The Ascendants:

A Novel of the Beautiful Lie

 

They came to the Elysian Retreat seeking healing. They found a beautiful lie.

 

Amara believes she channels the divine—until her visions are reframed as symptoms to be medicated away. Rowan has spent years carrying the weight of his partner's suicide, only to discover that his grief is considered a problem to be solved. Theo hears patterns in the noise of the universe, patterns that might just be the blueprint of his own imprisonment.

 

They are eight strangers, each broken in their own way, brought to a mountaintop sanctuary that promises transcendence. The hum in the walls, the gentle guides in white linen, the carefully orchestrated moments of connection—all of it is designed to make them willing participants in their own erasure.

 

As they begin to see the cracks in the beautiful facade, they face an impossible choice: accept the peace they're offered, knowing it comes at the cost of everything that makes them who they are—or fight back against a system that has unlimited resources, unlimited patience, and no qualms about erasing those who resist.

 

But they're not the first to see the truth. A message carved in a drawer—THE NUMBERS ARE A CAGE—proves that others have walked this path before. And their fate may be waiting for anyone who dares to resist.

 

Told through eight unforgettable voices, The Ascendants is a devastating exploration of mental health, coercive control, and the eternal question: what would you sacrifice for peace?

For readers of The Girls by Emma Cline and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn.