The Europa Ascent

by Patrick Loveland

While on a corporate research mission, deep under the oceanic outer crusts of Europa, a structure of bizarre design is discovered, its purposes unknown. But what starts as an excursion in scientific discovery quickly dissolves to the stuff of nightmares as something else quickly rises from the depths, something intent on consumption.

A small group of survivors is forced to set differences aside as they enter into the race for their lives, trapped within the depths of a submerged facility, enclosed by the terrifying darkness of alien night. While they desperately flee upwards towards the surface and their only salvation, their inevitable end seeks to draw them back down into infinite darkness.

Genres: Horror

91 pages, Paperback

First published May 18, 2020

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a pretty thrilling read. I got this awhile ago, knowing I’d get around to it as a hopefully-quick read to “cleanse the palate” between weightier, longer books. Felt right to read it casually ramping up into spooky season. (I’d have read it faster if I weren’t so distracted and tired lately.) Pacing is pretty good and interesting the whole time. Fascinating and strange and tense throughout. Very clever world-building.

*My only real snag is the size of the text. Reading at night before sleep was trickier because of that.*

So I’m recommending this if you like fun sci-fi horror that feels a little familiar, but is also very unique and new.

*[Updating that the author let me know this issue was fixed. In that case, enjoy.]

[Christian Molenaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the sprawling, time- and space-spanning tales of his dimension-hopping debut A Tear In the Veil and the diverse short story collection Too Many Eyes, it’s a blast to read Patrick Loveland tell a relatively small-scale story. While The Europa Ascent may traverse planets and moons, the bulk of the action in Loveland’s latest novella takes place among a skeleton crew on a single lunar base. It’s a premise similar to plenty of classic sci-fi, from Alien to The Thing to Event Horizon, and this book bears more than a few similarities to each. Where Loveland makes it his own is with the punchy, pulpy prose that drives the plot along. I’ve said before that Loveland’s writing style betrays his roots in screenwriting, and it’s true here too; the dialogue snaps back and forth and would certainly lends itself to a cinematic format. While I wish the architecture of each scene was a bit more clearly defined, it would be a mistake to call Loveland’s writing not descriptive—each of the otherworldly creatures that appear in the narrative are lovingly rendered in vivid detail that brings them to life in the reader’s mind.
Highly recommended for an afternoon trip through space.

[Chad]

This is a great read for an afternoon in lockdown. A great spin of sci-fi and horror, claustrophobic terror on an alien landscape. Loveland craftily weaves together a cast of characters and puts them to task against an enemy that is terrifying and compelling to behold over the course of this book. The legacies of names like Lovecraft, HG Wells, Ridley Scott, James Cameron and many others are safe in the hands of Patrick Loveland.

[Pete Mesling · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly the kind of science fiction I like. It’s lean, logical, action packed, and frightening. In fact, it reads a little bit like one of Tim Curran’s science fiction/horror stories. Loveland returns to themes here that he’s explored before, but he has a way of making everything feel fresh. It’s been fun to watch his descriptive powers evolve, too, and they’ve had to in order to accommodate some of the oddities in THE EUROPA ASCENT. He just keeps getting better.

This isn’t the first time I’ve thought that Loveland’s fiction would translate well to the screen, either, but that’s really just another compliment to the writing. In some ways, a movie probably wouldn’t end up being as cinematic as THE EUROPA ASCENT already is. The book is so well envisioned and ably described that it really is a bit like watching a movie. Actually, it’s more like being IN a movie. An IMAX movie from which there is no escape.

Look, just read it. You’ll see. Escape to Europa. Captain Loveland will be your pilot. No need to spring for a round-trip ticket. Chances are you won’t be coming back.

Enough said.

[Roland Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr nette, kleine Geschichte über ein Forschungsteam auf dem Mond Europa. Die Story ist kurz und bündig und gibt einen keine Chance zum Durchatmen. Die grausamen Monster sind kreativ gestaltet und treiben die Protagonisten pausenlos vor sich hin. Ein sehr gelungener Sci-Fi-Kurztrip.