Ascent

by Jed Mercurio

Yefgenil Yeremin is a flyer and he is a phantom.

In the Korean War he shoots down more American jets than any other pilot in history. He becomes the legendary ace dubbed “Ivan the Terrible.” But the Soviet Union’s involvement in Korea must be kept secret, so his name remains unknown, his victories uncelebrated.

Exiled to a remote Arctic base, he becomes a spectator to the new battlefield of Cold War space. Yefgenil longs to do battle once more with America’s finest aviators, but he remains invisible, forgotten...until the day in 1964, when a man arrives from Moscow, from the Space Committee, in search of a volunteer. Five years later, Yefgenil Yeremin sets off on the greatest mission of his destination is the Moon.

Ascent is the story of how a single act can not only define the meaning of a man’s life, but also that of a nation and a species.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels, Space, Comics, Russia

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Jed Mercurio is a British author; TV and film producer and (non practicing) medical doctor.

He also writes under the name John MacUre. He created the television series Cardiac Arrest, Bodies and the sci-fi miniseries Invasion: Earth (1998). Bodies is based on his novel of the same name and earned him two BAFTA Television Award nominations and two RTS Award nominations. He has also written and directed for The Grimleys (and wrote the pilot episode).

Before turning to writing, Mercurio trained as a doctor at the University of Birmingham.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the television series ‘Line of Duty’ written by Jed Mercurio so jumped at the chance of reading this book. I should have read more about it before I decided to read it, it is so far from my normal genre and was hard work for me personally to get into. I have this habit of starting a book without reading any of the blurb and simply going on gut feelings or specific authors. Most times it works out fine so I suppose it was inevitable I was going to get a disappointment sometime.

Fighter pilot Yefgenii Yeremin is destined to go down in Soviet history books as ‘Ivan the Terrible’, the most deadly fighter pilot of the Korean War, one moment of madness sees Yefgenii throwing his reputation to the wind. Exiled to a remote Arctic base, his name unknown and victories uncelebrated, he must endure a fate worse than death, anonymity.

But when a man arrives from Moscow’s Space Committee in search of a volunteer prepared to sacrifice himself for his country, Yefgenii seizes his one last chance of immortality.

I wanted so much for this to work for me and had my hopes shattered early on, although I favour mystery thrillers I feel that I am open to other genres, however this was too far from my tastes.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Penguin Random House for supplying this audio book in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jed Mercurio is probably now best known as the creator of the television series, Line of Duty. He has also written a few novels. Personally, I think his TV work is worth five stars while I would only give his books three stars.
Take Ascent. It's a story about a Soviet fighter pilot who becomes a cosmonaut during the Cold War. It should be full of intrigue and adventure. And while I can see it was well researched, I was actually a little bit bored listening to this audiobook. Maybe it's due to the narrator (John Hopkins) who I felt didn't do many voices to distinguish between characters. Maybe it would have been better as a screenplay. All I know is that it was lacking the action packed drama I have come to expect from Jed Mercurio.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fascinating graphic novel about a Russian orphan, Yeremin, who overcame adversity to become an ace fighter pilot who then became a cosmonaut. Saying more about the plot will give away the story. So I will limit myself to a critique of the graphic novel as a successful (or unsuccessful) art and/or literary work. I thought the drawing style - somewhat stilted/primitive/simplified/"poverty-stricken" - suited the grim subject (siege, orphanage, military training/service etc) very well. The book almost appeared drawn by an amateur or even a child - lending it poignancy - as did the equally spare, limited color palette. The dreariness perhaps was part of the message. The text was simple and straightforward enough, many times the drawings alone were enough to keep the story going. I disliked the violence of the schoolyard fight scene - and there were endless depictions of planes getting shot down during the skirmishes in the Korean War, which each side celebrated. In this novel, the reader gets to see things from the perspective of the Russian pilots who were secretly assisting North Korea and China in their air war vs. the UN forces, mostly US military. We see the American side in passing - as one name after another (such as Neil Armstrong and Gus Grissom) later to become famous as astronauts, pop up during the Korean War as fighter pilots. The Russians act in a predictable manner probably exactly the way the American would also celebrate shooting down enemy planes. (The big difference is that Yeremin -who had become an ace, had to be turned into a non-person by the Soviet state after the war since officially, no Russian actually flew the MiGs.. and so he was sent away to Siberia where he lived for years with his wife and kids.)

