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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
Don Schechter’s Ascendants is set in Boston in 2060, twenty-five years after The Jacobs Institute has turned death into a blood test and divided society into Ascendants and Biomasses. Dr. Rebecca Teller works inside the Institute hospital while trying to protect her daughters, Maya and Hannah, in a city where religion, medicine, politics, and survival have all been rewritten by the promise of Ascension. When Paul Sutherland, Rebecca’s brother-in-law, dies after stealing a file from the Institute, his death points toward secrets that powerful people will kill to keep hidden. Hannah’s unplanned test result then makes the Teller family dangerous to the system that has claimed authority over the afterlife. As Boston burns around protests and militia violence, Rebecca and Maya must keep Hannah alive long enough to learn what Ascension truly costs.
Don Schechter’s Ascendants is gripping dystopian science fiction, and the author makes the world feel terrifyingly complete because the technology reaches every part of ordinary life. The Viewing Rooms are the best example, since people do not just believe in Ascension; they experience a recorded death and rebuild society around it. I found the family story worked particularly well through Maya, Rebecca’s older daughter, whose anger is never simple teenage rebellion because she sees the cruelty hidden beneath Institute language. Sam Lee is also excellent, especially through his love for Alexandra Jacobs, the dying daughter of the man who built Ascension. That relationship gives the book heartbreak inside the science. This is superbly creative plotting and writing, and readers who appreciate dystopian fiction that digs deep below the surface will enjoy this book. I'm excited to see where the author takes us next.
