The Last Astronaut by David Wellington
I received a free copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review. My opinions have in now way been compromised.
Sally Janes is the titular last astronaut. Having led a failed attempt to land on Mars, she has lived with the shame ever since. But when her old boss, Roy McAllister, offers an olive branch to lead a crew to potentially meet alien life, she jumps at the opportunity, despite her reservations.
Sunny Stevens, the astrophysicist who discovers the aliens, jumps from a private company to NASA for the opportunity to meet his discovery. Parminder Rao, one of the world’s finest astrobiologists is pulled away from her work to be sent into space with the opportunity to achieve her real life’s goal. Windsor Hawkins is a soldier charged with knocking out enemy spy satellites. His experience with space, despite being virtual, makes him the best soldier for the job. This motley crew, all going to space for their own motivations, got far more than they bargained for.
This is a “one more chapter” kind of book. The pacing is fast, and while hard science fiction, dumbs it down just enough for non-astrophysicists” (cleverly done by having to explain scientific terms and ideas to the astronauts who don’t know them). I’ve heard a lot of half sci-fi, half horror reviews of this book, and I’m not sure I agree. It’s all sci-fi, and just because the aliens are wildly different, doesn’t suddenly make it a horror story. It is action-packed though, with a lot of twists and turns. Often when I read books, I apply movies to them to help get a feel. My similar movies were a little bit of Alien, Armageddon, The Abyss and Fantastic Voyage.
Worldbuilding
This is set 60 years in the future, so the technology has taken some leaps and bounds in the interim. VR and AR have become an integral part of life, to the point of people wearing “earrings” and similar devices instead smart devices. Space travel had been put on the back burner after Jansen’s failed mission, so while things had improved, a lot of what the astronauts are using is similar to what we are familiar with, if a little modified. They also have robots, not quite Bishop from Aliens, but certainly not Robby the Robot either. There is also a level of distrust for our robot friends, which rings true, even in an advanced world. The alien spaceship is magnificent. I don’t want to tell you too much to spoil the surprise, but it is quite awesome how the author portrays a ship, which is pitch dark, and mostly portrayed through the lights on the astronauts suits. As for the aliens, again, they are portrayed as wildly different to us as possible, yet there are enough similarities that our crew aren’t completely flummoxed.
Score – 4.5/5
Characters
Each of the four main characters have their flaws. Jansen is tortured by her previous failure and is driven to rescue the astronauts from the private company (KSpace), who beat them to the punch. Stevens is completely out of his league, a superstar scientist but in no way an astronaut, and the same with the others. Rao, despite studying the natural world all her life, is at a loss trying to comprehend the alien world, and feels like she is studying all over again. Hawkins has a secret mission (of course), but seems to have that as his primary objective from day one. McAllister, Jansen’s biggest fan, not only has to commune with his crew, but all deal with the politics going on back on earth. The other astronaut crew we don’t see much of, but they manage to play an integral role in the plot. The other main character is the alien ship, and the oppressive darkness that alters each character’s perception with every step.
Score – 4/5
Plot
The plot, as mentioned earlier, is fast and meandering, as each astronaut tries to deal with what they are witnessing. There’s a lot going on, with different strands being interwoven throughout the book. Nothing seems to get left out, and none of the plots seem tacked on and ring hollow at the end of the book. The end seemed to finish much as I thought it would, but the author did a good job of disguising it.
Score – 4/5
Writing
I already covered this mostly. It’s well-written, running at full throttle, while never threatening to leave the majority of us behind in a sea of scientific lingo. The idea of explaining the terms to the “muggles” is quite ingenious, and the author, through his characters, endeavours to explain what they are seeing, despite not the cast not having the ability to do so. Picture a dog trying to explain a computer.
Score – 4/5
Personal Enjoyment
I liked it. A lot. And I couldn’t put it down, eschewing my camp buddies as I raced into space. I’m not necessarily a hard sci-fi person, although I’m not against it either. The blurb from Netgalley sold me on reading it, and the first couple of chapters had me snared. A good read for almost anyone.
Score – 4.5/5
Verdict
Alien contact, as it should be done.
Total Score – 21/25
