ASCENDANTS
A NOVEL
Ascendants is a high-stakes technothriller where proof of an afterlife collides with corporate power in a future transformed by scientific achievement, authoritarianism, and the collapse of religious ideology.
“If you’re a fan of cerebral science fiction, like the works of Philip K. Dick, or modern dystopian thrillers that blend fast action with deep moral complexity (think Altered Carbon), this book is a must-read.”
— Manhattan Book Review
pre-orders coming soon
“The terrifying intersection of eugenics, theology, and political power.”
By 2060, society has been divided into two classes by a groundbreaking discovery: An afterlife exists, but only for the genetic few. Ascendants are genetically destined to experience what comes after. Biomasses are condemned to oblivion.
This new era of Ascension is controlled by The Jacobs Institute, a powerful research organization challenging the limits of consciousness and morality. Ascendants follows three characters caught up in The Institute’s web of secrets—the visionary scientist who started it all, a grieving husband beholden to his belief, and a fierce young woman grappling with what society has become. What will it cost them to unravel the science that fuels The Institute’s power?
A gripping techno-thriller, Ascendants is both a warning against the weaponization of science and belief, and a vision for the survival of humanity.
★★★★★
Ascendants feels like a high-concept Black Mirror episode stretched into a techno-thriller, maintaining a breakneck pace while forcing you to grapple with profound ethical questions. . . . If you’re a fan of cerebral science fiction, like the works of Philip K. Dick, or modern dystopian thrillers that blend fast action with deep moral complexity (think Altered Carbon), this book is a must-read.
—Manhattan Book Review
PRE-ORDERS COMING SOON
About the Author
Don Schechter is the founder and CEO of Charles River Media, as well as a filmmaker and professor of the practice at Tufts University. He is the cohost of No Win Scenario, a science fiction podcast. Ascendants is his debut novel.