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cal_jessamine's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
krakentamer's review
2.0
Another book spoiled by the acronym explanations. This one feels like it was padded out with the background about the main character's marriage, but it didn't work for me. I also couldn't appreciate the handwaving about the missing outpost.
djotaku's review against another edition
3.0
This is definitely one of those stories that's more about the journey than the destination. I was wondering the entire time what the point of the story was going to be. It literally took place en route somewhere and in flashbacks. Overall an OK story with a heck of a twist at the end. Felt very pulp science fiction. It appears the four short stories (of which this is the second) don't have anything in common other than the first story introduced the idea of alternate timelines and so each is in a different NASA timeline. (Which actually reminds me somewhat of Hickman's [b:The Manhattan Projects, Vol. 1: Science. Bad.|15736709|The Manhattan Projects, Vol. 1 Science. Bad.|Jonathan Hickman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1350317627s/15736709.jpg|21420399])
So read or listen if you're a journey type of reader, but if you're the destination type this might not be your bag.
So read or listen if you're a journey type of reader, but if you're the destination type this might not be your bag.
justabean_reads's review
2.0
Again with pleasing NASA nerdery (though stop explaining abbreviations! anyone this far down the NASA rabbit hole knows what LEO stands for, let alone USAF! I liked the conflict between civilian NASA and the Air Force space corps.
However, the hero is more or less why I don't read SF by dudes unless it's recced. His entire character is basically Sad Because His Wife Left Him. There are no significant women in the story other than the ex-wife.
I also didn't believe the central plot point, which I won't spoil, but will say was a handwave too far in terms of science. You can't just wave the word "Quantum" around and expect me to believe it. I might not have minded as much if I'd liked the hero, but here we are.
However, the hero is more or less why I don't read SF by dudes unless it's recced. His entire character is basically Sad Because His Wife Left Him. There are no significant women in the story other than the ex-wife.
I also didn't believe the central plot point, which I won't spoil, but will say was a handwave too far in terms of science. You can't just wave the word "Quantum" around and expect me to believe it. I might not have minded as much if I'd liked the hero, but here we are.
mikewhiteman's review
3.0
This is the second novella in Sales' Apollo Quartet, following on with similar themes although not the same characters. Again we have alternate timelines (here, after the US was beaten to the moon by the USSR, they turned their attention to Mars), gruff military men dealing and failing to deal with the loneliness of space travel, and a piece of speculative tech dropped into an otherwise hard SF world.
As before, acronyms abound, to the story's benefit and detriment. They mostly add to the detailed and rigorously researched world presented, but it's also a struggle to imagine an astronaut constantly referring to their A7LB rather than their (space)suit. Maybe they do.
I'm a fan of the structure used - after the story seems to end abruptly, there is a glossary and timeline of the history which both add depth and are more than just incidental to the plot, followed by a coda which shows the events in a new light - but it doesn't quite land for me. The main body of the story felt too slight for the penny-dropping moment to really hit as hard as it should have.
That said, the writing is excellent (when not bogged down in the exact model of engine pushing someone into orbit), capturing the character of a man desperate to return to his personal glory days at the expense of everything else, and the integration of the speculative into hard science and history is expertly done.
As before, acronyms abound, to the story's benefit and detriment. They mostly add to the detailed and rigorously researched world presented, but it's also a struggle to imagine an astronaut constantly referring to their A7LB rather than their (space)suit. Maybe they do.
I'm a fan of the structure used - after the story seems to end abruptly, there is a glossary and timeline of the history which both add depth and are more than just incidental to the plot, followed by a coda which shows the events in a new light - but it doesn't quite land for me. The main body of the story felt too slight for the penny-dropping moment to really hit as hard as it should have.
That said, the writing is excellent (when not bogged down in the exact model of engine pushing someone into orbit), capturing the character of a man desperate to return to his personal glory days at the expense of everything else, and the integration of the speculative into hard science and history is expertly done.
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