All in all, this was an interesting alternate history style novel of what might have happened to one of the nameless Russian pilots after the Korean War. It does give some interesting information about the Russian moon program, why it faltered etc.

In general, this was a rather depressing graphic novel - chilling also. You won't forget the haunting plot, tracing the agonizing life of Yeremin, especially what happened to his family after his final mission - and may wonder if such a scenario may indeed have been the fate of the "anonymous" Russian fighter pilots post the Korean War.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to decide how many stars to give this one. The story was gripping, the characterization was impeccable, and much of the writing was moving to the point of tears.

But it needed a better editor, dammit. There's repetition that could have been excised without the book suffering, and a few phenomenally clunky phrases and repeated words that catapulted me out of the all-engrossing world of the book with an very ugly *thunk*. Sadly, this happened most in the third part of the book - the part that I was most interested in and would have been most captured by.

This book has received rave reviews. I'm delighted that someone with talent wrote this particular story, and I applaud him for it. But overall, I don't think the book is quite as good as it's made out to be and I'm not sure I'd read future books by Mercurio, at least not unless I already had an interest in the subject matter.

Hence the four stars. The man can write.

[Natalie "Curling up with a Coffee and a Kindle" Laird · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge Jed Mercurio fan, after loving Bodies, The Bodyguard and my all-time favourite TV programme, Line of Duty.
So much so, I hit the request button on NetGalley without looking at the blurb, and this was a lesson learned.
I am definitely not a reader of science fiction, or espionage/spy thrillers and this storyline just wasn't for me. I am glad other readers enjoyed it though.
I have given 3 stars as I don't think it fair to mark down when I didn't like the genre. The narrator did well and was engaging to a certain extent, but I just didn't enjoy the story.

[Alfred Searls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now and again you come across a book that seems to intersect with so many of your own personal interests that you end up with the impression that the publishers have secretly focused grouped you to within an inch of your life, and then somehow wiped all memory of it from your mind (shakes fist at sneaky publisher conspiracy) and then published a novel to your exact specifications.

Jed Mercurio’s 2007 fascinating and excellent debut novel did just that for me;
 well written literary fiction
 compelling account of life behind the iron curtain
 cold war intrigue
 golden era of pre-missile jet combat (you’ll just have to go with me on this one)
 the space race

The book follows the fortunes of Yevgeni Yeremin, who literally fights his way out of the nightmare that is his early life in a post war soviet orphanage, to a place in a red air force training academy and a seat in a Mig-15. The opening scenes are unsentimental and unsparing and make for tough reading. Yet these early passages are as necessary as they are bleak, for without them the reader would struggle to understand the obsessional, disciplined and coldly focused nature of the protagonist.

When next we meet Yeremin it is the early 1950’s and he’s a young pilot in the Soviet squadrons that are secretly fighting for the north in the Korean War. Here Mercurio is describing a new thing for western readers, for whilst the Soviet contribution to the war in Korea was widely speculated upon, the sheer scale of the campaign was never understood until well after the fall of communism. As far as I’m aware this is the first time it has been written about in fiction and the author, with his eye for detail and his ability to smuggle facts to the reader within the text, makes a good job of it. The combat scenes are tense and exciting and Yeremin’s post war career in the red air force and subsequent selection for cosmonaut training are suitably soaked in the inequities and ironies of the soviet state.

The novel is well conceived, well written and meticulously researched. Very occasionally the mist of scientific terminology and military jargon descends to obscure things. But you try writing about something as remote from everyday human activity as flying a lethal steel tube, at near supersonic speeds, in three dimensions and see how far your microsoft thesaurus takes you. In my opinion Mercurio had the Hobson’s choice of either including the relevant terminology and jargon, thereby lending the novel an air of authenticity albeit at the possible expense of confusing some readers, or he could sacrifice realism for the sake of streamlining the odd passage now and again. I for one am glad he chose the former.

