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First Cosmic Velocity
A stunningly imaginative novel about the Cold War, the Russian space program, and the amazing fraud that pulled the wool over the eyes of the world.
It's 1964 in the USSR, and unbeknownst even to Premier Khrushchev himself, the Soviet space program is a sham. Well, half a sham. While the program has successfully launched five capsules into space, the Chief Designer and his team have never successfully brought one back to earth. To disguise this, they've used twins. But in a nation built on secrets and propaganda, the biggest lie of all is about to unravel.
Because there are no more twins left.
Combining history and fiction, the real and the mystical, First Cosmic Velocity is the story of Leonid, the last of the twins. Taken in 1950 from a life of poverty in Ukraine to the training grounds in Russia, the Leonids were given one name and one identity, but divergent fates. Now one Leonid has launched to certain death (or so one might think...), and the other is sent on a press tour under the watchful eye of Ignatius, the government agent who knows too much but gives away little. And while Leonid battles his increasing doubts about their deceitful project, the Chief Designer must scramble to perfect a working spacecraft, especially when Khrushchev nominates his high-strung, squirrel-like dog for the first canine mission.
By turns grim and whimsical, fatalistic and deeply hopeful, First Cosmic Velocity is a sweeping novel of the heights of mankind's accomplishments, the depths of its folly, and the people--and canines--with whom we create family.
It's 1964 in the USSR, and unbeknownst even to Premier Khrushchev himself, the Soviet space program is a sham. Well, half a sham. While the program has successfully launched five capsules into space, the Chief Designer and his team have never successfully brought one back to earth. To disguise this, they've used twins. But in a nation built on secrets and propaganda, the biggest lie of all is about to unravel.
Because there are no more twins left.
Combining history and fiction, the real and the mystical, First Cosmic Velocity is the story of Leonid, the last of the twins. Taken in 1950 from a life of poverty in Ukraine to the training grounds in Russia, the Leonids were given one name and one identity, but divergent fates. Now one Leonid has launched to certain death (or so one might think...), and the other is sent on a press tour under the watchful eye of Ignatius, the government agent who knows too much but gives away little. And while Leonid battles his increasing doubts about their deceitful project, the Chief Designer must scramble to perfect a working spacecraft, especially when Khrushchev nominates his high-strung, squirrel-like dog for the first canine mission.
By turns grim and whimsical, fatalistic and deeply hopeful, First Cosmic Velocity is a sweeping novel of the heights of mankind's accomplishments, the depths of its folly, and the people--and canines--with whom we create family.
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 6, 2019
39 people are currently reading
2237 people want to read
About the author
Zach Powers
6 books100 followersZach Powers is the author of the forthcoming novel
The Migraine Diaries
(JackLeg 2026), the novel
First Cosmic Velocity
(Putnam 2019), and the story collection
Gravity Changes
(BOA Editions 2017). His writing has been featured by American Short Fiction, Lit Hub, and elsewhere. He serves as Artistic Director for The Writer’s Center and Poet Lore, America's oldest poetry magazine. Originally from Savannah, Georgia, he now lives in Arlington, Virginia. Get to know him at ZachPowers.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
July 20, 2019
Summer 2019 should be a great time to release a novel about the Soviet space program. After all, you have the Apollo anniversary and Chernobyl to spark interest. Unfortunately, First Cosmic Velocity is not that great of a novel. At best, it might appeal to the most basic of slavaboos.
First Cosmic Velocity takes a kind of magic realism approach to the topic. The Soviet space program of 1964 is an elaborate sham. Every capsule has burnt up on reentry. To preserve the illusion, cosmonauts are twins, one sent to space to die and one left alive to maintain the illusion. The story follows one of this twinned cosmonauts, Leonid in 1964, dealing with an upcoming launch, Leonid in 1950 as a child in a famine stricken Ukrainian village, and the Chief Designer in 1964, managing the Potemkim rocket program. The novel has all the tropes of the post-Iowa Writer's Workshop literary novel, a tendency to string words together in a pleasing way that is utterly devoid of meaning, with characters who suffer from middle-class ennui and post-ironic detachment.
And it's a shame, because the subject of space, totalitarian societies, and sacrifice is so rife for exploration. Adam Johnson's The Orphan Master's Son has the same 'American white guy writing about totalitarian communism' problem, but Johnson weaves a thrilling fantasy. J.G. Ballard made the alienation of space his own subject in the "The Dead Astronaut" and "Memories of the Space Age". And Victor Pelevin wrote this exact novel but better in his masterful Omon Ra, which is an authentic and utterly compelling modern classic of Russian literature!
Read Omon Ra instead.
First Cosmic Velocity takes a kind of magic realism approach to the topic. The Soviet space program of 1964 is an elaborate sham. Every capsule has burnt up on reentry. To preserve the illusion, cosmonauts are twins, one sent to space to die and one left alive to maintain the illusion. The story follows one of this twinned cosmonauts, Leonid in 1964, dealing with an upcoming launch, Leonid in 1950 as a child in a famine stricken Ukrainian village, and the Chief Designer in 1964, managing the Potemkim rocket program. The novel has all the tropes of the post-Iowa Writer's Workshop literary novel, a tendency to string words together in a pleasing way that is utterly devoid of meaning, with characters who suffer from middle-class ennui and post-ironic detachment.
And it's a shame, because the subject of space, totalitarian societies, and sacrifice is so rife for exploration. Adam Johnson's The Orphan Master's Son has the same 'American white guy writing about totalitarian communism' problem, but Johnson weaves a thrilling fantasy. J.G. Ballard made the alienation of space his own subject in the "The Dead Astronaut" and "Memories of the Space Age". And Victor Pelevin wrote this exact novel but better in his masterful Omon Ra, which is an authentic and utterly compelling modern classic of Russian literature!
Read Omon Ra instead.
May 13, 2019
I received a free copy of this e-book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
The idea of the "Phantom Cosmonauts" and the secret flight of Vladimir Ilyushin has always intrigued me. The author puts his own spin on these rumors in First Cosmic Velocity. In this novel, the Soviet Union starts launching cosmonauts before they have the capability to bring them home safely (just like they did with Laika). To keep the rest of the world from knowing that they are deliberately killing cosmonauts, they use twins: one stays on earth for the publicity, while one flies the fatal mission. Each of the characters you meet here seems to be working under their own special type of delusion. I really enjoyed getting into the heads of the various players, both big and small.
