Ascent

The Sun swings behind the world. Night engulfs him. The dull metal craftplunges through space its portholes pale beacons containing the silhouette ofa man and t... » 

The Sun swings behind the world. Night engulfs him. The dull metal craftplunges through space its portholes pale beacons containing the silhouette ofa man and the only other lights are the stars themselves.Can one act definea man? Or his country? Ascent is the spellbinding thriller by criticallyacclaimed British novelist Jed Mercurio. Inspired by the secrets stillsurrounding the USSRs race against the United States to put a man on the moonMercurio asks the chilling question What if the Americans werentfirst?Ascent takes us on the perilous journey of its singular hero thebrave and determined Yefgenii Yeremin. Yefgenii rises from the privation of aStalingrad orphanage in 1946 to the heights of the cosmonaut corps. During theKorean War he joins an elite Soviet squadron conducting a secret air waragainst the famous aces of the U.S. Air Force. Dubbed Ivan the Terrible heamasses more jet kills than any fighter pilot in history but his feats mustremain unknown to his countrymen his victories uncelebrated. After the warhis achievements are scrubbed from the records and he is exiled to a base abovethe Arctic Circle where he flies patrols on the edge of American airspace.There he learns that Yuri Gagarin has become the first man in space thegreatest of all heroes. And then as Americas Apollo astronauts prepare toreach the Moon he is given a new name and sent into cosmonaut training.Throughout his career he has craved a place in history in the climactic clashbetween the two great powers. At last his country calls him. And somewherebetween the Earth and the Moon Ivan the Terrible finds his mission to createhistory to exceed his own life.Withone of the most fascinating heroes inrecent fiction Ascent builds a terrifying scenario within the shadowy historyof the space race. Haunting tragic boldly inventive Ascent is a tour deforce of imagination. «