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Bloodcrier #1
Ascendant
When he cries blood, all hell breaks loose
Growing up in the oppressive People’s Republic of America, Michael Cairne yearns for the education and freedom he will never have as an undocumented citizen.
Everything changes when he discovers he is telepathic, though what at first seems like a gift soon turns into a curse. When Michael loses control of his emotions, he cries blood and his ability utterly transforms, becoming a weapon that can hurt people.
What does this have to do with his birth seventeen years ago in a military research facility? And why is the government, led by a tyrannical madman, sending its elite forces to hunt Michael – not to kill him, but to bring him back?
A war is brewing. The answers lie with a group of freedom fighters who believe Michael has the potential to become a powerful savior of minds known as an Ascendant...or its much darker and terrifying twin, known as a Bloodcrier…
Growing up in the oppressive People’s Republic of America, Michael Cairne yearns for the education and freedom he will never have as an undocumented citizen.
Everything changes when he discovers he is telepathic, though what at first seems like a gift soon turns into a curse. When Michael loses control of his emotions, he cries blood and his ability utterly transforms, becoming a weapon that can hurt people.
What does this have to do with his birth seventeen years ago in a military research facility? And why is the government, led by a tyrannical madman, sending its elite forces to hunt Michael – not to kill him, but to bring him back?
A war is brewing. The answers lie with a group of freedom fighters who believe Michael has the potential to become a powerful savior of minds known as an Ascendant...or its much darker and terrifying twin, known as a Bloodcrier…
847 pages, ebook
First published June 1, 2013
69 people are currently reading
1342 people want to read
About the author
Richard Denoncourt
28 books104 followersI write fantasy, horror and dystopian fiction that focuses on character development and transformation. My heroes are often gifted teens and conflicted men and women battling oppressive forces, banding together to survive, and overcoming personal demons to achieve their goals. My worlds and landscapes are strange, foreign and surreal - sometimes terrifying but always full of adventure.
Interested in checking out one of my books for free? Get a digital copy of OUTBREAK, my post-apocalyptic thriller by copying and pasting this link into your browser and joining my reader group: https://bit.ly/PDgZH4
Here's a plot teaser for Outbreak:
"Teenager Kip Garrity has spent the apocalypse hiding in his fortified house and training with his former-Green Beret father. But when his dad is injured and requires antibiotics to live, Kip must leave his home for the first time in years...and survive in a nightmarish world overrun with the twisted remnants of humanity."
Contact Me: www.rdenoncourt.com
Twitter: @richdenoncourt
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rdenoncourtbooks
Interested in checking out one of my books for free? Get a digital copy of OUTBREAK, my post-apocalyptic thriller by copying and pasting this link into your browser and joining my reader group: https://bit.ly/PDgZH4
Here's a plot teaser for Outbreak:
"Teenager Kip Garrity has spent the apocalypse hiding in his fortified house and training with his former-Green Beret father. But when his dad is injured and requires antibiotics to live, Kip must leave his home for the first time in years...and survive in a nightmarish world overrun with the twisted remnants of humanity."
Contact Me: www.rdenoncourt.com
Twitter: @richdenoncourt
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rdenoncourtbooks
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 11, 2018
Recently, I've been pulling down books from my shelf that have sat there for oodles of time. I came across this one and it took my fancy again (no, not for the cover which is actually been changed at some point after I got the book). I started reading and got a bit of surprise. Not necessarily an unwelcome one, but I had to start making adjustments quickly. I had it in my head that this was sci-fi set here on earth like government experimentation and conspiracies. Ha! No, this was a little of that, but mostly, it was as dystopian as it gets.
So, yes, Ascendant is a four part story about a psychically gifted young man, Michael Caerne, who grows up and lives against the backdrop of a future dystopian world that is a tight communist dictator state. He is forcefully pushed out of a dreary and hopeless, yet fairly safe (for this story) situation by a series of tragic events. He was pretty much a ticking time bomb because people who knew the truth about him hid his dangerous abilities from even him and he discovers he can destroy other minds- by the group- without much effort. In an almost a 'too little too late' way, he is spirited out past the government boundaries into a new world of rebels and lawlessness, and a darker, grittier personal path to revolution and freedom.
Ascendant was a book I was reluctant to pick up after my early excitement and the reason is slightly shameful. I set it aside originally when I first got it because it is one huginormous tome. It was 630 pages. My early enthusiasm waned and I forgot about the book. I soon learned that the size and page number is deceptive. Because of the page layout (larger font and spacing), it ended up being not much longer than a novel despite being four- novella length parts (Origin, Children of Ment, People's Republic, and Uprising). It had its slower moments and times that I skimmed. More on that in a moment, but it mostly read quickly.
