The Return

by Buzz Aldrin, John Barnes

The Return is a tale about the kind of space adventure that could happen today--and that will happen tomorrow. As told by Buzz Aldrin, who's been there...and who's already helped change the world.

Former astronaut Scott Blackstone's dream of opening outer space to visits from everyday people is under attack. His pilot program has been marred by a fatal accident, he's out of a job, and he's being sued for a billions dollars. And it's beginning to seem that the "accident" wasn't at all accidental.

Then the endless conflict between India and Pakistan heats up...and Pakistan explodes a nuclear device in the upper atmosphere, frying electronics on earth and in space, and putting the crew of the international Space Station at risk. With the Shuttle fleet grounded, only a secret skunkworks project known to Scott and his old friends can save the space station's stranded crew.

"As real as it gets."-- New York Post

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 31, 2000

About the author

Buzz Aldrin (born Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr., January 20, 1930) is an engineer and former American astronaut, and the second person to walk on the Moon. He was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history. He set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 (UTC) on July 21, 1969, following mission commander Neil Armstrong. He is also a retired colonel in the United States Air Force (USAF) and a Command Pilot.

Aldrin was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, to Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Sr., a career military man, and his wife Marion (née Moon). He is of Scottish, Swedish, and German ancestry. After graduating from Montclair High School in 1946, Aldrin turned down a full scholarship offer from MIT, and went to the US Military Academy at West Point, New York. The nickname "Buzz" originated in childhood: the younger of his two elder sisters (Fay Ann) mispronounced "brother" as "buzzer", and this was shortened to Buzz. Aldrin made it his legal first name in 1988.

Buzz Aldrin graduated third in his class at West Point in 1951, with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions in F-86 Sabres and shot down two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 aircraft.

Subsequent to the war, Aldrin was assigned as an aerial gunnery instructor at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and next was an aide to the dean of faculty at the US Air Force Academy. He flew F-100 Super Sabres as a flight commander at Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, in the 22d Fighter Squadron. In 1963 Aldrin earned a Doctor of Science degree in astronautics from MIT. His graduate thesis was "Line-of-sight guidance techniques for manned orbital rendezvous", the dedication of which read, "In the hopes that this work may in some way contribute to their exploration of space, this is dedicated to the crew members of this country’s present and future manned space programs. If only I could join them in their exciting endeavors!" On completion of his doctorate, he was assigned to the Gemini Target Office of the Air Force Space Systems Division in Los Angeles before his selection as an astronaut. His initial application to join the astronaut corps was rejected on the basis of having never been a test pilot; that prerequisite was lifted when he re-applied and was accepted into the third astronaut class, the first selection for which he was eligible.

Aldrin was selected as part of the third group of NASA astronauts selected in October 1963. After the deaths of the original Gemini 9 prime crew, Elliot See and Charles Bassett, Aldrin and Jim Lovell were promoted to back-up crew for the mission. The main objective of the revised mission (Gemini 9A) was to rendezvous and dock with a target vehicle, but when this failed, Aldrin improvised an effective exercise for the craft to rendezvous with a co-ordinate in space. He was confirmed as pilot on Gemini 12. Aldrin set a record for EVA, demonstrating that astronauts could work outside spacecraft.

On July 21, 1969, he became the second astronaut to walk on the Moon, keeping his record total EVA time until that was surpassed on Apollo 14. Aldrin's first words on the Moon were "Beautiful view. Magnificent desolation."

After leaving NASA, Aldrin was assigned as the Commandant of the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California. In March 1972, Aldrin retired from active duty after 21 years of service, and returned to the Air Force in a managerial role, but his career was blighted by personal problems. His autobiographies Return to Earth, published in 1973, and Magnificent Desolation, published in June 2009, both provide accounts of his struggles with clinical depression and alcoholism in the years following his NASA career. His life improved considerably when he recognized and sought treatment for his problems. Since retiring from NASA, he has continued to promote space exploration.

