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Apollo Murders #1
The Apollo Murders
The far side of the Moon, 1973. Three astronauts are trapped in a tiny Apollo module, and one of them has murder on the mind...
From internationally bestselling astronaut Chris Hadfield comes an exceptional Cold War thriller from the dark heart of the Space Race. As Russian and American crews sprint for a secret bounty hidden away on the Moon's surface, old rivalries blossom and the political stakes are stretched to breaking point back on Earth. Houston flight controller Kazimieras 'Kaz' Zemeckis must do all he can to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his Soviet rivals. But not everyone on board Apollo 18 is quite who they appear to be.
Full of the fascinating technical detail that fans of The Martian loved, and reminiscent of the thrilling claustrophobia, twists and tension of The Hunt for Red October, The Apollo Murders puts you right there in the moment, a quarter of a million miles from home - a quarter of a million miles from help. Experience the fierce G-forces of launch, the frozen loneliness of Space and the fear of holding on to the outside of a spacecraft orbiting the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour, as told by a former Commander of the International Space Station who has done all of those things in real life.
Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.
From internationally bestselling astronaut Chris Hadfield comes an exceptional Cold War thriller from the dark heart of the Space Race. As Russian and American crews sprint for a secret bounty hidden away on the Moon's surface, old rivalries blossom and the political stakes are stretched to breaking point back on Earth. Houston flight controller Kazimieras 'Kaz' Zemeckis must do all he can to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his Soviet rivals. But not everyone on board Apollo 18 is quite who they appear to be.
Full of the fascinating technical detail that fans of The Martian loved, and reminiscent of the thrilling claustrophobia, twists and tension of The Hunt for Red October, The Apollo Murders puts you right there in the moment, a quarter of a million miles from home - a quarter of a million miles from help. Experience the fierce G-forces of launch, the frozen loneliness of Space and the fear of holding on to the outside of a spacecraft orbiting the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour, as told by a former Commander of the International Space Station who has done all of those things in real life.
Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.
478 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 12, 2021
1677 people are currently reading
29113 people want to read
About the author
Chris Hadfield
29 books1,658 followersChris Hadfield is one of the most seasoned and accomplished astronauts in the world. The top graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School in 1988 and U.S. Navy test pilot of the year in 1991, Hadfield was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut in 1992. He was CAPCOM for 25 Shuttle launches and served as Director of NASA Operations in Star City, Russia from 2001-2003, Chief of Robotics at the Johnson Space Center in Houston from 2003-2006, and Chief of International Space Station Operations from 2006-2008. Hadfield most recently served as Commander of the International Space Station where, while conducting a record-setting number of scientific experiments and overseeing an emergency spacewalk, he gained worldwide acclaim for his breathtaking photographs and educational videos about life in space. His music video, a zero-gravity version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity," received over 10 million views in its first three days online.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,289 reviews
August 13, 2024
Imagine if there had been an Apollo 18 mission. Hailed as the last of its kind, it would be fraught with peril and steeped in secrecy. Set during the Cold War era, three astronauts must make the journey for the good of country and science. But when things start to go wrong, who can they really trust a quarter million miles from home?
Yep, say no more! Just dangle Apollo anything in front of me and I'm instantly hooked. You guys know I'm a total space buff, so there's no way I can pass up this book. In fact, when I first heard about it, I almost fell out of my chair in excitement. So I got my bonbons ready and prepared to dig into what was sure to be a riveting ride.
And this has all the bones of a great thriller. The premise is fantastic, the setting atmospheric, and who doesn't love a deadly cat-and-mouse game playing out in space? Since this is fiction weaved into real history, I recognized a lot of the people and events of the space program, and it adds to the authenticity of the whole thing. It was also interesting to contemplate how the Cold War mentality of suspicion and secrecy would play out should the U.S. and Russia actually cross paths during the space race.
But for me, where this book fell short is its excessive technical details. I appreciate those details when it helps me understand the story or drives the plot along. But in this case, the technical information often seems to overwhelm the story. In particular, no piece of machinery we come across is too minor to be given a thorough overview, be it helicopter, fighter jet, submarine, and of course every component of the rocket and spacecraft. I mean, I just need to know enough to understand the story; I'm not actually using this as a manual to pilot an aircraft or to build one, you know?
When writing a story like this, I imagine there is a constant tug-of-war between including enough technical details as to be authentic, but not so much that it bogs down the narrative and the pacing. With Hadfield being an astronaut and having tons of technical knowledge, it's natural that he would focus on what he knows best. But for me, it just went a bit too much in that direction.
Still, this was an interesting read and a solid first effort at fiction by Hadfield. There's enough potential here that I look forward to reading more from him. I just hope he takes mercy on regular folks like me next time and include a little less technical info dump.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Yep, say no more! Just dangle Apollo anything in front of me and I'm instantly hooked. You guys know I'm a total space buff, so there's no way I can pass up this book. In fact, when I first heard about it, I almost fell out of my chair in excitement. So I got my bonbons ready and prepared to dig into what was sure to be a riveting ride.
And this has all the bones of a great thriller. The premise is fantastic, the setting atmospheric, and who doesn't love a deadly cat-and-mouse game playing out in space? Since this is fiction weaved into real history, I recognized a lot of the people and events of the space program, and it adds to the authenticity of the whole thing. It was also interesting to contemplate how the Cold War mentality of suspicion and secrecy would play out should the U.S. and Russia actually cross paths during the space race.
But for me, where this book fell short is its excessive technical details. I appreciate those details when it helps me understand the story or drives the plot along. But in this case, the technical information often seems to overwhelm the story. In particular, no piece of machinery we come across is too minor to be given a thorough overview, be it helicopter, fighter jet, submarine, and of course every component of the rocket and spacecraft. I mean, I just need to know enough to understand the story; I'm not actually using this as a manual to pilot an aircraft or to build one, you know?
When writing a story like this, I imagine there is a constant tug-of-war between including enough technical details as to be authentic, but not so much that it bogs down the narrative and the pacing. With Hadfield being an astronaut and having tons of technical knowledge, it's natural that he would focus on what he knows best. But for me, it just went a bit too much in that direction.
Still, this was an interesting read and a solid first effort at fiction by Hadfield. There's enough potential here that I look forward to reading more from him. I just hope he takes mercy on regular folks like me next time and include a little less technical info dump.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
July 4, 2023
(2.5) This isn't a bad book but "military, US vs Russia, spy books" are not for me.
July 15, 2023
This was an exciting, thrill-packed Cold War thriller. Its author, Chris Hadfield, imparts his extraordinary knowledge and experience, bringing atmosphere, authenticity, and credibility to the plot. The gripping, action-packed story is infused with science, technology, politics, espionage, space history, murder, and intrigue with vividly drawn, believable characters.
Author, Chris Hadfield, is a much-decorated Canadian astronaut, a former fighter pilot, engineer, spacewalker, served in both the American and Russian space programs, and Commander of the International Space Station. Readers who have not followed the history of the Apollo space program and the space stations may recognize Hatfield may recognize him from the video where he played guitar and sang David Bowie's Space Oddity while floating in 0 Gravity in the ISS. This was featured in news reports at the time and can still be viewed on YouTube. He was active in the space program from 1992 until 2013.
I find it difficult to categorize this action-packed novel. This is not so much in the science fiction genre but a historical and suspenseful journey into an alternate past involving a fictional journey of Apollo 18 in 1973. The Apollo program actually ended with Apollo 17, but the story imagines what happens on a subsequent mission to the moon. The writing is filled with an overload of scientific detail and technical descriptions that will appeal more to the space enthusiast than to the casual reader of thrillers. However, the story is so suspenseful, intense, action-packed, and cinematic within a plausible, realistic storyline that it should keep most readers entranced.
A leading character is Kaz Zemeckis, a flight controller at Houston. He is assigned to oversee the mission of three astronauts to the moon and ensure their safety from Mission Control. Kaz missed his goal for going into space when he lost an eye in a training accident. Shortly before blast-off, the astronaut in charge dies in an accident, or was it accidental? The leading backup astronaut replaces him. One astronaut is to stay in the vehicle, circle the moon, and await the two walking on the moon's surface. Due to unfortunate circumstances, this will not be the two originally assigned to the task. At the last minute, the scientific exploration is hastily changed into a military one. The Russians have placed a high-resolution spy satellite in orbit and also a moon rover looking for valuable minerals on the surface. The astronauts are now ordered to disable both items in order to keep the Russians from advanci he ng in the space race.
