation can feel a tad disappointing compared to how carefully crafted the rest of the book feels. While it’s not necessarily a negative point, I personally also expected the book to do more with its epistolary format such as the letters being presented in the order they appeared to be written or going further with the more mind-bending phenomena. However, I understand the straightforward approach is intentional as the Ascension is presented as an in-universe published memoir of Harold. The speculative narrative can also be a bit out there for some readers to get their head around and a more complicated format could narrow its possible readership and limit its accessibility.

A clever and creative story featuring compelling speculative ideas layered with strong character writing, Ascension is a unique and fascinating book worth reading. Its engaging story, concise length, and genre-bending nature make it an appealing pick well outside of the scifi thriller circle. Its premise and the visual motif of the mountain’s desolate peak on its various covers also help set it apart from other speculative fiction stories (note that the UK cover that I own has a strong scifi look to it vs the US cover that looks more lit fic stylized). This being Binge’s trade published debut is even more impressive and the industry hype that surrounded this book during its publishing is well-deserved. I already have a copy of Dissolution to get into soon and I am definitely looking forward to his upcoming novel Exhumation (I love the title naming conventions of his books) due to be published in Oct/Dec in the UK and NA regions respectively.

Side Note: Though I read the The Broken Binding Edition of Ascension, I must thank Aardvark Book Club for originally putting Nicholas Binge’s books on my radar through their curated offerings. I have the matching edition of Dissolution but for months I regretted not picking it during my first month subscribed to Aardvark when it quickly sold out. Thanks again to my fellow book subscription junkie and reviewer Vanessa for selling me her copy and putting me out of my misery.