When I was just a kid in grade school, I would often find myself with half a dozen volumes of The World Book Encyclopedia (think Google before the internet) spread across the living room floor open to some series of related subjects. At one point I made it through to the "X"s where I found an entry for Xenophon and the above picture which was captioned: "Xenophon Gave Thanks to the Gods as his 'Ten Thousand' Finished Their Long Retreat to the Bosporus."
I can't say precisely what it was about this picture that so captured my imagination, but after reading about Xenophon and the "March of the Ten Thousand" I would-even years later-bore people with a passionate recounting of those historical events.
I know others have done SF versions, but all of the ones I know about involve some military force crashing on a planet and having to march around to some sort of spaceport or something. This version is the first (that I know of) that takes place entirely in space.
It's not easy adapting a historical event which took place in 400 BC to a setting several centuries in the future but I flatter myself in thinking that having read this, you should have a pretty fair grasp of the Anabasis by Xenophon. If this story didn't completely turn you off, I encourage you to find a decent translation and read the original story. I think you'll find it has even more character, humor and irony than what I was able to capture.
I have had several people ask where the amazing cover for the Ascent came from. It came from the lovely and talented #Lucyface. I cannot recommend her work high enough!
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The Ascent
Science FictionIt was only supposed to be a minor military expedition and Kenneth Phon was only supposed to be an observer. But when the ambitions of powerful men turn to betrayal and murder, the largest human war fleet ever assembled finds itself leaderless and l...