Kaz is suspicious that one of the astronauts is not what he pretends to be. Surrounding him in Mission Control are many real characters whose names I recognized from the past. Also, at the White House are actual historical people, all seamlessly blended into the story. At the end of the book, I was surprised that most of the characters, except for the fictional Kaz, were real people, and the Russian spy satellite and their moon rover were actually in place at the time.
In the high-tension storyline, there are startling encounters, dangers galore from the Russians, and one aboard Apollo 18 may be a murderer. Events do not go as planned, and both the Russians and the Americans are determined to retrieve an exotic, rare mineral from the moon. The Russians are angry that Apollo 18 is trying to disable their space equipment. Back at Mission Control, the sheriff and others are helping Kaz investigate the astronaut's backgrounds and try to keep on top of the changing events in space. What will the outcome be? Will the crew of Apollo 18 succeed in their mission and get home safely? Recommended to those who want adventure, history of early space exploration and moon landings, espionage, and find the technical details enhance the reality of this dramatic story.
I was glued to the pages, except for a short break to watch Captain Kirk returning from space in Jeff Bezos's space vehicle.
Author, Chris Hadfield, is a much-decorated Canadian astronaut, a former fighter pilot, engineer, spacewalker, served in both the American and Russian space programs, and Commander of the International Space Station. Readers who have not followed the history of the Apollo space program and the space stations may recognize Hatfield may recognize him from the video where he played guitar and sang David Bowie's Space Oddity while floating in 0 Gravity in the ISS. This was featured in news reports at the time and can still be viewed on YouTube. He was active in the space program from 1992 until 2013.
I find it difficult to categorize this action-packed novel. This is not so much in the science fiction genre but a historical and suspenseful journey into an alternate past involving a fictional journey of Apollo 18 in 1973. The Apollo program actually ended with Apollo 17, but the story imagines what happens on a subsequent mission to the moon. The writing is filled with an overload of scientific detail and technical descriptions that will appeal more to the space enthusiast than to the casual reader of thrillers. However, the story is so suspenseful, intense, action-packed, and cinematic within a plausible, realistic storyline that it should keep most readers entranced.
A leading character is Kaz Zemeckis, a flight controller at Houston. He is assigned to oversee the mission of three astronauts to the moon and ensure their safety from Mission Control. Kaz missed his goal for going into space when he lost an eye in a training accident. Shortly before blast-off, the astronaut in charge dies in an accident, or was it accidental? The leading backup astronaut replaces him. One astronaut is to stay in the vehicle, circle the moon, and await the two walking on the moon's surface. Due to unfortunate circumstances, this will not be the two originally assigned to the task. At the last minute, the scientific exploration is hastily changed into a military one. The Russians have placed a high-resolution spy satellite in orbit and also a moon rover looking for valuable minerals on the surface. The astronauts are now ordered to disable both items in order to keep the Russians from advanci he ng in the space race.
Kaz is suspicious that one of the astronauts is not what he pretends to be. Surrounding him in Mission Control are many real characters whose names I recognized from the past. Also, at the White House are actual historical people, all seamlessly blended into the story. At the end of the book, I was surprised that most of the characters, except for the fictional Kaz, were real people, and the Russian spy satellite and their moon rover were actually in place at the time.
In the high-tension storyline, there are startling encounters, dangers galore from the Russians, and one aboard Apollo 18 may be a murderer. Events do not go as planned, and both the Russians and the Americans are determined to retrieve an exotic, rare mineral from the moon. The Russians are angry that Apollo 18 is trying to disable their space equipment. Back at Mission Control, the sheriff and others are helping Kaz investigate the astronaut's backgrounds and try to keep on top of the changing events in space. What will the outcome be? Will the crew of Apollo 18 succeed in their mission and get home safely? Recommended to those who want adventure, history of early space exploration and moon landings, espionage, and find the technical details enhance the reality of this dramatic story.
I was glued to the pages, except for a short break to watch Captain Kirk returning from space in Jeff Bezos's space vehicle.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2024
This review was first posted on Mystery and Suspense. Check it out for features, interviews, and reviews. https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/th...
Chris Hadfield is a Canadian former military test pilot and astronaut with a string of accomplishments in space, including being a mission specialist, operating the first Canadian robotic arm, doing spacewalks, flying on a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, visiting the Russian space station MIR, and commanding the International Space Station. Hadfield even made a video of himself singing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” on the International Space Station (available on YouTube).
Astronaut Chris Hadfield
Chris Hadfield singing on the International Space Station
Hadfield uses his space experience to good purpose in this thriller, a superb blend of fact and fiction set in the midst of the Cold War.
*****
After World War II the United States and the Soviet Union were in a race to conquer space, for national security reasons, foreign policy objectives, and bragging rights.
The Soviets were frustrated when the United States was the first to land a man on the Moon, and closely followed America's subsequent space program, especially Apollo 18 - which was to be America' s last manned Moon flight, scheduled for Spring 1973.
Navy test pilot Kaz Zemeckis was well on his way to being an astronaut when a collision between his F-4 Phantom and a seagull took his left eye, which is now a glass prosthesis.
So Kaz became an expert in space-borne electro-optics and is currently the crew military liasion for Apollo 18, America's first all-military spaceflight.
The designated Apollo 18 astronauts are Tom Hoffman, Luke Hemming, and Michael Esdale, and the benign goal is for Tom and Luke to walk on the Moon and collect samples while Michael pilots the lunar orbiter.
The astronauts repeatedly practice in NASA's simulator, as well as in planes and helicopters, to prepare for their mission.
Meanwhile, the Soviet Union isn't sitting idle. The Russians launch the Almaz Space Station, an armed spy station with enough resolution to see everything America does.
Russia also lands a sophisticsted lunar rover called Lunokhod, which seems especially interested in a particular site on the Moon.
When the military gets wind of these developments Kaz is instructed to convey new instructions to the Apollo 18 astronauts. In the strictest secrecy, they're to sabotage Almaz in Earth orbit before they head for the Moon. And on the lunar surface, the crew is to destroy Lunokhod and take samples from its area of interest. These new goals require complete rejiggering of mission preparations as well as flight plans, landing site, space walks, and so on.
During rehearsals for the Apollo 18 mission there's a deadly incident that results in a change in the crew, and the subsequent investigation - while the astronauts are in space - leads to suspicion of murder.
Moreover, additional ominous things are happening. The disabling of Almaz has unexpected developments; the Soviets are blackmailing an Apollo 18 astronaut; and Russia can communicate with Apollo 18 without NASA's knowledge.
All this results in a cat and mouse game between Apollo 18, the United States, and the Soviet Union, with each trying to outmaneuver the other.
Kaz notices small oddities during the Apollo 18 mission, but nothing immediately rings alarm bells in his mind. Thus, for most of the expedition, Kaz believes things are proceeding as scheduled. But a test pilot is trained to trust his instincts, and Kaz has excellent intuition.
The story includes real-life structures, such as the Almaz Space Station and the Lunokhod rover, as well as real people, including President Richard Nixon; NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz; Apollo Program Director Sam Philllips; American astronaut Al Shepherd; KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov; Almaz designer Vladimir Chelomei; Lunokhod specialist Gabdul Latypov; and many more, whom Hadfield lists at the end of the book. Hadfield also includes scads of technical details about the helicopters, planes, rockets, spacecraft, and equipment in the story, as well as descriptions of things like g-forces; weightlessless; re-entry; and vomiting, peeing, and pooping in space. Science and engineering nerds will be entranced while lay readers may be tempted to skim a bit, but it's all quite informative.
The book is fascinating alternative history and is so authentic, one can almost believe it really happened. There's room for a sequel, and with luck Hadfield will write one.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
October 31, 2021
3.0 Stars
As a huge fan of Chris Hadfield, I was very excited to read his historical science fiction thriller. The best aspect of this one was the inclusion of the technical and historical details surrounding astronaut life. Unfortunately, the murder mystery and characters fell flat so I struggled to keep my immersion in the story. I think the narrative would have been more engaging if it involved more humour.
