When an impossible tower materialises in the sky above the UK, it quickly becomes a meme and is then pretty much ignored. Until a countdown begins and a single word, an instruction, appears.
ASCEND.
The tower, which cast a shadow over the town of Hope (read into that what you will), vanishes our 13 chosen ones from their everyday lives. Teleported to the base of the tower, their mission is clear. What’s not clear is the why, the who, the how or the what the fuck is going on.
I was anticipating the bloodshed. It is called The Way Up is Death, after all. This is escape room fun with a blend of pop culture and existentialism in a post pandemic world. There’s commentary; government, influencers, famous children’s book authors and AI are all up for grabs.
I’m pretty sure if I were one of the 13, I’d be thinking that if the way up is death, then maybe not ascending equals life. The tower has other ideas, though. Free will is not a constant companion up here.
I wasn’t expecting the bloodshed to be wrapped in a Matt Haig shaped hug. Early reviews warned me of the Matt Haig vibe and my initial thoughts were, ‘Surely not. This is going to be the horror/sci fi blend of my dreams.’
It was some of that but the readers before me were also right and I don’t know what to do with that disconnect, except to try to scrub it from my mind with the bloody entrails of those of the 13 who didn’t make it to the sentimental moments.
Like the tower giving the 13 clues to follow in order to ‘ascend’, I took the author’s descriptions of the characters at the beginning of the book as my own clues. A few characters were described in more detail than the others. They were the ones I paid the most attention to.
There’s Alden, a school teacher by day and musician by night, who’s weighed down by anxiety and grief. Nia is a talented designer that’s constantly spoken over and taken advantage of by her colleagues. Then there’s Dirk. Dirk’s a caricature who loves himself as intensely as you’re supposed to hate him.
The chapter titles sometimes acted as spoilers and although I absolutely adore the concept, the characters and different levels inside the tower weren’t fleshed out enough to entirely suck me in.
Although there wasn’t anyone I connected with enough to mourn, I enjoyed the interplay between the characters. The interactions often reminded me of Survivor, with some characters willing to make sacrifices while others would do whatever it takes to reach the top with a heartbeat.
I loved the connection with nature that flowed through the book and anticipating the dangers our chosen ones would encounter next.
“Go on then, nerds. Lead the way.”
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the opportunity to read this book.
Once Upon a Blurb
When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, thirteen strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND.
As they try to understand why they’ve been chosen and what the tower is, it soon becomes clear the only way out of this for everyone is… up.
And so begins a race to the top with the group fighting to hold on to its humanity, through sinking ships, haunted houses and other waking nightmares. Can they each overcome their differences and learn to work together or does the winner take all? What does the tower want of them and what is the price to escape?
File Under: Pub Quiz | Die trying | It’s a trap | Game over, man
Schizanthus Nerd 