Rating: /10

Synopsis

Klarke Ascher has a singular goal: to become an Ascenditure, a member of the kingdom’s elite climbing team who scale the treacherous peaks of Miter’s Backbone in search of an elusive medicine to treat the lung sickness that ails the populace. However, in a kingdom governed by centuries of tradition, where women are legally bound to home and hearth, owned by the men they are forced to marry, the Ascenditures have always been male. As the strongest climber of her generation, Klarke’ s skill and strength are undeniable, and her courage and persistence prompt a civil uprising to which the king is finally forced to concede. Klarke’ s fight for justice, however, quickly becomes a struggle for survival as fellow Ascenditures, one by one, are inexplicably murdered. For danger lies not only on the icy peaks of treacherous mountains, where ropes are cut and routes are compromised, but in the very halls of power. With the hope of an oppressed generation on her shoulders, Klarke must dig deep within herself to discover the greatest strengths— of muscle and mind— not only to survive but to unravel the sinister conspiracy upon which the foundation of their kingdom rests.

Quick Review

I think that The Ascenditure might be one of the most fun books I’ve read this year. Its unique blend of self-empowerment, murder mystery, and scaling treacherous peaks made the book feel like a breath of fresh mountain air.

Full Review

In many ways, Robyn Dabney’s The Ascenditure feels like familiar ground. It is fundamentally a story about a young woman in a patriarchal society who fights for the right to choose her own path. Rather than be set up in an arranged marriage, she wants to choose who to marry; rather than stay at home and bear her husband’s children, she wants to work. We’ve seen this before. If it were only this, the book would be good, but a little derivative. Thankfully, there is so much more going on here.

One of the more unique parts of this world that Dabney’s created is its reverence for climbers, ascenditures, who scale mountains largely to collect resources that are only found on the summit. Some of those appear to be beneficial to all, such as the flowers that can be used for medicine. Others are more self-serving, such as the tubers that are only permitted to royalty and religious leaders.

Competing to become an ascenditure—something that a woman has never done before—is Klarke’s driving goal throughout much of this book, and Dabney handles all of these climbing scenes incredibly well. The same tension and excitement I’d usually find in a pitched battle, I also find that whenever she described Klake scaling a peak.

Amid all of this, there is a murder mystery that takes hold about halfway through the book. Climbers are dying, and it’s unclear what—or who—caused it. And as if that weren’t enough, the prince has his own secrets.

There is a lot happening in The Ascenditure. At times, I worry that Dabney might have tried to do too much with this story. I think that is somewhat evident with the way it ends, which is somewhere between “sanderlanche” and “I need you to slow the hüle down.” Despite that, I think this might be one of the most fun books I’ve read this year.

I highly recommend The Ascenditure. I think that a few story beats and scenes could have been expanded, but I genuinely loved my time with the book. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. I’m very interested in seeing where Dabney takes this series with Finding Ramanata.