I would recommend the audiobook version, which is narrated by Ray Porter. He did a great job with the material.
As a huge fan of Chris Hadfield, I was very excited to read his historical science fiction thriller. The best aspect of this one was the inclusion of the technical and historical details surrounding astronaut life. Unfortunately, the murder mystery and characters fell flat so I struggled to keep my immersion in the story. I think the narrative would have been more engaging if it involved more humour.
I would recommend the audiobook version, which is narrated by Ray Porter. He did a great job with the material.
February 24, 2022
In reality, the last manned mission to the moon was America’s Apollo 17, but the jumping off point for this story is that there was actually an Apollo 18 done as a secret military operation. How do you keep a space mission involving thousands of people a secret?
Look, if you’re gonna read this book, you need to stop asking questions like that.
Kaz Zemickis was a test pilot who was also training to be an astronaut when an unfortunate collision between his plane and a seagull leaves him with one eye. Now Kaz is working as a liaison between Washington and the Apollo 18 mission. This is challenging because he’s essentially changing their whole mission plan at the last minute.
Instead of just going to the moon and collecting some rocks, the astronauts need to photograph and hopefully sabotage a Soviet space station equipped with new cameras that will be able to take high resolution spy pictures of the US once it’s manned. Once that’s accomplished, they’re supposed to go to the moon and check out a previously unexplored site that the Soviets are investigating with a lunar rover, and if possible, the astronauts are supposed to sabotage the rover as well. If they can squeeze in a little science in between all this sabotage, scientists have discovered some weird holes in the moon that they’d like checked if possible.
Unfortunately, one of the astronauts dies in a training accident, and must be replaced with a back-up. Meanwhile, the Soviets have made an interesting discovery on the moon with their rover, that they’d very much like to keep to themselves. The Russians also have some leverage over one of the astronauts on Apollo 18.
This book was written by a former test pilot and astronaut who has a ton of experience in space and in working with the Russian space agency. I am NOT a former test pilot and astronaut, but I am a giant space nerd who has checked out a bunch of books and documentaries about manned space flight. I’ve also seen Apollo 13 like 12 times.
So while not an expert like the author, I’d like to think I know a little more than the average bear about the subject, but I wouldn’t presume to say that the author got any of the technical or historical details wrong about this. In fact, per his notes at the end some of the things I thought were insane were true.
What I will question is the basic premise and way this book is structured just from a thriller standpoint. For starters, we’re told from the jump that Apollo 18 is a military mission that is going to be a secret. Yet, we’re never told what that mission was. (Bear in mind that the stuff about the Soviet spy station and rover comes into the picture when they change their mission at the last minute.) The world knows that the US is going back to the moon, but the details of the mission aren't being revealed. Yet, the training seems to be about doing the standard moon stuff of grabbing some rocks, making some observations, taking some samples, setting up some experiments, and trying to get back to Earth without dying. The story tells us that Nixon paid for this operation by using military funding, but we're never told what they were originally going to do that was different from other moon missions.
I also question that NOBODY in this story ever brings up a legal, political, or ethical concern that the US is essentially going into space to sabotage Soviet property. Since this is the Nixon administration making this call, I’m not saying that they wouldn’t try it, but it seems odd that absolutely nobody ever brings up that we’re essentially using a ultra-expensive Apollo mission that the world still knows about to commit an act of war.
Also, nobody brings up that they're launching a rocket they told the world would be going to the moon to do secret military things. So when a Soviet space station fails immediately after the US capsule hits orbit, and the a Soviet rover fails right after Apollo astronauts land nearby, it's pretty obvious what happened. Maybe Russia couldn't prove it, but it would certainly cause accusations to be made and an international incident.
The next part is where it really gets messy, but I’ll keep it vague to avoid spoilers. Let’s just say that things don’t go well when Apollo 18 tries to sabotage the Soviet station, and there is absolute chaos for a few minutes as well a high probability that the space capsule has been damaged. A bunch of other shit has gone wrong as well, but despite it all, the astronauts go ahead and hit the Go-To-The-Moon button to do their burn for lunar orbit. Even when NASA gets involved again, they learn that the capsule has so many issues that it makes the Apollo 13 mission look like a cakewalk by comparison.
And yet they still decide to land on the fucking moon rather than just orbiting once and coming back immediately.
There’s a lot more that happens and other than the technical details, most of it seems so outlandish that it’s impossible to take any of it seriously. Plus, much like most action movies these days the ending seems way to long and drawn out with even more utterly unbelievable twists and turns with a bunch of events occurring that would most likely result in the US and Soviet Union immediately launching nukes at each other. There’s also some blatant sequel set-up that makes me pretty sure that the author plans for this to be some kind of Tom Clancy style thrillers using spaceflight as the hook with the Kaz character acting as Jack Ryan.
I should be the kind of reader who would go nuts for a historical-fiction/alt-history/conspiracy-thriller/set-in-space kind of book, and I was more than willing to go along with some of it at first. But there’s just too much of everything in this. Too many characters, too much detail, too many plot twists, too many outlandish events, etc. It’s all just too much for me to suspend disbelief and roll with it, and that’s what this kind of story needs for it to really work.
Look, if you’re gonna read this book, you need to stop asking questions like that.
Kaz Zemickis was a test pilot who was also training to be an astronaut when an unfortunate collision between his plane and a seagull leaves him with one eye. Now Kaz is working as a liaison between Washington and the Apollo 18 mission. This is challenging because he’s essentially changing their whole mission plan at the last minute.
Instead of just going to the moon and collecting some rocks, the astronauts need to photograph and hopefully sabotage a Soviet space station equipped with new cameras that will be able to take high resolution spy pictures of the US once it’s manned. Once that’s accomplished, they’re supposed to go to the moon and check out a previously unexplored site that the Soviets are investigating with a lunar rover, and if possible, the astronauts are supposed to sabotage the rover as well. If they can squeeze in a little science in between all this sabotage, scientists have discovered some weird holes in the moon that they’d like checked if possible.
Unfortunately, one of the astronauts dies in a training accident, and must be replaced with a back-up. Meanwhile, the Soviets have made an interesting discovery on the moon with their rover, that they’d very much like to keep to themselves. The Russians also have some leverage over one of the astronauts on Apollo 18.
This book was written by a former test pilot and astronaut who has a ton of experience in space and in working with the Russian space agency. I am NOT a former test pilot and astronaut, but I am a giant space nerd who has checked out a bunch of books and documentaries about manned space flight. I’ve also seen Apollo 13 like 12 times.
So while not an expert like the author, I’d like to think I know a little more than the average bear about the subject, but I wouldn’t presume to say that the author got any of the technical or historical details wrong about this. In fact, per his notes at the end some of the things I thought were insane were true.
What I will question is the basic premise and way this book is structured just from a thriller standpoint. For starters, we’re told from the jump that Apollo 18 is a military mission that is going to be a secret. Yet, we’re never told what that mission was. (Bear in mind that the stuff about the Soviet spy station and rover comes into the picture when they change their mission at the last minute.) The world knows that the US is going back to the moon, but the details of the mission aren't being revealed. Yet, the training seems to be about doing the standard moon stuff of grabbing some rocks, making some observations, taking some samples, setting up some experiments, and trying to get back to Earth without dying. The story tells us that Nixon paid for this operation by using military funding, but we're never told what they were originally going to do that was different from other moon missions.
I also question that NOBODY in this story ever brings up a legal, political, or ethical concern that the US is essentially going into space to sabotage Soviet property. Since this is the Nixon administration making this call, I’m not saying that they wouldn’t try it, but it seems odd that absolutely nobody ever brings up that we’re essentially using a ultra-expensive Apollo mission that the world still knows about to commit an act of war.
Also, nobody brings up that they're launching a rocket they told the world would be going to the moon to do secret military things. So when a Soviet space station fails immediately after the US capsule hits orbit, and the a Soviet rover fails right after Apollo astronauts land nearby, it's pretty obvious what happened. Maybe Russia couldn't prove it, but it would certainly cause accusations to be made and an international incident.
