cjblandford's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really liked this book. The story gripped me from the beginning and the suspense kept me interested the whole time. The author really conveyed the immensity of space, and what its like to be in outer space as a tiny human. The body horror was really gross and scary, as well as the looming, oppressive darkness that was inside 2I. The writing was very cinematic and I could see this being made into a movie someday. I could easily visualize what the characters were going through (literally) and I loved the imagery. The reason its not getting 5 stars is because the characters felt shallow. Each character had one or two traits and didn't stray from those traits. But that didn't really diminish the whole story, but it could have been a richer experience with more nuance and depth to the characters. I was pretty riveted during the entire read, and enjoyed the overall experience.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
clamu's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
waywardtrekkie's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book is very complex. And very difficult to review. Actual rating 3.5*
This book got a lot of things right and it's evident that Wellington put a LOT of research into the feelings associated with space travel. The feeling of loneliness, claustrophobia, and the feeling that you may never go back home really resonated throughout the entire novel and was always a lingering thought in the back of the mind.
Where this book lost me though, was the pacing. The last 30% of this book is so utterly fantastic, but Wellington just appears to skip by a lot of the existentialism that is really the recurring theme of the novel. This exploration of what it means to be human and how little that matters in the grand scheme of things. This, in my opinion, was the best part of the book, but it was really hindered by the dragging plot of the middle. I feel like some of the middle sections could have been reworked to make room for a greater exploration of the ending. Especially as this is supposed to be a book within a book, it really would benefit from more exploration and insight. While some of the ending appears to be embellished, I feel like it was missing something at the end.
And with the ending, we have no real understanding about the repercussions of what happened. What the ending means for humanity or the solar system.
Overall I really enjoyed this, but do wish we had a bigger portion of the book dedicated to the existentialism that permeates the novel. As that was the true horror for me while reading this.
This book got a lot of things right and it's evident that Wellington put a LOT of research into the feelings associated with space travel. The feeling of loneliness, claustrophobia, and the feeling that you may never go back home really resonated throughout the entire novel and was always a lingering thought in the back of the mind.
Where this book lost me though, was the pacing. The last 30% of this book is so utterly fantastic, but Wellington just appears to skip by a lot of the existentialism that is really the recurring theme of the novel. This exploration of what it means to be human and how little that matters in the grand scheme of things. This, in my opinion, was the best part of the book, but it was really hindered by the dragging plot of the middle. I feel like some of the middle sections could have been reworked to make room for a greater exploration of the ending. Especially as this is supposed to be a book within a book, it really would benefit from more exploration and insight. While some of the ending appears to be embellished, I feel like it was missing something at the end.
And with the ending, we have no real understanding about the repercussions of what happened. What the ending means for humanity or the solar system.
Overall I really enjoyed this, but do wish we had a bigger portion of the book dedicated to the existentialism that permeates the novel. As that was the true horror for me while reading this.
bleigh05's review
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
zeddee's review against another edition
4.0
There were a couple of things that took me out of the story while I was reading this. For example, I just couldn't believe that a 50+ year old woman would be able to lug around a 30kg suit, even climbing up and down treacherous terrain, especially with a bad knee.
However, once I learnt to ignore all these nitpicks, I found myself finishing this book in under 2 days. I couldn't bear to put it down. When I did, I was always thinking of picking it up again. The forward momentum in this book was just that good.
However, once I learnt to ignore all these nitpicks, I found myself finishing this book in under 2 days. I couldn't bear to put it down. When I did, I was always thinking of picking it up again. The forward momentum in this book was just that good.
bigleebowski's review
3.0
I definitely enjoyed The Last Astronaut much more than David Wellington’s zombie book, Positive. Astronaut gave me some strong Alien/Contact/The Martian/Arthur Clarke vibes from it, but I absolutely wanted it to lean far far more into the body horror dread and existential nightmare fuel potential the plot could have offered. Harlan Ellison’s I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream came to mind at times, but it seemed like Wellington struggled a little bit when it came to juggling the large cast, thus resulting in some underwhelming sections that could have been scrapped in order to give more suspense/action. Don’t let that dissuade you though, as this was a very fun and gripping scifi/horror book that I’d very much like a sequel to.
FANCAST:
- Mission Commander Sally Jansen (Charlize Theron)
- Roy McAllister (Tim Robbins/Jodie Foster)
- Dr. Sunny Stevens (Dylan O’Brien)
- Dr. Parminder Rao (Garaldine Viswanathan/Lou Llobell)
- Major Winston Hawkins (Alan Ritchson)
- Charlotte Harewell (Rebecca Ferguson)
- Kyung-Leonard (Song Kang-ho)
- Commander Willem Foster (Garret Dillahunt)
- Mission Specialist Sandra Chaniron (Eiza Gonzalez)
FANCAST:
- Mission Commander Sally Jansen (Charlize Theron)
- Roy McAllister (Tim Robbins/Jodie Foster)
- Dr. Sunny Stevens (Dylan O’Brien)
- Dr. Parminder Rao (Garaldine Viswanathan/Lou Llobell)
- Major Winston Hawkins (Alan Ritchson)
- Charlotte Harewell (Rebecca Ferguson)
- Kyung-Leonard (Song Kang-ho)
- Commander Willem Foster (Garret Dillahunt)
- Mission Specialist Sandra Chaniron (Eiza Gonzalez)
evavstheworld's review
The beginning was quite interesting, and the type of sci-fi I like - space related, spaceships, NASA etc. Then shit got weird when they went to explore the alien “spaceship”, and I completely lost interest at the horror element of it. I might come back to it at some point but I don’t find it worth reading.
dan_at's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
That is a horror book in a sci-fi setting, it's not a sci-fi book with horror elements.
This is also a book that badly wants to be a movie.
Unfortunately it did not work for me :/
This is also a book that badly wants to be a movie.
Unfortunately it did not work for me :/
kclone's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5