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I bought this at a book sale mainly because of Buzz Aldrin's name on the cover. It's a pretty fast paced read, told from the POV's of 3 characters: Scott, a former astronaut turned space program exec, his ex-wife Thalia, an attorney and his brother Nick, a research chief for a major aerospace firm. Unfortunately there is little that differentiates their POVs, so you have to pay attention to who the chapter title says is speaking. Also the characters are fairly flat, but they move the plot along.

There are two plots in this book: a shuttle mission carrying a famous "Citizen Observer" suffers a catastrophic accident resulting in 2 deaths, and Pakistan launches a nuclear device in space that knocks out all the communication satellites and threatens the lives of the ISS crew.

At times this book is a page turner; at other times it gets bogged down in mind numbing scientific details and minutiae. There are a series of fictional space rocket components made by Nick's company that all began with the name "Star". It was almost impossible to keep than straight. The villain in the book is painfully obvious. It was written in 2000 so there are references to VCRs and maybe going to Mars by 2019. 😁

If it's possible to have a beach read about space, this would be it. It doesn't challenge you at all. There is a little bit of pontificating about the space program, but given who one of the authors is, that's allowable.

[Kristin Lundgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Blackstone comes from a family of aerospace pioneers. HIs family owned one of the largest suppliers to NASA. HIs brother Nick, at (Republic Wright) continues the tradition, while Scott has worked on starting a company called Sharespace, where they buy seats from a company, ASU, that has access to the empty berths on the space shuttle, and sells them to civilians. Only a few have gone up, and the latest one to buy a seat is Michael James - a beloved and a legendary basketball star with a childhood passion for all things space. They are certain that his likability, but also his knack for being articulate, yet relatable, will make him the perfect candidate to increase business.

1969 is the year the Mars Four, 4 friends - Scott, Rick, Eddie Killeret (CEO of the Republic rival Curtis), and Scott's now ex wife, but then childhood friend for summers at the beach, Thalia, now a lawyer. That summer was the launch of one of the space missions and they decide to form a group, called the Mars Four, and meet again, on the same beach in 50 years, and see where they have gotten on the quest for Mars. They are certain it can be done. But space moves slowly, and by about 20-30 years later, they hadn't gotten much further. Such childhood things were forgotten and pushed to the back of the mind, and life gets in the way.

But then the unthinkable happens - a tragedy occurs when the space shuttle with Michael James runs into trouble, and Scott, along with other aerospace companies, is being sued - Scott, for allowing Michael to go up, knowing the dangers, and not making Michael properly aware of them. But Scott knows that Michael was fully aware of the dangers involved, both because of his passion for the program, and from his briefings. But as Scott tries to find a lawyer, he can't - no one will take his case. He is being blackballed from the industry. The James family has hired a slimy lawyer representing MJ's mother, and it seems that there are deep pockets somewhere, buying up all the talent in town as "expert consultants." Somebody wants Scott out of business. Then comes the startling results from the investigation into the tragedy and how it happened. Scott and his family, and now his ex-wife, taking on his case for him, try to fight back, and find out who is behind all this and why. A good solid look at the aerospace industry, how it works, and an interesting plot. The characters aren't well-developed, but they are good people, and you want to root for them. And Buzz Aldrin provides an insider's view.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

A good story with interesting characters and developing plot twists. Perhaps a little too technical in spots. Worthwhile and recommended.

[Michèle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une mission tourne mal et l'ex-astronaute qui les organise a des tas d'ennuis. Heureusement, il peut compter sur ses amis et son ex-femme contre l'opinion publique. Alors qu'un procès houleux se prépare, autre incident va forcer une mission de secours vers la ISS...

Je m'attendait à une histoire de fier astronaute du genre The right stuff, mais l'intrigue est assez près de nous, sauf pour les détails technique (un des auteurs ayant marché sur la Lune, ben, ça aide à la véri-similitude)! Ma seule réserve étant que certains passages sont plus difficiles à suivre, d'où mes 4/5 étoiles. Ça prend Wikipédia pour comprendre ce qu'est un lanceur Athéna, par exemple. Mon papa, ingénieur aéronautique, aurait adoré, surtout que les ingénieur-e-s y ont un beau rôle.

