The Apollo Murders: 1

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I also question that NOBODY in this story ever brings up a legal, political, or ethical concern that the US is essentially going into space to sabotage Soviet property. Since this is the Nixon administration making this call, I’m not saying that they wouldn’t try it, but it seems odd that absolutely nobody ever brings up that we’re essentially using a ultra-expensive Apollo mission that the world still knows about to commit an act of war. Reading Paulette Jiles' revenge western Chenneville, it's easy to remember she's a poet. She plays ... Meanwhile, the Soviet Union isn't sitting idle. The Russians launch the Almaz Space Station, an armed spy station with enough resolution to see everything America does. After reading An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, I believe that the antagonist in this book is probably Hadfield’s idea of the worst type of person. So disgustingly egotistical. What a tjop!

Chris Hadfield is a Canadian former military test pilot and astronaut with a string of accomplishments in space, including being a mission specialist, operating the first Canadian robotic arm, doing spacewalks, flying on a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, visiting the Russian space station MIR, and commanding the International Space Station. Hadfield even made a video of himself singing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” on the International Space Station (available on YouTube).

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The next part is where it really gets messy, but I’ll keep it vague to avoid spoilers. Let’s just say that things don’t go well when Apollo 18 tries to sabotage the Soviet station, and there is absolute chaos for a few minutes as well a high probability that the space capsule has been damaged. A bunch of other shit has gone wrong as well, but despite it all, the astronauts go ahead and hit the Go-To-The-Moon button to do their burn for lunar orbit. Even when NASA gets involved again, they learn that the capsule has so many issues that it makes the Apollo 13 mission look like a cakewalk by comparison. The Apollo Murders” is an unbelievably detailed and narrated thriller, that I’d highly recommend if you have even a passing interest in space travel and I commend the author for producing such a wonderful book based much on his own life experiences.

Yep, say no more! Just dangle Apollo anything in front of me and I'm instantly hooked. You guys know I'm a total space buff, so there's no way I can pass up this book. In fact, when I first heard about it, I almost fell out of my chair in excitement. So I got my bonbons ready and prepared to dig into what was sure to be a riveting ride. a final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny spaceship, a quarter million miles from home. A quarter million miles from help. Hadfield draws on his expertise as an astronaut to add authenticity and realism to his debut thriller. Fans of Clive Cussler and Andy Weir will enjoy this genre-bender combining military fiction, the detective novel, and techno-thriller." - Library Journal (starred review) When writing a story like this, I imagine there is a constant tug-of-war between including enough technical details as to be authentic, but not so much that it bogs down the narrative and the pacing. With Hadfield being an astronaut and having tons of technical knowledge, it's natural that he would focus on what he knows best. But for me, it just went a bit too much in that direction. It’s not uncommon for retired astronauts to take pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and write a book. Most are memoirs about how they became astronauts and highlights of astronaut careers. Some turn their attention to other topics, like spaceflight or issues related to or inspired by it. A few even try their hand at fiction, like Buzz Aldrin, who teamed with John Barnes for the sci-fi novels Encounter with Tiber and The Return.

What would you do if you were tasked to go to space in 1972? What challenges do you think you would encounter? What would you do if you saw your enemy in a spaceship next to yours? These questions are among the many posed in this month’s book review choice, The Apollo Murders. Chris’ talents go beyond space exploration and flying. His singing and guitar skills were displayed while on the ISS. He recorded some music videos and even recorded a whole album while on the station. He’s been a TV show host, notably leading the series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes. The show saw contestants competing for Chris’ endorsement on their applications for astronaut to the European Space Agency. Before The Apollo Murders, he was already an accomplished author. His previous publications include a children’s book (The Darkest Dark), a book of photographs from orbit ( You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes: Photographs from the International Space Station), and his autobiography ( An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth) which he also read the audiobook for. Ron Rash is renowned for his writing about Appalachia, but his latest book, The Caretaker, begins ... The Soviets were frustrated when the United States was the first to land a man on the Moon, and closely followed America's subsequent space program, especially Apollo 18 - which was to be America' s last manned Moon flight, scheduled for Spring 1973. I knew going in that this is one of those books that relies on the author's name recognition to sell copies, but even with my low expectations, this wasn't good. It's a silly story, told poorly, with not much else going for it.

The Apollo Murders has a little something for everyone. A daring spaceflight, political intrigue, a spy thriller, and a good ol’ fashioned whodunnit all rolled into one exciting story! This may be Chris Hadfield’s first foray into fiction, but I certainly hope it isn’t his last. His writing is incredible, his characters are so believable and well-developed in their strengths, flaws and humanity and his dialogue is true to the characters. You're present with the characters whether it's in the control room, Apollo 18 or the Universal Joint. The writing was 100% to blame. The author simply didn't have the storytelling skills yet to make a story like this work. It was full of conveniences, constant head-hopping, useless characters, annoying stereotypes, unnecessary detail, inconsistent pacing, bizarre character motivations, bland dialogue, too many subplots, no character development, and boring prose. It's no surprise an editor couldn't save this amateur attempt at a novel.If there was a battle on the Moon, he would win. The Apollo Murders takes place in an alternate history version of 1973, in which the US is preparing to launch Apollo 18 (in reality, Apollo 17 was the last one). The crew will be made up of all military members, and the mission evolves into some good ol’ Cold War spy stuff involving a recently launched Soviet space station and a Soviet moon rover. My one slight issue was the overly technical explanations that peppered the plot sometimes to the extent I skimmed past it-however for those who are really into outer space and all that goes with it this would definitely be a plus so a subjective downside.