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zombieman's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
jbenz1213's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The best pithy take I can come up with to describe Gravity is that I felt like I was reading a Wikipedia plot summary. But like, a really riveting plot summary!
The narrative hook is a classic trope that has been reused over generations from Alien to Snakes on a Plane: Our hero, doctor Emma Watson (no relation), is stuck on the International Space Station and a mysterious organism is killing her crew one by one.
This setup is such a cliché because it works. What makes the mysterious creature tick? How can our hero escape their claustrophobic setting? Unfortunately, as I tore through the page-count of Gravity I realized that I was reading to learn the answers to these questions and not because I cared about any of Gerritsen’s ankle-deep characters.
Clearly the emotional hook here is supposed to be Emma’s husband Jack, who is grounded while Emma is fighting for her life up in the ISS. Emma and Jack are inexplicably going through a divorce when she leaves the planet, despite the fact that both characters’ internal monologues express their undying love for each other. We never see their chemistry together, and we never see the lows of their relationship either. Their relationship is transparently an emotionally manipulative device to try and get the reader to care about what happens to Emma, and to give Jack an opportunity to save his wife in the final pages.
Other characters aren’t much better. They are little more than hyper-competent, well-intentioned plot delivery devices, spouting NASA acronyms and having one (1) beer at the obligatory astronaut bar after training missions. I didn’t feel the need to remember the names associated with each character because, honestly, they were interchangeable and they did not matter to the plot. Three different men—I kid you not—are solely motivated by their dead/dying wife in Gravity. That’s the level of emotional complexity you can expect from these characters.
All of this adds up to the outcome that Gravity is very boring until bodies start hitting the proverbial floor. Thankfully, once events started heating up I was motivated to read in a “How does she tie this up?” kind of way.
Not that there are any particularly unexpected twists in plot here—every plot point is HEAVILY foreshadowed, and by the final chapters it is clear that Gerritsen is not trying to be subversive or interesting here. Spoiler alert: the good guys win. If there is any overarching thematic point she’s trying to make, it’s “rah rah, NASA good,” a sentiment that is typical of Gravity’s ‘90s contemporaries, but has not aged particularly well.
This all probably sounds super harsh, but all things considered this is a perfectly fine smooth-brain sci-fi read if you’re into that sort of thing.
The narrative hook is a classic trope that has been reused over generations from Alien to Snakes on a Plane: Our hero, doctor Emma Watson (no relation), is stuck on the International Space Station and a mysterious organism is killing her crew one by one.
This setup is such a cliché because it works. What makes the mysterious creature tick? How can our hero escape their claustrophobic setting? Unfortunately, as I tore through the page-count of Gravity I realized that I was reading to learn the answers to these questions and not because I cared about any of Gerritsen’s ankle-deep characters.
Clearly the emotional hook here is supposed to be Emma’s husband Jack, who is grounded while Emma is fighting for her life up in the ISS. Emma and Jack are inexplicably going through a divorce when she leaves the planet, despite the fact that both characters’ internal monologues express their undying love for each other. We never see their chemistry together, and we never see the lows of their relationship either. Their relationship is transparently an emotionally manipulative device to try and get the reader to care about what happens to Emma, and to give Jack an opportunity to save his wife in the final pages.
Other characters aren’t much better. They are little more than hyper-competent, well-intentioned plot delivery devices, spouting NASA acronyms and having one (1) beer at the obligatory astronaut bar after training missions. I didn’t feel the need to remember the names associated with each character because, honestly, they were interchangeable and they did not matter to the plot. Three different men—I kid you not—are solely motivated by their dead/dying wife in Gravity. That’s the level of emotional complexity you can expect from these characters.
All of this adds up to the outcome that Gravity is very boring until bodies start hitting the proverbial floor. Thankfully, once events started heating up I was motivated to read in a “How does she tie this up?” kind of way.
Not that there are any particularly unexpected twists in plot here—every plot point is HEAVILY foreshadowed, and by the final chapters it is clear that Gerritsen is not trying to be subversive or interesting here. Spoiler alert: the good guys win. If there is any overarching thematic point she’s trying to make, it’s “rah rah, NASA good,” a sentiment that is typical of Gravity’s ‘90s contemporaries, but has not aged particularly well.
This all probably sounds super harsh, but all things considered this is a perfectly fine smooth-brain sci-fi read if you’re into that sort of thing.
oviyabalan's review against another edition
5.0
The first ever sci-fi novel that I ever liked. I usually have a hate relationship with Sci-fi stories. Either I won't understand or I won't like the writing. This one was simple and a fine read...
carriehaven's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
mrschy's review against another edition
5.0
This was a really good read. Medical suspense, felt realistic, and really well executed. All the characters were well written, the series of events came together nicely, and while there were terms I wasnt familiar with I never felt lost. This was my first book by this author and I'm going to have to keep an eye out for more of her work.
storymi's review against another edition
3.0
3 sterren: liked it!
+:
- Tof dat het heel anders is dan andere thrillers, doordat het helemaal rond ruimtevaart draait.
- Spannend en zit gewoon prima in elkaar. Ik kreeg door dit boek zeker de neiging om sneller door te lezen,
+/-:
- De karakters zijn niet super extreem diepgaand, maar... wel genoeg voor een thriller.
- Men... wat is dit boek vies! Haha ik dacht dat ik alles wel had gehad qua viezigheid, maar dit boek bewees dat het erger kon. Een beeld bleef een hele nacht op mijn netvlies staan:
-:
- Er zaten wel wat typische 'ga-niet-naar-de-zolder-momenten' in en dan toch gaan. Op zich komt dat natuurlijk vaker voor in een triller, maar... soms was het wel heel onlogisch. Vooral toen.
- Voor de rest geen discriminatie, maar het boek komt uit 1999 en het N-woord wordt er een keer in gebruikt op een manier die in 2021 denk ik niet meer gekozen zou worden.
+:
- Tof dat het heel anders is dan andere thrillers, doordat het helemaal rond ruimtevaart draait.
- Spannend en zit gewoon prima in elkaar. Ik kreeg door dit boek zeker de neiging om sneller door te lezen,
+/-:
- De karakters zijn niet super extreem diepgaand, maar... wel genoeg voor een thriller.
- Men... wat is dit boek vies! Haha ik dacht dat ik alles wel had gehad qua viezigheid, maar dit boek bewees dat het erger kon. Een beeld bleef een hele nacht op mijn netvlies staan:
Spoiler
iets met ontploffende lijken, lichaamssappen inademen, larven die onder je huid bewegen en tongen die worden afgebeten: echt iel!-:
- Er zaten wel wat typische 'ga-niet-naar-de-zolder-momenten' in en dan toch gaan. Op zich komt dat natuurlijk vaker voor in een triller, maar... soms was het wel heel onlogisch. Vooral toen
Spoiler
Emma terugging om een zwaar besmettelijke patiënt te reanimeren in een onzekere/gevaarlijke situatie, terwijl er al helemaal duidelijk was dat ze niet gered konden worden- Voor de rest geen discriminatie, maar het boek komt uit 1999 en het N-woord wordt er een keer in gebruikt op een manier die in 2021 denk ik niet meer gekozen zou worden.
leannaaker's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second of her books I've read....what a page turner! This was non-stop suspense, and I finished this book in a little over a day. If you like medical/science thrillers, you will love this.
snoukie95's review against another edition
I could not get into it, because I was not interested in the space travel aspects
abalvarez's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book I've picked up by veteran author Tess Gerritsen and I have to say she did not disappoint. I enjoyed the details of this very-techo-thriller and her characters were all strong, intelligent, and with agency to spare. I look forward to reading one of her other books soon!
marco5599's review against another edition
2.5
In space we go with Gravity. The movie you never saw (no, that's a different Gravity), because it was never made, but you can see it right in front of you when reading this book. All the ingredients you've come to expect from a Hollywood blockbuster are present, so, unfortunately, the not so tasty ones as well.
Oh yes, indeed, there are couples. One especially. On the brink of divorce, but still a couple. And they act like a couple on the brink of divorce. Jack and Emma. Emma and Jack. Jack. Dr. Jack. Sentimental Jack. Jackass. God, do I hate couples in stories like this. That and unprofessionalism. They usually go hand-in-hand, don't they? Couples. A bigger threat than asteroids out of control, nasty viruses or hungry aliens. Couples. They even spoil the ending. Not happy. RIP Luther. Never forget the Luthers of these books. They matter.
But enough complaining. There's enjoyable stuff too. Like geeky rocket science and things get pretty gruesome with whatever the hell it is that is infecting the astronauts. Medical thriller, my ass, that's pure horror. Loved those bits. Reminded me of what was going on in Richard Preston's spine-chiller The Hot Zone.
Oh yes, indeed, there are couples. One especially. On the brink of divorce, but still a couple. And they act like a couple on the brink of divorce. Jack and Emma. Emma and Jack. Jack. Dr. Jack. Sentimental Jack. Jackass. God, do I hate couples in stories like this. That and unprofessionalism. They usually go hand-in-hand, don't they? Couples. A bigger threat than asteroids out of control, nasty viruses or hungry aliens. Couples. They even spoil the ending. Not happy. RIP Luther. Never forget the Luthers of these books. They matter.
But enough complaining. There's enjoyable stuff too. Like geeky rocket science and things get pretty gruesome with whatever the hell it is that is infecting the astronauts. Medical thriller, my ass, that's pure horror. Loved those bits. Reminded me of what was going on in Richard Preston's spine-chiller The Hot Zone.