I was hooked in with the exciting and tragic prologue when Michael's mom sacrifices everything to get him to safety and a chance at a normal life. Michael is a baby at the time. Origin picks up 17 years later and begins with Michael's story. It was opening pages and the foreshadowing and ominous tones had me preparing for the worst- Michael was not going to get a sunshine and unicorns life anytime soon. And, yep, there it was. Things got ugly quickly.
From there, it is suspenseful and exciting and introduces a good strong plot, but there were several moments when I got frustrated and the feeling I had in the beginning soon waned. Part of it was that if an evil could be done by other humans, it was done and also that I felt the plot losing something as it went. I found the 'romance' too much drama on top of some other over the top conflict drama. I hated the part about the two sisters who both wanted Michael which felt like a YA love triangle to me. He chose the gentle one (hello, her sister was awful) and the sister exacted quite the revenge that had big repercussions. I ended up crying at one point and got socked with several brutal moments. This is definitely not the story for the faint of heart or folks looking for a light weight dystopian with a good dose of feel good to make the bad worth wading through. Still, I had to see it through because a struggle against a bad regime is something I enjoy reading about though, again, the ending isn't all wrapped up pretty with a bow- it's what one can expect after all that came before it.
All in all, I'm glad I read it and I think dystopian fans who like darker and grittier stuff will like that aspect of it. I might not have liked everything about this story and Michael definitely had his vulnerabilities and flaws, but I did like him as the protagonist and was rooting for him through it all. There were some fierce scenes and engaging, dramatic or action-packed moments that were fantastic. Things were left so that there could be more to the story (looking at you, William) and I'll have to check and see if there is more and also to see what else the author has written.
So, yes, Ascendant is a four part story about a psychically gifted young man, Michael Caerne, who grows up and lives against the backdrop of a future dystopian world that is a tight communist dictator state. He is forcefully pushed out of a dreary and hopeless, yet fairly safe (for this story) situation by a series of tragic events. He was pretty much a ticking time bomb because people who knew the truth about him hid his dangerous abilities from even him and he discovers he can destroy other minds- by the group- without much effort. In an almost a 'too little too late' way, he is spirited out past the government boundaries into a new world of rebels and lawlessness, and a darker, grittier personal path to revolution and freedom.
Ascendant was a book I was reluctant to pick up after my early excitement and the reason is slightly shameful. I set it aside originally when I first got it because it is one huginormous tome. It was 630 pages. My early enthusiasm waned and I forgot about the book. I soon learned that the size and page number is deceptive. Because of the page layout (larger font and spacing), it ended up being not much longer than a novel despite being four- novella length parts (Origin, Children of Ment, People's Republic, and Uprising). It had its slower moments and times that I skimmed. More on that in a moment, but it mostly read quickly.
I was hooked in with the exciting and tragic prologue when Michael's mom sacrifices everything to get him to safety and a chance at a normal life. Michael is a baby at the time. Origin picks up 17 years later and begins with Michael's story. It was opening pages and the foreshadowing and ominous tones had me preparing for the worst- Michael was not going to get a sunshine and unicorns life anytime soon. And, yep, there it was. Things got ugly quickly.
From there, it is suspenseful and exciting and introduces a good strong plot, but there were several moments when I got frustrated and the feeling I had in the beginning soon waned. Part of it was that if an evil could be done by other humans, it was done and also that I felt the plot losing something as it went. I found the 'romance' too much drama on top of some other over the top conflict drama. I hated the part about the two sisters who both wanted Michael which felt like a YA love triangle to me. He chose the gentle one (hello, her sister was awful) and the sister exacted quite the revenge that had big repercussions. I ended up crying at one point and got socked with several brutal moments. This is definitely not the story for the faint of heart or folks looking for a light weight dystopian with a good dose of feel good to make the bad worth wading through. Still, I had to see it through because a struggle against a bad regime is something I enjoy reading about though, again, the ending isn't all wrapped up pretty with a bow- it's what one can expect after all that came before it.
All in all, I'm glad I read it and I think dystopian fans who like darker and grittier stuff will like that aspect of it. I might not have liked everything about this story and Michael definitely had his vulnerabilities and flaws, but I did like him as the protagonist and was rooting for him through it all. There were some fierce scenes and engaging, dramatic or action-packed moments that were fantastic. Things were left so that there could be more to the story (looking at you, William) and I'll have to check and see if there is more and also to see what else the author has written.
