“Any sufficiently advanced technology will appear indistinguishable from magic.”⁣
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“‘Why do people want to believe life came from somewhere else? Why are they so insistent on that? Like it’s supposed to be romantic? Why couldn’t life have begun here all along? Like we were saying the other night, Stefan – life is already alien, is already rich and strange – we don’t need to say it arrived seeded on a meteor to make it more so.’“⁣
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From: 𝘐𝘯 𝘈𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 by Martin MacInnes⁣

I loved this book so much. I don’t read a lot of science fiction, but if there is more like this, please recommend it to me, because I can’t wait to read it. ⁣
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This is an extremely smart yet accessible novel about a Dutch scientist studying the growth and evolution of algae and the use of algae in agriculture.⁣ She is interested in archaea, ancient single-celled organisms and their pairing with bacteria to form nucleated cells; the origins of all multicellular life forms.⁣ And all this is used thematically as a means to think about the origins of life on earth and our place and role in that. It’s eco-fiction at its finest. ⁣
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And there is space travel! Not the most eco friendly form of travel, you might say, but MacInnes still manages to convey the importance of sustainability and the need for a circular ecosystem. And looking from space at Earth, maybe that need is even more clear. ⁣
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I love how he shows that science can be so close to religion, a belief, when it is studying still uncharted territory. ⁣
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But on top of all the science, it is also about humanity and human connections; the pain and grief but also the love and companionship in relationships, whether in family, love or with colleagues. The issue of trust and how to build or destroy it. ⁣
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And all this in MacInnes beautiful slow-paced, subtle and clear writing. The prose is so unbelievably rich in atmosphere and succeeded in letting me marvel about the wonder of life on earth. ⁣
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Thank you so much @netgalley and @groveatlantic for the advanced reader copy!

This story is a beautifully written and poetic take on science fiction. Although the build is slow, the novel reaches its peak with a rewarding pay off. I would not recommend this to everyone as at times it felt slow with little plot movement as it focuses greatly on the main character Leigh’s upbringing however, the writing makes up for what the plot is lacking.

A young girl grows up with her sister, mother, and volatile and violent father in Rotterdam and becomes fascinated with microbial life, particularly the undersea world which she can escape to where every single inch is brimming with invisible life. She becomes a marine biologist and travels to various places around the world where she studies and excels in her studies on algae. She is living at a time of many amazing scientific discoveries and breakthroughs - NASA has just announced new jet propulsion technology that could revolutionise space travel, and when she gets a place on an Atlantic ocean exploration project, a strange reading from a deep-sea trench casts doubt on the accuracy of the chartering of the sea floor.


The book is cinematic and beautifully written, it is absolutely transportive and I absolutely savored it, reading it for over a month because I didn’t want it to end. I got the opportunity to do an Astrobiology course at University and this book covered so many topics that we learnt on the course so I really enjoyed that.


Accessibility: It is very scientific and intellectual at times, but I felt it introduced concepts rather than alienated. I must have forgotten a lot of my Biology from school because I had to do a lot of Googling to find out what some words meant! It's told in the first person POV.

In Ascension es una novela escrita de una manera impecable, impregnada de esa ciencia ficción de futuro cercano que tanto nos gusta, pero que no acaba de cuajar. Tenía los mimbres para ser una estupenda historia de primer contacto, o para ser un canto a la exploración espacial y a la superación humana, pero se queda en el camino.


La historia se centra en la bióloga marina Leigh, nacida en una Rotterdam prácticamente subterránea por el cambio climático, víctima de un padre violento. El título de la novela nos da una pista del camino ascendente que tendrá su vida, tanto literal como metafóricamente.

La novela es de ritmo pausado y se entretiene en las particularidades de las algas en las que Leigh se especializa así como en el desarrollo de una tecnología de propulsión que revolucionará los viajes espaciales. Y no tengo problema con esto, pero al desarrollo de los personajes, excepto la protagonista, sí que le falta profundidad. Para tratarse de una novela de más de 500 páginas, apenas llegamos a conocer los compañeros de viaje de Leigh, que se entiende deberían jugar un papel más importante, al menos durante la misión en la que se ven envueltos. Pero Martin MacInnes no se detiene en estas menudencias.

La adenda final de la novela es la que nos hace cambiar de opinión sobre todo lo que ha sucedido anteriormente, con la reunión de dos personajes que han tenido un papel bastante secundario en gran parte de la novela, pero que le sirven al autor para cerrar de forma satisfactoria algunos de los enigmas que quedaban en el aire. Algunos, pero no todos, porque se cuida de seguir tejiendo alrededor de la historia detalles ambivalentes que quedan para la interpretación del lector.

Quizá lo que más me ha gustado, a pesar de ser terrible, es cómo MacInnes aúna la plaga de las enfermedades mentales degenerativas de los ancianos con los problemas de desarrollo de las nuevas generaciones, algo que se trata de manera tangencial en la novela pero que me resulta tan intrigante como premonitorio. Pero es una alusión casual y no el verdadero objetivo de la novela.

No he conseguido conectar con una obra de la que esperaba mucho más.

This was an utterly captivating and surprising read for me, while I still do feel like this is for a very niche kind of reader and I wasn’t to sure if I was one of them, but as I read on I was drawn into the narrative, plot, and this encompassing look at life right down to bacteria and as far reaching as space.

MacInnes’ writing, well heavy in science, was still tangible to a lemming like me. The science and academic matter added a level of intrigue and quizzicalness that had me really thinking deeply about what was being discovered in this story as it unfolded with each page. I really enjoyed the micro and macro exploration of living beings on earth and those that may be extraterrestrial. Leigh the female protagonist shares her own life story as she is embarking on something groundbreaking, and as her own history unfolds from one angle we view her future from the other, offering a real composition of connectedness and meaning.

While ambiguity isn’t always a favourite way to conclude things I think when we are talking time, space, life and the unknown it is the only choice and I am enjoying mulling over variables in my mind of the soft and gentle ending.

At over five hundred pages, In Ascension is a long read, comprised of five (or is it seven?) sections set around (and below and above) the world as we’re about to know it. Part sci-fi, part cli-fi, part domestic drama, author Martin MacInnes imagines a near future with a hotter planet, corporations ever more in control of the scientific process, and mysteries that trigger responses in humans at the cellular level. Told from the POV of a Dutch marine biologist, I have to admit that I was pretty bored with all of the digressions to her challenging childhood — even if the point seems to be about what is passed down through the cells — but as unengaged as I was with some sections, there were others that were thrilling and meaning-filled. I liked the science and the sense of awe at the natural world and the plot when things were happening — MacInnes captivated me with the uncanny bits — but too many parts made me sigh with impatience, and overall, this just felt unpleasantly long. Not a complete win for me, but I’d read the author again.