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emsmeat's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Eh I thought this book was gonna be more about an astronaut in space and *drama* and less about the environment and world politics. I really wasn't very interested until the last 30% and wish the entire book was written about the end. 2.8
branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad at all; this book has similarities to The Martian as well as the Gravity movie with Sandra Bullock - but more than anything it reminds me of the much less well-known Final Orbit, with its hyper-realistic depiction of space program activities and occurrences, plus the addition of Earthly plots and conflicts.
I give this about a 3.5, rounding down, mainly because I’m partial to the speculative, and this book is just so realistic that it comes across as a bit too mundane for me - I would expect fans of this sort of general realistic fiction to rate it higher. The storytelling also is a bit too straightforward and workmanlike, though certainly polished and professional.
Walli is a great character, but I’m afraid her actions, in the beginning at least, come across as strangely inexplicable. I understand it’s in an effort to keep the reader initially in the dark as to her true motivations, but that just makes it worse, because it draws attention to the mechanics of the story construction while failing to accurately portray the point of view of the point of view character. Sonia’s motivations, however, are fairly clear - it’s only the connection between them that’s initially obscure. The secondary characters, especially the Russians, and well-drawn and interesting.
Another thing that bothered me a bit was the complete lack of follow up on the initial incident at the ISS. Plenty of technical discussion of other aspects of the station’s status, but little to nothing about the results of the Progress situation. And nothing at all about the disposition of the Progress itself. But okay, I realize that wasn’t technically necessary to move the story forward.
Kluger does a fine job ratcheting up the tension as the story goes on, and it’s at an appropriately high level by the end. The resolution that the reader is pretty sure is coming is nevertheless logically justified and satisfying. Although it doesn’t have that spark that inspires me to give a rating of 4 or 5, I’d nevertheless give the book a firm recommendation for readers of non-speculative fiction. For a book without anything supernatural or wildly science-fictional, this is the way to do it.
I give this about a 3.5, rounding down, mainly because I’m partial to the speculative, and this book is just so realistic that it comes across as a bit too mundane for me - I would expect fans of this sort of general realistic fiction to rate it higher. The storytelling also is a bit too straightforward and workmanlike, though certainly polished and professional.
Walli is a great character, but I’m afraid her actions, in the beginning at least, come across as strangely inexplicable. I understand it’s in an effort to keep the reader initially in the dark as to her true motivations, but that just makes it worse, because it draws attention to the mechanics of the story construction while failing to accurately portray the point of view of the point of view character. Sonia’s motivations, however, are fairly clear - it’s only the connection between them that’s initially obscure. The secondary characters, especially the Russians, and well-drawn and interesting.
Another thing that bothered me a bit was the complete lack of follow up on the initial incident at the ISS. Plenty of technical discussion of other aspects of the station’s status, but little to nothing about the results of the Progress situation. And nothing at all about the disposition of the Progress itself. But okay, I realize that wasn’t technically necessary to move the story forward.
Kluger does a fine job ratcheting up the tension as the story goes on, and it’s at an appropriately high level by the end. The resolution that the reader is pretty sure is coming is nevertheless logically justified and satisfying. Although it doesn’t have that spark that inspires me to give a rating of 4 or 5, I’d nevertheless give the book a firm recommendation for readers of non-speculative fiction. For a book without anything supernatural or wildly science-fictional, this is the way to do it.
ohemgeebooks's review against another edition
4.0
Suspense in Space
Happy #PubDay to this knockout sci-fi book that seems more real than, you know…me burgers.
I’ve read a lot of sci-fi recently and Holdout by Jeffrey Kluger is stellar.
Graduated with high honors from the Naval Academy, an accomplished fighter jet pilot, and with 300 days spent in space, Walli Beckwith, our main protagonist, is the model astronaut. Everyone is surprised though, when a routine supply ship crashes into the International Space Station and although she is ordered to evacuate with her Russian crew mates, she refuses to leave the station. Her reason…to save a significant part of our world, the Amazon Rainforest, and also save the life of someone she loves.
Ruining her career, undergoing scrutiny from the world, and possibly facing a life sentence in prison from multiple countries, it’s a race against time to seek justice and help change the course of Earth’s future.
This book felt so true to real life, it was shocking. The author, Jeffrey Kluger who currently works for Time magazine has written multiple nonfiction space books, including books on Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 and the details he included in this fiction book are incredible.
It reads like a sci-fi suspense with an emphasis on environmental conservation that also includes high octane political intrigue.
Holdout has a slow-paced beginning, but quickly picks up the pace with a fiery finish that I’ll be thinking about for a long time.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy for review.