April 21, 2015
Richard Denoncourt takes us on an exciting ride into the future of a shattered country where East is East and West is West, and you dare not cross be'twain'. Here there are those born "Children of the Atom" with the amazing mental capability to control and even destroy others, were they not enslaved and experimented upon by what is now an unrecognizable America. This story centers around one of those most powerful children (Michael Cairne) and his struggle with unrealized strength, deception, war, unbridled anger (which in his case can cause the death of multitudes, rather than a slap or the inexcusable curse word as is in ours), and love - both sexual and the unconditional kinship of a true friend.
This story surprised me in its complexity and imagination. Also, with the twisting and somewhat bleak situations in which the reader finds him/herself absorbed, I, personally, couldn't help feeling as if I had allied myself with Mad Max... and he with Professor Xavier of X-Men fame.
Truly enjoyed this book from Goodreads!
This story surprised me in its complexity and imagination. Also, with the twisting and somewhat bleak situations in which the reader finds him/herself absorbed, I, personally, couldn't help feeling as if I had allied myself with Mad Max... and he with Professor Xavier of X-Men fame.
Truly enjoyed this book from Goodreads!
October 7, 2013
Wow! What a great freakin' ride!
I had the honor of receiving & reading this book thru a Goodreads Giveaway. This is a book I just couldn't put down. It has everything. Personal conflict, action, love, ....there was even a scene that actually made me cry. Well done Mr.Denoncourt!
My only complaint is that it ended.
I had the honor of receiving & reading this book thru a Goodreads Giveaway. This is a book I just couldn't put down. It has everything. Personal conflict, action, love, ....there was even a scene that actually made me cry. Well done Mr.Denoncourt!
My only complaint is that it ended.
November 30, 2013
Great book can't really think of a part that i wanted to put it down during reading it.
November 24, 2013
Just awful. I quit.
August 23, 2013
Ascendant by Richard Denoncourt
Ascendant by Richard Denoncourt is a four part book. In the first part, Origins you are introduced to Claudia Cairne (a telepath) who is fleeing with her son Michael from a research facility run by Harris Kole. Claudia arranged for her son to be taken to a safe place so he could grow up nowhere near Harris Kole and the research facility. Claudia sacrificed herself and gets captured in order to give her son Michael time to get away. After killing Koles men with her telepathic abilities, Claudia is face to face with Kole. She puts a gun to her head and pulls the trigger.
Now we fast forward to when Michael is older(17) and he works as a dishwasher at his family’s Italian restaurant called Lanza’s with his mom, dad and his brother Benny(who are actually his Aunt, Uncle and cousin). He lives in The People’s Republic, where the government uses telepaths, which they call “ments”, to detect those who are disloyal to the One President. If they are disloyal, they get thrown into a labor camp.
In order to make some extra money for his family and for himself, Michael builds illegal radios in his spare time and sells them on the black market. Michael finds a discarded robot which he brings back to his house and takes it apart and sells the pieces on the black market for a lot of money. Michael starts hearing voices and seeing little strings in the middle of people’s foreheads but he dismisses it. One day he over hears his Uncle Sal talking to his parents about his mother doing something a couple times a week. Michael has no idea what they are talking about but finds out a week later. He finds his Uncle Sal trying to have sex with his mother. Michael becomes enraged and tells Sal to stop. Sal ends up in a vegetative state from Michael’s telepathic mumbo jumbo.
Since Michael is now transmitting his telepathic abilities and is not blocking other people out someone is sent into to get him and bring him to a safe place. The person that was chosen was a man named Dominic. Dominic introduced himself to Michael telepathically when Michael was being interviewed about his Uncle Sal by a ment and a FSD Agent. Dominic told Michael how to block the ment so he could lie and go undetected. Later he met with Michael behind the restaurant and told him he could give him a new life. Michael refused and told him to leave him alone. Later that night he was pulled out of bed by Welcher and Boyd, the two men that worked with his Uncle Sal. They drug him down to the basement where his brother Benny was handcuffed to a chair. They explained to Michael they knew he was a telepath and they wanted him to undo what he did to his Uncle. Boyd uses a broken bottle and cuts Benny under the chin and hits an artery. Benny slumps over and dies. Michael is contacted telepathically by Dominic again and asks if he wants his help now. Michael loses it and kills both Boyd and Welcher, accidentally kills his parents and a lot of other people. Michael also tries to kill Dominic because he is in total melt down mode but Dominic injects him with some type of drug and he blacks out. Dominic later explains they are crossing the border and going where he will be safe and with other telepaths like himself. Michael thinks about what Benny said to him the day they sat outside when they were drunk. ”Someday you’ll make us all proud.” Michael didn’t want to disappoint his brother (cousin).
Episode 2: Children of Ment -Children of Ment is mostly about Michael settling into the town of Gulch in the Eastlands. Dominic takes him to a house where other Ments live and shows Michael to his room. Dominic tells Michael the best thing he can do is to fit in with everyone and follow the rules. Michael meets some of the other Ments like Peter Eli and Ian . Also, when Michael went to eat lunch, he met Charlotte, her son William and her sister Arielle who runs The Cold War Café. Arielle is an empath and Charlotte a type 2 ment .
