Sally Jensen–once a famous astronaut–thought her days in space were over. She was wrong.
The object entered our solar system, slowed down off the rings of Saturn, and began a steady approach towards Earth. No one knows what its purpose is. It has made no attempt at communication and has ignored all of NASA’s transmissions.
Having forsaken manned flight, the space programs of the world scramble to enlist forcefully-retired NASA legend Sally Jensen–the only person with the first-hand operational knowledge needed to execute a mission to make contact.
With no time to spare she must lead a crew with no experience farther than mankind has ever traveled, to a visitor whose intentions are far from clear…and who, with each passing day, gets closer to home.
Title: The Last Astronaut | Author: David Wellington | Publisher: Orbit | Pub. Date: 23-July-2019 | Pages: 400 | ASIN: B07K6HNF46 | Genre: Science Fiction Horror | Language: English | Triggers: None | Rating: 5 out of 5 | Source: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review consideration
The Last Astronaut Review
I fucking loved this book. This is one of the best books I’ve read this year (and possibly better than any I read last year as well). It never went where I was expecting it to go and for someone who reads quite a lot that is such a rarity.
I was completely immersed in David Wellington’s world. The alien object that they encounter was fascinating and different enough from anything I had read (at least that I can remember) that my mind was constantly at work picturing it all. The author does a great job of not overwhelming the reader with walls of world-building. Instead he deals it out carefully so that you are discovering the object right along with the characters.
Even though The Last Astronaut is listed as purely science fiction, the general feel of it put me in mind of my favorite sci-fi horror movie. I’m talking, of course, about Event Horizon. As each piece was revealed and I got sucked deeper into the “Holy shit” zone (you know what I’m talking about) that movie in all it’s twisted glory kept springing to mind. (Basically what I’m saying here is for the love of God can someone please make this a movie ASAP? Also cast Jamie Lee Curtis as Sally Jensen while you’re at it. It needs a queen owning it the way only she can.
At roughly 400 pages, this is a tight novel that refuses to meander the way a lot of the thicker science fiction novels being released lately do. if you’re looking for a nicely paced read that will take you on one hell of an adventure into unknown territory, look no further than The Last Astronaut.
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Lilyn G is the founder of Sci-Fi & Scary, and leader of the Coolthulhu Crew. She does book and film reviews for both genres the site focuses on. Her tastes run towards creature features, hard science fiction, and lots and lots of action. She also has a soft spot for middle-grade fiction that rears its head frequently.
Though no longer involved with Ladies of Horror Fiction due to other responsibilities and a too-full plate, she was one of the original 4 co-founders.
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I can’t wait to read this! Hopping over to order it right now!
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Purely based on this review I think I’m going to consider getting a copy of this. It sounds like everything I want from a sci-fi right now! – John
I hope you do and that you love it!