Happy #PubDay to this knockout sci-fi book that seems more real than, you know…me burgers.
I’ve read a lot of sci-fi recently and Holdout by Jeffrey Kluger is stellar.
Graduated with high honors from the Naval Academy, an accomplished fighter jet pilot, and with 300 days spent in space, Walli Beckwith, our main protagonist, is the model astronaut. Everyone is surprised though, when a routine supply ship crashes into the International Space Station and although she is ordered to evacuate with her Russian crew mates, she refuses to leave the station. Her reason…to save a significant part of our world, the Amazon Rainforest, and also save the life of someone she loves.
Ruining her career, undergoing scrutiny from the world, and possibly facing a life sentence in prison from multiple countries, it’s a race against time to seek justice and help change the course of Earth’s future.
This book felt so true to real life, it was shocking. The author, Jeffrey Kluger who currently works for Time magazine has written multiple nonfiction space books, including books on Apollo 8 and Apollo 13 and the details he included in this fiction book are incredible.
It reads like a sci-fi suspense with an emphasis on environmental conservation that also includes high octane political intrigue.
Holdout has a slow-paced beginning, but quickly picks up the pace with a fiery finish that I’ll be thinking about for a long time.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy for review.
ashleynoelle's review against another edition
2.0
**Thank you to NetGalley for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain 100% my own**
This was NOT what I thought it was. This was described to me as being great for fans of Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary...and I did not see the things I love from Weir in this novel at all. Where I was expecting a semi-tense, space focused sci-fi, I got a slightly disjointed story about the horrors and destruction of the Amazon and it's people. Don't get me wrong, I honestly felt more interested in the Amazon storyline than the space one, but overall the stories did not feel as if they meshed well together. I felt jerked out of one storyline like I was being thrown into a different book altogether.
This will probably work for some people, but this was not for me. I couldn't connect with the characters, and I felt myself lacking in investment when it came to the plot. This left me feeling like I didn't want to pick this up and read it at all, and I found myself reaching for other books instead.
This was NOT what I thought it was. This was described to me as being great for fans of Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary...and I did not see the things I love from Weir in this novel at all. Where I was expecting a semi-tense, space focused sci-fi, I got a slightly disjointed story about the horrors and destruction of the Amazon and it's people. Don't get me wrong, I honestly felt more interested in the Amazon storyline than the space one, but overall the stories did not feel as if they meshed well together. I felt jerked out of one storyline like I was being thrown into a different book altogether.
This will probably work for some people, but this was not for me. I couldn't connect with the characters, and I felt myself lacking in investment when it came to the plot. This left me feeling like I didn't want to pick this up and read it at all, and I found myself reaching for other books instead.
lizkatiereads's review against another edition
3.0
✨ARC Review✨
A connection between an astronaut and a physician...two worlds collide, and a race against time!
Walli Beckworth is with other astronauts aboard a space station conducting various experiments on highly contagious diseases such as e.coli, salmonella, and meningitis. The very beginning of the book already sounds like a disaster is about to implode, and then the station was depressurizing, a collision impending, the station is powering down and Walli is refusing to ingress the spacecraft with her other two crew members, all three of them injured, and will not give a reason for her refusal.
The book then flashbacks to three days prior, where Sonia, a physician is in the Amazon, on a hospital camp volunteering help to tribes with emerging diseases. She develops a closeness and attachment to a child named Oli. Epidemics of Influenza and Chicken Pox were sweeping through these communities. Intentional fires are being set causing people to flee alongside inevitable casualties. They are moving camp from one place to the next, constantly having to evacuate.
There is a connection between Walli and Sonia, and that connection fuels the decision for Walli to “go rogue”. “I will come home,” she said, “when you have put an end to the project that is causing damage so great it’s visible from space.”
What I Liked:
-Dual POV told during one timeline; you get stories told simultaneously about Walli and Sonia
-I see this as a book that could potentially be turned into a movie
-Sonia develops a deep motherly connection with Oli, caring for him medically after his mother had passed from Cholera.
-The backstory tidbits you get about Walli...her upbringing, how she got her name, a previous relationship that she still seems to hold dear
-How Walli seemingly has a war within herself. She reflects on past circumstances with the Navy as well as NASA, that help fuel the importance of what she is currently doing.
-The book is mixed with some suspense along with very sad moments
-There is a twist towards the last part of the book, though predictable, a nice touch, and the Epilogue tied up all of the loose ends nicely.