In the town of Gulch, you have a man named John Meacham who is in charge and he has two close henchmen that work for him, Warren and Elkin. Meacham tells Warren and Elkin to keep an eye on Michael but not to touch him. Meacham doesn’t like the Ments and he especially doesn’t like that Louis Blake and Dominic brought Michael to Gulch.
While Michael becomes acclimated to Gulch and its people Blake and Dominic start to secretly train Michael and some of the other Ments in combat telepathy (since it is illegal to do so in Gulch).Combat telepathy is where “they share their senses and thoughts with one another in order to solve a problem as one unit”. Blake tells them with training they can shape their telepathy into an impenetrable shield against their enemies
.
One day while playing capture the flag, they were caught by Warren and Elkin. They were all taken in (arrested) but Blake took their place and he was put in jail. Before Blake’s trial, they went to Praetoria to see if they could telepathically pinpoint the three woman that were kidnapped from Gulch several years ago. Since they were successful in locating the girls, they devised a plan to rescue them. After Blake’s trial and he was found guilty, Michael came forward and told the town they had found the girls and could rescue them but they needed to be able to practice their Ment skills. So the town allowed them to practice freely. They also made a deal that if they came back with the girls, Blake would be set free from jail.
In Episode 3: People’s Republic starts out with the guys going over their plan to get the girls (Fran Baker, Rocio Martinez, Sally Woodhouse) away from the depraved city of Praetoria (known for its sex slave trade). When they arrive, another Ment, Dietrich working for Roman the chieftain of Praetoria, is able to feel them with his senses. Dietrich however is an undercover spy working for Harris Kole. Dietrich is keeping an eye on Roman’s military strength and operations but is also looking out for Blake, Michael and some other targets. After Dietrich senses the Ments blocking him, he takes to the streets to try and find them. Michael and the others are able to get the girls but when Michael is leaving with Fran, Dietrich tries to shoot him and ends up shooting Fran. Michael ends up with Dietrich’s gun but is unable to shoot him. Ian comes down from the third floor and see’s Michael and takes the gun and shoots Dietrich three times in the chest. He was going to shoot him in the head but Michael stopped him. (You later learn that he did not die from the gunshot wounds) They all get out safely and go back to Gulch.
After they get back, a party is held for the girls and their rescuers. John Meacham is livid when they come back, Blake is let out of prison and Michael finally kisses Arielle. Blake had a spy (Kiernan Sail) working as one of John Meacham henchman but he was found snooping in the barns. Kiernan went to Blake and told him that Meacham was stock piling assault rifles and he planned on assassinating Blake along with taking over the towns of Lansing and Outridge. As Kiernan was telling Blake about the guns and that he had to leave town, he was shot in the head by a sniper.
After that, let’s just say the shit hits the fan. The town gets shot up, Meacham gets arrested and put in jail for his crimes and then is exiled after his trial. While Meacham is walking on the road he is met by Dominic, who does what should have been done in the first place, and slits Meacham’s throat. Most of Meacham’s men died except Warren who was able to escape into the woods.
Charlotte and her sister Arielle get into a huge fight about Michael. After the fight, the conniving bitch that Charlotte is, cooks up a plan to get back at Michael for not wanting her instead of her sister. Charlotte changes herself to look like Arielle, goes to Michael’s room and has sex with her. (Even though Michael knows something is off, he still goes through with it.) Charlotte changes back into herself and starts saying that Michael raped her.
In Episode 4: Uprising begins with Midas Ford running a test on Charlotte. It comes out positive but it doesn’t say if it is Michaels DNA or not. Ian comes to Michael’s defense and says that Charlotte used a Chameleon effect on Michael. Arielle later gets Charlotte to confess Michael did not rape her. However, Michael leaves Gulch voluntarily for a while. Meanwhile, you have Charlotte feeding information to Warren and Dietrich who are in the woods keeping watch over the town.
One day William, Charlotte’s son sees a group of boys stick fighting. He starts getting angry and wants to hurt the boys like they have hurt him in the past. William becomes so angry, he ends up breaking one of the boys jaw. After the incident, Charlotte pulls William aside and tells him that he is a Type 1 Ment, just like Michael (and is also a shield for his mother).
About five months after Michael left, some soldiers that had been captured and put into one of Kole’s labor camps , come walking into Gulch waving a white flag. They proceed to tell them that Michael helped them escape by rising up against the guards and causing a riot in the camp. Michael sent them for medical supplies to help the injured and to let them know he was bringing an army to escort them to NDR.
