The Apollo Murders: 1

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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. I agree with all the people saying that if you enjoyed The Martian by Andy Weir, you will enjoy this read. The book is fascinating alternative history and is so authentic, one can almost believe it really happened. Probably 200 pages of absolutely unnecessary detail and side story could (and I'd argue should) have been cut out and the true thriller meat of the story would not have been affected at all. Classified satellite launches are one thing, but a classified human mission to the Moon is something else; alas, there’s no reporter character trying to piece together what’s going on, or going wrong.

King uses the phrase keeping it on the down-low in a way that suggests he probably doesn’t understand how this phrase is currently used—and has been used for quite a while. So while not an expert like the author, I’d like to think I know a little more than the average bear about the subject, but I wouldn’t presume to say that the author got any of the technical or historical details wrong about this. The show saw contestants competing for Chris’ endorsement on their applications for astronaut to the European Space Agency.The fact that the author himself admits that many of the characters are real life people and much of what happened in the book is true, this made it all feel so much more genuine and believable than a run of the mill thriller, no matter how well written. S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. This can be an effective storytelling device, but in this case, waiting for the private investigator heroine to get to where the reader is at the beginning of the story feels interminable. There are more moving parts to this novel than there are in a Saturn V, and Hadfield is careful to give each part a complete description: provenance, purpose, design, and in-use characteristics are all faithfully recorded.

Ultimately, I really loved the idea of this book, and appreciate all of the effort and expertise that went into it. The writing is filled with an overload of scientific detail and technical descriptions that will appeal more to the space enthusiast than to the casual reader of thrillers. My only issue would be that, at times, there is far too much detail, which holds up the thriller pace. 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). He manages to find a balance between the narrative tension involved in a thriller, with multiple characters and plot lines coming together for the climax, with the technical details space enthusiasts will be looking for.When something goes terribly wrong outside the Earth’s orbit, it will take some quick decision-making to remedy it. I could hear the roaring sounds of the various aircrafts, feel the g force, see the sights the astronauts were seeing and amongst all those sensory feelings, also get a sense of the plot of the story which in itself was tense, intriguing and entertaining. Technical knowledge is on display but isn’t overwhelming, and it’s properly explained for those who aren’t actual astronauts or armchair rocket scientists. One rather minor one is a geologist involved in the lunar program, who becomes a love interest for the more prominent CAPCOM, Kaz.

Back at Mission Control, the sheriff and others are helping Kaz investigate the astronaut's backgrounds and try to keep on top of the changing events in space. S. Navy test pilot of the year in 1991, Hadfield was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut in 1992. In addition to his vast contribution to space missions and military defense, he has enriched audiences of all ages with his educational video series, lectures, photographs, out-of-this-world music videos, and books. But the real and genuine joy of The Apollo Murders is the insight Hadfield gives into life as an astronaut, the moments as launch approaches: “Still three miles away, yet clearly visible high above the flood plain, the Saturn V rocket was like some ancient Egyptian monument to the gods… gleaming white in the morning sunshine. Science and engineering nerds will be entranced while lay readers may be tempted to skim a bit, but it's all quite informative.Events do not go as planned, and both the Russians and the Americans are determined to retrieve an exotic, rare mineral from the moon. Knowing Commander Hadfield’s career allows you to understand the sources he drew from in writing The Apollo Murders. The choice of an alternative history, where another Apollo mission occurred, was an inspired choice for him.