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A review by explikator
The Last Astronaut by David Wellington
adventurous
dark
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
NASA lost the race to Mars to China, private companies are in charge of space travel. Until one day a huge object from deep space enters the solar system and Sally - the last astronaut from the title - dones her space suit once again. First contact, but things are much different than expected.
A sci fi horror book that reads like a proposal for a B movie. Fast paced and written very efficiently it stays entertaining and holds back its surprises almost too sparingly.
Though the inner monologue of all characters takes a lot of room, none of them are very relatable apart from the protagonist herself. The billionaire is in love with himself, the Navy Seal from the Space Force looks only for a military solution and seceretly carries a gun and the young biologist is highly intelligent and sexy, too. Stereotypical? Yes, they are.
It's a good book, if you're into sci fi and looking for a distraction and it never tries to be more. That's fair. Could it be better? Like Stanley Robinson or Liu? Sure. But that would take 400 more pages. And I wouldn't like to read an 800 page book with that premise.
A sci fi horror book that reads like a proposal for a B movie. Fast paced and written very efficiently it stays entertaining and holds back its surprises almost too sparingly.
It's a good book, if you're into sci fi and looking for a distraction and it never tries to be more. That's fair. Could it be better? Like Stanley Robinson or Liu? Sure. But that would take 400 more pages. And I wouldn't like to read an 800 page book with that premise.