One reviewer (writing in Kirkus Review) claimed that the main character was “a cipher, a prop to build a plot around” and that he “never quite comes alive”; but I disagree. Have we not already been witness to an early life whose horrors would numb and harden anyone? And to criticise the writer’s characterisation on the grounds that Yevgeni Yeremin is undemonstrative and distant is to entirely miss the point. The man only truly becomes alive when he is flying and like many of those who’s intense focus and single mindedness serves to propel them to great heights, he IS distant, he IS taciturn and having him emote all over the page would be the real mistake in characterisation.

As the novel progresses towards the icy blackness and deep solitude of space it seems as if it is put through some form of literary wind tunnel. All excess wordage is slowly swept away until we are left with a narrative that alternates between the sparse terms of an equation and a soulful, poetic, Newtonian prose. It’s poignant and triumphal ending will have your visor misting over, and will fracture your heart, even as it sends it soaring unto the heavens.

[Paul Samael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Judging from many of the reviews below, other people clearly got something out of this book, but it didn't really work for me - even though I felt that I should've liked it from the descriptions of what it was about.

In some places it has been described as a kind of "Right Stuff" done from the Soviet point of view, but if you are expecting Tom Wolfe (I wasn't) you will definitely be disappointed - stylistically this is very different. Where it is similar to "The Right Stuff" is in its subject matter (pilots and the space race) and its close referencing of real events (particularly in the Korean War section) and real people (lots of US astronauts are name-checked, almost obsessively so - as many fought in the Korean War). This gave me a strong sense that I was reading faction rather than mere fiction - but for me that aspect became increasingly irritating because the more the author did it, the more I wanted to know how much of the story was in some way based on real events. The author refuses to say though and it's not that easy to find out about, whereas in "The Right Stuff" most of the key events described are well known matters of public record.

I could've lived with this if the novel had worked better for me as fiction but I didn't really care what happened to the central character, nor did I find him unsympathetic yet compelling. As a result, the main thing keeping my interest in the latter stages was how far this novel was based on fact - and to the extent that it wasn't, how plausible it was as a counterfactual. To avoid spoilers, let's just the say that the last part appears to have much less basis in fact that the earlier parts and I had guessed how it was all going to finish up, so for me there was a lack of suspense too.

If you are in interested in the Soviet Union during the period covered the novel, try Francis Spufford's "Red Plenty" - which for me was a much more successful fusion of fact and fiction. For more on that and a more detailed review of Ascent, see: http://www.paulsamael.com/blog/factio...

[Geoff Habiger · Rating 2 out of 5]

I personally file this book under the category of "how did this get published". The premise is a great idea, what if the Soviets beat the Americans in the race to put a man on the moon? A simple enough idea, but one that I feel that Mercurio missed the target in delivering.

We are presented with Yefgeni Yeremin, an orphan of Stalingrad who manages (through deeds and action) to get into the Soviet air force. Sent to Korea along with other pilots to secretly fight the Americans, Yefgeni becomes the greatest Ace of the war, but after the war he is relegated to obscurity and exile for disobeying the State. But in the 1960's he is pulled from obscurity (sort of) to be a cosmonaut and through luck and stubbornness is selected to be the man to be the first to land on the moon.

A simple plot with a lot of possibilities, but one that totally falls short. Yefgeni is an obdurate, self-centered, self-absorbed man who cares nothing about anybody else and only on perfecting himself. This man marries a woman who was widowed during the Korean War, and has two children with her, but throughout the narrative she is only ever referred to as "the Widow" and his children as "the boy" and "the girl". Really? There was no development to Yefgeni's character to the point that when events at the climax of the story unfold, I knew what actions he would take (the wrong ones) because the story was entirely about his achievement, and not about how his actions or decisions would affect others (those that loved him, the State, etc.).

The book is moderately good on the technical details of combat flying and space-flight, but is lacking considerably in character development. By the time Yefgeni was racking up his amazing (I thought absurdly unrealistic) kill totals as a fighter pilot in Korea I had lost interest in what happened to him. If you want a decent technical read about what might have been in the Soviet space program, then give Ascent a try. If you are looking for a compelling character to be engaged with, complete with growth and development, then steer clear.

