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In Ascension

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In Ascension

By: Martin MacInnes
Narrated by: Freya Miller
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About this listen

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023

Leigh grew up in Rotterdam, drawn to the waterfront as a refuge from her unhappy home life and volatile father. Enchanted by the marine world of her childhood, she excels in postgraduate research on ancient algae. When an unfathomable vent appears in the mid-Atlantic floor, Leigh joins the investigating team; what she finds there will change her life forever.

Around the same time, a trio of engineers, unknown to each other, make a seismic breakthrough in rocket propulsion, announcing an almost limitless era of space exploration. Billions of dollars is poured into projects, and Leigh's classified research on the ocean vent sees her recruited to develop an experimental food source for off-world travel. From her base in the Mojave desert, she's drawn further into the space agency's work, where she learns of a series of anomalies suggesting a beacon sent from the far side of the solar system. In responding to this beacon, Leigh embarks on a journey that will take her across the breadth of the cosmos and the fullness of a single human life.

©2023 Martin MacInnes (P)2023 W.F. Howes Ltd Dystopian First Contact Genetic Engineering Science Fiction Space Exploration Fiction Interstellar

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All stars
Most relevant
I felt that too long was spent on the first three quarters of the story. Although the payoff was clever that wasn’t enough. I found the narrator a little annoying with her recurring sharp in take of breath, and the fact that voices weren’t differentiated in dialogue make it often difficult to follow, although I liked her accent.

Too long

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It would be helpful to have had an attentive editor who could pick up on the many mispronunciations in the reading of this book. It seems like the aim of the author was to write something that works both as SF and as literary fiction. For me, it misses the mark on both counts.

Annoying

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This may be a better novel when experienced in book form but the narrator reads it like a children's story, with a very sing-song cadence which doesn't feel appropriate for the tone of the writing and quickly becomes annoying.

unfortunate choice of narrator

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I can see why it was shortlisted for the Booked prize, this is an exquisitely crafted book which gives hope for our planet.

Staggeringly beautiful story

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Powerful thought provoking gripping hard to listen at points but well worth the effort.

Loved this incredible book

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