Prelude to Ascension

The Assemblies of the Living #1

by Brent Clay

John Riley is a physicist who achieves his lifelong dream of unraveling the mysteries of anti-gravity, but along the way, also unwittingly discovers the secret of interstellar communication. When he and a small group of coworkers attempt to respond to an unexpected message, believing it to have originated from somewhere on Earth, they find more than they anticipate. The message is from deep space.Once contact is made, the Remotes, as they are called, will not be dissuaded. Humanity becomes an unwilling newcomer to a staggeringly ancient galactic collective, which regards the Earth as an ‘emerging world’ that is subject to its oversight. As humanity slips further into the grip of the enigmatic consortium, the mysteries become deeper; there is more to Earth’s history than meets the eye, and even the galaxy itself is not what it seems.

Genres: Science Fiction

557 pages, Paperback

Published July 17, 2018

About the author

Brent has been a technology practitioner his entire career. He was a software developer and later, Director of Information Technology Strategic Architecture for a major US wireless carrier for many years. Born in Kansas City, Kansas, he has lived in the area for most of his life. He is also a musician, his primary instrument being the saxophone. He is enamored with physics, electronics, space and astronomy, and endlessly fascinated with the art of the possible.

For updates on upcoming books and related events visit brentclay.com.

Reviews

[Michael Skelton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a light read

It took me a few pages to get involved with this book but once I did it never let me go. A profound story with layers and layers. Very science heavy, particularly in physics and computer science and I admit I found myself glazing over on some pages but I shook it off and went back and reread the words until it started soaking in. Now I'm needing to go back and read the last pages in the book that bolster that science and I promise that I will. But the human stories were the ones that drew me back and the story of AJ and Sarah getting together at the beginning left me awestruck. It's a rich and filling book and I can hardly wait to continue with the saga. Very well done sir.

[Gerwyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is the literary equivalent of eating a bowl of cardboard - it's boring, it's dry, what texture there is makes your teeth crawl. No, really, how on Earth do you manage to write a first-contact sci-fi novel, where the most exciting thing to happen, is two of the characters discussing the ingredients of a salad? Not to mention the fact that the salad has more personality, and certainly more character development, than anybody else who turns up in this turgid mess.

[Jayne Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and raised some really interesting questions. I hope it's not a long wait for the next book as there's so much I want to know!!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

An original take on First Contact. I enjoyed this and will read the next book, assuming that there is one!

[Efv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent hard sci-fi. Seems to be polarizing - I've seen one-star reviews complaining about being slow and/or plodding with "unnecessary fluff". Here's some guidance: If you're a fan of 2001 a Space Odyssey, where the first 90min of a 2h20min film is spent meticulously setting the stage, creating an atmosphere, and getting to know the (very few) characters - resulting in one of the greatest achievements in Sci-fi of all time - then you'll probably have an appreciation for Prelude to Ascension, which takes the time give people lives and depth, with motivations, problems, and relationships that give them depth in the context of this story, and then presents the sci-fi in a very believably pragmatic way.

If, on the other hand, you could not stay awake through 2001 A Space Odyssey and you prefer the "grab you by the collar and shake you violently" style of Michael Bay's original Transformers (an excellent example of it's particular sub-genre), then this book may not be for you.

[chad budd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read

The thoughtful and elegant character build up is absolutely stunning in this book, a rarity that really sets this story up. This by far i one of my favorite books I have read in years amazing story i cannot wait for the other book(s)

[William Fulton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid Sci-fi

good solid sci-fi with an interesting first contact scenario. I liked the book but it rambled a lot and many inconsequential slow parts that took you out of the plot line. A good editor could make this an excellent book.

[Matthew Busselberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is up my alley on several levels. An interesting mix of first-contact and speculative (science) fiction. Some of the ideas presented here are full of (historical and contemporary) holes since the author presents no evidence for us to believe them, while others, at least in my opinion, are right on the mark in regard to the nature of things. My main two criticisms of the book (which kept me from giving it a 5 star rating) is that he probably could have condensed about 15-20% of the first part of the book (out of two) without losing any of the story. It is also a bit hard to connect some of these chapters to the rest of the story until much later in the book. A more concrete hint besides a name drop or two would have been nice. The effect that these two issues have is that they make some endurance necessary in order to get through some of his endless description and reminiscing because you don't understand their point until much later (and even then, as suggested, not all of it was necessary).

On the enjoyable side: There were many descriptions about the characters lives that I could very much relate to, some of them so much so that it was funny (AJ's "childhood" neighborhood scene for example), even if the scene wasn't. It was almost as though I had been transported to several scenes from my own life. In other words, the characterization was very well done. My favorite aspect was the seemingly balanced view (between extremes) the author attempts in regard with underlying questions about reality. I don't agree with all of his conclusions but he brings up some interesting points!

[Cmoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm at a bit of a loss at how to review this book. To say that the book simply Blew me away, feels like an understatement... I generally go for an  In-Your-Face, Action-Packed story that'll keep me burning through the pages 'til I'm finished ... But, this is not that story! Prelude to Ascension, when compared to the aforementioned type of book, is really a slow starter... introducing seemingly random characters, as Clay slowly orchestrates and builds his story. And, I loved every minute of it! The world building, the characters, the sciency bits, even the foray into religion and politics were masterfully crafted, all the while ramping up the tension which, I guarantee, will absorb you, mind, body, and soul! Prelude to Ascension is a First-Contact novel, and that aspect was important, though almost secondary to the storyline... Did I mention "Masterfully Crafted", already?
This is the first time I've had the pleasure of listening to Samuel Peery, and he absolutely Rocked the narration of the book, with a perfect performance!!!
So if you like First-Contact stories, such as Craig Falconer's Not Alone,  you're going to need this one... No question in my mind, on that!

[Ronald SmithJr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I really enjoyed this book. First, the character development and the relationships between them was believable and interesting. Then the science development was acceptable, not just thrown out for the reader to suspend all disbelief, but built on existing real world work and then made into a possible process. After that, I loved the social analysis put up for consideration. The generational aspect of cultural change was thought provoking and well constructed. I also enjoyed the scrutiny applied to our political constructs and how they represent humanity.

This was a thought provoking book on so many aspects, science, friendship, culture, politics, and humanity. One of my top three reads of 2018. I will read it again and talk about it for some time. I so look forward to the next part of the of the story.

[Jay Clement · Rating 2 out of 5]

45-2022. This is the first of a bunch of volumes in this series of sci fi books. We inadvertently make contact with an intergalactic intelligence, and things start to change. If this were a single book, even a long one, I think I’d enjoy it more. With a long series, there are a lot of side trips and slow visits with our characters, and that bored me. The central conceit of the book is strong, but it’s just taking too long for anything to be revealed. So, the low score is for pacing issues and extra fluff that gets in the way of the plot. Sorry.

[Gabriel Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great near future hard scifi first contact story. I honestly thought the level of detail was fine and did not feel there was too much 'fluff' as some of the other reviewers seem to indicate.

If you like the near future hard scifi first contact story genre, then I highly recommend this one, it might take a bit for you to get into it but it's totally worth it.

[Lawrence Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book, quite imaginative! Especially interesting given my recent readings on quantum physics and especially a recent lecture at the UW concerning LIGO (gravity wave detection)! There better be a book two!

[Scott Billups · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not literature, but a really fun read. The science was solid and the characters were believable. I never understood the relevance of the side story that circled around the church back home, but I skimmed over those chapters and was left feeling that I read a worthwhile story.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prelude to Ascension begins as a hard science fiction story about a physicist working on gravity. It morphs into a first-contact tale that takes an uncomfortably mystic turn. Those who like the book better than I compare it to Carl Sagan’s Contact.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it. Disappointed sequel isn't out

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

don't read the one star reviews, it's actually quite awesome. for a slow burn.

[H0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting premise, plodding plot with some surprises, bad editing (meddle NOT mettle!), some disconnects and hangs, some missing “obligatory scenes “ but generally readable and interesting POV

[Harry Steinmetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful on a conceptual level

the more sci, the better. But the author spends too much time on the interpersonal relationships. It’s a very good first contact book.

[Deana Gipp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waiting for the next one!

[Rue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come

[Andy Upshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy 1st contact stories. This one is superb.

[Samyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audible audiobook. Prelude to Ascension - The Assemblies of the Living, is book one of a series. This book is a self-published gem the author will struggle with getting read, I sympathize because I too have a self-published novel. PLEASE don't dismiss a book out of hand because it is self-published, some are more than decent reads, as is Prelude to Ascension.

Plot. A very believable story of first contact. A scientist is recruited to extend his research into gravity. He accidentally opens a communications portal that tells the world that 'we are not alone' and haven't been for as long as there has been a cosmos. Apparently, the alien contacts have been waiting for mankind to mature to a point that they would fit into a galaxy of billions of worlds. We broke into this communication ability sooner than they thought we would ... or could.

The biggest problem I have with this story is that it was originally published in mid-2018, and it leaves the reader hanging!!! Where's book two?

A worthy story, well worth a read. Recommended!

[Ishmael Longstar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book.