The next part is where it really gets messy, but I’ll keep it vague to avoid spoilers. Let’s just say that things don’t go well when Apollo 18 tries to sabotage the Soviet station, and there is absolute chaos for a few minutes as well a high probability that the space capsule has been damaged. A bunch of other shit has gone wrong as well, but despite it all, the astronauts go ahead and hit the Go-To-The-Moon button to do their burn for lunar orbit. Even when NASA gets involved again, they learn that the capsule has so many issues that it makes the Apollo 13 mission look like a cakewalk by comparison.
And yet they still decide to land on the fucking moon rather than just orbiting once and coming back immediately.
There’s a lot more that happens and other than the technical details, most of it seems so outlandish that it’s impossible to take any of it seriously. Plus, much like most action movies these days the ending seems way to long and drawn out with even more utterly unbelievable twists and turns with a bunch of events occurring that would most likely result in the US and Soviet Union immediately launching nukes at each other. There’s also some blatant sequel set-up that makes me pretty sure that the author plans for this to be some kind of Tom Clancy style thrillers using spaceflight as the hook with the Kaz character acting as Jack Ryan.
I should be the kind of reader who would go nuts for a historical-fiction/alt-history/conspiracy-thriller/set-in-space kind of book, and I was more than willing to go along with some of it at first. But there’s just too much of everything in this. Too many characters, too much detail, too many plot twists, too many outlandish events, etc. It’s all just too much for me to suspend disbelief and roll with it, and that’s what this kind of story needs for it to really work.
November 30, 2021
Exploring the Cold War through a new and exhilarating lens, this novel by former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has all the ingredients of a superior thriller. Examining the tensions of two superpowers, the space race is a poignant backdrop during the tense 1970s. When the Americans learn of a Soviet space satellite, they are less than calm. It will have to be destroyed before too many secrets can be conveyed behind the Iron Curtain. Doing so will require not only stealth, but also precise planning. With the launch of Apollo 18, there could be a chance for success, but nothing is guaranteed, as NASA has come to realise. When something goes terribly wrong outside the Earth’s orbit, it will take some quick decision-making to remedy it. All the while, focus within the White House and Kremlin is up into the stars, as both impatiently await news to share. Hadfield does a masterful job with this piece, stirring up emotions with every plot twist!
With space exploration still in its infancy, two political superpowers seek to earn the title of ‘master of the outer realm’. The Americans and Soviets have been fighting a cold, but focussed, political war on land and sea for years, but the battle to explore space is a new frontier. This is the premise of the novel, which takes readers as deep as they could possibly go.
NASA flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis knows that all too well, as he helps prepare for the launch of Apollo 18. The Americans have had some success getting astronauts into space and onto the moon, but there is more to that with this launch. US Intelligence has deduced that the Soviets have a spy satellite orbiting Earth and transmitting news back to the Kremlin, something that could have dire consequences. Apollo 18 may be the only hope of destroying the satellite without drawing too much attention, but Kaz is not sure it will work.
After Apollo 18 launches into orbit, three astronauts receive word of their extra mission and are tasked with trying to neutralise Soviet spy power. It will be a delicate mission and no one is entirely sure how easy it will be to get the needed answers. Still, it is a must to protect America and every astronaut knows the importance of their patriotic duty.
When things go horribly wrong out in space, thing turn from a covert mission into one focussed on rescue. New protocols will need to be created and a loose ‘friendly coolness’ develops between the Americans and Soviets. Working together will be the only way to ensure the body count is minimal, while keeping the general public out of the know of any major mishap. Kaz and many others will have to rely on transmissions and limited capabilities of the astronauts while heading for the Moon, the still somewhat under-explored part of near space.
All eyes and ears are on the transmissions of Apollo 18 and its crew, as they seek to find needed answers swiftly and concisely. Holding their collective breaths, Washington and Moscow await news, putting aside their differences for a moment, but refusing to melt the chill in the air! A stellar piece of writing that pushes the Cold War to new limits!
Chris Hadfield’s experience as an astronaut comes through in this piece, which is full of great information about the space program. From a detailed narrative about the preparations for time in space to the explanations of procedures needed to survive outside of the Earth’s orbit, Hadfield presents a piece that educates as much as it entertains. The story is stunning in its detail and delivery, leaving me eager to keep reading as I discover things I had no idea existed. I can only hope there are more books to come in this vein, as I could not get enough.
The cast of characters is broad and each has something for the reader to explore. Hadfield has an array of those who could be protagonists in their own right, but I choose not to choose a single individual for this piece. Backstories are plentiful, as are the moments of development, when pressure and politics enter the equation as well. The reader will likely find someone with whom they can relate, or at least connect throughout the turbulent nature of the piece, making it an even more captivating story.
The premise of the piece was not only brilliant, but its execution was stellar from the opening pages. Chris Hadfield develops his plot in the early stages of the narrative and pushes forward incrementally in an attempt to paint a picture for the reader. With a great deal of backstory to use as foundation, the story must begin slowly, but soon takes on a mind of its own and leaves the reader demanding more as things progress. A cast of unique characters, as well as some known in history, provides the reader with something exciting and useful when offering context. Knowledge of the space program and space itself can be found throughout the story, aiding in the education of the layperson and not keeping them from understanding what is taking place. I can only wonder what else Hadfield has for readers in the coming years, as this was, if you pardon the pun, out of this world!
Kudos, Mr. Hadfield, for a great fiction debut. Don’t stop here, as I know you will have many who demand more space thrillers!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
With space exploration still in its infancy, two political superpowers seek to earn the title of ‘master of the outer realm’. The Americans and Soviets have been fighting a cold, but focussed, political war on land and sea for years, but the battle to explore space is a new frontier. This is the premise of the novel, which takes readers as deep as they could possibly go.
NASA flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis knows that all too well, as he helps prepare for the launch of Apollo 18. The Americans have had some success getting astronauts into space and onto the moon, but there is more to that with this launch. US Intelligence has deduced that the Soviets have a spy satellite orbiting Earth and transmitting news back to the Kremlin, something that could have dire consequences. Apollo 18 may be the only hope of destroying the satellite without drawing too much attention, but Kaz is not sure it will work.
After Apollo 18 launches into orbit, three astronauts receive word of their extra mission and are tasked with trying to neutralise Soviet spy power. It will be a delicate mission and no one is entirely sure how easy it will be to get the needed answers. Still, it is a must to protect America and every astronaut knows the importance of their patriotic duty.
When things go horribly wrong out in space, thing turn from a covert mission into one focussed on rescue. New protocols will need to be created and a loose ‘friendly coolness’ develops between the Americans and Soviets. Working together will be the only way to ensure the body count is minimal, while keeping the general public out of the know of any major mishap. Kaz and many others will have to rely on transmissions and limited capabilities of the astronauts while heading for the Moon, the still somewhat under-explored part of near space.
All eyes and ears are on the transmissions of Apollo 18 and its crew, as they seek to find needed answers swiftly and concisely. Holding their collective breaths, Washington and Moscow await news, putting aside their differences for a moment, but refusing to melt the chill in the air! A stellar piece of writing that pushes the Cold War to new limits!
Chris Hadfield’s experience as an astronaut comes through in this piece, which is full of great information about the space program. From a detailed narrative about the preparations for time in space to the explanations of procedures needed to survive outside of the Earth’s orbit, Hadfield presents a piece that educates as much as it entertains. The story is stunning in its detail and delivery, leaving me eager to keep reading as I discover things I had no idea existed. I can only hope there are more books to come in this vein, as I could not get enough.
The cast of characters is broad and each has something for the reader to explore. Hadfield has an array of those who could be protagonists in their own right, but I choose not to choose a single individual for this piece. Backstories are plentiful, as are the moments of development, when pressure and politics enter the equation as well. The reader will likely find someone with whom they can relate, or at least connect throughout the turbulent nature of the piece, making it an even more captivating story.