J'ai apprécié l'humanisme des auteurs, et les voix multiples. Car l'épouse de Scott, habile avocate, est très active et va au fond des choses.

Sans les 4 adultes qui, enfants au chalet, ont fait le serment d'aller sur Mars, le roman n'aurait pas la même épaisseur psychologique. Pour les amis auteur-e-s, c'est un bel exemple de back-story qui aident l'histoire.

Le livre a été écrit en 1999, donc pas mal d'optimisme pour ce qui est d'atteindre Mars en 2019. Tiens, on y est!

[Matthew Connolly · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is a decent story at the core of this book, but what ought to be exciting — mysterious accidents, high-profile lawsuits, the crippling of the world's entire orbital capability, a race against time to save brave astronauts — is rendered terminally dull by the bland and awkward writing.

Much of the story is recounted, not experienced: the narrators explain to the reader what is happening, or what happened, with passionless voice. Neither death threats nor serious accident to a loved one nor global catastrophe nor escape from legal concerns conjures much in the way of emotion. Much of the story unfolds in business meetings concerning lawyers and upper-management businessmen: fine if you're John Grisham, but an odd choice for a space-saboteur story.

The stoic characters share the narrative, as the authors made the dangerous choice to rotate among three first-person perspectives as the book unfolds. My opinion is that this should never be done without very good reason. If done well (e.g., Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury), it can be very effective; more often than not, though, it jars the reader out of the story and just looks amateurish. In this case, there is no evident reason to switch from Scott's perspective to Thalia's to Nick's and back to Thalia's. Indeed, none of them have any dimensionality; without their little name tags at the beginning of a section to show who's speaking, there would be no way of distinguishing one narrator from another. The choice of narrator also seems quite arbitrary at times, bearing no relation to the action at hand. Thus the reader occasionally encounters odd combinations, such as a human rights lawyer expounding on the physics of radiation and the Earth's magnetic field. The first narrator the reader encounters is sidelined for most of the remaining story, with the other characters playing more important roles.

All in all, I can't recommend this book. I did finish it. As I said, the story itself is .. okay (though the revelation of the local villain comes as no surprise), but ultimately, it's not worth the trouble to dig it out from the way it's written.

[Broodingferret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up mainly because I was curious if Buzz Aldrin was a decent writer, and it seems that he is, though it could also be the case that he simply works well with John Barnes. This is solidly grounded and well-researched fiction, all of the events eminently believable. The authors manage to tell a story that is rather mundane, though still exciting, and the conversational tone of the first-person narration makes the pages turn quickly. The three main characters are a little too similar in voice and personality, but not enough to stall things or really damage the book. The character of Clifford Welch also had a touch of deus ex machina to him, as his involvement allows some plot point to be tied up rather neatly, but it's not enough to really complain about. Overall an entertaining read.

[John Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining thriller about a guy who is trying to create a space tourism market and get embroiled in all kinds of problems when a sports star is killed in an accident. The politics and technology of is very detailed and the plot fairly intricate without becoming over-complicated. The writing is very direct and straight-forward. Good some summer reading kind of book.

[Daniel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 2.0 of 5

Well of course I picked up this book primarily because of Buzz Aldrin's name on the cover. I mean, an astronaut writing a sci-fi/mystery/thriller? Yes, please! And of course, most of us recognize that the second name on the cover is probably really the author who took the astronaut's idea and turned it into a 300+ page yawner novel.

In a very similar but alternate reality earth, NASA is putting in to action the plan to send commercial flights into space and to the International Space Station. The first commercial passenger is a sports celebrity - a well known basketball player known as MJ. Yup .... Michael James.

But something goes terribly wrong - most likely a micrometeroid has gone through the hull of the ship, through MJ, killing him instantly, with pieces of debris critically injuring another astronaut. Valuable oxygen is fast exiting the ship through the hole. The rest of the crew must do something quickly, but the return trip through the atmosphere could kill the injured crew member.

