Micro Review 40

 

The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield (Quercus)

Read as a proof but I have also bought a signed copy from the lovely Big Green Bookshop)

I don't know, no novels by astronauts for years and then two in the space of a month - this one is aimed firmly at grown ups however!

I liked the premise of this one - it is an alternative history where the Apollo moon landing programme wasn't stopped at Apollo 17 and instead of calming the Cold War it has in fact become rather hot - especially in orbit.

Hadfield has written a fast paced thriller that is shot through with proper space history and accurate portrayals of life in orbit. It is a sensational read and even with my quite deep knowledge of crewed space history learned a lot of new things - and the stuff I scoffed at as being too farfetched to be real often had happened. 

Mr Norfolkbookworm found a few (tiny) details that he was dubious about and my main niggle was some of the words that were put into real people's mouths - however on reflection as this is an alternate history I suppose this could explain it.

The Apollo Murders really isn't my preferred genre of reading, and if I am honest if it hadn't been written by Hadfield (or another astro/cosmonaut) I wouldn't have picked it up but it is always good to read out of your comfort zone and should another Hadfield penned thriller appear I will probably read it!

For fans of space history this is a fun read and a nice companion piece to the Apple TV series For All Mankind.

World Book Night challenge 3/25

Stuart a life backwards - Alexander Masters

This is a book that I've been aware of for a very long time, but probably would never have read had it not appeared on the World Book Night list. I always seemed so close to being one of the 'misery memoir' books that I'd have avoided it on principle.

It just goes to show that you really shouldn't hold these preconceived ideas for this book is another that blew me away. It is not an easy read, and the things it contains are so far from my own life that I found it hard to believe that it really did happen only 60 miles from where I live and only a decade ago.

I am finding nearly as impossible to recount this book as Masters found it to write at first. To compress the book into a review does it no justice, there is so much happening that I'd end up rewriting it.
All I can say is that you have to read it. You won't find it easy, comforting or really even enjoyable but all the same you have to read it.

The style works perfectly and as this is a story of friendship as well as a biography it is only right that you find a lot of Alexander in the book too. This adds to the story, it never detracts from it and the book never becomes about Alexander it is always Stuart's story, a feat which makes Masters, in my eyes, a very talented writer.

This possibly wasn't the best choice of book to read over Christmas, but I don't for an instant regret reading it. I can understand if it is 'too much' for many people, but I urge you to give it a try - reading out of your comfort zone is good for you, and this book deserves to find an extra 48000 readers in 2011.

There is a BBC adaptation if you prefer, it sticks closely to the book and is just as hard hitting. For once I am just as pleased I watched it as I am that I read the book.