The premise of the piece was not only brilliant, but its execution was stellar from the opening pages. Chris Hadfield develops his plot in the early stages of the narrative and pushes forward incrementally in an attempt to paint a picture for the reader. With a great deal of backstory to use as foundation, the story must begin slowly, but soon takes on a mind of its own and leaves the reader demanding more as things progress. A cast of unique characters, as well as some known in history, provides the reader with something exciting and useful when offering context. Knowledge of the space program and space itself can be found throughout the story, aiding in the education of the layperson and not keeping them from understanding what is taking place. I can only wonder what else Hadfield has for readers in the coming years, as this was, if you pardon the pun, out of this world!
Kudos, Mr. Hadfield, for a great fiction debut. Don’t stop here, as I know you will have many who demand more space thrillers!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
July 18, 2022
All flying machines were essentially the same; you just had to figure out how to get them started and how they wanted to kill you.The Apollo Murders takes place in an alternate history version of 1973, in which the US is preparing to launch Apollo 18 (in reality, Apollo 17 was the last one). The crew will be made up of all military members, and the mission evolves into some good ol’ Cold War spy stuff involving a recently launched Soviet space station and a Soviet moon rover.
…
If there was a battle on the Moon, he would win.
Written by a former astronaut, The Apollo Murders has a realistic feel to it whenever technicals details—how mission training works, the feel of being strapped to a rocket blasting into space, moving around a confined ship in zero gravity, reentering Earth’s orbit and splashing down in the ocean—are being described. And the Cold War politics, including the inclusion of a couple dozen real-life people, also has an authenticity from someone who lived through that era and studied its history.
But the plot? That’s where The Apollo Murders kinda falls apart. The idea of a Soviet spy within NASA is an interesting one, but it’s never clear that the person (who I won’t name) actually was one. In fact, it’s never clear what that person’s motivations were for any of the actions that they took, starting with orchestrating their inclusion in the mission. The publisher compares this novel to The Hunt for Red October and The Martian, but those books had much tighter plots, and the latter created more emotional depth by including a lot of humor, which this story really could have used. Recommended for readers really into space/moon/Cold War novels. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
October 23, 2021
“The Apollo Murders” by former Commander of the International Space Station Chris Hadfield, is a cracking debut Cold War thriller, that quite literally blew my mind into orbit. With his unrivalled universe expertise and talent of conveying fact into entertaining fiction through the written word, this book was one of the few that will stay in my thoughts for a very long time.
- 1973, a final top secret mission to the moon. Three astronauts in a tiny module. 250 million miles from home. 250 million miles from help. But not everyone on board is quite who they appear to be. Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.
Having just recently watched in awe at William Shatner blasting off into space and always having a fascination in our solar system, I couldn’t wait to read this highly anticipated space thriller.
As the story opens with the prologue of the main narrator, flight controller Kaz Zemeckis, of how he lost his left eye in a jet flying incident, this set the scene instantly for this incredibly detailed reading extravaganza.
Stories do tend to portray visually in your head but this particular one played out so vividly in my mind it was like I was actually watching a blockbuster movie. I could hear the roaring sounds of the various aircrafts, feel the g force, see the sights the astronauts were seeing and amongst all those sensory feelings, also get a sense of the plot of the story which in itself was tense, intriguing and entertaining.
The fact that the author himself admits that many of the characters are real life people and much of what happened in the book is true, this made it all feel so much more genuine and believable than a run of the mill thriller, no matter how well written. At the end, there is a section on who were the actual real characters, events and machinery etc and I felt the people I was learning about, I had come to know personally already.
I’ll never feel the same way again looking up into the sky at night, knowing that somewhere up there there could be people like Luke, Chad even Svetlana looking down on Earth going about their duties.
“The Apollo Murders” is an unbelievably detailed and narrated thriller, that I’d highly recommend if you have even a passing interest in space travel and I commend the author for producing such a wonderful book based much on his own life experiences.
#TheApolloMurders 5 stars
- 1973, a final top secret mission to the moon. Three astronauts in a tiny module. 250 million miles from home. 250 million miles from help. But not everyone on board is quite who they appear to be. Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.
Having just recently watched in awe at William Shatner blasting off into space and always having a fascination in our solar system, I couldn’t wait to read this highly anticipated space thriller.
As the story opens with the prologue of the main narrator, flight controller Kaz Zemeckis, of how he lost his left eye in a jet flying incident, this set the scene instantly for this incredibly detailed reading extravaganza.
Stories do tend to portray visually in your head but this particular one played out so vividly in my mind it was like I was actually watching a blockbuster movie. I could hear the roaring sounds of the various aircrafts, feel the g force, see the sights the astronauts were seeing and amongst all those sensory feelings, also get a sense of the plot of the story which in itself was tense, intriguing and entertaining.
The fact that the author himself admits that many of the characters are real life people and much of what happened in the book is true, this made it all feel so much more genuine and believable than a run of the mill thriller, no matter how well written. At the end, there is a section on who were the actual real characters, events and machinery etc and I felt the people I was learning about, I had come to know personally already.
I’ll never feel the same way again looking up into the sky at night, knowing that somewhere up there there could be people like Luke, Chad even Svetlana looking down on Earth going about their duties.
“The Apollo Murders” is an unbelievably detailed and narrated thriller, that I’d highly recommend if you have even a passing interest in space travel and I commend the author for producing such a wonderful book based much on his own life experiences.
#TheApolloMurders 5 stars
November 4, 2021
I knew going in that this is one of those books that relies on the author's name recognition to sell copies, but even with my low expectations, this wasn't good. It's a silly story, told poorly, with not much else going for it.
Is it 1-star bad? Probably not. There were a few sections that were quite fun if taken in isolation. A couple of plot points were also interesting, like what the Russians found on the moon and the constant one-upmanship between the 2 nations. Other than that, though, it was an unfocused mess.
The writing was 100% to blame. The author simply didn't have the storytelling skills yet to make a story like this work. It was full of conveniences, constant head-hopping, useless characters, annoying stereotypes, unnecessary detail, inconsistent pacing, bizarre character motivations, bland dialogue, too many subplots, no character development, and boring prose. It's no surprise an editor couldn't save this amateur attempt at a novel.
So a 1.5, rounded down because, by the end, I simply wanted it to be over. It wasn't awful, but it was so far from good, it didn't make much difference.
Is it 1-star bad? Probably not. There were a few sections that were quite fun if taken in isolation. A couple of plot points were also interesting, like what the Russians found on the moon and the constant one-upmanship between the 2 nations. Other than that, though, it was an unfocused mess.
The writing was 100% to blame. The author simply didn't have the storytelling skills yet to make a story like this work. It was full of conveniences, constant head-hopping, useless characters, annoying stereotypes, unnecessary detail, inconsistent pacing, bizarre character motivations, bland dialogue, too many subplots, no character development, and boring prose. It's no surprise an editor couldn't save this amateur attempt at a novel.
So a 1.5, rounded down because, by the end, I simply wanted it to be over. It wasn't awful, but it was so far from good, it didn't make much difference.
November 13, 2021
3.5 stars?
Let me preface this review by saying that thrillers are really not my genre. This novel is well written and Chris Hadfield has proven himself to be a very well rounded guy, more creative than I would expect given his military and astronaut background. During the early pages of this novel, I found myself checking Wikipedia in order to determine Hadfield‘s age. Sure enough, he's two years my senior, and that's what I would have guessed from the time period he chose to write about. The years of Richard Nixon, Apollo space missions, and Russo-American rivalry. The stuff we grew up in. The choice of an alternative history, where another Apollo mission occurred, was an inspired choice for him.
Hadfield is almost uniquely qualified to write this book, former test pilot, astronaut, and commander of the ISS. He obviously has a good grasp of space history, both Russian and American. He speaks Russian, having spent time on both Mir and the ISS and in Star City, Russia. In short, he knows how the Russian space program, NASA, and astronauts look, sound, and act. He can keep it real. Especially that “you can have emotions on your own time" ethos that seems to govern the space program. Hadfield manages to shoehorn in a couple of female characters. One rather minor one is a geologist involved in the lunar program, who becomes a love interest for the more prominent CAPCOM, Kaz. The other is a female cosmonaut who provides much of the opposition needed for the book's purpose.
