Starred review from August 9, 2021
Bestseller Hadfield (An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth) makes his fiction debut with a spectacular alternate history thriller. In 1973, the Apollo 18 moon mission, which was canceled in real-life, becomes a military reconnaissance operation aimed at gaining intel about a new Soviet space station, Almaz. Because Almaz, in effect “a huge, manned camera,” threatens U.S. national security, the Apollo 18 team is charged with trying to sabotage the station, but one Apollo astronaut’s death in a plane crash puts that goal at risk. The tragedy triggers an investigation into its cause and whether the astronaut’s aircraft was deliberately tampered with. Houston flight controller Kaz Zemeckis works desperately to keep things on track, unaware that someone involved on the American end is a Russian mole. Hadfield keeps readers in suspense about the identity of the Soviet agent and how the cold war confrontation in space will play out. His mastery of the details enables him to generate high levels of tension from just a description of a welding error, which cascades into something significant. This is an intelligent and surprising nail-biter that Tom Clancy fans will relish. Agent: Rick Broadhead, Rick Broadhead & Associates.