After Michael comes back, he finds out that Arielle and Charlotte are pregnant. Michael decides that they should leave for NDR right away. Everyone isn’t happy about leaving and tensions rise. Later, Warren and Dietrich capture Arielle and have her taken Halepern Hospital in Gadlin.(Harris Kole’s hospital) Michael was celebrating with his men and had a few drinks and then realized he couldn’t feel Arielle telepathically. He goes outside and Dietrich and Warren are there to meet him and knock him out. The town of Gulch is then attacked by Dietrich and Kole’s men. The town’s people fight back, along with the ments. Charlotte ends up shooting and killing Eli. Pete ends up shooting Dietrich, killing him and saving Ian. After the dust settles, Blake finds Michael and tells him Arielle is gone. Pete and Ian captured Charlotte and drug her back to where Michael was and Michael asked Charlotte where they took Arielle. Charlotte told Michael she didn’t know where they took her. Michael believes her but then Warren comes from the shadows with a knife to Midas Fords throat. Warren ends up telling Michael where Arielle is in exchange for his life, Charlotte’s and Williams.
Michael goes after Arielle and his men follow him. Unfortunately, he was too late because they had already cut the baby out of Arielle and left her to die on the table. Michael holds her as she dies in his arms swearing that he will get there baby back. Michael ends up killing all the soldiers at the hospital with the “death whisper” after Arielle takes her last breath.
Dominic, Ian and Pete go to Gulch to get the baby Charlotte had with Michael who she named Sebastian. Of course Charlotte and Midas Ford say they cannot take the baby but they do anyway. Meanwhile, the People’s Republic is celebrating their 50th anniversary. Harris Kole is making a speech and the feed to the large screen TV’s went out. Michael ends up controlling Harris Kole with his ment abilities and has Kole put a gun to his head and shoot himself. Michael tells the people it is time to be free.
You skip ahead 10 years, William buries his mom and vows to burn down New Dallas Republic (NDR).
Ascendant by Richard Denoncourt is a brilliantly written book. The author is descriptive and sets the scene for his readers. The story is full of action and does not drag. You are constantly being drawn into the story. The characters are well rounded and have growth through the story. Michael is not just your average teenage boy even though he acts like one. He evolves into a strong, dominant leader that people look up to.
Ascendant was absolutely a captivating story that had me flipping the pages eagerly. This book will not disappoint. Do not let the fact that the book is over 600 pages deter you from reading it. Once you start the book, you become so engrossed in it and the pages just fly by and several hours later you are done. Denoncourt did a wonderful job in writing this book.
I won this through Goodreads Giveaway and have given an honest review.
4.4 Stars
Ascendant by Richard Denoncourt is a four part book. In the first part, Origins you are introduced to Claudia Cairne (a telepath) who is fleeing with her son Michael from a research facility run by Harris Kole. Claudia arranged for her son to be taken to a safe place so he could grow up nowhere near Harris Kole and the research facility. Claudia sacrificed herself and gets captured in order to give her son Michael time to get away. After killing Koles men with her telepathic abilities, Claudia is face to face with Kole. She puts a gun to her head and pulls the trigger.
Now we fast forward to when Michael is older(17) and he works as a dishwasher at his family’s Italian restaurant called Lanza’s with his mom, dad and his brother Benny(who are actually his Aunt, Uncle and cousin). He lives in The People’s Republic, where the government uses telepaths, which they call “ments”, to detect those who are disloyal to the One President. If they are disloyal, they get thrown into a labor camp.
In order to make some extra money for his family and for himself, Michael builds illegal radios in his spare time and sells them on the black market. Michael finds a discarded robot which he brings back to his house and takes it apart and sells the pieces on the black market for a lot of money. Michael starts hearing voices and seeing little strings in the middle of people’s foreheads but he dismisses it. One day he over hears his Uncle Sal talking to his parents about his mother doing something a couple times a week. Michael has no idea what they are talking about but finds out a week later. He finds his Uncle Sal trying to have sex with his mother. Michael becomes enraged and tells Sal to stop. Sal ends up in a vegetative state from Michael’s telepathic mumbo jumbo.