[Bruce · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up from the library because it appeared on a UK newspaper the Guardian 100 best science fiction of all time list. It wouldn't normally be shelved as science fiction, instead being catagorized as "fiction, literary."

The flyleaf promises a rather uninteresting plot-- basically a guy rises from post WW2 orphanage in russia to become first a jet pilot then a cosmonaut, and eventually to go on a mission to the moon. But there is a catch-- it's all secret, he never gets public recognition for his feats due to the cold war.

Which kind of sounds like a downer, eh?

So I started reading this last night, and it opens with a rather transparent metaphor with the protagonist watching his little child footsteps get washed away in the rain as he is taken from home. Our hero is next beat up and buggered (that's English english for b*tt f*cked) in the orphanage. But he is good at maths, and so earns a scholarship out of there... it was already so tawdry and lame that I skipped ahead to the end to see if this lap dog ever has his day.

Well, no. He ends up on this secret mission to the moon, something mechanical goes wrong, it becomes a one way trip, he manages to land and walk on the moon, but only has an hour of air, and will soon die as the novel ends. This is all secret, remember, so he will never get recognition. We close with another boring metaphor referencing this time the decline of the soviet union. Yawn.

Maybe this plays better in England, where perhaps buggery and decline of empire are more woven into the national psyche, but to me I don't see the point of all this self flagellation at all.

[Thom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Connects a single character with several historical Soviet air incidents, then adds one more - a last minute lunar launch to try and beat Apollo 11. Very technical, yet fictional - probably not everyone's cup of tea.

The main character is driven, highly intelligent, possesses great eyesight, but hampered in social situations - which is a description many used for Ted Williams. The orphanage scenes that molded this character are tough to read, if brief. In the remainder of his flight career, highly detailed scenes show his piloting success. They also contains frequent cameos of future astronauts and famous pilots - Terrible Ted among them. In this respect, the author has definitely done his homework.

I don't recall how this ended up on my want-to-read list. I found the book between then and now at a used book sale, remaindered from a library in Akron Ohio. Many other reviews mention the author's work as a screenwriter, but I am unfamiliar with those shows.

The book is technical, described by many as a "boy's book". The accuracy of those facts drew me in, much like other fiction and non-fiction books and biographies of the space race. The idea of the Soviets rushing launches to stay ahead of the Americans is also familiar, and works well here. On the negative side, the characters are 2D and the prose is dry at times. There is a certain poetry in descriptions of the environment, though... overall rating, 3 stars.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an intriguing books I will honestly admit I had never heard of before - another find on my many trips through charity shops looking for something different to read. The book itself I believe is based on the novel of the same name and has had high praise indeed - to be honest after reading the graphic novel rendition I am very interested in reading it myself.

But what of the book - well apart from what is written in the introduction to this book (yes I don't give spoilers) the story pretty much is as it appears - what the appeal to it is however is down to the artwork and the emotion that is portrayed in it - there are some wonderful name drops in it considering the historical significance to the story.

It is very difficult to comment about the book without pointing out specific details which again give spoilers so all I can really say is read the book and see what you think - I will admit that reading the book really didnt feel like 120 pages, could it be that there wasnt much to see or read or that the storyline was so involved that I rushed ahead to see what happened next - I dont know what I do know is that the ending is very poignant but I suspect the novel will be more so. Either way a fascinating book and a rare find indeed

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit i didn't think much to the art style. but the story was engaging. a good read.

[David Steele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very much a boys own adventure that would have been more at home in the pages of the Eagle comic, were it not from the nominally Soviet point of view.
Four fifths of the story was mostly entertaining, following the adventures of the square-jawed all American hero, who was the best at maths, the best at flying, the best at fighting, the best at- you get the idea - but also who had an eating disorder and an unromantic marriage, for a bit of depth.
The last fifth was actually quite gripping, nicely written and well worth turning up for.
There’s good evidence of research into the flying and technical aspects. I’m not so convinced about research relating to life in the Soviet machine. Authors like Tom Rob Smith seem to do this so much better. There’s also an awful lot of interesting history about the Soyuz era that didn’t make the story - such as the reluctance of command to let cosmonauts control their own vehicles, in case they orbited round to the West to defect.
Mercifully short and didn’t overstay its welcome. Probably soon forgotten, though.