Why It Wasn’t A Five Star Book For Me:
-There is what I felt to be kind of a jab at the medical profession in the sense that there is a lack of empathy, when there is a reference about Sonia developing a connection with Oli, that it was “all wrong for the dispassion she was supposed to feel as a practitioner.”
-This book kind of just dragged on for me. It started out as gripping, and there is a bit of a twist that happens towards the last part of the book, but if you pay close attention to the beginning and the developing signs toward the unfolding events that start to add up, you almost have to anticipate what is happening.
✨Rating✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
A special thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review! Holdout is out August 3rd!
A connection between an astronaut and a physician...two worlds collide, and a race against time!
Walli Beckworth is with other astronauts aboard a space station conducting various experiments on highly contagious diseases such as e.coli, salmonella, and meningitis. The very beginning of the book already sounds like a disaster is about to implode, and then the station was depressurizing, a collision impending, the station is powering down and Walli is refusing to ingress the spacecraft with her other two crew members, all three of them injured, and will not give a reason for her refusal.
The book then flashbacks to three days prior, where Sonia, a physician is in the Amazon, on a hospital camp volunteering help to tribes with emerging diseases. She develops a closeness and attachment to a child named Oli. Epidemics of Influenza and Chicken Pox were sweeping through these communities. Intentional fires are being set causing people to flee alongside inevitable casualties. They are moving camp from one place to the next, constantly having to evacuate.
There is a connection between Walli and Sonia, and that connection fuels the decision for Walli to “go rogue”. “I will come home,” she said, “when you have put an end to the project that is causing damage so great it’s visible from space.”
What I Liked:
-Dual POV told during one timeline; you get stories told simultaneously about Walli and Sonia
-I see this as a book that could potentially be turned into a movie
-Sonia develops a deep motherly connection with Oli, caring for him medically after his mother had passed from Cholera.
-The backstory tidbits you get about Walli...her upbringing, how she got her name, a previous relationship that she still seems to hold dear
-How Walli seemingly has a war within herself. She reflects on past circumstances with the Navy as well as NASA, that help fuel the importance of what she is currently doing.
-The book is mixed with some suspense along with very sad moments
-There is a twist towards the last part of the book, though predictable, a nice touch, and the Epilogue tied up all of the loose ends nicely.
Why It Wasn’t A Five Star Book For Me:
-There is what I felt to be kind of a jab at the medical profession in the sense that there is a lack of empathy, when there is a reference about Sonia developing a connection with Oli, that it was “all wrong for the dispassion she was supposed to feel as a practitioner.”
-This book kind of just dragged on for me. It started out as gripping, and there is a bit of a twist that happens towards the last part of the book, but if you pay close attention to the beginning and the developing signs toward the unfolding events that start to add up, you almost have to anticipate what is happening.
✨Rating✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
A special thank you to Dutton and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review! Holdout is out August 3rd!
lookingforamandaa's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy! Here is my honest review. When I read the synopsis for this book, I didn’t really know what to expect going into it. I thought it might be a science fiction thriller. Had I known more specific details about this book, I probably wouldn’t have read it. But I did really enjoy my reading experience once the story got started.
We follow Walli Beckwith, an astronaut. An accident happens and the three astronauts that are on the space station are required to leave. But Walli refuses and stays behind. The reason? No one knows until a few days later. When Walli finally reveals that she stayed behind on the space station to protest and demand action from the United States, many countries are furious. This is where the story gets way more political than I anticipated. The heart of this story is about Walli pressuring the U.S. government to do the right thing and intervene where another country is committing extreme human right violations.
I liked Walli. I liked that she had the bravery and audacity to take the space station hostage in order to shed light on the atrocities happening in the Amazon. She takes unauthorized photos from the space station and uses her fame as an astronaut to bring awareness to the issue that’s being called the Consolidation. I think the parts with Walli alone on the space station could have been boring, but they weren’t. The author used them well to share backstory and other important details.
I was confused at Sonia’s point of view until I learned of her connection to Walli and all the pieces fell together. I think Sonia’s part of the story was just as important, if not more important, than Walli’s. Sonia’s on the ground in the Amazon, working as a doctor. We see the horrors happening in the forest through Sonia and I have to say, at times, her parts of the story were incredibly hard to read.
Overall, I think this was a great story. It was well written, interesting, detailed, and organized. I think it was a passionate story about people doing the ‘wrong’ thing for the right reasons. I loved the bravery and courage these women showed. I think it puts a hope and positivity on the American government that isn’t really deserved, but I thought it was great for escapism.