I struggled to stay engaged because for me there were far, far too many technical flying details included. The folks who do care about such things will have a field day dissecting his descriptions. Whenever I set the book down, it was hard work to convince myself to pick it back up again. That, however, is me, not the book or the author. When the book first came out, Hadfield was all over Canadian public radio, doing the publicity for it—I am unsurprised that he said that thrillers were his preferred genre. He has studied them well and has a well structured book with excellent tension and he threw in some imaginative twists. Don't judge the book by my rating. My ratings reflect my enjoyment of the reading experience, not the quality of the book.
The pressure in the last few chapters is intense, the action nonstop. It was such a relief, to see the end in sight, and to read the final reveal. The book has garnered a lot of attention due to the author—there are 554 people waiting for it at my library. I don't know if Hadfield has plans to write another novel, but this one is good enough that I expect there would be an appetite for it.
Let me preface this review by saying that thrillers are really not my genre. This novel is well written and Chris Hadfield has proven himself to be a very well rounded guy, more creative than I would expect given his military and astronaut background. During the early pages of this novel, I found myself checking Wikipedia in order to determine Hadfield‘s age. Sure enough, he's two years my senior, and that's what I would have guessed from the time period he chose to write about. The years of Richard Nixon, Apollo space missions, and Russo-American rivalry. The stuff we grew up in. The choice of an alternative history, where another Apollo mission occurred, was an inspired choice for him.
Hadfield is almost uniquely qualified to write this book, former test pilot, astronaut, and commander of the ISS. He obviously has a good grasp of space history, both Russian and American. He speaks Russian, having spent time on both Mir and the ISS and in Star City, Russia. In short, he knows how the Russian space program, NASA, and astronauts look, sound, and act. He can keep it real. Especially that “you can have emotions on your own time" ethos that seems to govern the space program. Hadfield manages to shoehorn in a couple of female characters. One rather minor one is a geologist involved in the lunar program, who becomes a love interest for the more prominent CAPCOM, Kaz. The other is a female cosmonaut who provides much of the opposition needed for the book's purpose.
I struggled to stay engaged because for me there were far, far too many technical flying details included. The folks who do care about such things will have a field day dissecting his descriptions. Whenever I set the book down, it was hard work to convince myself to pick it back up again. That, however, is me, not the book or the author. When the book first came out, Hadfield was all over Canadian public radio, doing the publicity for it—I am unsurprised that he said that thrillers were his preferred genre. He has studied them well and has a well structured book with excellent tension and he threw in some imaginative twists. Don't judge the book by my rating. My ratings reflect my enjoyment of the reading experience, not the quality of the book.
The pressure in the last few chapters is intense, the action nonstop. It was such a relief, to see the end in sight, and to read the final reveal. The book has garnered a lot of attention due to the author—there are 554 people waiting for it at my library. I don't know if Hadfield has plans to write another novel, but this one is good enough that I expect there would be an appetite for it.
September 23, 2021
Surely one of my most anticipated books of the year! My liking for Chris Hadfield knows no limits since he tweeted at me from SPACE! I was also fortunate enough to meet him at a book signing in Oxford. His knowledge and first-hand experience of being an astronaut (in space, in the US and in Russia), a space-walker and a jet pilot fills this Cold War thriller, which is set during the golden days of space exploration. There is a great story in here and it is pumped full of atmosphere and authenticity. My only issue would be that, at times, there is far too much detail, which holds up the thriller pace. I consider myself an 'expert' now on how a jet engine works! But this is unmissable really for anyone who is as fascinated by space exploration as I am. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.
August 2, 2021
I received a DRC of this book.
I loved this book, everything about it; the science, the tech, the murder and intrigue and the history. Hadfield's writing feels so personal that at times I even felt as if I were reading a memoir. His knowledge, experience and skill set makes the Apollo Murders credible and authentic.
His writing is incredible, his characters are so believable and well-developed in their strengths, flaws and humanity and his dialogue is true to the characters. You're present with the characters whether it's in the control room, Apollo 18 or the Universal Joint.
It was also nice to get back to this familiar trope, the U.S. vs. the Soviet Union – made me nostalgic for the Cold War.
I loved this book, everything about it; the science, the tech, the murder and intrigue and the history. Hadfield's writing feels so personal that at times I even felt as if I were reading a memoir. His knowledge, experience and skill set makes the Apollo Murders credible and authentic.
His writing is incredible, his characters are so believable and well-developed in their strengths, flaws and humanity and his dialogue is true to the characters. You're present with the characters whether it's in the control room, Apollo 18 or the Universal Joint.
It was also nice to get back to this familiar trope, the U.S. vs. the Soviet Union – made me nostalgic for the Cold War.
February 25, 2022
I tried, I really did. Despite reading almost 60% of the book it just seemed to get bogged down with way too much technical jargon, outlandish plot lines & backstory.
The premise seemed intriguing and who better to write such a book than a well-respected astronaut and scientist? I did like the fact he used real characters and places through the book to add some authenticity to this, but I just wonder if 100 pages or so less would have kept my interest.
The premise seemed intriguing and who better to write such a book than a well-respected astronaut and scientist? I did like the fact he used real characters and places through the book to add some authenticity to this, but I just wonder if 100 pages or so less would have kept my interest.
October 5, 2021
Only someone with first hand experience could write a novel as rich in detail as this one, from the characters to the technology, The Apollo Murders is, in many ways, a masterpiece.
Set during the Cold War, a space race still on, politics and intrigue sit at the heart of this story, a compelling and twisty mystery which has a brilliantly effective prose and excellent historical context.
My one slight issue was the overly technical explanations that peppered the plot sometimes to the extent I skimmed past it-however for those who are really into outer space and all that goes with it this would definitely be a plus so a subjective downside.
Overall excellent. Should be a huge hit. Rightly so.
Set during the Cold War, a space race still on, politics and intrigue sit at the heart of this story, a compelling and twisty mystery which has a brilliantly effective prose and excellent historical context.
My one slight issue was the overly technical explanations that peppered the plot sometimes to the extent I skimmed past it-however for those who are really into outer space and all that goes with it this would definitely be a plus so a subjective downside.
Overall excellent. Should be a huge hit. Rightly so.
January 10, 2022
In Chris Hadfield thriller page turner a Apollo mission is launched set during the Cold war but things go wrong in the heart of space where American and Russian race for a hidden bounty. I couldn't stop reading The details of the space were awesome from an author who knows his stuff.
October 23, 2021
I’m sorry, I’m in the minority here, but this book is just boring. It’s like For All Mankind but without the ability to make you care about the characters. And the narrator was dry as toast, with only the trace of emotion in dialogue (and good luck telling anyone’s voices apart, he does Man and Woman with accents as needed). Not that the text gave him much to work with. “I am going to walk on the Moon. I am now walking on the Moon. I have now walked on the Moon.” 2.5 rounded up because the author provides credibility to the science, but dear lord he cannot tell a story. I was excited for this book but in the end the word I kept ok’ing back to was just “dull.”
November 17, 2021
The cover reminds me of the opening of the 2001: A Space Odyssey movie. The top of the letters in the title are blurred on the cover makes it look sloppy. An interesting what if story, the plot twists do help the make the book more exciting. The granular details about spaceflight in the story comes from one who knows.
November 6, 2022
I feel like I learned quite a bit, but I can't quite say I was entertained. This book was an interesting mix of extremely detailed and specific technical jargon and science beside a whole lot of action that doesn't just need suspension of disbelief, but rather abandonment of it.
Have you ever read a book where it feels like the author thinks they may only get one and only chance, so they throw absolutely everything they have at the one book? That's the impression I get here. Probably 200 pages of absolutely unnecessary detail and side story could (and I'd argue should) have been cut out and the true thriller meat of the story would not have been affected at all. Was the story about how a technician's sneeze years ago affected current equipment cool. Absolutely. Did any of that need to be in the book or ultimately matter to the plot, no, it did not. The book was full of things like that or background detail on a character we would never meet again.
I also found the action sequences, particularly the finale, to be unrealistic and over the top. However I'm not an action reader, so that that with a grain of salt. Ultimately, I really loved the idea of this book, and appreciate all of the effort and expertise that went into it. I also have enjoyed watching Hadfield in various media appearances and would give another book by him a shot. Here's hoping a second book (and perhaps different editor) will come with a bit more restraint.