If your liked this, try Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey into Space for a truly gripping history.

[Realini Ionescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ascent by Jed Mercurio is on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read list, it reminds me of the much better The Hunters https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... by James Salter

7 out of 10

Yefgenii Mikhailovich Yeremin is the main character in this novel, I did not want to put in the hero, for I don not see him as one, just as he might not be the anti-hero, in spite of the fact that he fought for the Soviet Union – I am already contradicting myself, how could he kill for those dictators and still be in the grey zone?

Nonetheless, this debut is compelling – ‘Stalingrad 1946, 29 million countrymen died in the Great Patriotic War and his whole family was among them’ the child is going to an orphanage and the ordeal there makes the reader cringe, and this first chapter is about a victim of the soviet regime, not a perpetrator of violence
We could also look at the universal values, see that this is a story that could happen elsewhere, and aside from the vileness of the regime – I am in particular hateful, because they brought communism here, where it had no appeal, and then I had to stand up and fight in 1989, to help bring Ceausescu down

My participation is mentioned in the Newsweek issue covering the December Revolution http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r... perhaps the biggest contribution to anything worthwhile – I mean who has the chancre to take down a dictator – though I have no medal or anything
The above explains the abandonment of the narrative, once this Yeremin starts shooting Americans – well, if they were in the would-be Orange Jesus tribe, as in they vote with him now, educated, if that is the word, their offspring to push this catastrophe to the highest office, then no great loss – I just said Goodbye

When he is a child, we couldn’t help but feel sorry for the little one – wait, actually, I live surrounded by spoiled brats, the ones next door, with their BMW SUV and money for nothing, for they are as dumb as stones, seem to be preparing for more noisy assaults, what with anew building and more – because he is tortured
The very first night he is in the orphanage, he is beaten – Full Metal Jacket https://realini.blogspot.com/2018/02/... from the divine Stanley Kubrick has scenes like that – blood is on the pillow, a tooth on the floor, and the sack is empty, he is asked about it
Only he is no snitch, ergo the Soviet system does not look into what happened, take the humane attitude – that was vile, cruel and disgusting by definition – and investigate, punish the culprits, they just wanted no headaches and this was so brutal, it was the pigs and the violent dogs that had the control, just like Geroge Orwell explained

https://realini.blogspot.com/2023/09/... it is the survival of the fittest, dog eat dog, and then after the pigs consolidated their position, it was ‘not what you know, but who you know’, a question of privileges, nomenclature, apparatchiks, and they learn when they are children how to kill
indeed, with all the blood, the tooth, the supervisors punish…Yeremin, made him clean the mess, and this is repeated, when he shows he has skills, he is on the way to the top at mathematics, algebra, trigonometry, the monster who controls the other children, with two other sadists, Babak, wants to destroy the prodigy

it is known that there is just one way ticket for Air School, for the best in the group, and when Yeremin solves a quadratic equation that Babak failed to master, the latter attacks again, breaks a finger, stating that the place is his, and if need be, he will maim, kill his competitor, will do anything it takes to get out of this shit hole
now it is the time for Yeremin to get all his strength together, after he is raped during the night by Bakak, a pain that makes him feel he will explode, and when the moment comes, he pushes the ghoul into the latrine, after disabling the assistants, and then he pushed on one eye, until that was gone, ergo no Air School for Babak

in the afterword, readers are told that the novel is inspired by actual events, the Soviets were in Korea, albeit the encounters with Neil Armstrong and John Glenn are pure fiction – an U2 plane was shot down, the Soviets had an explosion of a rocket that set back their space program, and although they had the first victories…
later it would be the Americans to conquer the moon – the orphan becomes a pilot, he is so damn good – or such a menace, for we are on the other side of this, I mean this is part of the problem, for me, I want to identify with the hero, see him win, but here, fuck him, let him die, with his Soviet comrades and leaders

