‘Day of Ascension’ – Adrian Tchaikovsky (Black Library)

Page Count – 196 Pages

There isn’t a lot that’s good about moving house (especially when it slowly dawns on you just how much the new place is going to cost to run, I need to get another job…) but there are some good bits if you look for them. For me, it was mostly around getting all my books unpacked and back on shelves around me again, not stuffed up in the loft where I couldn’t see them. Old favourites were back within easy reach, along with a whole load of new books that I really should have read ages ago. You can probably guess what my main New Year’s resolution will be… ;o)
‘Day of Ascension’ was one of those new books and I figured it was as good a place as any to start over in making a dent in the ol’ TBR Pile. And I’m really glad I did.

On the forge world of Morod, the machines never stop and the work never ends. The population toils in the mines and factoria to protect humanity from the monsters in the void, while the Adeptus Mechanicus enjoy lives of palatial comfort.

Genetor Gammat Triskellian seeks to end this stagnant corruption. When he learns of a twisted congregation operating within the shadows, one which believes that the tech-priests are keeping people from their true salvation – a long-prophesied union with angels – he sees in them an opportunity to bring down Morod's masters and reclaim the world in the name of progress.

But sometimes, the only hope for real change lies in the coming of monsters.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never been the biggest fan of the Adeptus Mechanicus, a faction that looks cool but feels like it’s too inward looking to carry a whole book by itself. Genestealers though…? I love those insidious ‘space Skaven’ (well, they are…) and will quite happily read anything where they make an appearance. So, I approached ‘Day of Ascension’ with mixed feelings then but as it turned out, there was no need for that at all, not really.

‘Day of Ascension’ is a lively read that neatly sidesteps the big issue I was dreading by, funnily enough, really focusing on it and making it part of a very engaging wider discussion on the purpose of the Mechanicum and how this can sometimes go against itself in a battle between the human need to innovate and the ‘machine approach’ of achieving optimal operations and just maintaining that level forever. I still don’t know if that’s enough to carry a whole book but there was plenty of machination (pun not intended) and intrigue to keep things ticking over while I pondered the deeper stuff. There’s still a little humanity hidden away under all the wires and steel, it’s the fact that it’s all the nasty parts that make this story so readable.

And when that looked in danger of fizzling out… The Genestealers had their time in the sun, mostly because the Mechanicus had dug into their subterranean lair but even so ;o) Looking at a Xenos race, with its own tenuous links to humanity, really drives it home not only how diverse humanity can actually be in this setting but also how much of that has been lost; not only through our own hubris but also because shit really does just happen. You can do everything right and still find yourself carrying the Genestealer strain through no fault of your own.

All of this would be fine on it’s own but Tchaikovsky hasn’t finished with his readers just yet, challenging us with the idea of Genestealers struggling under the oppression of the Mechanicum and holding onto their belief that deliverance will come. Just how are we meant to feel about that? Well, Tchaikovsky leaves that one up to us to work out and it’s an interesting one to work through. What it came down to, for me, was which side is the least human? I’ll have to let you know.

And if all that wasn’t enough, ‘Day of Ascension’ rounds off in some glorious pitched battle and an amazing twist that could have major ramifications on the 40K universe if the ‘powers that be’ took it on. You can’t ask for any more than that really. ‘Day of Ascension’ was a hell of a lot of fun to read and I’m just sat here hoping for more to come, in the setting, from Tchaikovsky. Fingers crossed...

If you haven't already read it, my review of 'The Long and Hungry Road' can be found over Here.