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The Ascension of the Seventh
Toby Whitman’s life is going nowhere. Stuck in the uneventful town he grew up in, Toby works as a high-school English teacher with aspirations of one day becoming a novelist. But when his humdrum life is abruptly shaken by a devastating diagnosis that challenges his attitude towards an existence long taken for granted, Toby is visited by the Sixth Incarnation of Death, who brings forth a disturbing revelation regarding his destiny.
296 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2021
About the author
George Cutter
2 books6 followersGeorge Cutter is the pseudonymous author of The Ascension of the Seventh (2021) and The Web Tomb (2024). He also served as the film critic for The Chronicle Series (2014-2022), covering mainstream releases and underground cult films. He lives in the UK with his fiancée and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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July 21, 2022What would you do if you knew you had 30 days left to live? That is the question Toby Whitman is forced to consider in George Cutter’s engrossing debut novel The Ascension of the Seventh. Its protagonist, a humdrum English teacher with a nihilistic view of life, is rocked by the news that a tumour will inevitably kill him in just under a month. The fact that it is Death himself who is the bearer of that news is among the many strange twists and turns in the story.
We follow Toby from the diagnosis, through his treatment and to the very edge of what might be his departure from the world. It poses terrifying questions, like: what if you’re wasting your own life? What comes after death? And how will everything change for those around you? At our first glimpse of Toby, he is emerging from a dream. In fact, half of the drama is played out in Toby’s barren and Dali-esque dreamworld, which is populated by giant insects and the writhing corpses of dead acquaintances.
When he is awake, however, the teacher and aspiring author navigates a dull existence in which visits to coffee shops with friends is about as exciting as life gets. Cutter delivers this extreme contrast between night and day to such an extent that it almost feels as though there are two different versions of Toby. It will not be lost on readers that, at the outset of the book, we see him teaching students Jekyll and Hyde.
But he is just one member of a diverse cast that inhabit Cutter’s “deadbeat town”. They include Death himself, a stranger with “soulless eyes” who manages to be intimidating, grotesque and strangely charismatic all at once. The supporting characters also get their moments in the limelight and are fleshed out over the course of the novel, which is testament to its smooth omniscient narrative – the novel jumps from perspective to perspective seamlessly. Cutter’s prose is animated throughout and he employs highly visual language. Dreams don’t fade, for example, they “perish like burning celluloid”.
With vivid, often beautiful metaphors, it is not hard to imagine some of the scenes on the big screen. The same can be said of the dialogue. The characters speak in short, zippy sentences that would translate easily into film. Conversations are funny in places, despite the heavy subject matter, and it is that dry humour that gives brevity and lightness to what could otherwise have been overly bleak.
For a debut novel, The Ascension of the Seventh asks some big questions about mortality, grief and death. But at its heart, it is a love story. Cutter explores his character’s regret at the end of a failed relationship and asks whether there could be a future for the protagonist and his ex – these are some of the most hopeful moments in the book. Toby does not value his life until he knows it’s going to end. How he chooses to spend his final days reveals something innately human.
We follow Toby from the diagnosis, through his treatment and to the very edge of what might be his departure from the world. It poses terrifying questions, like: what if you’re wasting your own life? What comes after death? And how will everything change for those around you? At our first glimpse of Toby, he is emerging from a dream. In fact, half of the drama is played out in Toby’s barren and Dali-esque dreamworld, which is populated by giant insects and the writhing corpses of dead acquaintances.
When he is awake, however, the teacher and aspiring author navigates a dull existence in which visits to coffee shops with friends is about as exciting as life gets. Cutter delivers this extreme contrast between night and day to such an extent that it almost feels as though there are two different versions of Toby. It will not be lost on readers that, at the outset of the book, we see him teaching students Jekyll and Hyde.
But he is just one member of a diverse cast that inhabit Cutter’s “deadbeat town”. They include Death himself, a stranger with “soulless eyes” who manages to be intimidating, grotesque and strangely charismatic all at once. The supporting characters also get their moments in the limelight and are fleshed out over the course of the novel, which is testament to its smooth omniscient narrative – the novel jumps from perspective to perspective seamlessly. Cutter’s prose is animated throughout and he employs highly visual language. Dreams don’t fade, for example, they “perish like burning celluloid”.
With vivid, often beautiful metaphors, it is not hard to imagine some of the scenes on the big screen. The same can be said of the dialogue. The characters speak in short, zippy sentences that would translate easily into film. Conversations are funny in places, despite the heavy subject matter, and it is that dry humour that gives brevity and lightness to what could otherwise have been overly bleak.
For a debut novel, The Ascension of the Seventh asks some big questions about mortality, grief and death. But at its heart, it is a love story. Cutter explores his character’s regret at the end of a failed relationship and asks whether there could be a future for the protagonist and his ex – these are some of the most hopeful moments in the book. Toby does not value his life until he knows it’s going to end. How he chooses to spend his final days reveals something innately human.
September 19, 2021
I genuinely think this is the best thing I've read all year so far. It was incredibly well written. The story had me hooked from the first couple of pages, and it just got progressively better the more I read. 10/10, would absolutely recommend this to everyone I know. Its absolutely worth the read!
November 8, 2021
Brilliant read, had me hooked from page 1. It’s disturbing how much I relate to Toby.
August 20, 2022
A page turner that will leave you shedding a tear or two
August 18, 2023
A gripping and Suspenseful debut novel
I found this book gripping and deeply moving. I enjoyed the twists and turns and was ensnared by the main character's struggles. It's not just all blood and gore like other works in the same genre, it is rooted in profoundly real-world scenarios of loss, tragedy, fear etc. The main character was very relatable. The writing is very vivid and surreal.
I found this book gripping and deeply moving. I enjoyed the twists and turns and was ensnared by the main character's struggles. It's not just all blood and gore like other works in the same genre, it is rooted in profoundly real-world scenarios of loss, tragedy, fear etc. The main character was very relatable. The writing is very vivid and surreal.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews