Author Topic: "The Apollo Murders" by Chris Hadfield  (Read 3778 times)

Online Peter B

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"The Apollo Murders" by Chris Hadfield
« on: December 17, 2021, 02:05:49 AM »
I just finished reading this (wife got a review copy).

Personally I thought it was pretty good. A lot of non-stop action, not too many oh-you've-got-to-be-kidding moments, and a lot of awareness of things that can go wrong in space.

One thing that spoils a lot of fiction for me - of quite a few genres - is where authors base their plots on real-life events. What you end up with is a fairly predictable story which is sometimes little more than a fictionalised version of what actually happened. This story, OTOH, was written with the confidence to embrace the unknown in terms of actions and yet provide realistic outcomes.

Has anyone else read it?

Offline JayUtah

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Re: "The Apollo Murders" by Chris Hadfield
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2021, 12:08:03 PM »
I've read it.  I thought it was pretty good.  My fear in books from experts-turned-authors is that they will be long on detail and short on story and character.  For me the characterization had some eye-roll moments, but the plot keeps you guessing.  I love the section at the end when Hadfield saves the reader some Googling and spells out what parts of the book are real and what parts are fiction.
"Facts are stubborn things." --John Adams

Offline LunarOrbit

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Re: "The Apollo Murders" by Chris Hadfield
« Reply #2 on: December 29, 2021, 08:07:57 PM »
I finished reading it on Christmas Eve. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and Chris Hadfield's experience with space flight & training in both the US and Russia made it feel very authentic.

I'm not sure the US would go to so much trouble just to sabotage one of Russia's moon rovers though. The concern over Almaz seemed more realistic to me.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2021, 08:12:56 PM by LunarOrbit »
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth.
I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth.
I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.
- Neil Armstrong (1930-2012)

Offline Obviousman

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Re: "The Apollo Murders" by Chris Hadfield
« Reply #3 on: January 02, 2022, 04:00:51 PM »
Got the book for Xmas. I'll get around to it over the next few months....

Offline Obviousman

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Re: "The Apollo Murders" by Chris Hadfield
« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2022, 05:05:24 PM »
Finally read it. It was OK, and I did appreciate the technical accuracy but I thought the plot wasn't really up to scratch. A good first effort, though. I'll keep the book but cannot see myself re-reading it.

Offline raven

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Re: "The Apollo Murders" by Chris Hadfield
« Reply #5 on: May 25, 2022, 12:06:21 PM »
Finally read it. It was OK, and I did appreciate the technical accuracy but I thought the plot wasn't really up to scratch. A good first effort, though. I'll keep the book but cannot see myself re-reading it.
I'll see if the local library has it. *comes back* They do!

Offline raven

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Re: "The Apollo Murders" by Chris Hadfield
« Reply #6 on: September 14, 2022, 01:28:45 PM »
Well, I finally got a chance to read it, and . . . well, I  more or less enjoyed it, but I probably wouldn't have read if it weren't for who the author was. Lots of neat and accurate technical details, but the writing and characters felt a little paint by numbers, if that makes any sense. Not egregiously bad, but just not very evocative. It was like finishing a can of Pringles. You get there and just feel 'eh' after. I'd give it a 3.3/5, because, hey, I am a space nerd who loves neat and accurate technical details.