In Ascension [B1160]

2023 HCDJ in excellent condition. An astonishing novel about a young microbiologist investigating an unfathomable deep vent in the ocean floor, leading her on a journey that will encompass the full trajectory of the cosmos and the passage of a single human life. Leigh grew up in Rotterdam, drawn to the waterfront as an escape from her unhappy home life and volatile father. Enchanted by the undersea world of her childhood, she excels in marine biology, traveling the globe to study ancient organisms. When a trench is discovered in the Atlantic ocean, Leigh joins the exploration team, hoping to find evidence of the earth's first life forms - what she instead finds calls into question everything we know about our own beginnings. Her discovery leads Leigh to the Mojave desert and an ambitious new space agency. Drawn deeper into the agency's work, she learns that the Atlantic trench is only one of several related phenomena from across the world, each piece linking up to suggest a pattern beyond human understanding. Leigh knows that to continue working with the agency will mean leaving behind her declining mother and her younger sister, and faces an impossible choice: to remain with her family, or to embark on a journey across the breadth of the cosmos. Exploring the natural world with the wonder and reverence we usually reserve for the stars, In Ascension is a compassionate, deeply inquisitive epic that reaches outward to confront the greatest questions of existence, looks inward to illuminate the smallest details of the human heart, and shows how - no matter how far away we might be and how much we have lost hope - we will always attempt to return to the people and places we call home.

From recent MIXED Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Leigh, a marine biologist, tells the story of her life, of her interest in archaea and bacteria, and of her journey into space. From the cell to the person to the world and space. She weaves her personal life, upbringing, and challenges of her relationship with father, mother and sister into this expansive story. In the end, MacInnes leaves more questions unanswered than answered, but the journey getting there and the way he frames the questions is exquisite. I really enjoyed this book - the writing is great, and the story, while challenging, is readable. Highly recommended, mostly for sci-fi/speculative fiction fans. It was in my sweet spot."; "A pretty epic sci fi odyssey centred around one woman's need to understand the source and nature of life whilst simultaneously running away from her abusive and ugly past. It was mysterious, and set up a lot of exciting plot, but in the end it drifted off into melancholy. There was a lot left unanswered and I'm not sure what it was all supposed to mean. Still, it was great and would definitely recommend for the writing style and vibes alone."; "I don't read much sci-fi, but I enjoyed this as a work of literary fiction. I think if you're very interested in specifics of the world, perhaps this will be frustrating, but if you're in it for vibes, it's great."; "Slow to take off, the story finally envelops you, pulls you in, only to whop you between the eyes and snicker at you as it fades away."; "All I want out of my science fiction is a frustratingly nebulous meditation on the meaning of life and our role in the universe, and by god did this deliver."