Bearfaced reviewed In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
Leigh's upbringing in Rotterdam revolved around her fascination with the waterfront, which served as a …
Slow, boring, confused.
2 stars
First of all I have to mention I was listening to the Audiobook version of this book, I don't think that enhanced the experience. The story is a mix of family drama with some science fiction elements mixed in, I'd barely call it sci-fi and I'm not sure how much research went into the technical aspects. The story is set to a backdrop of childhood paternal violence, which is a recurrent theme throughout the book and doesn't seem relevant to the story. I felt no attachment to any of the characters, they weren't loveable, or dislikeable for that matter, just grey, soulless beings. The story just meanders, at some points I thought I'd accidentally skipped a few chapters. I read this because I saw it was on the Booker prize longlist and it was supposed to be sci-fi, from this point I will no longer be using the longlist as …
First of all I have to mention I was listening to the Audiobook version of this book, I don't think that enhanced the experience. The story is a mix of family drama with some science fiction elements mixed in, I'd barely call it sci-fi and I'm not sure how much research went into the technical aspects. The story is set to a backdrop of childhood paternal violence, which is a recurrent theme throughout the book and doesn't seem relevant to the story. I felt no attachment to any of the characters, they weren't loveable, or dislikeable for that matter, just grey, soulless beings. The story just meanders, at some points I thought I'd accidentally skipped a few chapters. I read this because I saw it was on the Booker prize longlist and it was supposed to be sci-fi, from this point I will no longer be using the longlist as an indicator of quality. There's nothing new here, other people have done it better, it could have been improved with heavy pruning. It'll probably make an OK film as it would be relatively easy to pluck out and extrapolate a story from the pages. I don't like criticising the work of other people because I'm not a writer and this must have taken a lot of effort to put together but frankly don't waste your time.