Have you ever read a book where it feels like the author thinks they may only get one and only chance, so they throw absolutely everything they have at the one book? That's the impression I get here. Probably 200 pages of absolutely unnecessary detail and side story could (and I'd argue should) have been cut out and the true thriller meat of the story would not have been affected at all. Was the story about how a technician's sneeze years ago affected current equipment cool. Absolutely. Did any of that need to be in the book or ultimately matter to the plot, no, it did not. The book was full of things like that or background detail on a character we would never meet again.
I also found the action sequences, particularly the finale, to be unrealistic and over the top. However I'm not an action reader, so that that with a grain of salt. Ultimately, I really loved the idea of this book, and appreciate all of the effort and expertise that went into it. I also have enjoyed watching Hadfield in various media appearances and would give another book by him a shot. Here's hoping a second book (and perhaps different editor) will come with a bit more restraint.
May 8, 2023
The Apollo Murders - an alternative historical thriller about the launch of Apollo 18. (For non-history buffs like myself, the Apollo 18 was never launched in real life, due to budgetary constraints and the cold war.)
What I loved:
✦ The author, Chris Hadfield, is an actual astronaut! So this book is as close to reality as you can get, for a fictional story on account of moon-landing that is.
✦ The ending was completely bad-ass. I'd say the last ~30/40 pages were truly thrilling and unexpected. What a blast!
What I didn't love:
✦ So many acronyms and numbers. I kept forgetting what TsUP and LM and the various other abbreviations stand for.
✦ The middle part was a slog to get through. I had a hard time staying invested at first.
Overall, a decent read!
What I loved:
✦ The author, Chris Hadfield, is an actual astronaut! So this book is as close to reality as you can get, for a fictional story on account of moon-landing that is.
✦ The ending was completely bad-ass. I'd say the last ~30/40 pages were truly thrilling and unexpected. What a blast!
What I didn't love:
✦ So many acronyms and numbers. I kept forgetting what TsUP and LM and the various other abbreviations stand for.
✦ The middle part was a slog to get through. I had a hard time staying invested at first.
Overall, a decent read!
January 8, 2022
A fun thriller that satisfied me scientifically. Non-science nerds are going to complain about the info-dumps, whereas I was thinking, “tell me more about the combustion process”.
The pacing was great, it felt like a decent thriller. I had issues with some characters and their motivations. Leaving it there because of spoilers.
Fans of Andy Weir will love it. I propose a Science Fiction sub-genre called Engineering Fiction to encompass it and Weir’s writing.
The pacing was great, it felt like a decent thriller. I had issues with some characters and their motivations. Leaving it there because of spoilers.
Fans of Andy Weir will love it. I propose a Science Fiction sub-genre called Engineering Fiction to encompass it and Weir’s writing.
December 6, 2024
A Cold War thriller set in space… written by someone who’s actually been there.
I’ve followed Col. Hadfield on his socials since he covered David Bowie’s Space Oddity aboard the International Space Station, a viral video which has garnered over 50 million views since being uploaded almost a decade ago. Now retired, he has turned his hand to fiction, and the resulting The Apollo Murders is a riveting speculative historical fiction thriller set in the early 70's, imagining a further escalation of the Space Race sparked by the deployment of a Soviet spy satellite and an Apollo 18 mission with a hidden reconnaissance and sabotage agenda...
The historical and scientific accuracy didn’t disappoint: Given that this was written by a former Commander of the ISS, the descriptions of things such as zero gravity, G-forces, and the peculiar claustrophobia of being trapped in a space capsule, all things he’s actually experienced, had me glued to the page. Hadfield also speaks fluent Russian, so I’d imagine that those passages would be correct—it’s a major pet-peeve of mine when authors insist on having foreign languages in their novels but butcher even the most basic sentences. I loved that an Author’s Note detailing all the real things, events, and people was included—it made me appreciate the research that would’ve been needed to write this even more in retrospect. However, sometimes the detailed technical descriptions went too far, especially in the beginning of the book: While I really enjoyed all these tidbits once we got into orbit, they held absolutely no interest for me when they were about military aircrafts used on Earth; I just really don’t give a fig about helicopters, and I don’t need instructions on how to fly a Cessna.
The Cold War was a wild time, and I suppose that there are probably classified missions from that era that would sound even stranger than this particular fiction, but there is so much going on: Espionage, politics, science, technology, combat—this book has all of it, and then some. Given the omniscient narration, the reader knows who the murderer is while everyone else in the story is still trying to figure it out, which makes for some good tension, but also some odd pacing and “shocking reveals” which fall flat on their face. Speaking of flat—unfortunately this applies to the characters as well, although I’ll admit that the dialogues felt very believable, and I’m not sure I was left satisfied by the relentlessly action-packed ending—it seemed a little rushed.
Despite some flaws in the prose and storytelling itself, a good chunk of The Apollo Murders was authentic and vividly atmospheric, namely the parts describing actual space travel. I can’t shake my awe at the thought that Hadfield was up there, and is writing about things he’s seen with his own eyes, rather than simply imagining them, as any other science fiction writer would—undoubtedly the book’s biggest selling-point. Given his military/aerospace background, this is a perhaps surprisingly creative and well-structured story that keeps the tension up, and even has some unexpected twists—by imbuing it with his unique knowledge, he lends it credibility even in some of the more far-fetched situations. I’d recommend this fun ride to anyone with even just a passing interest in the golden age of space exploration.
I’ve followed Col. Hadfield on his socials since he covered David Bowie’s Space Oddity aboard the International Space Station, a viral video which has garnered over 50 million views since being uploaded almost a decade ago. Now retired, he has turned his hand to fiction, and the resulting The Apollo Murders is a riveting speculative historical fiction thriller set in the early 70's, imagining a further escalation of the Space Race sparked by the deployment of a Soviet spy satellite and an Apollo 18 mission with a hidden reconnaissance and sabotage agenda...
The historical and scientific accuracy didn’t disappoint: Given that this was written by a former Commander of the ISS, the descriptions of things such as zero gravity, G-forces, and the peculiar claustrophobia of being trapped in a space capsule, all things he’s actually experienced, had me glued to the page. Hadfield also speaks fluent Russian, so I’d imagine that those passages would be correct—it’s a major pet-peeve of mine when authors insist on having foreign languages in their novels but butcher even the most basic sentences. I loved that an Author’s Note detailing all the real things, events, and people was included—it made me appreciate the research that would’ve been needed to write this even more in retrospect. However, sometimes the detailed technical descriptions went too far, especially in the beginning of the book: While I really enjoyed all these tidbits once we got into orbit, they held absolutely no interest for me when they were about military aircrafts used on Earth; I just really don’t give a fig about helicopters, and I don’t need instructions on how to fly a Cessna.
The Cold War was a wild time, and I suppose that there are probably classified missions from that era that would sound even stranger than this particular fiction, but there is so much going on: Espionage, politics, science, technology, combat—this book has all of it, and then some. Given the omniscient narration, the reader knows who the murderer is while everyone else in the story is still trying to figure it out, which makes for some good tension, but also some odd pacing and “shocking reveals” which fall flat on their face. Speaking of flat—unfortunately this applies to the characters as well, although I’ll admit that the dialogues felt very believable, and I’m not sure I was left satisfied by the relentlessly action-packed ending—it seemed a little rushed.
Despite some flaws in the prose and storytelling itself, a good chunk of The Apollo Murders was authentic and vividly atmospheric, namely the parts describing actual space travel. I can’t shake my awe at the thought that Hadfield was up there, and is writing about things he’s seen with his own eyes, rather than simply imagining them, as any other science fiction writer would—undoubtedly the book’s biggest selling-point. Given his military/aerospace background, this is a perhaps surprisingly creative and well-structured story that keeps the tension up, and even has some unexpected twists—by imbuing it with his unique knowledge, he lends it credibility even in some of the more far-fetched situations. I’d recommend this fun ride to anyone with even just a passing interest in the golden age of space exploration.