There isn't much they can do in space, so the emergency return trip is planned, with a landing at Easter Island the nearest runway. But the runway hasn't been maintained and the potholes and cracks nearly tear the vehicle apart on its return.

The whole thing is a nightmare for NASA, most likely setting back the commercial transportation idea for decades. One key figure on the ground (Scott Blackstone - a former astronaut) is fired from his post and left to take the brunt of all bad press and is blacklisted from getting a good attorney. Well, almost. It happens that his ex-wife, Thalia, is one of the best around. Nick, Scott's brother convinces Thalia to take him on.

It is discovered that the accident was no accident, and not a micrometeroid. It was sabotage. An explosion inside the shuttle occurred - one large enough to take out enough of the hull that the entire crew would have died in a matter of minutes, but MJ happened to be in the way, purely by chance, and took the brunt of the attack.

But now sabotage has occurred on the ISS and it is spiraling out of control with the onboard crew unable to do anything about it. There is one chance - a slim one - to prevent the ISS from falling into a decay orbit and burning up, with the crew, still alive, on board. But that chance means Scott Blackstone has to pilot a commercial shuttle with an untrained crew to the rescue.

I know it sounds like there's a lot of thrilling excitement going on here, but unfortunately the story is told in a flat, one-note manner.

The incident with the shuttle and MJ's death - I thought this was going to be the story, but the whole is set up and finished in just a couple of chapters. Then we get a third of the book as a legal thriller. Lawsuits and threats from anonymous enemies, warning Thalia to not pursue the case. But before that can play out, it comes to an end with the discovery of the sabotage.

Then, finally, for the last quarter of the book, we have our final story, the dire need for the ISS to be rescued. And ... ta da! ... it is! No need to wonder or be kept in suspense ... it will all just be delivered flatly for you.

Buzz Aldrin is an American hero. Nothing will change that. He did something not many have done - he walked on the moon. But that doesn't make him a writer. Soooo many people in other walks of life think "I have an idea for a story ... I'll be a writer in my spare time" while many writers toil away at it for years. And of course, if you are a celebrity with an idea for a story, a publisher wants to capitalize on your status and will pair you with a writer. This is the part that doesn't make sense. John Barnes has written a lot of books (157 according to goodreads). This is the first one that I've read, but I would expect someone with his publishing history to have a tighter story with more sense of adventure.

Looking for a good book? The Return by Buzz Aldrin and John Barnes was really disappointing all the way around. It's no wonder I found it in a used book store, which is where some poor soul is likely to pick up this same copy.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A hard science fiction story written 22 years ago about the near future and the commercialization of space.
It was amusing reading about characters using floppy discs and the yellow pages but some things were spot on.
On February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke up while entering the atmosphere over Texas.
The Columbia is alive and well and in use in this novel yet it is eerily prescient when on page 27 the main character discusses the hazards of space:
"If enough heat shielding tiles were to peel off during re-entry, the shuttle could go from a billion dollar marvel of technology to a tumbling shattered meteor before the crew could do anything to save themselves."
Overall I enjoyed this book

[Amy Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of a shuttle mission gone wrong. MJ, a famous athlete chosen for a shuttle flight, is killed by a mysterious impact. The resulting bad publicity threatens the entire space program. When another incident threatens the crew of the ISS, the US must use an untried rocket system to rescue them.

It isn't the edge-of-your-seat thriller it could've been, but the book is solidly grounded on Aldrin's thorough understanding of the politics and procedures of the space program. The protagonists aren't superheroes; they're men (and a woman) who believe in the dream of exploring the Final Frontier. The book is worth a read for anyone interested in the past and future of the space program.

[Darryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story from Buzz Aldrin reads almost like an alternate US space history - one in which the government allowed private business to take up the space tourist business. What makes this story a little more poignant is that the space shuttle Columbia places a significant role in the story. The pace keeps the reader flipping from page to page, and the storyline makes you want to believe that this type of R&D is really happening in the private sector. My only gripe is that Aldrin could have been a little more creative in creating one of the main civilian characters instead of simply using a caricature of Michael Jordan.