In the novel you get a good feel for just how haphazard the Soviet space program was, at times. The Soviets were believed to be way ahead of the US in the early days of the space race, but that was essentially an illusion. Most of the "firsts" the Soviets achieved were essentially pure dumb luck. The author does a good job of giving you a sense of that in this novel.
I did have several questions about how exactly this whole grand conspiracy worked, but I'm okay with not all of them being answered.
Space nerds should not miss this title, and general readers will definitely find it enjoyable.
The idea of the "Phantom Cosmonauts" and the secret flight of Vladimir Ilyushin has always intrigued me. The author puts his own spin on these rumors in First Cosmic Velocity. In this novel, the Soviet Union starts launching cosmonauts before they have the capability to bring them home safely (just like they did with Laika). To keep the rest of the world from knowing that they are deliberately killing cosmonauts, they use twins: one stays on earth for the publicity, while one flies the fatal mission. Each of the characters you meet here seems to be working under their own special type of delusion. I really enjoyed getting into the heads of the various players, both big and small.
In the novel you get a good feel for just how haphazard the Soviet space program was, at times. The Soviets were believed to be way ahead of the US in the early days of the space race, but that was essentially an illusion. Most of the "firsts" the Soviets achieved were essentially pure dumb luck. The author does a good job of giving you a sense of that in this novel.
I did have several questions about how exactly this whole grand conspiracy worked, but I'm okay with not all of them being answered.
Space nerds should not miss this title, and general readers will definitely find it enjoyable.
June 14, 2020
"Here..... am I floating in my tin can...."
This is a fascinating, though deeply sad, alternate history of the Soviet space program. We follow two twins from their home in a tiny village in Ukraine, where they almost starved to death during the 1950 famine, to starving in outer space in 1964. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky found and recruited them, and other twins, intending to compare their health after one went to space and the other stayed behind. When the Chief Designer found he couldn't actually bring anyone back alive, the plan was changed to send one to space to die and the other to do the press tour as a returning hero.
There is lots to think about here in terms of identity and myth. Except for a few real people -- Krushchev, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Nedelin -- nobody's real name is given. They are just Chief Designer, Grandmother, or other titles and code names. Real characters, like the dog Belka and historic figure Bohdan Khmelnytsky, appear but with details changed. We never learn the real name of even the main character who is only called Leonid, the fake hero's name he shares with his brother.
I ran to the internet to find out how this compares to the real soviet space program. (I knew about Soviet Space Dogs, but not the people. The fact that Nedelin was real, and that Valentin Bondarenko died in a similar way to a character here was unknown to me.) That research was fun, but not knowing the history in advance didn't impair my enjoyment of the book.
This is more "literary fiction" than "science fiction", so set your expectations accordingly. I greatly enjoyed it.
"Now it's time to leave the capsule, if you dare...."
May 20, 2021
I really really liked the premise here - the Soviets are competing with the Americans, and even among themselves to have a successful space program. One section of the Soviets can't get their heat shields for capsule re-entry to function, so they've been using identical twins. One twin is sacrificially launched into space, and the other half stays behind to become the Soviet heroes. Our narrator is mostly Leonid, whose twin has just been launched, and we also hear from the unnamed Chief Designer, one of the handful of people who knows about the twins and the head of this section of the space program.
There is a lot of scope here! Powers could have written a straight adventure novel. There's also the potential to explore themes around sacrifice, collectivism, etc. But I feel like Powers's execution didn't live up to the potential. He did explore some themes around faith, and whether or not the Soviet campaign to eradicate religion and replace it with science was successful. He also explored constructed histories, and the ways in which a created hero can have more utility than presenting the whole messy history of a person. Unfortunately, I didn't think he was particularly successful with either of these efforts. I think Powers wanted this to be a thoughtful novel, so the plot was fairly basic. Which would have been fine if the thoughtful parts were better developed.
Though the writing was quite nice, I found the characterization frustratingly opaque. The most interesting character is Nadya, one of the surviving twins. She was the twin slated for launch, but lived because of a last minute change. But I feel like I never got to know her at all. I think Powers wanted her to be inscrutable, but I found her frustratingly so.
I feel like I've been pretty negative, but it's mostly because I wanted to so much more. This was still pretty ok! The writing was fine, the pacing was smooth, and the premise was so, so cool.
There is a lot of scope here! Powers could have written a straight adventure novel. There's also the potential to explore themes around sacrifice, collectivism, etc. But I feel like Powers's execution didn't live up to the potential. He did explore some themes around faith, and whether or not the Soviet campaign to eradicate religion and replace it with science was successful. He also explored constructed histories, and the ways in which a created hero can have more utility than presenting the whole messy history of a person. Unfortunately, I didn't think he was particularly successful with either of these efforts. I think Powers wanted this to be a thoughtful novel, so the plot was fairly basic. Which would have been fine if the thoughtful parts were better developed.
Though the writing was quite nice, I found the characterization frustratingly opaque. The most interesting character is Nadya, one of the surviving twins. She was the twin slated for launch, but lived because of a last minute change. But I feel like I never got to know her at all. I think Powers wanted her to be inscrutable, but I found her frustratingly so.
I feel like I've been pretty negative, but it's mostly because I wanted to so much more. This was still pretty ok! The writing was fine, the pacing was smooth, and the premise was so, so cool.
July 4, 2019
A lonely, despairing Soviet delirium.
5/5
5/5
August 9, 2019
First Cosmic Velocity by Zach Powers was an unexpected delight. I’m not sure what I at first expected delving into the 1960’s space race focusing on the Russian launches. The book description made it feel like a quirky twisted science fiction adventure but really it’s a slow burning story about moral dilemma. What are the lengths one would go to succeed? To survive? To be a Soviet hero?
I love how very few characters through the whole book have an identity for themselves. Names are titles, names are given, names are shared, names are confused, but everyone is named in the part they play. Twins are no longer two but one, even in flashbacks, as if through training and brainwashing, their names are erased allowing them to become the single hero cosmonaut that the public perceives. The farce becomes reality as the world craves the adventure of space exploration.
I would highly recommend this uniquely fictional perspective about the Soviet space program. I could not put it down.
Thank you to Putnam for giving me an advanced readers copy for my honest and unbiased opinion.
I love how very few characters through the whole book have an identity for themselves. Names are titles, names are given, names are shared, names are confused, but everyone is named in the part they play. Twins are no longer two but one, even in flashbacks, as if through training and brainwashing, their names are erased allowing them to become the single hero cosmonaut that the public perceives. The farce becomes reality as the world craves the adventure of space exploration.
I would highly recommend this uniquely fictional perspective about the Soviet space program. I could not put it down.
