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A review by paulabrandon
Gravity by Tess Gerritsen
4.0
Wow, what a great thriller! Tess Gerritsen has always been one of my favourite authors, but I stayed away from this one because of the whole lawsuit over the movie thing. All of a sudden, Gerritsen seemed to be accusing any movie set at the International Space Station of ripping off her book, and wasn't afraid to say so on social media. Then she was complaining about readers not understanding the ending to "Playing With Fire"....and well, I was a little put off, both by Gerritsen as an author and tackling "Gravity" the book.
However, a bit of time has passed since then, and I'm glad I gave this a try, because it was a fast-paced thrill ride. Although this book is to do with a mission into space and obviously meticulously researched, it was never overwhelmed with too much research on the page and endless technical jargon. Believe me, mine are the first eyes to glaze over if there is too much of that - and has even done so in other Gerritsen books - but that was never the case here. It maintained a feverish pace from start to finish.
Heroine Emma Watson, a doctor, is added to a space crew at the ISS after a family tragedy sees an existing member exit. She joins right around the time one of their experiments is contaminated and infects one of the crew members. Attempts to get this crew member evacuated sees events spiraling out of control. The hero is Emma's soon-to-be ex-husband, Jack McCallum, who had to exit the astronaut program due to health risks. His love for Emma is reignited by his efforts to help bring her and the other astronauts home.
"Gravity" is an exciting space thriller with lots of gooey action and gore as the bacteria/lifeform infects various astronauts one by one with messy results. I read it in one go. This book bears very little similarity to the movie "Gravity", so ignore all that business with the lawsuit. This is very much a sci-fi/medical/horror thriller as opposed to the straight-out survival theme of the movie. It was a tale I literally couldn't put down, and pretty much read in one go!
There are some quibbles that keep this from 4 stars. Firstly, there are too many characters. I started writing down the names of them all so that I could keep track. Nearly every chapter seemed to introduce a new one. It could get a little confusing, so I needed my own personal cheat sheet to keep up! Secondly, it needed more focus on Emma and the other astronauts, stranded in space and dying under gruesome circumstances. They were the characters we needed to know the most about and care about, because they were the ones in peril. Too much time was spent on the ground with Jack, and various meetings the government/military/NASA undertook to determine what they felt the fate of the astronauts should be. Too often, I was thinking, "Get back to the space station!" That's where the action was, and it was frustrating to be pulled back to Earth so often for another meeting.
But otherwise, this kept me hooked from start to finish. I'd love to see this properly adapted as a movie or TV series, it's that exciting! Sadly, after battling Hollywood over the movie "Gravity" and what she sees as plagiarism by other films, as well as the end of the "Rizzoli & Isles" TV series, Tess Gerritsen seems to have given up writing books, and moved to script-writing. Guess I'll be tuning into her films, then! But definitely give this one a look.
However, a bit of time has passed since then, and I'm glad I gave this a try, because it was a fast-paced thrill ride. Although this book is to do with a mission into space and obviously meticulously researched, it was never overwhelmed with too much research on the page and endless technical jargon. Believe me, mine are the first eyes to glaze over if there is too much of that - and has even done so in other Gerritsen books - but that was never the case here. It maintained a feverish pace from start to finish.
Heroine Emma Watson, a doctor, is added to a space crew at the ISS after a family tragedy sees an existing member exit. She joins right around the time one of their experiments is contaminated and infects one of the crew members. Attempts to get this crew member evacuated sees events spiraling out of control. The hero is Emma's soon-to-be ex-husband, Jack McCallum, who had to exit the astronaut program due to health risks. His love for Emma is reignited by his efforts to help bring her and the other astronauts home.
"Gravity" is an exciting space thriller with lots of gooey action and gore as the bacteria/lifeform infects various astronauts one by one with messy results. I read it in one go. This book bears very little similarity to the movie "Gravity", so ignore all that business with the lawsuit. This is very much a sci-fi/medical/horror thriller as opposed to the straight-out survival theme of the movie. It was a tale I literally couldn't put down, and pretty much read in one go!
There are some quibbles that keep this from 4 stars. Firstly, there are too many characters. I started writing down the names of them all so that I could keep track. Nearly every chapter seemed to introduce a new one. It could get a little confusing, so I needed my own personal cheat sheet to keep up! Secondly, it needed more focus on Emma and the other astronauts, stranded in space and dying under gruesome circumstances. They were the characters we needed to know the most about and care about, because they were the ones in peril. Too much time was spent on the ground with Jack, and various meetings the government/military/NASA undertook to determine what they felt the fate of the astronauts should be. Too often, I was thinking, "Get back to the space station!" That's where the action was, and it was frustrating to be pulled back to Earth so often for another meeting.
But otherwise, this kept me hooked from start to finish. I'd love to see this properly adapted as a movie or TV series, it's that exciting! Sadly, after battling Hollywood over the movie "Gravity" and what she sees as plagiarism by other films, as well as the end of the "Rizzoli & Isles" TV series, Tess Gerritsen seems to have given up writing books, and moved to script-writing. Guess I'll be tuning into her films, then! But definitely give this one a look.