‘Ascension’ Will Take You to (Scary) New Heights

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By J.C. Bruce

Just finished reading Ascension by Nicholas Binge and I devoured it in two days — the literal definition of “binge” reading, I suppose.

Stephen King and other reviewers classify it as a horror story. I didn’t read it that way at all, although, yeah, there are monsters. I prefer what the Washington Post said:

“Binge’s eerie speculative thriller looks both outward at the edges of scientific understanding, and inward at the meaning of responsibility, remorse and the human capacity for salvaging mercy from tragedy.”

Ascension provided a break from the rest of my “binge” reading. I’ve been obsessed by Mick Herron’s Slough House series, which I mentioned in my June GET SMART Newsletter. Gobbled up all eight books in the month of June and I wish there were more.

I heard from one of my favorite authors, Bonnie Kistler, (Her, Too; The Cage) who wrote to recommend the streaming adaptation of the Herron books (Slow Horses) and now I’m hooked on that, too.

Next up: Jeopardy host Ken Jennings‘ new book: 100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife.

Among the more disturbing things I’ve watched in a while, but that I highly recommend, is Shiny Happy People, a documentary on Amazon Prime.

It’s about the overpopulated Duggar Family and the underlying cult known as the Institute in Basic Life Principles driven by the cult’s leader Bill Gothard. This explains so much about what’s behind the most radical elements of the Evangelical movement and why it is so dangerous.

On my list to watch next: Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. Another Jeopardy host, Mayim Bialik, joked about how many times she’s seen it recently.

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