he has so many kills, that they say he is the best, they call him Ivan the Terrible, then he moves to Star City to become a cosmonaut, meets the legendary Iuri Gagarin, the first human out in space, they enjoy the good life there, no queues, shortages, all the food they want, so part of the nomenclature, albeit on merit, sort of…
the chapter on Korea take place between 1952 and 195, they had no name or rank, but insignia Korean People's Liberation Army Air Force since they fought secretly, the Russians were talking about killing Americans, now how about enjoying that - North Korean troops poured over 38th parallel line, 2 years ago, to overwhelm the South…Pilipenko shows at map where they can destroy United Nations aircraft…It is a secret that they are there, and some future astronauts are flying in the area -there we have Glenn, and then Stalin dies, causing some to cheer.

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’

“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”

[Peter K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pacy and engaging read, perhaps shorter than it should have been that tells the story of the life of Yefgenii Yeremin through four key phases of his life.

Firstly in an orphanage during the Second World War surviving the brutality of life there and seeing a possibility of escape through his aptitude for maths, but only if he himself grasps the fleeting opportunity with a brutality of his own.

Having escaped this life and developed into a youthful fighter pilot Yefgenii is posted to the secret air force that the Soviets maintained on behalf of the North Koreans during the Korean War of the 50’s.

His burgeoning reputation as Ivan the Terrible developed by his growing number of American victims. A developing theme of Yefgenii as unknown and shadowy presence gains pace here as the Soviets having no acknowledged presence in the Korean War means that his reputation as one of the greatest fighter aces of his age remains secretive and whispered by those in the know.

Yefgenii suffers demotion and punishment by maintaining a pursuit deep into enemy territory and risking discovery by South Korean forces upon his crash landing. He is rescued by North Korean forces but is sent into exile in the Arctic bases for a number of years living an unhappy and marginal life with the “widow” the never named female technician that he marries and raises a family with.

A successful and spectacular chase down and destruction of an American U-2 spy plane brings Yefgenii back into the fold and he is incorporated into the Soviet space programme.

The author elegantly and pleasingly counterpoints his story with real life events and this is done at this point in the book as the narrative pauses to reflect upon the tragedies that befell the Soviet space programme including the premature death of their chief designer Korolev in 1966 that took the momentum of Soviet efforts to beat the Americans to the Moon.

The final phase of the story relates to Yefgenii’s volunteering to undertake a solo secret mission to land on the Moon with technology and equipment that has not been sufficiently tested. This is a bitter sweet final phase a little heavy on the technical detail for my liking but with a sense of inevitability and beautifully written in its final phases. A good book.

[Adair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ascent begins with the biggest of ‘what ifs’—What if the USSR succeeded in putting a man on the moon ahead of the Americans but never told anyone about it? A premise so implausible that it doesn’t seem possible that Jed Mercurio (or anyone else) would pull it off. Curiously, however, Ascent soars.

With skill in mathematics and a willingness to drown his competitor in raw sewage, the boy Yefgenii Yeremin is chosen for training as a fighter pilot in post war Russia. A few years later over Korea, Yefgenii becomes the ‘ace of aces’. Because the USSR wasn’t officially involved in this war, however, heroes like Yefgenii could not be acknowledged. In one operation he foolishly risks capture by UN forces and is disgraced, exiled to a frigid Arctic base where he expects to live out the rest of his days. After an act of bravery thrillingly cinematic, Yefgenii is again plucked from obscurity and invited to become a cosmonaut in the Soviet’s space race against the Americans. When engineers lament that the Americans have more money, more industry, better vehicles, Yefgenii throws back that the Americans spent millions designing a pen that worked in space while the Soviets used pencils. This idea serves as a battle cry, and the race is on.

Through all the riveting excitement, Ascent is also a story of unsung heroism. The idea of obscurity pervades the narrative. Yefgenii’s wife and children remain nameless. Soviet heroes toil in secret. Failure is buried, taking underground all previous successes. Lives are ruthlessly eclipsed.

Mercurio’s taut language perfectly captures Yefgenii’s silent, unrelenting determination. He presents technical scenes in training-manual prose that cunningly balances other passages of transcendent poetry. This is the best kind of writing.

