I just read a newly published book called Ascension by Nicholas Binge. Went into it with no expectations or notions.
Foot note: my favorite movie of all time is Annihilation by Alex Garland. I’m 41 years old, never experienced the level of awe and devotion in all my life as I did that 2017 film. Saw it 7 times in theaters and countless more on dvd. Needless to say I know it like the back of my hand.
This book, it’s almost comical, is so inspired by that movie that I’m willing to bet my life on it.
I should note, I did not like the book by Vandemeer, nothing against it, just not my style at all. Only the second time I could say that I liked the movie better than the book (the first being Fight Club). However, the film, much like the shimmer, took something and made something completely new. The unintended irony so thick I could hardly take it.
Anyway, with the level I know the film, it was easy for me to see the level of “inspiration.” Remember the movie Deep Impact? Maybe not because I’m actually kind of old… but it was like a facsimile of the film “Armageddon,” a recently previous release film that did amazing in the box office. Deep Impact was unequivocally and embarrassingly the exact same film as Armageddon, with different characters and trajectories but carbon copy plot and outline.
Back then, if something hit hard, another version was created in hopes to match the revenue that the first thing created. I guess that’s not a nostalgic concept, but back then it was glaringly obvious. And it really was, A Bugs Life and Antz are a great example.
Which bring me back to the point of my post. This book, Ascension, was exactly the same as Annihilation, without expectations that someone would know the film at the level I do. But since I adored the film so much, I totally get wanting to replicate its divine esoteric beauty.
But that’s not to say the book is completely derivative and uninspired. It has its own voice, and a mind of its own. With nuanced descriptions, dynamic dialogues, and subtle character arcs, the author successfully breathed life into each individual character that fervently resonated with depth and authenticity regardless of the concrete inspiration. But I just so happen to know the film at a ridiculous level, a thing the author may have not considered, and it was almost pitiful how paralleled it was represented in this book. Despite this, the book contained nuanced descriptions, dynamic dialogues and subtle character arcs that were effectively instilled with life that fervently resonated with depth and authenticity.
In other words, it may have been the inspiration but it resided in a world of its own.
by KBlake1982