Ascent

"Ascend" by Jed Mercurio explores an alternative history of the Soviet Union's space race through the story of Yefgeni Yeremin, a talented Soviet cosmonaut with a remarkable military background. Rising from humble beginnings in a Stalingrad orphanage, Yeremin's journey takes him through covert wartime achievements and towards the possibility of achieving immortal fame. The book uses spare, hypnotic prose to delve into themes of ideology, fate, and the human cost of greatness.