Against all odds, an exciting tale sparely and beautifully told.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel had a slightly odd beginning, as our hero is found in an orphanage where a bit of bullying gratuitous abuse takes place. Or I thought it was both graphic and gratuitous and could put people off what otherwise is a gripping novel. I'm not sure why the author did it, to be honest. It was powerful writing, as was much of what was to come, and perhaps did add a depth to the character, but the book would have been absolutely no worse without it.
The book is the story of a Russian fighter pilot who becomes a cosmonaut and eventually the first man to set foot on the moon, albeit unknown to the world. I became a bit weary in the second half of the book as the pilot solos toward the moon. It all became a bit technical, and with no other characters to add depth or interaction, the singularity of the situation grew monotonous. It was also quite difficult to visualise the problems of the flight despite a lot of mechanical description.
Not a bad novel, quite an original and unusual one, but not one that I can wholeheartedly recommend.

[Emily Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this while on a space travel kick. The plot was alluring to those interested in Lost Cosmonaut theories. It's certainly not a feel-good book, but it is a very believable book. After reading some nonfiction about the beginnings of spaceflight, it almost felt like a continuation of that. Yevgeni wasn't the most sympathetic character, but this isn't that kind of book.

I found some parts of this story a bit abrupt - firstly, the introduction of The Widow. The text goes from Jed's signature straightforward explanations to an unexpectedly graphic (and pretty unappealing) sexual encounter, then goes right back. Also, Jed springs all these flashbacks of Yevgeni's late mother on us at the very end. Something that emotive (as nothing else in the story is that emotive) should be strung through the book instead of piled on at the end.

Overall, though, it was a worthwhile use of my reading time.

[Dеnnis]

In the same league of hoax making with deleterious consequences as writing about North Korean footballers failing to win in the World Cup of 1966 in England and being sentenced to death. You may hate or fear 'Reds', but don't think they fools or cannibals. The real footballers actually continued their careers at home, while no one in the USSR would be mad enough to land such a prolific ace in GULAG around the Polar circle. At maximum he will be made a flight instructor to pass his superior skills to cadets. But in real life he'll be lauded in lifetime, kolhozs and schools will be named after him upon his death. The USSR was strong enough to keep its best in service, and definitely wouldn't be afraid of a scandal, grounds for which are hard to prove anyway.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Peter for the recommendation!

Yefgenii Yeremin was orphaned by WWII and tapped for flight training by the Soviet government due to his exceptional math skills. He proves to be a remarkable jet ace, but his inability to stay within the lines leads to exile and a long road to being a cosmonaut. From there, well, read the book. It's great.

This book is the like an anti-The Martian, at least in tone. Yefgenii is completely humorless (but similarly competent) and is driven solely by the desire to do something great, everyone else in the world be damned.

[James Targett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the conceit of this novel: a Soviet pilot - an Ace of Aces who flew a clandestine war in Korea, and therefore cannot receive the fame (infamy?) that he so craves - is offered another mission, as clandestine as the war he fought. Really nicely put together and certainly thought-provoking about a man's achievements and reputation (and desire for the same).

[Christopher Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally unputdownable, this made me catch my breath ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Vivienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to Penguin Random House U.K. Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘Ascent’ by Jed Mercurio. It was read by John Hopkins and had a running time of 7 hours, 4 minutes at 1x speed.

This book was Mercurio’s debut and originally published in 2007. It tells the story of Yefgenii Yeremin, a Russian pilot who risks his life for a chance of immortality.

Yefgenii Yeremin was raised in an orphanage and goes on to become a deadly fighter pilot in the Korean War, nicknamed 'Ivan the Terrible'. Yet a moment of madness sees his reputation ruined and he and his family are exiled to a remote Artic base.

With the space race between the USSR and the USA heating up, a man arrives from Moscow's Space Committee in search of a volunteer prepared to risk his life as a cosmonaut.