Thank you to Putnam for giving me an advanced readers copy for my honest and unbiased opinion.
November 26, 2019
I was looking forward to reading this book because of the intriguing premise. However, I was quickly disappointed. From the very beginning, the book was confusing. If I hadn't read the jacket blurb, I wouldn't have had any idea as to what was going on. Unfortunately, that was not my only issue with the story. I found the use of titles instead of names to be grating, the characters uninteresting, the "voice" to be the same for all of the characters, and the pace to be exceedingly slow.
The book would have benefitted greatly from more information about Soviet space operations and more fleshed out characters. I really wanted to like the book, but I feel it never came together as an engaging tale with characters that I cared about.
The book would have benefitted greatly from more information about Soviet space operations and more fleshed out characters. I really wanted to like the book, but I feel it never came together as an engaging tale with characters that I cared about.
September 30, 2024
First Cosmic Velocity is a pretty cool book, offering author Zach Powers' take on the lost cosmonaut theory. I think Powers does a good job of situating you in the mid-60s Soviet space program; some of the characters are real people, others are fictional. Some readers may find the lack of characterization frustrating. It seems like Powers keeps us at a distance from certain individuals, so they come off as a little flat. That being said, though, I feel like it was a deliberate decision and makes sense when considering the nature of their upbringing and their training. Whether you like it or not is of course personal preference.
I wasn't huge on the Ukraine chapters. It eventually all comes together, and helps give some backstory to the Leonids (really, the only backstory of any of the cosmonauts), but I felt it ultimately took too much time away from the '60s timeline. Likewise, the secondary Leonid story was so weirdly absent from most of the narrative when you'd think it would've been a huge part of the book. Largely holding off on that until the end didn't really work for me.
I'd give this somewhere between a 3 and 3.5. I loved the setting, and the book's premise is very neat. I don't think it's completely successful in what it's going for, however.
I wasn't huge on the Ukraine chapters. It eventually all comes together, and helps give some backstory to the Leonids (really, the only backstory of any of the cosmonauts), but I felt it ultimately took too much time away from the '60s timeline. Likewise, the secondary Leonid story was so weirdly absent from most of the narrative when you'd think it would've been a huge part of the book. Largely holding off on that until the end didn't really work for me.
I'd give this somewhere between a 3 and 3.5. I loved the setting, and the book's premise is very neat. I don't think it's completely successful in what it's going for, however.
March 20, 2021
Warum noch niemand das Sub-Genre „Space Race Alternate History“ definiert hat, ist mir tatsächlich ein Rätsel. Ein typischer Vertreter dieses Non-existent-Genres ist zweifelsfrei dieser Roman.
So originell die Grundprämisse ist, so wenig hat mich die Handlung leider packen können.
So originell die Grundprämisse ist, so wenig hat mich die Handlung leider packen können.
February 13, 2020
First Cosmic Velocity is a sort of alternate history of the beginning of space flight in the USSR. It was the first book I read that was recommended by the Book Riot TBR service, having given them suggestions of historical fiction that wasn't World War II and an interest in Russia/the Soviet Union. I liked it, but didn't quite love it.
The idea of the alternate history was interesting, but I never felt like the characters were real. They were flat and not very believable, even as semi-brainwashed cosmonauts. I liked reading it, but I wasn't clamoring to pick it up. This definitely felt like a book that was all about the concept without the depth I really wanted. In addition to being an alternate history, there were definitely some elements that required a huge suspension of disbelief, like . I also didn't love that most of the characters didn't have real names.
My real issue is that I felt a lack of connection to this book. I couldn't really empathize with the characters or their plights. I give it three stars for the concept, which was creative and interesting to read, but I would have appreciated better character development all around.
The idea of the alternate history was interesting, but I never felt like the characters were real. They were flat and not very believable, even as semi-brainwashed cosmonauts. I liked reading it, but I wasn't clamoring to pick it up. This definitely felt like a book that was all about the concept without the depth I really wanted. In addition to being an alternate history, there were definitely some elements that required a huge suspension of disbelief, like . I also didn't love that most of the characters didn't have real names.
My real issue is that I felt a lack of connection to this book. I couldn't really empathize with the characters or their plights. I give it three stars for the concept, which was creative and interesting to read, but I would have appreciated better character development all around.
August 30, 2019
Not terribly satisfying. Just OK. I supposed the inspiration is the urban legend of either the CIA, air force of NASA engineers overhearing a Soviet cosmonaut's last words as he died on reentry. Rather melancholy, I suppose as one might imagine Soviet society before the collapse in 1991.
January 28, 2024
It's not often that I say that a book made me ball my eyes out in front of my roommate, and yet here I am. That ending? killed me. I haven't reacted so heavily to an ending in a long long long time.
This book was a fantastic read throughout the entire book. Often, I get bored of books (especially informational/science-heavy ones like this) and feel tempted to read past paragraphs and even pages to get to more fast-paced parts. And yet, this book had me reading every single word page for page. Not only because it was interesting, but because of the emotions and questions that I wanted to see from the characters.
I especially adored the writing techniques and choices that this author made. most specifically, the choice to not include the real names of any of the characters. Having people go by their titles/given names by people with more power made these characters more vivid. The power of names played a good bit in this book and I LOVE how we never truly know the names of anyone.
This book reaffirmed both my love for and fear of space to a large degree. The idea of a character that we never truly know being in space and us knowing that it won't end well for the entire book? AMAZING.
I would give anything to be able to read that ending for the first time again.
This book was a fantastic read throughout the entire book. Often, I get bored of books (especially informational/science-heavy ones like this) and feel tempted to read past paragraphs and even pages to get to more fast-paced parts. And yet, this book had me reading every single word page for page. Not only because it was interesting, but because of the emotions and questions that I wanted to see from the characters.
I especially adored the writing techniques and choices that this author made. most specifically, the choice to not include the real names of any of the characters. Having people go by their titles/given names by people with more power made these characters more vivid. The power of names played a good bit in this book and I LOVE how we never truly know the names of anyone.
This book reaffirmed both my love for and fear of space to a large degree. The idea of a character that we never truly know being in space and us knowing that it won't end well for the entire book? AMAZING.
I would give anything to be able to read that ending for the first time again.
July 26, 2019
it's a well written book but unfortunately I didn't feel involved and the book fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
October 8, 2019
чудовищная поебень
August 18, 2019
It’s the height of the Space Race and in the Soviet Union they’re hiding a secret. The cosmonauts who are returning to earth as heroes aren’t the same people who were sent into outer space.
Russian Literature meets Capricorn One and, you know what, it works.
Russian Literature meets Capricorn One and, you know what, it works.
September 10, 2019
This was a very unique and intriguing read
August 7, 2019
https://www.themaineedge.com/style/sh...
There’s nothing quite like stumbling upon a great book.
Yes, we all have our favorite authors and our favorite genres, our favorite styles and favorite publishers, but every once in a while, if we’re lucky, we wind up with something unexpected in our hands. Maybe you read a review blurb, maybe a friend pointed it out to you – doesn’t matter how you got it, just that you got it.
“First Cosmic Velocity” by Zach Powers is one of those books for me. It is an absolute gem of a book, a tale of tragedy disguised as triumph. It is a beautifully-crafted work of literary genre writing – part historical fiction, part sci-fi, with hints of family drama and magical realism thrown into the mix as well. It’s a story unlike anything you’ve read, told from a perspective unlike any you’ve experienced.
The year is 1964. It’s the height of the Cold War. The Soviet Union is making headlines all over the globe for the rapid development of its space program. Cosmonauts are launched – five in all – into the inky black of space, each brought back to represent the glory of the USSR.
But all is not as it seems. There’s a dark secret behind the successes of the Soviet space program, a secret whose revelation would be catastrophic.
It’s all a lie.
More specifically, it’s all a half-truth. Because while the Chief Designer (his given name is kept secret) and his team have indeed launched five capsules containing brave cosmonauts into orbit … not one has ever been returned to Earth successfully. So how can this be?
Twins.
As part of a long-reaching program, every Soviet cosmonaut has been one of a set of twins. All five sets of twins have spent the majority of their lives living separately in Star City, the Soviet space facility. From each pairing, one was selected to be trained for the job, to become a cosmonaut. The other was trained to play the part of the returned. Over the course of their respective training, the twins assume the same name in an effort to essentially become the same person. One is shot into space, knowing full well that he or she will never return. The other is tasked with embodying the conquering hero, serving as the symbol of Soviet space dominance. A scant handful of people know the truth – everyone else remains completely unaware.
Leonid is one of the Earthbound twins, the last of the five sets. His brother was launched and left to be claimed by the unfeeling airlessness of orbit; he receives the medals and waves at the parades and makes quips at press conferences.
But when Kruschev himself makes an appearance and starts making different demands of the Chief Designer, it becomes clear that this delicately-constructed house of cards might well come tumbling down … and no one involved will be safe if that happens.
Leonid is left to make some hard choices of his own, with only Nadya – a fellow twin whose cosmonaut circumstances are unique even among the rest – as a true companion. Along the way, he constantly remembers his life before Star City, his hardscrabble boyhood in a remote Ukrainian village – the village where he and his brother would have lived and died had they not been scooped up by fate.
When it comes to the space race, there’s the party line and there’s the truth … but even the truth isn’t everything that it appears to be.
Everything about “First Cosmic Velocity” works. The concept is outstanding and the execution is exceptional. The attention to detail is phenomenal, allowing for a clear and vivid picture of the behind-the-scenes chaos of the Soviet effort. It's "The Prestige" with cosmonauts. And the characterizations are sharp, capturing the inner turmoil of those struggling with the moral and ethical ramifications of the work being done – and the willingness to push through in the name of scientific achievement and nationalist glory.
What Powers does so beautifully is immerse the reader in the world that he has created. We view the proceedings though Leonid’s eyes, subjected to both his profound sense of loss and his inability to fully engage with the emotions elicited by that loss. The skewed complexity of all of his relationships – with the Chief Designer, with Nadya and with other cosmonauts in 1964, with his grandmother and the rest of his village in 1950 … and with his brother in both – is laid out with unerring specificity.
“First Cosmic Velocity” is a remarkable work of what if, a propulsive and powerful and almost-possible alternate take on a time and place about which relatively little is truly known. It captures the passion and paranoia behind the Soviet space effort, offering a bleak and secretive solution that rings all too plausibly. Expect great things from Zach Powers.
There’s nothing quite like stumbling upon a great book.
Yes, we all have our favorite authors and our favorite genres, our favorite styles and favorite publishers, but every once in a while, if we’re lucky, we wind up with something unexpected in our hands. Maybe you read a review blurb, maybe a friend pointed it out to you – doesn’t matter how you got it, just that you got it.
“First Cosmic Velocity” by Zach Powers is one of those books for me. It is an absolute gem of a book, a tale of tragedy disguised as triumph. It is a beautifully-crafted work of literary genre writing – part historical fiction, part sci-fi, with hints of family drama and magical realism thrown into the mix as well. It’s a story unlike anything you’ve read, told from a perspective unlike any you’ve experienced.
The year is 1964. It’s the height of the Cold War. The Soviet Union is making headlines all over the globe for the rapid development of its space program. Cosmonauts are launched – five in all – into the inky black of space, each brought back to represent the glory of the USSR.
But all is not as it seems. There’s a dark secret behind the successes of the Soviet space program, a secret whose revelation would be catastrophic.
It’s all a lie.
More specifically, it’s all a half-truth. Because while the Chief Designer (his given name is kept secret) and his team have indeed launched five capsules containing brave cosmonauts into orbit … not one has ever been returned to Earth successfully. So how can this be?
Twins.
As part of a long-reaching program, every Soviet cosmonaut has been one of a set of twins. All five sets of twins have spent the majority of their lives living separately in Star City, the Soviet space facility. From each pairing, one was selected to be trained for the job, to become a cosmonaut. The other was trained to play the part of the returned. Over the course of their respective training, the twins assume the same name in an effort to essentially become the same person. One is shot into space, knowing full well that he or she will never return. The other is tasked with embodying the conquering hero, serving as the symbol of Soviet space dominance. A scant handful of people know the truth – everyone else remains completely unaware.
Leonid is one of the Earthbound twins, the last of the five sets. His brother was launched and left to be claimed by the unfeeling airlessness of orbit; he receives the medals and waves at the parades and makes quips at press conferences.
But when Kruschev himself makes an appearance and starts making different demands of the Chief Designer, it becomes clear that this delicately-constructed house of cards might well come tumbling down … and no one involved will be safe if that happens.
Leonid is left to make some hard choices of his own, with only Nadya – a fellow twin whose cosmonaut circumstances are unique even among the rest – as a true companion. Along the way, he constantly remembers his life before Star City, his hardscrabble boyhood in a remote Ukrainian village – the village where he and his brother would have lived and died had they not been scooped up by fate.
