rmichno's review against another edition
4.0
A fun, entertaining story.
The writing was a bit flat at times but I really enjoyed the overall premise and the technical details on life as an astronaut. I also loved learning more about the actual Soviet space station which the story was loosely based on.
The writing was a bit flat at times but I really enjoyed the overall premise and the technical details on life as an astronaut. I also loved learning more about the actual Soviet space station which the story was loosely based on.
tarmstrong112's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5
The story is too thin to justify its length. That said, I did enjoy the story and all the stuff about NASA and the Apollo Space Program. I just felt the story was thin and the book should have been shorter and more tight. Would have made for a more entertaining experience.
The story is too thin to justify its length. That said, I did enjoy the story and all the stuff about NASA and the Apollo Space Program. I just felt the story was thin and the book should have been shorter and more tight. Would have made for a more entertaining experience.
katattack345's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I thought the book was pretty good. My one complaint was the amount of technical jargon. There was so much of unnecessary explanations of the technical workings of things that when they were necessary I was already just glossing over the text. It made the first part of the book a little difficult to read and difficult to want to continue. But once those paragraphs dropped, I couldn’t put it down.
I give it up to Chris Hadfield for writing the villain the way he did. It was very refreshing. Very well done
I give it up to Chris Hadfield for writing the villain the way he did. It was very refreshing. Very well done
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Blood and War
heleene's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
r3ader22's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bibliovino's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Slow burn building to a couple of big climax points, but unfortunately the last push was just a logistical mess. I did enjoy the historical and scientific accuracy. The roving POV did add interesting details and I really enjoyed a couple of the characters, though most were pretty flat and static.
d_audy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
An alternate (barely so) History set in 1973 at the very end of the Apollo program and in the middle of Cold War, The Apollo Murders manages to be both improbable (the plot rests entirely on a series of events aligning just so to bring it about) yet highly plausible and hyper realistic in how it all unfolds. The result is a gripping, very well structured space thriller that's barely science-fiction (or at least, barely the speculative branch of the genre, as it rests almost entirely on real science and technology). Ret. Colonel Hadfield has lived through many similar situations in his long career in the Air Force and Space program (whether it's joint missions with the Russians, spacewalking, piloting space and air crafts, spending months in zero g on a space station, doing liaison work), and he brings you right there, in the middle of the action, also bringing a NASA insider perspective on the nuts and bots of the late years of Apollo, mixing interesting fictional figures with several historical ones, both on the Russian and American sides. And Hadfield does so with all the talent of much more experienced writers, bringing to mind the thrillers of Tom Clancy, the flair for scientific vulgarization of Arthur C. Clarke, and the excitement of Andy Weir's stories. He also manages to carry a tense, edge of your seat suspense and make you care about the outcome and the characters, without creating implausible high stakes. The outcome isn't to stop a chain of events leading to nuclear war. It's not that book.
The Apollo Murders is largely self-contained, with a satisfying yet open ending. One mission is finished, but the events of the book of course would keep having ripples on the years to come. A second book in what may be a duology or longer series has been announced for late 2023.
The Apollo Murders is largely self-contained, with a satisfying yet open ending. One mission is finished, but the events of the book of course would keep having ripples on the years to come. A second book in what may be a duology or longer series has been announced for late 2023.
thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Death of parent and War
olivialucy's review against another edition
3.0
This book felt like it took me forever to read and at times felt a real slog.
Some of it was really cool; like the scientific descriptions and explanations about space and space travel.
I found it was quite waffly and probably could have been 150 pages shorter.
The ending didn’t feel like it ended the story and it was a tad disappointing. It was written in a very nice style and overall a good story, just a bit too long.
3*
Some of it was really cool; like the scientific descriptions and explanations about space and space travel.
I found it was quite waffly and probably could have been 150 pages shorter.
The ending didn’t feel like it ended the story and it was a tad disappointing. It was written in a very nice style and overall a good story, just a bit too long.
3*