Since Michael is now transmitting his telepathic abilities and is not blocking other people out someone is sent into to get him and bring him to a safe place. The person that was chosen was a man named Dominic. Dominic introduced himself to Michael telepathically when Michael was being interviewed about his Uncle Sal by a ment and a FSD Agent. Dominic told Michael how to block the ment so he could lie and go undetected. Later he met with Michael behind the restaurant and told him he could give him a new life. Michael refused and told him to leave him alone. Later that night he was pulled out of bed by Welcher and Boyd, the two men that worked with his Uncle Sal. They drug him down to the basement where his brother Benny was handcuffed to a chair. They explained to Michael they knew he was a telepath and they wanted him to undo what he did to his Uncle. Boyd uses a broken bottle and cuts Benny under the chin and hits an artery. Benny slumps over and dies. Michael is contacted telepathically by Dominic again and asks if he wants his help now. Michael loses it and kills both Boyd and Welcher, accidentally kills his parents and a lot of other people. Michael also tries to kill Dominic because he is in total melt down mode but Dominic injects him with some type of drug and he blacks out. Dominic later explains they are crossing the border and going where he will be safe and with other telepaths like himself. Michael thinks about what Benny said to him the day they sat outside when they were drunk. ”Someday you’ll make us all proud.” Michael didn’t want to disappoint his brother (cousin).
Episode 2: Children of Ment -Children of Ment is mostly about Michael settling into the town of Gulch in the Eastlands. Dominic takes him to a house where other Ments live and shows Michael to his room. Dominic tells Michael the best thing he can do is to fit in with everyone and follow the rules. Michael meets some of the other Ments like Peter Eli and Ian . Also, when Michael went to eat lunch, he met Charlotte, her son William and her sister Arielle who runs The Cold War Café. Arielle is an empath and Charlotte a type 2 ment .
In the town of Gulch, you have a man named John Meacham who is in charge and he has two close henchmen that work for him, Warren and Elkin. Meacham tells Warren and Elkin to keep an eye on Michael but not to touch him. Meacham doesn’t like the Ments and he especially doesn’t like that Louis Blake and Dominic brought Michael to Gulch.
While Michael becomes acclimated to Gulch and its people Blake and Dominic start to secretly train Michael and some of the other Ments in combat telepathy (since it is illegal to do so in Gulch).Combat telepathy is where “they share their senses and thoughts with one another in order to solve a problem as one unit”. Blake tells them with training they can shape their telepathy into an impenetrable shield against their enemies
.
One day while playing capture the flag, they were caught by Warren and Elkin. They were all taken in (arrested) but Blake took their place and he was put in jail. Before Blake’s trial, they went to Praetoria to see if they could telepathically pinpoint the three woman that were kidnapped from Gulch several years ago. Since they were successful in locating the girls, they devised a plan to rescue them. After Blake’s trial and he was found guilty, Michael came forward and told the town they had found the girls and could rescue them but they needed to be able to practice their Ment skills. So the town allowed them to practice freely. They also made a deal that if they came back with the girls, Blake would be set free from jail.
In Episode 3: People’s Republic starts out with the guys going over their plan to get the girls (Fran Baker, Rocio Martinez, Sally Woodhouse) away from the depraved city of Praetoria (known for its sex slave trade). When they arrive, another Ment, Dietrich working for Roman the chieftain of Praetoria, is able to feel them with his senses. Dietrich however is an undercover spy working for Harris Kole. Dietrich is keeping an eye on Roman’s military strength and operations but is also looking out for Blake, Michael and some other targets. After Dietrich senses the Ments blocking him, he takes to the streets to try and find them. Michael and the others are able to get the girls but when Michael is leaving with Fran, Dietrich tries to shoot him and ends up shooting Fran. Michael ends up with Dietrich’s gun but is unable to shoot him. Ian comes down from the third floor and see’s Michael and takes the gun and shoots Dietrich three times in the chest. He was going to shoot him in the head but Michael stopped him. (You later learn that he did not die from the gunshot wounds) They all get out safely and go back to Gulch.
After they get back, a party is held for the girls and their rescuers. John Meacham is livid when they come back, Blake is let out of prison and Michael finally kisses Arielle. Blake had a spy (Kiernan Sail) working as one of John Meacham henchman but he was found snooping in the barns. Kiernan went to Blake and told him that Meacham was stock piling assault rifles and he planned on assassinating Blake along with taking over the towns of Lansing and Outridge. As Kiernan was telling Blake about the guns and that he had to leave town, he was shot in the head by a sniper.
After that, let’s just say the shit hits the fan. The town gets shot up, Meacham gets arrested and put in jail for his crimes and then is exiled after his trial. While Meacham is walking on the road he is met by Dominic, who does what should have been done in the first place, and slits Meacham’s throat. Most of Meacham’s men died except Warren who was able to escape into the woods.
Charlotte and her sister Arielle get into a huge fight about Michael. After the fight, the conniving bitch that Charlotte is, cooks up a plan to get back at Michael for not wanting her instead of her sister. Charlotte changes herself to look like Arielle, goes to Michael’s room and has sex with her. (Even though Michael knows something is off, he still goes through with it.) Charlotte changes back into herself and starts saying that Michael raped her.