When it comes to the space race, there’s the party line and there’s the truth … but even the truth isn’t everything that it appears to be.
Everything about “First Cosmic Velocity” works. The concept is outstanding and the execution is exceptional. The attention to detail is phenomenal, allowing for a clear and vivid picture of the behind-the-scenes chaos of the Soviet effort. It's "The Prestige" with cosmonauts. And the characterizations are sharp, capturing the inner turmoil of those struggling with the moral and ethical ramifications of the work being done – and the willingness to push through in the name of scientific achievement and nationalist glory.
What Powers does so beautifully is immerse the reader in the world that he has created. We view the proceedings though Leonid’s eyes, subjected to both his profound sense of loss and his inability to fully engage with the emotions elicited by that loss. The skewed complexity of all of his relationships – with the Chief Designer, with Nadya and with other cosmonauts in 1964, with his grandmother and the rest of his village in 1950 … and with his brother in both – is laid out with unerring specificity.
“First Cosmic Velocity” is a remarkable work of what if, a propulsive and powerful and almost-possible alternate take on a time and place about which relatively little is truly known. It captures the passion and paranoia behind the Soviet space effort, offering a bleak and secretive solution that rings all too plausibly. Expect great things from Zach Powers.
October 23, 2019
3.5 stars
Thank you to Goodreads for this ARC!
First Cosmic Velocity is a gorgeous physical book that honors the well-crafted writing inside, but I'm not sure the story measures up quite as well. There's plenty of contemplation and discussion and exploration, but for all that pondering, it seems like there are no solid conclusions. That's not always a bad thing, as long as the reader can take something away from the story. But that combined with characters who seemed to serve as symbols and ideas more than fleshed out characters made the overall experience feel lacking.
I did enjoy reading this novel, though. The meditative reflection on a country in turmoil and the speculative issues raised by the story pulled me along happily until the conclusion. I'd recommend this for fans of light sci-fi and anyone who enjoys contemporary takes on Russian culture.
Thank you to Goodreads for this ARC!
First Cosmic Velocity is a gorgeous physical book that honors the well-crafted writing inside, but I'm not sure the story measures up quite as well. There's plenty of contemplation and discussion and exploration, but for all that pondering, it seems like there are no solid conclusions. That's not always a bad thing, as long as the reader can take something away from the story. But that combined with characters who seemed to serve as symbols and ideas more than fleshed out characters made the overall experience feel lacking.
I did enjoy reading this novel, though. The meditative reflection on a country in turmoil and the speculative issues raised by the story pulled me along happily until the conclusion. I'd recommend this for fans of light sci-fi and anyone who enjoys contemporary takes on Russian culture.
July 20, 2019
Zach Powers’ First Cosmic Velocity is an intriguing first novel that reads like postmodern allegory.
The book is thoughtful and philosophical, but never entirely ‘human’. In other words, readers live with big concepts - concepts like truth, sacrifice, and discovery - rather than with realistic characters.
None of the characters, from the Chief Designer to Nadya to Ignatius, can escape their symbolic function in the world of the text.
First Cosmic Velocity is not emotionally satisfying, but it is thought-provoking. The book, with its reimagining of the Soviet space program, is a interesting read in light of current events (e.g. ‘fake news’, SpaceX).
Thank you to Putnam and Goodreads Giveaways for my advance reading copy!
The book is thoughtful and philosophical, but never entirely ‘human’. In other words, readers live with big concepts - concepts like truth, sacrifice, and discovery - rather than with realistic characters.
None of the characters, from the Chief Designer to Nadya to Ignatius, can escape their symbolic function in the world of the text.
First Cosmic Velocity is not emotionally satisfying, but it is thought-provoking. The book, with its reimagining of the Soviet space program, is a interesting read in light of current events (e.g. ‘fake news’, SpaceX).
Thank you to Putnam and Goodreads Giveaways for my advance reading copy!
August 21, 2019
Who wouldn't want to read a book about murdering Soviet-era twins? I really wanted to enjoy a book about the deliberate murder of Soviet-era twins. The jacket is just screaming, "Look, we're going to kill so many twins in this book, from the Soviet era!". Alas, nothing really happened, and I had to put it down. It was plodding. The people weren't people, not even the twins. Great concept, boring execution.
September 14, 2019
3.5 stars. I'm not sure I buy Leonid's motivation at the end.
October 28, 2019
This is a great premise but the book never did anything with it.
absolute-dnfs
April 1, 2020the premise to this is lowkey so blasphemic it makes me mad lmao i wish americans would leave everyone else alone to do their own thing and yes maybe im biased but i dont fucking care lol
September 1, 2022
Interesting concept but bad execution.
February 18, 2020
Engaging and Nearly Believable
Zach Powers has written a very engaging alternative history of the Soviet (pre-Russia) space program playing on that government’s penchant for secrecy. This latter fact, combined with the inclusion of actual locations, among them Star City and Baikonur, real equipment, including the R-7 and Proton rockets and Vostok spacecraft, and prominent space program scientists such as Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (a founding father of rocketry and aeronautics who died in 1935), the Chief Designer (Sergey Korolev, developer of the R-7 and regarded as a founder of practical astronautics, who died in 1966; and, yes, he was caught up in the Great Purge and sent to a Siberian gulag), and Zynoviy Bohdan Khmelnytsky (legendary 17th century national Ukrainian hero whose exploits Powers takes great liberties with to good effect)—all this and more lends an authenticity to the novel that contributes to its pleasure. The theme here is how lies and deceit wear on the psyches of those perpetrating them and those living with them and their consequences.
The novel alternates between 1964 Star City and Baikonur and 1950 Bohdan, Ukraine. In 1964, the Soviet space program has been launching cosmonauts, as well as dogs, into orbit at a steady clip. However, unbeknownst to anybody but the Chief Designer, two of the staff, and the cosmonauts, while the launches are successful, the cosmonauts perish in space, because they cannot be brought home safely. The Chief Designer and his staff have not been able to develop a heat shield that will withstand the heat of reentry. To hide this, the program has used twins collected from different areas of the Soviet Union. One twin trains for the space mission, while the other learns about space flight but more importantly learns how to be a people’s hero. Leonid and Nadya are two of the cosmonauts who go through the motions of hero hood. They differ in that Leonid was always intended to remain on the ground; Nadya should have flown, but suffered an accident that prevented it.
We readers follow the story for the most part through the eyes of Leonid and the Chief Designer. Through Leonid, we learn what harsh lives he, his bother, grandmother, and everybody lived in Bohdan. Leonid’s grandmother used the story of Khmelnytsky to encourage and inspire the two Leonids, as the Chief Designer uses the space program to inspire the Soviet citizens. Leonid discovers truths about both the legend of Khmelnytsky and the Chief Designer, disturbing realities that he reconciles with, but not without much self-questioning. Too, the Chief Designer works around the deception he started, always seeking a solution, always hoping to bring the newer cosmonauts home safely. For not only must he worry for himself, but also for all who work on the space program under him, innocents who would suffer a deadly fate for destroying the national honor, not even mentioning the overfall deflation of the national spirit.
First Cosmic Velocity offers an interesting and nearly plausible take on the Soviet space program and the kind of secrecy that makes doubting it easy, a contemplation on why humans reach for the stars, and more confirmation for those who believe deception and lying are the straight road to ruin.
Zach Powers has written a very engaging alternative history of the Soviet (pre-Russia) space program playing on that government’s penchant for secrecy. This latter fact, combined with the inclusion of actual locations, among them Star City and Baikonur, real equipment, including the R-7 and Proton rockets and Vostok spacecraft, and prominent space program scientists such as Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (a founding father of rocketry and aeronautics who died in 1935), the Chief Designer (Sergey Korolev, developer of the R-7 and regarded as a founder of practical astronautics, who died in 1966; and, yes, he was caught up in the Great Purge and sent to a Siberian gulag), and Zynoviy Bohdan Khmelnytsky (legendary 17th century national Ukrainian hero whose exploits Powers takes great liberties with to good effect)—all this and more lends an authenticity to the novel that contributes to its pleasure. The theme here is how lies and deceit wear on the psyches of those perpetrating them and those living with them and their consequences.
The novel alternates between 1964 Star City and Baikonur and 1950 Bohdan, Ukraine. In 1964, the Soviet space program has been launching cosmonauts, as well as dogs, into orbit at a steady clip. However, unbeknownst to anybody but the Chief Designer, two of the staff, and the cosmonauts, while the launches are successful, the cosmonauts perish in space, because they cannot be brought home safely. The Chief Designer and his staff have not been able to develop a heat shield that will withstand the heat of reentry. To hide this, the program has used twins collected from different areas of the Soviet Union. One twin trains for the space mission, while the other learns about space flight but more importantly learns how to be a people’s hero. Leonid and Nadya are two of the cosmonauts who go through the motions of hero hood. They differ in that Leonid was always intended to remain on the ground; Nadya should have flown, but suffered an accident that prevented it.
We readers follow the story for the most part through the eyes of Leonid and the Chief Designer. Through Leonid, we learn what harsh lives he, his bother, grandmother, and everybody lived in Bohdan. Leonid’s grandmother used the story of Khmelnytsky to encourage and inspire the two Leonids, as the Chief Designer uses the space program to inspire the Soviet citizens. Leonid discovers truths about both the legend of Khmelnytsky and the Chief Designer, disturbing realities that he reconciles with, but not without much self-questioning. Too, the Chief Designer works around the deception he started, always seeking a solution, always hoping to bring the newer cosmonauts home safely. For not only must he worry for himself, but also for all who work on the space program under him, innocents who would suffer a deadly fate for destroying the national honor, not even mentioning the overfall deflation of the national spirit.
First Cosmic Velocity offers an interesting and nearly plausible take on the Soviet space program and the kind of secrecy that makes doubting it easy, a contemplation on why humans reach for the stars, and more confirmation for those who believe deception and lying are the straight road to ruin.
August 26, 2019
Zach Powers, First Cosmic Velocity (New York: Putman, 2019), 340 pages.
I’m not sure how to classify f this novel. At times I thought the author had written the first anti-Sci-fi (similar to the anti-western genre of films that began to challenge the classical westerns in the 1960s). At other times, it felt as if I was reading a comedic Cold War spy thriller or an alternative history. But whatever genre one might classify this novel, it was a fun read.
It’s 1964 and the Soviet space program is a deception. Instead of challenging the United States in the race to the moon, the Soviets haven’t yet had a successful mission. They have placed men and women into space, but have yet to successfully bring them back to earth. The cosmonauts have either burned up on re-entry or in the case of Leonid, are doomed to orbit the earth for the entire book. You’ll have to read it to understand what happens. To make up for the lack of success, the Soviet cosmonaut corps are made up of identical twins, each given the same name. While one sibling conducts a suicide mission, the other receives a hero welcome back home. The secrecy of the program is so guarded that only a few know about it. Even the Soviet premier, Khrushchev, doesn’t know of the deceit. At first, even Ignatius, the KGB-type agent who is always close by, doesn’t appear to know (even though she knows more secrets than most). In a country with lots of deception and secrets, maintaining this secret is of ultimate importance for everyone involved (including the remaining twins) risked execution for treason is exposed.
This secrecy leads to humorous moments such as when Khrushchev volunteers his dog for the next space mission. Everyone but the Premier hates his ratty dog, and they can’t find another one like it in all Russia. Khrushchev aids secretly suggest they leave the disliked mutt in space (not realizing that might actually happen as the space agency has no way of returning it alive to earth). The space program is frantically attempting to build a successful heat shield that will allow cosmonauts (and dogs) to safely return, while two of the surviving twins (the second Leonid, the brother of the Leonid in space, and Nadya, whose sister was the first cosmonaut, run away.
The book ping pongs between 1964 and 1950, the year when a famine struck the Ukraine, That’s the year the twins who were both renamed Leonid were taken from their grandma to be used in the space program. As the reader is taken from the present (1964), into the past, we gain inside into bits of history such as the struggle within the various states within the Soviet Union, the impact of the war (World War 2), and the hope of the space program. Powers also brings up the discussion of faith, looking at how the older members of society (such as the twin’s grandmother) practices faith and prayer, and its role (or lack of a role) with the younger generations who have grown up in an atheistic society. In one discussion, it is suggested that a society without gods must create them from their “heroes”
This is a delightful and unique novel. I recommend it for an enjoyable read. For full disclosure, I was in a writing group with Zach Powers when I first moved to Savannah (and before he left the area). I purchased the book on my own and was under no obligation to write this review.
I’m not sure how to classify f this novel. At times I thought the author had written the first anti-Sci-fi (similar to the anti-western genre of films that began to challenge the classical westerns in the 1960s). At other times, it felt as if I was reading a comedic Cold War spy thriller or an alternative history. But whatever genre one might classify this novel, it was a fun read.