This was an intense character study with plenty of action in the first part as Russian pilots fly covert missions during the Korean War. Jed Mercurio clearly conducted extensive research into the period and the secretive nature of the Russian side of the space race. His depiction of Yefgenii Yeremin’s trip into space was very effective in terms of the cosmonaut’s extreme aloneness in the vastness of space within the claustrophobic space vehicle. The final section was stark and deeply moving.

‘Ascent’ did seem a novel more aimed at a male readership with its emphasis upon the military, the flight missions, and various technical aspects. Still, I found it a compelling listen even if military fiction packed with jargon is something I rarely read.

The audiobook narrator, John Hopkins, is an acclaimed British actor and his deep, rich voice transported me into Yefgenii Yeremin’s singular world behind the iron curtain.

It’s certainly an audiobook that I would recommend.

[Jane Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intense story well suited to the audiobook. The narrator keeps the listener's engagement throughout.

The story explores the historical period from the Korean War in the 1950s to the space race in the 1960s from the Russian viewpoint. Yefgenii Yeremin lost his family during WW2 and suffered life-changing emotional damage. His early life is brutal and devoid of nurture. Disturbing to listen to it shapes him into to driven man he becomes.

His missions during the Korean War are deniable and secret and eventually leave him without the recognition he seeks. The relationships between the fighter pilots are complex and relatable. The story is absorbing as it moves to the frozen north and anonymity. Yefgenii is always seeking something just beyond his reach. He denies himself basic human comforts and emotions desired by most people. His part in the space race gives him a chance of the immortality he seeks but at the expense of everything else in his life.

The research is detailed, and the sense of place and time succinct. The story is an absorbing mix of action and introspection, poignant and with a conclusion that resonates.

I received a copy of this audiobook from Penguin Random House UK Audio via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[JR O'Neill · Rating 2 out of 5]

A neat story, but not well executed. The book was obviously rushed to press. There are redundancies all over the place. The same inelegant adjectives and metaphors appear and reappear. The prose can be repetitive as well, the same clunky descriptors and awkward metaphors showing up again and again. Its voice is also inconsistent. One paragraph will be grand in its descriptions of the cosmos and humanity's place in it, almost Homeric. The next, laconic. The swearing is not quite right, either. At least, not for Russian speakers.

In short, a great idea—I'm fascinated by the (spurious) lost cosmonaut phenomenon—but the writing is sloppy.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A breathtaking action novel by Jed Mercurio.
This story tells the tale of the Russian involvement in the space race and to be the first to walk on the mood.
Yeremin is a Soviet pilot and yearns to become the best pilot ever. He then moves on to wish to be the first man to walk on the moon.
This story beautifully illustrates Yeremin's character and his struggles with the conflicts between his desires and the love for his family.
A very detailed and researched book and greatly narrated.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley in allowing me to listen to in return for a review.

[Bri C · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing story. I listen to audiobooks while I am walking and this one made me fit! A story set in the Cold War about an orphaned boy that grows up to be an amazing pilot, but because of where and how he does it, he never exists. and his achievements are never recorded. He always achieves the mission, never saves anything, living purely in the present, never planning a future. Full of detail, but never losing the plot, this was very well narrated and had me totally engrossed from start to end

[Will Sargent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read solid prose fascinating subject. And SHORT! 250 page books rule in the land of modern bloat.
I LOVE the way this author augments real history with a few twists. It's totally possible his perspective was the real one, anyway.

Loses a star for obsessing about flight sortie detail and tech talk over more characterisation but i'm being harsh. Probably 8.5/10 fairer.
Would have preferred more pages on latter theme of book over early life. A great read nonetheless.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very much a “boys’ book” full of excitement but loaded with technical details of air combat and space flight. Our hero is a very cold machine like individual highlighted by his wife and children never being referred to by name. I did end up skim reading a lot of this particularly towards the over long climax as became increasingly bogged down with the technicalities hence only 3 stars.

[Ruth McAvinia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not unlike Andy Weir (although before Andy Weir) but with less explicit leaning on the research. I found the different sections of the protagonist’s life a bit hard to reconcile as it’s hard to get to know someone so essentially unknowable. But lots of the ideas are cool. I love Jed Mercurio’s TV stuff and would be stoked if he could do a pilot/space story on screen.