In Episode 4: Uprising begins with Midas Ford running a test on Charlotte. It comes out positive but it doesn’t say if it is Michaels DNA or not. Ian comes to Michael’s defense and says that Charlotte used a Chameleon effect on Michael. Arielle later gets Charlotte to confess Michael did not rape her. However, Michael leaves Gulch voluntarily for a while. Meanwhile, you have Charlotte feeding information to Warren and Dietrich who are in the woods keeping watch over the town.
One day William, Charlotte’s son sees a group of boys stick fighting. He starts getting angry and wants to hurt the boys like they have hurt him in the past. William becomes so angry, he ends up breaking one of the boys jaw. After the incident, Charlotte pulls William aside and tells him that he is a Type 1 Ment, just like Michael (and is also a shield for his mother).
About five months after Michael left, some soldiers that had been captured and put into one of Kole’s labor camps , come walking into Gulch waving a white flag. They proceed to tell them that Michael helped them escape by rising up against the guards and causing a riot in the camp. Michael sent them for medical supplies to help the injured and to let them know he was bringing an army to escort them to NDR.
After Michael comes back, he finds out that Arielle and Charlotte are pregnant. Michael decides that they should leave for NDR right away. Everyone isn’t happy about leaving and tensions rise. Later, Warren and Dietrich capture Arielle and have her taken Halepern Hospital in Gadlin.(Harris Kole’s hospital) Michael was celebrating with his men and had a few drinks and then realized he couldn’t feel Arielle telepathically. He goes outside and Dietrich and Warren are there to meet him and knock him out. The town of Gulch is then attacked by Dietrich and Kole’s men. The town’s people fight back, along with the ments. Charlotte ends up shooting and killing Eli. Pete ends up shooting Dietrich, killing him and saving Ian. After the dust settles, Blake finds Michael and tells him Arielle is gone. Pete and Ian captured Charlotte and drug her back to where Michael was and Michael asked Charlotte where they took Arielle. Charlotte told Michael she didn’t know where they took her. Michael believes her but then Warren comes from the shadows with a knife to Midas Fords throat. Warren ends up telling Michael where Arielle is in exchange for his life, Charlotte’s and Williams.
Michael goes after Arielle and his men follow him. Unfortunately, he was too late because they had already cut the baby out of Arielle and left her to die on the table. Michael holds her as she dies in his arms swearing that he will get there baby back. Michael ends up killing all the soldiers at the hospital with the “death whisper” after Arielle takes her last breath.
Dominic, Ian and Pete go to Gulch to get the baby Charlotte had with Michael who she named Sebastian. Of course Charlotte and Midas Ford say they cannot take the baby but they do anyway. Meanwhile, the People’s Republic is celebrating their 50th anniversary. Harris Kole is making a speech and the feed to the large screen TV’s went out. Michael ends up controlling Harris Kole with his ment abilities and has Kole put a gun to his head and shoot himself. Michael tells the people it is time to be free.
You skip ahead 10 years, William buries his mom and vows to burn down New Dallas Republic (NDR).
Ascendant by Richard Denoncourt is a brilliantly written book. The author is descriptive and sets the scene for his readers. The story is full of action and does not drag. You are constantly being drawn into the story. The characters are well rounded and have growth through the story. Michael is not just your average teenage boy even though he acts like one. He evolves into a strong, dominant leader that people look up to.
Ascendant was absolutely a captivating story that had me flipping the pages eagerly. This book will not disappoint. Do not let the fact that the book is over 600 pages deter you from reading it. Once you start the book, you become so engrossed in it and the pages just fly by and several hours later you are done. Denoncourt did a wonderful job in writing this book.
I won this through Goodreads Giveaway and have given an honest review.
4.4 Stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 14, 2021
Not your typical young adult dystopian book, even though the main protagonist is a teen. This book is different and wonderful. I loved it. The characters are very realistic and full of both good and bad like real people. Just when you think someone is pure evil, they prove they have a good side and vice versa.
Michael is amazing. He isn't just "a teen with super powers" like so many of the books out there have; he is so much deeper than that. Full of angst, that may be a bit more well deserved than that of most teens, he is also aware that he can both kill others and die himself if he really lets himself lose it.
So many interesting things about this book to hold your attention. Highly recommended.
Michael is amazing. He isn't just "a teen with super powers" like so many of the books out there have; he is so much deeper than that. Full of angst, that may be a bit more well deserved than that of most teens, he is also aware that he can both kill others and die himself if he really lets himself lose it.
So many interesting things about this book to hold your attention. Highly recommended.
December 31, 2020
such a good read will have to save up for rest of books to find out whats next could not stop reading and read till 3am before i made myself put book down
January 21, 2021
Held my attention! New twists and turns kept me wondering what's next!