It’s 1964 and the Soviet space program is a deception. Instead of challenging the United States in the race to the moon, the Soviets haven’t yet had a successful mission. They have placed men and women into space, but have yet to successfully bring them back to earth. The cosmonauts have either burned up on re-entry or in the case of Leonid, are doomed to orbit the earth for the entire book. You’ll have to read it to understand what happens. To make up for the lack of success, the Soviet cosmonaut corps are made up of identical twins, each given the same name. While one sibling conducts a suicide mission, the other receives a hero welcome back home. The secrecy of the program is so guarded that only a few know about it. Even the Soviet premier, Khrushchev, doesn’t know of the deceit. At first, even Ignatius, the KGB-type agent who is always close by, doesn’t appear to know (even though she knows more secrets than most). In a country with lots of deception and secrets, maintaining this secret is of ultimate importance for everyone involved (including the remaining twins) risked execution for treason is exposed.
This secrecy leads to humorous moments such as when Khrushchev volunteers his dog for the next space mission. Everyone but the Premier hates his ratty dog, and they can’t find another one like it in all Russia. Khrushchev aids secretly suggest they leave the disliked mutt in space (not realizing that might actually happen as the space agency has no way of returning it alive to earth). The space program is frantically attempting to build a successful heat shield that will allow cosmonauts (and dogs) to safely return, while two of the surviving twins (the second Leonid, the brother of the Leonid in space, and Nadya, whose sister was the first cosmonaut, run away.
The book ping pongs between 1964 and 1950, the year when a famine struck the Ukraine, That’s the year the twins who were both renamed Leonid were taken from their grandma to be used in the space program. As the reader is taken from the present (1964), into the past, we gain inside into bits of history such as the struggle within the various states within the Soviet Union, the impact of the war (World War 2), and the hope of the space program. Powers also brings up the discussion of faith, looking at how the older members of society (such as the twin’s grandmother) practices faith and prayer, and its role (or lack of a role) with the younger generations who have grown up in an atheistic society. In one discussion, it is suggested that a society without gods must create them from their “heroes”
This is a delightful and unique novel. I recommend it for an enjoyable read. For full disclosure, I was in a writing group with Zach Powers when I first moved to Savannah (and before he left the area). I purchased the book on my own and was under no obligation to write this review.
August 1, 2019
First Cosmic Velocity is a bizarre and wonderful book that tells us the story of the Russian cosmonauts, but not really. Imagine that the scientists could not quite get that reentry thing to work. Knowing what happens to people who fail in Stalin’s Soviet Union, the leaders of the project conceived of an audacious fraud, recruiting identical twins who would grow up to be cosmonauts, one to die in space, the other to tour and talk about what it was like in space after the flight.
The story focuses on Leonid whose brother has just been sent into space. Interstitial chapters tell the story of his childhood and how he and his brother came to be part of the project. He is closest to Nadya, the first to “go into space” and the only one who was trained to do so, but her sister was sent in her place.
During the tour after Leonid’s successful “flight”, Khruschev suggests that his dog go on the next trip along with the beloved Kasha, a dog descended from the dog the Leonids brought from their village. While on tour, Nadya and Leonid set themselves the task of finding “twins” for the dogs.
I loved First Cosmic Velocity even though I sometimes wondered where it was going. It is just such an original story. What is odd, though, is I can see this as a funny camp movie, but reading it, the tragic sense of life seems uppermost. How I visualize the story and how I feel it while reading it is so disparate, something I cannot explain. I think this is on me, though, not on Zach Powers.
This book defies classification. There is the satiric takedown of the bureaucratic brutality of Stalinism, such as the man who resents not getting a much-deserved promotion but realizing that the promotion would get him sent to the gulag. There is the complicated relationships of the Chief Designer, the General Designer, and Ignatius, the KGB handler. There is a bit of romance. In a way, it makes me think of the magical realism in how Powers presents truths through the absurd. It carries a lot in its 300 pages.
First Cosmic Velocity will be released August 6th. I received an ARC from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.
First Cosmic Velocity at Penguin Random House
Zach Powers author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
The story focuses on Leonid whose brother has just been sent into space. Interstitial chapters tell the story of his childhood and how he and his brother came to be part of the project. He is closest to Nadya, the first to “go into space” and the only one who was trained to do so, but her sister was sent in her place.
During the tour after Leonid’s successful “flight”, Khruschev suggests that his dog go on the next trip along with the beloved Kasha, a dog descended from the dog the Leonids brought from their village. While on tour, Nadya and Leonid set themselves the task of finding “twins” for the dogs.
I loved First Cosmic Velocity even though I sometimes wondered where it was going. It is just such an original story. What is odd, though, is I can see this as a funny camp movie, but reading it, the tragic sense of life seems uppermost. How I visualize the story and how I feel it while reading it is so disparate, something I cannot explain. I think this is on me, though, not on Zach Powers.
This book defies classification. There is the satiric takedown of the bureaucratic brutality of Stalinism, such as the man who resents not getting a much-deserved promotion but realizing that the promotion would get him sent to the gulag. There is the complicated relationships of the Chief Designer, the General Designer, and Ignatius, the KGB handler. There is a bit of romance. In a way, it makes me think of the magical realism in how Powers presents truths through the absurd. It carries a lot in its 300 pages.
First Cosmic Velocity will be released August 6th. I received an ARC from the publisher through Shelf Awareness.
First Cosmic Velocity at Penguin Random House
Zach Powers author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...
June 28, 2020
This book was an odd one. Firstly, I think that the blurb is pretty misleading and misses the main plot of the book. I went into this thinking that the fraud was going to be more elaborate and there physically weren't any twins left in the USSR. I'm glad that this wasn't the plot, but just know that this book may not be what you're expecting. I also thought that the tension was going to be much, much higher than they actually were. The obstacles that prevented the Chief Designer from making a ship that could re-enter the atmosphere were resolved pretty quickly, and the characters that you're actually invested in have very little to do with it. In reality, this book feels more like a character study - the "action" doesn't really directly affect the two main characters - Nadya and Leonid. Powers touches on some interesting themes with this, and the overall premise is a strong one. However, it doesn't fully commit to being an exploration of survivor's guilt and grief. Because it maintains a secondary plotline, the backstory is underdeveloped and some emotional reactions seem shallow.
The book's lack of direction also creates some very strange timing. This affected both the book's internal timeline - it seemed like Leonid went on tour almost the same day that his brother was launched - and the plot's progression. Very little actually happens in the middle third of this book. Which would be fine if it was a true character study, exploring Leonid's reaction to his brother's launch. However, this isn't the case. As a result, the ending feels rushed and anti-climactic.