We follow Walli Beckwith, an astronaut. An accident happens and the three astronauts that are on the space station are required to leave. But Walli refuses and stays behind. The reason? No one knows until a few days later. When Walli finally reveals that she stayed behind on the space station to protest and demand action from the United States, many countries are furious. This is where the story gets way more political than I anticipated. The heart of this story is about Walli pressuring the U.S. government to do the right thing and intervene where another country is committing extreme human right violations.
I liked Walli. I liked that she had the bravery and audacity to take the space station hostage in order to shed light on the atrocities happening in the Amazon. She takes unauthorized photos from the space station and uses her fame as an astronaut to bring awareness to the issue that’s being called the Consolidation. I think the parts with Walli alone on the space station could have been boring, but they weren’t. The author used them well to share backstory and other important details.
I was confused at Sonia’s point of view until I learned of her connection to Walli and all the pieces fell together. I think Sonia’s part of the story was just as important, if not more important, than Walli’s. Sonia’s on the ground in the Amazon, working as a doctor. We see the horrors happening in the forest through Sonia and I have to say, at times, her parts of the story were incredibly hard to read.
Overall, I think this was a great story. It was well written, interesting, detailed, and organized. I think it was a passionate story about people doing the ‘wrong’ thing for the right reasons. I loved the bravery and courage these women showed. I think it puts a hope and positivity on the American government that isn’t really deserved, but I thought it was great for escapism.
melissatrew's review against another edition
4.0
”From her very particular position, she had a very particular voice. She would use it.”
Project Hail Mary (lone astronaut in outer space) meets How Beautiful We Were (indigenous people & lands being perpetually wronged by corporate greed) in this new sci-fi thriller by Jeffrey Kluger!
I’m a huge fan of science fiction, so Holdout (with a blurb from Riley Sager and a comparison to Andy Weir!), filled with renegade astronauts, hijacked space stations, and a fight for justice, sounded like a slam dunk for me. But in execution, it didn’t actually read as much like sci-fi as a high-stakes sociopolitical drama.
I was astounded by the amount of time and effort that the author put into researching for this book. From the Soviet-era space race to the impact of industrialization on indigenous populations of the world, I felt like I learned something new in nearly every field of study. I truly do love books that endeavor to teach, not just entertain, and Kluger is a masterful teacher of science, history, sociopolitical anthropology, and more.
(If you’re familiar with the author’s credentials, this probably won’t come as a surprise - he’s an editor for Time magazine and has authored many nonfiction books on a variety of topics, and his gift for research was on full display here!)
Because of this informational approach, much of the book felt more expositional than narrative in style, with large chunks of text devoted to info-dumps, mathematical calculations, and rabbit-trail descriptions that didn’t necessarily move the plot forward, and it took me longer than usual to really engage with the characters or what was happening. But there absolutely is a story here, if you’re willing to mine for it through all of the minute detail - a story of integrity, conviction, and the power of the individual to spark change through any means necessary - and I found it to be compelling, challenging, and timely.
——
A huge thank you to Jeffrey Kluger, Penguin Group, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Project Hail Mary (lone astronaut in outer space) meets How Beautiful We Were (indigenous people & lands being perpetually wronged by corporate greed) in this new sci-fi thriller by Jeffrey Kluger!
I’m a huge fan of science fiction, so Holdout (with a blurb from Riley Sager and a comparison to Andy Weir!), filled with renegade astronauts, hijacked space stations, and a fight for justice, sounded like a slam dunk for me. But in execution, it didn’t actually read as much like sci-fi as a high-stakes sociopolitical drama.
I was astounded by the amount of time and effort that the author put into researching for this book. From the Soviet-era space race to the impact of industrialization on indigenous populations of the world, I felt like I learned something new in nearly every field of study. I truly do love books that endeavor to teach, not just entertain, and Kluger is a masterful teacher of science, history, sociopolitical anthropology, and more.
(If you’re familiar with the author’s credentials, this probably won’t come as a surprise - he’s an editor for Time magazine and has authored many nonfiction books on a variety of topics, and his gift for research was on full display here!)
Because of this informational approach, much of the book felt more expositional than narrative in style, with large chunks of text devoted to info-dumps, mathematical calculations, and rabbit-trail descriptions that didn’t necessarily move the plot forward, and it took me longer than usual to really engage with the characters or what was happening. But there absolutely is a story here, if you’re willing to mine for it through all of the minute detail - a story of integrity, conviction, and the power of the individual to spark change through any means necessary - and I found it to be compelling, challenging, and timely.
——
A huge thank you to Jeffrey Kluger, Penguin Group, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
booksandcurlz's review against another edition
The pace of the book wasn’t holding my attention the way I would have liked it to.