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timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
This is very obviously a first novel by a non-novelist. That's OK. I'd like to see him write with an experienced partner, but he might get there on his own; he's mastered 187 other things.
What we have here is a good 1973 novel, literally. I was reading novels like this in 1973. And that's a heckuva tribute to the earlier authors who had NOT been astronauts but did their research.
Laura was especially 1973. I expected her to show up each time with a fresh-baked pie. The other characters were often astronauts, who are not famous for charisma; indeed Buzz Aldrin and Hadfield are the only two I can recall who have shown any traces of personality left after their training.
Hadfilled gives us perhaps a little too much of his in-depth expertise.
There are WAY too many telegraphed plot points, including a literal Chekhov's Gun.
And it all comes together in a ridiculous ending that is made of legitimate pieces but assembled into a highly-implausible flurry of action. As such it will probably make a good movie; no, wait a successful movie, not a good one.
Still worth reading. Keep on being you, Chris.
What we have here is a good 1973 novel, literally. I was reading novels like this in 1973. And that's a heckuva tribute to the earlier authors who had NOT been astronauts but did their research.
Laura was especially 1973. I expected her to show up each time with a fresh-baked pie. The other characters were often astronauts, who are not famous for charisma; indeed Buzz Aldrin and Hadfield are the only two I can recall who have shown any traces of personality left after their training.
Hadfilled gives us perhaps a little too much of his in-depth expertise.
There are WAY too many telegraphed plot points, including a literal Chekhov's Gun.
And it all comes together in a ridiculous ending that is made of legitimate pieces but assembled into a highly-implausible flurry of action. As such it will probably make a good movie; no, wait a successful movie, not a good one.
Still worth reading. Keep on being you, Chris.
faile12's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jalberton18's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
lizabethstucker's review against another edition
4.0
4 out of 5.
Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis' future as a test pilot and astronaut selectee is destroyed when a bird strike led to his canopy exploding, the plastic shrapnel causing him to lose his left eye. Five years later he's sent by the U.S. Navy to the Houston Manned Spacecraft Center to be the military liaison for the Apollo 18 crew.
The mission, completely funded by the Department of Defense, will be the first all-military spaceflight whose classified purpose would be determined by the U.S. Air Force. The actions of the Soviet space program, both orbiting Earth and on the Moon itself causes rapid changes in the Apollo mission and schedule. Espionage, romance, science, and a man caught between his life and his past all combine into an engrossing thriller.
NOTE: This has nothing to do with the horror film APOLLO 18.
The main action is set in 1973, with a few flashbacks and jumps from Houston, Texas, to Russia and elsewhere. Chris Hadfield is a man of many, many talents. He's a former fighter pilot, astronaut who was Commander of the Space Station, caught my attention with a YouTube video of him singing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in the Space Station, and numerous talks and non-fiction books. Now he shares his ability to weave an enthralling story of what might've been.
As Hadfield stated in the start of the book, "Many of these people are real. Much of the actually happened." He even provided a partial list of who and what is real in the back of the book. If you're curious, I highly recommend Googling, but be prepared to fall down a rabbit hole.
I do believe it is a bit too long at 480 pages, could've benefited by tighter editing. That said, it was a fun read, one I binged almost all night. It also brought back a lot of memories for me, having grown up just south of Cape Canaveral with a father who worked in the program from slightly before 1959 until 1970. Highly recommend to my fellow space enthusiasts.
Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis' future as a test pilot and astronaut selectee is destroyed when a bird strike led to his canopy exploding, the plastic shrapnel causing him to lose his left eye. Five years later he's sent by the U.S. Navy to the Houston Manned Spacecraft Center to be the military liaison for the Apollo 18 crew.
The mission, completely funded by the Department of Defense, will be the first all-military spaceflight whose classified purpose would be determined by the U.S. Air Force. The actions of the Soviet space program, both orbiting Earth and on the Moon itself causes rapid changes in the Apollo mission and schedule. Espionage, romance, science, and a man caught between his life and his past all combine into an engrossing thriller.
NOTE: This has nothing to do with the horror film APOLLO 18.
The main action is set in 1973, with a few flashbacks and jumps from Houston, Texas, to Russia and elsewhere. Chris Hadfield is a man of many, many talents. He's a former fighter pilot, astronaut who was Commander of the Space Station, caught my attention with a YouTube video of him singing David Bowie's "Space Oddity" in the Space Station, and numerous talks and non-fiction books. Now he shares his ability to weave an enthralling story of what might've been.
As Hadfield stated in the start of the book, "Many of these people are real. Much of the actually happened." He even provided a partial list of who and what is real in the back of the book. If you're curious, I highly recommend Googling, but be prepared to fall down a rabbit hole.
I do believe it is a bit too long at 480 pages, could've benefited by tighter editing. That said, it was a fun read, one I binged almost all night. It also brought back a lot of memories for me, having grown up just south of Cape Canaveral with a father who worked in the program from slightly before 1959 until 1970. Highly recommend to my fellow space enthusiasts.
sheldon1979's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Chris Hadfield has created a good story, imagine where the Apollo Program continued and had flown a Apollo 18. It follows Kaz as he is tasked to bring the Apollo 18 crew upto speed with their new task before going to the moon. Almaz a Russian spy satelite has been launched and can give the Russians goog images of important sites in the US.
Their aim is to photograph and sabotage if possible, they were told it was unmanned until in space they realise that its manned and it fired upon them. The Apollo crew get away from Almaz but they have a stowaway on the outside a Russian Cosmonaut and they have to bring them onboard.
Unfortunately someone onboard isn't who they say they are...
Their aim is to photograph and sabotage if possible, they were told it was unmanned until in space they realise that its manned and it fired upon them. The Apollo crew get away from Almaz but they have a stowaway on the outside a Russian Cosmonaut and they have to bring them onboard.
Unfortunately someone onboard isn't who they say they are...
matthrog's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This book handles the mysteries of space and the preparations required for astronauts to go to the moon in a way that is extremely compelling. The main character is a fantastic perspective into the NASA of the early 70s which really allows the reader to get immersed in the story. The twist that occurs at the end is unexpected and really allows the author to explore the complexities of space flight during the Cold War.