Day of Ascension

What do you get when a Clarke winner writes a WarHammer book? You get a whole new perspective, a seamlessly threaded narrative and a completely new and different cadence to the prose. Faultlessly done, offering all the empathy for the rising xenos, and leaving little for the masters of the holy Forge World. Very smooth and easy read, slightly let down by an oddly inconsequential ending… got all geared up for a big finale that didn’t happen.

This is Adrian Tchaikovsky’s full Black Library debut, and as a massive fan of both the author and the publisher my expectation levels were mighty high. Thankfully, I enjoyed this book. Mature in it’s moral ambiguity, it pits the ruling Adeptus Mechanicus against a Genestealer Cult uprising. The focus in 40K novels is usually on the forces of the Imperium, so that this book is mostly concerned with the insurgents is nicely refreshing, as are Tchaikovsky’s attempts to justify their rebellion- their perspective is very well presented and rationalised. The AdMech aren’t just faceless foils, however, they are just as well presented, with a suitably absurdist take on academia.<br /><br />Tchaikovsky has written some absolute doorstops of books, but this, sadly, isn’t one of them. Books don’t have to be long to be good, but this is an example of a book that would benefit from being expanded- I’d love to see how much better the pacing of the book could be if events were given more space to breathe; the character development is good but at times feels a touch rushed.<br /><br />Ascension Day is very enjoyable, nicely nuanced and leaves me hoping that BL continue to work more with authors outside of their usual stable, not least Mr Tchaikovsky.

An excellent book that provides a viewpoint sympathetic to the Tyranids,  albeit from a slight remove of the Genestealers. <br /><br />The portrayal of the Adeptus Mechanicus feels slightly off in style, but it suits the "light" satire of the book. It does emphasise the uncaring often malevolent brutality that goes on in the Imperium of Man. <br /><br />There's no outright outstanding characters, but Davien is interesting. She has limitations and makes mistakes, but adapts to the situation, listening to guidance from others. There's enough there to keep her story going.<br /><br />A light read, mutations and mutilations notwithstanding.

As you would expect from an author with the calibre of Tchaikovsky, Day of Ascension is excellent. It’s only short, and I’d have loved a longer word count to really dig into some of the characters, locations and plot elements, but judged on what it is (rather than on what it might have been) I think it’s spot on! Great characters, engaging plot, and a fascinating angle on 40k - the choice of pitting Genestealer Cults against the Adeptus Mechanicus was inspired. Highly recommended.<br /><br />Read a full review at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.trackofwords.com/2022/02/03/day-of-ascension-adrian-tchaikovsky/">https://www.trackofwords.com/2022/02/...</a>

I know little of Warhammer but love Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shadows of the Apt series and this reads just like one of those. Solid characters and well balanced story set amongst a backdrop of never ending war.

If you thought that the genestealer cults were a vile menace to the universe, then this book just adds even more layers to the terror beyond the stars. Day of ascension is well written and tense story that kept me guessing until the last 8 pages how it would all turn out in the end. <br /><br />The double sided story of the techpriest internal strife and the desperation of the genestealer cult clinging to existence in this almost forge world come together in a great symphony with fitting crescendo. (yes ok enough music jokes now). I really don't feel like talking to much because it might ruin the experience for others but I will say that Tchaikovsky added something to the overall warhammer 40K lore that I sincerely hope will be picked up for the years to come. <br /><br />A definite must read for any warhammer 40K fan.

Getting Adrian Tchaikovsky to do a 40K was such a great combination of author and setting and, happily, the bloke did not disappoint. <br /><br />This story of cultists versus Mechanicus was vivid and engaging and focused. Perhaps too focused? At 200 pages(ish), it felt more like a chonky novella, although it feels a bit churlish to complain about that when so many 40K books suffer from the opposite syndrome.<br /><br />Hopefully Tchaikovsky will be back for more Black Library novels, because this was a pearler and a wonderful subversion of perspective.

This was...interesting. It feels like Tchaikovsky wanted to use the setting &amp; lore as a sort of veneer to tell a tale of blind believers in a Marxist revolution and how the revolution invariably eats its own. In this case literally. And it...sort of works. Sort of. <br /><br />Is he faithful to the lore? Not especially. He gets the broad strokes correct but even I, a mere novice in the Warhammer 40K setting, can feel the gaps in his knowledge. But he at least does something interesting with the grim darkness of the far future in which there is only war...by largely ignoring the war aspect. Kudos for originality, at least.

Story seems fancy until plot twists start being based on extremely unlikely events and unexplainable decisions of certain characters. Mechanicus chapters also felt a little off(like character implementing and using technological innovations, virtual inexistence of secutors and many more), Maybe the workload lorewise was a little too much for the first work

Чайковски сыграл на абсолютно чужом поле (книги по тактической настольной игре - это особый жанр), и таки не подвел! Заглянул в голову простым парням (и девчонкам) из культов генокрадов, и внезапно оказалось, что они не абстрактные пластиковые злодеи, которые заняты исключительно призыванием всепожирающих монстров из космической бездны, а вполне себе живые люди, со своими страданиями и мечтами.<br /><br />Опять же, орден техно-священников Адептус Механикус показан с немного неожиданной стороны. Все эти бюрократические проблемы и внутренние терки между департаментами... очень жизненно, прямо как в любом большом госучреждении.<br /><br />Насчет лора вроде все нормально, откровенного борща автор нигде не допустил. Хотя я не настоящий вахер, мог чего-то и не заметить.<br /><br />Короче, хорошая книга. Считаю, если в Черную библиотеку почаще приглашать таких авторов, как Стейблфорд или Чайковски, от этого всем (кроме любителей болтер порно) будет только лучше.