“The Ascendant” by Drew Chapman – The Invisible War

Most of the wars we hear about are either against some kind of concept, such as the war on drugs or the war on terror, or wars which are fought on land, in the sea, and in the air.

However, there are more subversive and covert wars happening out there, or at least, that is the premise of The Ascendant, Drew Chapman's debut novel.

In it, we are presented with a scenario where a man by the name of Garrett Reilly notices something no one else has: America is under attack, under threat from every perspective, and yet no one is the wiser. His “knack for numbers” allowed him to see patterns everyone missed amidst the countless transaction digits, patterns which told him that two hundred billions are being sold off surprisingly fast in the form of treasury bonds.

Raising the alert about this invisible enemy, Reilly finds himself at the head of a squad of rogue soldiers, destined to be the last front in perhaps one of the most unconventional types of warfare there is out there.

To begin with, for a debut novel The Ascendant is certainly a great effort, though it does show in the writing which feels a tad choppy, making the plot flow less smoothly than would be possible.

Also, towards the ending things start to feel a bit rushed, as if Chapman suddenly realized he had to end things before he really wanted to. However, these annoyances are not that big of a deal and don't prevent this novel from being an enjoyable one, which it certainly is.

Apart from that, the writing certainly is of the solid variety, with the plot generally flowing at a rather fast pace, keeping in line with what we are used to seeing from thrillers these days. The descriptions aren't awfully thorough, which I believe is a good thing for a book such as this one, where characters yearn for instant action to fight against a rather urgent doom.

Story-wise, the premise may sound just a tad boring, but in reality it is developed in a way such as to make you feel the importance and the potential, far-reaching impact of stock market manipulation. We can feel the imminent sense of danger, the urgency with which the characters have to work.

In other words, Chapman does an excellent job at describing and developing a very real kind of warfare which could certainly become more feasible in today's world , one that has the potential to ruin countries without firing a single bullet. By the end of it, thoughts in the back of your mind begin to form as to how vulnerable we in the real world are to this whole thing.

All things considered, though The Ascendant is just a bit uneven in certain aspects, it is a remarkable first effort and, in itself, a fantastic thriller which that tries to stray a bit from the conventions of the genre and offer a different kind of problem for our varied protagonists to solve.

If you are yearning for a good thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat through a different premise than usual, I certainly recommend you check this book out.

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Drew Chapman Drew Chapman is an American writer born and raised in New York City. He holds a BA in History from the University of Michigan, and after working a myriad of jobs became the staff writer for Disney Animation. He recently released his debut novel, The Ascendant, and is planning on pursuing his foray into the world of literature.