This being said, I thought this book did a lot right. Powers' writing style fits incredibly well with the subject matter, and his choice to keep his characters largely anonymous was very effective in my opinion. Furthermore, he's clearly done a lot of research into the Space Race and it pays off. I would say that if you have absolutely no knowledge of the Space Race beyond the existence of Laika and Neil Armstrong, then you might struggle to understand what's going on, but this is pure speculation on my part.
No, this is not a found-family, Cold-war light Sci-Fi as the blurb might suggest, but Powers still produced an interesting book.
The book's lack of direction also creates some very strange timing. This affected both the book's internal timeline - it seemed like Leonid went on tour almost the same day that his brother was launched - and the plot's progression. Very little actually happens in the middle third of this book. Which would be fine if it was a true character study, exploring Leonid's reaction to his brother's launch. However, this isn't the case. As a result, the ending feels rushed and anti-climactic.
This being said, I thought this book did a lot right. Powers' writing style fits incredibly well with the subject matter, and his choice to keep his characters largely anonymous was very effective in my opinion. Furthermore, he's clearly done a lot of research into the Space Race and it pays off. I would say that if you have absolutely no knowledge of the Space Race beyond the existence of Laika and Neil Armstrong, then you might struggle to understand what's going on, but this is pure speculation on my part.
No, this is not a found-family, Cold-war light Sci-Fi as the blurb might suggest, but Powers still produced an interesting book.
June 16, 2019
Space is incredibly fascinating and being the first to discover the mysteries it holds is an ambitious endeavor that comes at a steep and secret cost in First Cosmic Velocity by Zach Powers.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
In 1964 the Russian space program has the appearance of being successful, but the truth of what goes on behind the scenes would prove it anything but. Able to produce rockets capable of making it into space but not back has presented the program with a problem, one they've been able to manage thus far through using twins as their cosmonauts where they launch one and keep one Earth-side for promotional purposes. Unable to find more twins to perpetuate the deception the program has been cultivating, the Chief Designer is frantic to find a realistic and workable solution to bringing their pilots and capsules back safely while Leonid, the last of the twins, fights against doubts creeping in to his mind as he's paraded on a press tour.
An ambitious story that jumps between the haunting childhood of young Ukrainian twin boys and the subterfuge surrounding the space program, it demonstrates the highs and lows that humans are capable of achieving through efficient prose. The narrative evokes a sense of conspiracy and distrust of the government and leadership (which while reading this alongside watching HBO's miniseries Chernobyl makes it even that more memorable), compounded by the atrocious actions depicted in the Leonids' home village. Though I would have liked a bit more context around the space program's development to date in this fictionalized history the story moved well and provided enough information for a general understanding. The digital file I received had an error throughout it that removed the first page from each chapter, removing some of the text and context for various characters and events and halting the narrative's rhythm, but it didn't prevent me from understanding the novel as a whole.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
In 1964 the Russian space program has the appearance of being successful, but the truth of what goes on behind the scenes would prove it anything but. Able to produce rockets capable of making it into space but not back has presented the program with a problem, one they've been able to manage thus far through using twins as their cosmonauts where they launch one and keep one Earth-side for promotional purposes. Unable to find more twins to perpetuate the deception the program has been cultivating, the Chief Designer is frantic to find a realistic and workable solution to bringing their pilots and capsules back safely while Leonid, the last of the twins, fights against doubts creeping in to his mind as he's paraded on a press tour.
An ambitious story that jumps between the haunting childhood of young Ukrainian twin boys and the subterfuge surrounding the space program, it demonstrates the highs and lows that humans are capable of achieving through efficient prose. The narrative evokes a sense of conspiracy and distrust of the government and leadership (which while reading this alongside watching HBO's miniseries Chernobyl makes it even that more memorable), compounded by the atrocious actions depicted in the Leonids' home village. Though I would have liked a bit more context around the space program's development to date in this fictionalized history the story moved well and provided enough information for a general understanding. The digital file I received had an error throughout it that removed the first page from each chapter, removing some of the text and context for various characters and events and halting the narrative's rhythm, but it didn't prevent me from understanding the novel as a whole.
July 24, 2019
I received an ARC of this title in a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
And while I certainly understand the source of some early reviewers' qualms with the book (such as comments about the characters as symbols rather than human figures), I found the book to be compelling nonetheless. Powers's seamless weaving of fact and fiction was very well done--with recognizable historical events (such as the Bondarenko fire, the Nedelin disaster, hastily painting CCCP on a white space helmet before launch so no one thinks it's an American pilot upon reentry, etc.) marking key scenes alongside fictionalized character-building scenes such as those of Leonid's childhood. This deft blurring of the history/fiction line is what so often, for me, marks a strong postmodern historical novel. During my reading of the novel, I found myself compelled to voraciously research actual historical accounts in order to figure out which details Powers was borrowing and which he was inventing (and how/why he might be inventing them). And this kind of playfulness with the history/fiction line--the very theme of a novel about illusory Soviet space conquests--is what drives strong postmodern historical fiction in the first place. Like others before it, Powers's novel succeeds in allowing readers to question not only what is real/unreal in the novel they hold in their hands, but also to ponder the very reality/illusions they encounter and live with every day. That, to me, is the power of postmodern historical fiction, and Powers has provided another succesful entry in the category.
And while I certainly understand the source of some early reviewers' qualms with the book (such as comments about the characters as symbols rather than human figures), I found the book to be compelling nonetheless. Powers's seamless weaving of fact and fiction was very well done--with recognizable historical events (such as the Bondarenko fire, the Nedelin disaster, hastily painting CCCP on a white space helmet before launch so no one thinks it's an American pilot upon reentry, etc.) marking key scenes alongside fictionalized character-building scenes such as those of Leonid's childhood. This deft blurring of the history/fiction line is what so often, for me, marks a strong postmodern historical novel. During my reading of the novel, I found myself compelled to voraciously research actual historical accounts in order to figure out which details Powers was borrowing and which he was inventing (and how/why he might be inventing them). And this kind of playfulness with the history/fiction line--the very theme of a novel about illusory Soviet space conquests--is what drives strong postmodern historical fiction in the first place. Like others before it, Powers's novel succeeds in allowing readers to question not only what is real/unreal in the novel they hold in their hands, but also to ponder the very reality/illusions they encounter and live with every day. That, to me, is the power of postmodern historical fiction, and Powers has provided another succesful entry in the category.
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