November 1, 2021
3.5 Stars. I’m a huge fan of Chris Hadfield. He’s awesome! He’s one of our own! I’m sure every Canadian knows who he is. This amazing Canadian connected with us through social media and introduced the entire world to outer space.
Mr. Hadfield now pens a murder novel based on his knowledge as an Astronaut. If I had been asked what I thought about “The Apollo Murders” when I was half way through the first section “To the Moon”, I would have said “Meh”, too technical, too many acronyms! However ask me now and WOW! So, hang in there, and once you get to the third section named Cosmonaut, it picks up and gets really interesting. The ending was not what I was expecting! A good action finish.
I found that Chris Hadfield gave overly technical explanations at the beginning, such that, I skimmed past them. Having said that, like magic, the writing got much better, less technical, more action. WOW again!
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for planning an Event: #IndieEventsWithChrisHadfield on Tuesday, October 26 2021, via Zoom with Mr. Hadfield. That evening gave us readers an incredible insight and understanding of the spatial Cold War era at the time. This era is also reflected in the book.
Mr. Hadfield now pens a murder novel based on his knowledge as an Astronaut. If I had been asked what I thought about “The Apollo Murders” when I was half way through the first section “To the Moon”, I would have said “Meh”, too technical, too many acronyms! However ask me now and WOW! So, hang in there, and once you get to the third section named Cosmonaut, it picks up and gets really interesting. The ending was not what I was expecting! A good action finish.
I found that Chris Hadfield gave overly technical explanations at the beginning, such that, I skimmed past them. Having said that, like magic, the writing got much better, less technical, more action. WOW again!
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for planning an Event: #IndieEventsWithChrisHadfield on Tuesday, October 26 2021, via Zoom with Mr. Hadfield. That evening gave us readers an incredible insight and understanding of the spatial Cold War era at the time. This era is also reflected in the book.
January 4, 2022
This book is 463 pages and should have been at least half that in length. I don’t blame the astronaut who wrote it for including minutiae only a fellow space traveler might appreciate. However, I do blame the editor of this book. How could someone think the reader would want or need to know about every single bolt in the spaceship and how to empty the condom pee bag (worn by male astronauts) into the vacuum where urine is stored? I only slogged through it due to hints at a surprise ending, which didn’t exist. I really don’t know who the audience is for this book, but it certainly wasn’t me.
Want to read
March 10, 2021There are a few books I’m wildly excited about this year and this is one of them. So excited to read!
November 25, 2021
No. I love myself too much to finish reading this book. (And for all you readers out there who moan about folks rating books they didn't read: Sit down. Stop telling people what to do. It's rude. I did not finish it, yet I'm still rating it. It's my Goodreads account, and I can do whatever the hell I want. If a book is so excruciatingly boring in the first 50 pages that I want to poke an eyeball out -- just like happened to the protagonist of the book in the ONLY interesting scene in the first several chapters -- then that is my damn prerogative.)
This book is very, very boring. I read 50 pages. In those pages I met countless white men. One Black man. Two women, who, I swear to God, only got names because some editor somewhere said, "Dude, you don't have any female characters." So we've got a named secretary who appeared once in 50 pages, and a named waitress who also appeared once in 50 pages. Now I fully expect one of them to get killed, hence the naming, but I'm never gonna find out, because I refuse to waste time on this nonsense.
You know what else happens in 50 pages. This dude orders food, he orders a beer, he gets coffee. And we see all those things play out on the page in an excruciating level of detail. Dude! Kill somebody already. The title of this book is: The Apollo MURDERS. If somebody hasn't died by 50 pages in, you're doing it wrong. For the love of God.
So boring. So so boring.
This book is very, very boring. I read 50 pages. In those pages I met countless white men. One Black man. Two women, who, I swear to God, only got names because some editor somewhere said, "Dude, you don't have any female characters." So we've got a named secretary who appeared once in 50 pages, and a named waitress who also appeared once in 50 pages. Now I fully expect one of them to get killed, hence the naming, but I'm never gonna find out, because I refuse to waste time on this nonsense.
You know what else happens in 50 pages. This dude orders food, he orders a beer, he gets coffee. And we see all those things play out on the page in an excruciating level of detail. Dude! Kill somebody already. The title of this book is: The Apollo MURDERS. If somebody hasn't died by 50 pages in, you're doing it wrong. For the love of God.
So boring. So so boring.
March 4, 2025
This was an exciting space story told by an actual astronaut who’s been there. Told during the end of the Apollo missions, in a USA versus Soviet Union fight that reaches even the depths of the moon.
Some of the space garb was a bit much at times, however, wasn’t overly complicated to comprehend. Just made my reading a little slower.
This had a few good cliffhanger early on but the ending I didn’t really find that thrilling.
Overall, a cool story with some real people Told in a (fake setting) enjoyable
4⭐️
Some of the space garb was a bit much at times, however, wasn’t overly complicated to comprehend. Just made my reading a little slower.
This had a few good cliffhanger early on but the ending I didn’t really find that thrilling.
Overall, a cool story with some real people Told in a (fake setting) enjoyable
4⭐️
July 31, 2022
3.5 stars.
Chris Hadfield's An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth was definitely one of the more interesting and compelling memoir of sorts that I've read - or rather listened to. Narrated by Hadfield himself in a very welcoming and approachable manner, it was thoroughly insightful and had more life lessons that I found relevant compared to a lot of self-help books out there. When I saw that Hadfield had written a debut mystery/thriller novel involving astronauts and a mission to the Moon, I was naturally intrigued given his firsthand knowledge.
The story was set in the 1970s with both fictionalised and real individuals involved in the Apollo missions, in an era when the United States and Russia were rivalling each other in the space race. Naturally, the technical aspects of space travel were aplenty and while fascinating, I found that the pacing of the story suffered occasionally because of it. There were plenty of tense moments nonetheless as nowhere else were humans so vulnerable and unwelcomed as being in space. The tiniest error could jeopardise the mission, or worse, be fatal. Even though the narrative was sometimes weighted by lengthy technical descriptions, the overall story was still engaging and enjoyable.
Chris Hadfield's An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth was definitely one of the more interesting and compelling memoir of sorts that I've read - or rather listened to. Narrated by Hadfield himself in a very welcoming and approachable manner, it was thoroughly insightful and had more life lessons that I found relevant compared to a lot of self-help books out there. When I saw that Hadfield had written a debut mystery/thriller novel involving astronauts and a mission to the Moon, I was naturally intrigued given his firsthand knowledge.
The story was set in the 1970s with both fictionalised and real individuals involved in the Apollo missions, in an era when the United States and Russia were rivalling each other in the space race. Naturally, the technical aspects of space travel were aplenty and while fascinating, I found that the pacing of the story suffered occasionally because of it. There were plenty of tense moments nonetheless as nowhere else were humans so vulnerable and unwelcomed as being in space. The tiniest error could jeopardise the mission, or worse, be fatal. Even though the narrative was sometimes weighted by lengthy technical descriptions, the overall story was still engaging and enjoyable.
Read
April 12, 2022I am making this a DNF at 59%. The technical description is half the copy. So much minutia of mechanics, chemistry, hydraulics, physical components that my comprehension of the intervening plot has succumbed beyond retrieval. Worthy author yet not in my orbit.
June 10, 2025
I haven't geeked out this hard with a book in forever. This books was so clearly written by an pilot and astronaut, it shouts it from every take off and landing of his Cessna, never mind the pages of technical details in the LEM etc. etc.
I just loved it all, I drank in the details. Every aspect of the mission control and all the Apollo 18 stuff was pure space porn. And it gets a resounding 5 stars.
The geopolitics on the other hand was a little ham fisted. Bot bad, but not on the level of a good spy story. And It only stood out because of reading Phantom Orbit just before, which had some good nuanced politicking. So 3 stars for that aspect of the story.
Still, I will 100% read the next installation.
I just loved it all, I drank in the details. Every aspect of the mission control and all the Apollo 18 stuff was pure space porn. And it gets a resounding 5 stars.
The geopolitics on the other hand was a little ham fisted. Bot bad, but not on the level of a good spy story. And It only stood out because of reading Phantom Orbit just before, which had some good nuanced politicking. So 3 stars for that aspect of the story.
Still, I will 100% read the next installation.
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