The Ascending [Mass Market Paperback]

T. M. Wright (Author), F. W. Armstrong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1995

Assisting the police with his psychic powers, Ryerson Biergarten encounters distrust and suspicion during the investigation into a serial killer and must confront a spiritual attack that threatens to overwhelm him. Reprint. PW.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Over an eight-year span, people have been getting killed, gutted and stuffed in the ceiling spaces of ultra-high rise landmark buildings in Chicago, New York and now Toronto. In this latest installment in the adventures of psychic detective Ryerson Biergarten--some of which Wright ( Goodlow's Ghosts ) has published in paperback under the pseudonym "F. W. Armstrong,"--Ryerson wants to help the Toronto cops nail the killer, but homicide detective Dan Creed is unhappy with the psychic's most recent work and won't officially assign him to the case. With the moral support of his sock-chewing Boston Bull terrier, however, as well as with the reluctantly accepted help of a pesky self-proclaimed psychic and would-be partner, Ryerson gradually realizes that his recent onrush of psychic messages point to one suspect--and not the one whom Creed has pegged as the killer. Unfortunately, the escalating tension of the murders and of the search for the killer--which culminates in a harrowing scene at Toronto's CN tower--is rewarded with a strange and unclear payoff, one involving the fate of the killer and the spirit that has possessed him for years. Nevertheless, Wright convincingly proves that he understands, as few do, how to give a scare without spilling blood all over the page.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Wright's psychic detective Ryerson Biergarten (Goodlow's Ghosts, Tor Bks., 1993) makes a second appearance here, this time seeking a serial killer who wraps his victims in plastic and then ties the bodies to pipes above the drop ceilings of office buildings. Rye works by "entering" the minds of the criminals he seeks, but it seems that this killer is possessed by the spirit of one of his victims, thus making detection more difficult. Nonetheless, Rye eventually confronts and stops the killer, nearly losing his soul in the process. Scary? Certainly. But by relying more on an eerie atmosphere and spooky psychic phenomena than on plot and characterization, Wright has created a work that is more mood than substance. Also, he never fully explains the killer's motives, and he leaves some plot lines dangling, resulting in a work that is ultimately unsatisfying. Buy on demand only.
Rebecca House Stankowski, Purdue Univ. Calumet Lib., Hammond, Ind.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books (June 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812509161
• ISBN-13: 978-0812509168
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,422,929 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic piece of fantastic literature., September 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ascending (Mass Market Paperback)

Characters that live and breathe, a unique concept, a real page turner, but with depth. This is what T.M. Wright's known for, and he gives all this to us in spades with The Ascending.

What more can I say?

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, first rate!, September 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ascending (Mass Market Paperback)

My one line summary says it all

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very weak., May 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ascending (Hardcover)

And doesn't amount to a whole helluva lot. Style over substance. Don't bother.