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A review by sabsey
The Last Astronaut by David Wellington
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
There were many things I loved about this - the horror was creeping and ultimately relentless. I was wary in the middle section of Wellington falling into worn-out tropes of the space horror genre, but he very neatly pulled off some very cool things in terms of a First Contact horror story.
I was a bit unsatisfied with the trajectory of the public/private space exploration subplot, however it did setup my favourite character, Sandra (Rao coming in a very tight second). I also think Wellington particuarly excelled in making the worldbuilding seem & feel effortless, which is usually not an easy feat to pull off in sci-fi like this.
I also got chills in one of the final lines on the bookregarding Sally finally walking on Mars. Chills. I also got the impression that the MC as Sally could be a reference or namesake of Sally Ride, but I could be looking too deep there.
Overall, even though the horror didn't quite work on me (the scary things in this book are not the things I am personally scared of), I deeply appreciated what it was doing, and Wellington really stuck the landing.
I was a bit unsatisfied with the trajectory of the public/private space exploration subplot, however it did setup my favourite character, Sandra (Rao coming in a very tight second). I also think Wellington particuarly excelled in making the worldbuilding seem & feel effortless, which is usually not an easy feat to pull off in sci-fi like this.
I also got chills in one of the final lines on the book
Overall, even though the horror didn't quite work on me (the scary things in this book are not the things I am personally scared of), I deeply appreciated what it was doing, and Wellington really stuck the landing.