[Nathan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first third or so reads like a John Grisham novel. Then it takes a sharp curve toward one of those EMP stories...but then veers away into a space rescue. So, while it seemed that Aldrin and Barnes couldn't quite decide which story they were telling, I found the whole thing fascinating enough and the pacing good enough that I almost didn't notice. And the bits with the son were adorable. While I think I can wrap my head around the authors' decision to rename all the companies and agencies--with the exception of NASA--I'm not sure it was necessary, and at least one of the real-world counterparts was kind of obvious anyway.

[Will Waller · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do you want to waste your life reading something that spends some of its time as a science book, other times as a calendar description, and other times as a romance? Then this is the book for you.

In fact, if you want my nominee for Worst Book Read in 2017, this would make the list. Alongside The Return is the instruction manual for toilet paper and whatever Trump is tweeting these days.

Seriously, this book is a garbage fire. Avoid.

[Ayumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Action packed and fun but with plenty of technical info and relatable content on working in the space industry. Super cool that it was written by Buzz Aldrin and I loved the bit at the end about how the Mars 4 was confusing the Chinese agents. Only docked a star because I was disappointed that 3 out of the 4 of the Mars 4 went to space, and the only one who didn’t was the woman. Also because it seemed a little cliche and easy that the annoying security guy also turns out to be the villain.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there's anyone who knows about what it's like to actually work in space, it's Buzz Aldrin. The material is a little dated - it predates SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, for example - but it's still a cracking good read.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a decent 90 page novella in here somewhere. It's buried in 300+ pages of exhaustive narration detailing mundane rides to the airport, the minutiae of reading office email, and chopping all of the individual ingredients for dinner.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fictional book. One of my students did a report on the Apollo 11 mission and Buzz Aldrin was one of the Astronauts on this mission. It made me want to read books by Buzz Aldrin. I found this one. Its okay but I didn't love it. Too much about the main character knowing everything.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Even taking into account the dated daily technology, this book was excellent and could easily be set in 2017. I added it to my staff picks shelf at the library. :)

[James Standlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty riveting action, really good characters and I enjoyed the fact that it played with one of the current hot button topics in science, reuse.

[Mike Hungerford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one from Aldrin and Barnes. Not a sequel to their first book, alas, but a good story well written.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story, intrigue around the space program. Nothing deep, but an enjoyable read

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not great. A little predictable. Still a fun read.

[Adam Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun who-done-it. I originally thought it was about Aldrin, like a memoir. My mistake, it's a mystery space thriller.

[Andreas · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the fantastic Encounter with Tiber, I was hoping that Aldrin and Barnes would pull off another great epic story. In this respect, I was sadly disappointed. The Return is still a good SciFi yarn. It’s a near space, near future story which fictionalizes what I assume to be Aldrin’s hopes for humanity’s return to serious space travel. Worth picking up if you’re into this sort of thing, but nothing very special.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=115

[Patrick S. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing happens! There is no Return to anything! Other than a few launches of satellites towards the end. You have a group of people who were young and suppose to do all these great things to get man into space and at the end of the book...you still have that "oh ya, we were going to do that weren't we?" then the book ends! Usually when I own a book - I keep it. I NEEDED to sell this to a used bookstore in the hopes that it would not leave the boring stain on my soul. Avoid! Avoid! Avoid!

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

i loved it because I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey when I was 13 and figured I spend my 25th wedding anniversary on the moon. That hasn't happened and I'm disappointed. This book features a group of teens called the Mars Four who vow to get to Mars and what happens to them as adults. Predictable ending but a fun ride.

[Richard Gullickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Interesting book for the space enthusiast. Buzz Aldrin writes a thriller about a former astronaut who saves the international space station crew after an India-Pakistan nuclear war wipes out low earth orbit satellites and threatens the crew with high radiation levels.

[Dave Milbrandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is better than the original (3.5 stars perhaps), but since it tells a story in the middle of the narratives and does not continue with the main tale from the previous book, it is a bit disappointing.

[Cws]

SF-Ald

[Matt]

SIGNED.