May 2, 2014
Fanciful. Imaginative. Captivating.
It was a very interesting time reading this book, I couldn't keep myself from turning the pages despite some stretches of imagination.
Set in a future that only someone like the author would dream up, Michael Cairne is born in the dead of night. Years after the nuclear war has left everything decimated, evil dictator Harris Kole rules the One republic w/ an iron fist. The new, bare scrap world is full of 'ments' a.k.a telepaths, who're banned from using their talents almost everywhere.
Louis Blake is the rebel Harris Kole lives to hunt down. He is also the leader of the ments & living in his last days. Training the ragtag group of ments before he dies is his goal, while he carries his big secret w/ him. In a series of twists Cairne finds himself on the run & in Gulch, another republic w/ an axe to grind w/ the ments. It's double tragedy when Cairne learns he is a type 1 telepath; the most powerful there is. The ascendant.
Temperatures rise in gulch & war erupts, w/ many twists and turns in the plot. The bittersweet ending is a high point that leaves you wanting to jump onto a sequel. Except there are non! If you love a gripping page turner w/ a twist of fancy, pick this book up. A very good read.
It was a very interesting time reading this book, I couldn't keep myself from turning the pages despite some stretches of imagination.
Set in a future that only someone like the author would dream up, Michael Cairne is born in the dead of night. Years after the nuclear war has left everything decimated, evil dictator Harris Kole rules the One republic w/ an iron fist. The new, bare scrap world is full of 'ments' a.k.a telepaths, who're banned from using their talents almost everywhere.
Louis Blake is the rebel Harris Kole lives to hunt down. He is also the leader of the ments & living in his last days. Training the ragtag group of ments before he dies is his goal, while he carries his big secret w/ him. In a series of twists Cairne finds himself on the run & in Gulch, another republic w/ an axe to grind w/ the ments. It's double tragedy when Cairne learns he is a type 1 telepath; the most powerful there is. The ascendant.
Temperatures rise in gulch & war erupts, w/ many twists and turns in the plot. The bittersweet ending is a high point that leaves you wanting to jump onto a sequel. Except there are non! If you love a gripping page turner w/ a twist of fancy, pick this book up. A very good read.
August 11, 2016
This was a First Reads Giveaway.
I thought the plot and character building were excellent. The writing style was impressive. The story line unfolded at an attention keeping pace. I was a little dissapointed in the direction William's character is heading, but I understand why. I'm looking forward to the next book. There were a few gramitcal errors.
Caution to anyone sensitive about the following subjects: Gay relationships, sex slavery, rape of minors, premarital sex, and some light adult language.
I thought the plot and character building were excellent. The writing style was impressive. The story line unfolded at an attention keeping pace. I was a little dissapointed in the direction William's character is heading, but I understand why. I'm looking forward to the next book. There were a few gramitcal errors.
Caution to anyone sensitive about the following subjects: Gay relationships, sex slavery, rape of minors, premarital sex, and some light adult language.
February 15, 2020
Goodreads Kindle Copy Win
It is a story of an undocumented worker who works at a restaurant during the day and at night a black market trader to support his family. One day he realizes he has the power to manipulate thoughts through telepathy as his life quickly changes.
He will find himself being chase by many enemies including military. As a telepathic assassin will be on his trail, he will also have to deal with being is own worst enemy as he deal with the power of his gift.
It was rather bland read as it just felt out of pace.
It is a story of an undocumented worker who works at a restaurant during the day and at night a black market trader to support his family. One day he realizes he has the power to manipulate thoughts through telepathy as his life quickly changes.
He will find himself being chase by many enemies including military. As a telepathic assassin will be on his trail, he will also have to deal with being is own worst enemy as he deal with the power of his gift.
It was rather bland read as it just felt out of pace.
February 22, 2015
Loved reading this book. A whole new, wondrous world centered around the central characters psychological struggle with his new found powers and the problems that come up feels utterly believable. Great read!
July 26, 2020
This post-apocalyptic novel was hard to put down. It's a great blend of politics, genetical engineering, warfare, action and romance. I loved the characters, although there were a lot of young male characters to keep up with in the second half.
July 15, 2013
Typical tedious telepathic terrorist trilogy.
October 19, 2013
I could not get through this book. I had to drag myself through just 50 pages...
March 2, 2014
Received this book free from Goodreads First Read. I really liked this book. The story was well told and kept me wanting to read even when my eyes where so sore from reading.
April 1, 2015
If I could give half stars I would bump this up to 3 1/2 stars. Interesting, original story.
Read
August 8, 2020The story stalled somewhere around 25%. I gave it 10% more, but it hasn't gotten better. The writing is good, though.
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