If you want to see an endangered species, get up and look in the mirror. - John Young

"This object was spontaneously decelerating. Meaning it was slowing down under its own power. It wasn’t some dead rock tumbling through the solar system. It was a spaceship."

Sally Jansen was mission commander on an exploratory mission to Mars. That had been her dream for most of her life, to go to Mars. But the SHTF and she found herself back on Earth, disgraced.

In 2055 NASA hadn't trained any astronauts for years and was bordering on bankruptcy. But then, by accident, a huge object is found to be heading towards Earth - under its own power and Sally is sent into space again as mission commander over a ragtag crew to approach the object and try to contact it. One problem, a commercial airship has also launched towards the object.

This was an okay sci fi first contact thriller. The world building was imaginative and detailed. Character development was a bit light on all the characters except for Sally. I did find that the story dragged along in many places and felt repetitive with many scenes.

I enjoyed the story, for the most part, and would recommend it to sci fi enthusiasts.

I received this book from Orbit Books through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

THE LAST ASTRONAUT took all my thoughts about "First Contact", (I'm a Trekkie), and turned them on their heads.

This book deserves a better review than I have time available to give right now, so I must keep it brief.

This was science fiction with a bit of humor and a big bunch of tension. It was fast-paced, with well drawn, deep and fascinating characters. I especially loved Sally Jansen. This woman was one of the bravest characters I've ever read about it. She wasn't perfect and everyone knew it, which is what I think made her so special to me.

I'm a bit of a space nerd, so all the science was fun and interesting to me. The situation into which these astronauts were placed was such a tough one the odds were heavy on their failure. Being that this year is the 50th anniversary of our landing on the moon, my respect has risen for all those who ever took that chance in real life, whether or not they made it. They are all winners to me, the real men and women, and those in this book.

All I can say is that I'm so glad I'm friends with readers who read and appreciated this book. If it were not for all of their rave reviews, I'm sure THE LAST ASTRONAUT would have passed under my radar. Thanks to all of you guys, you know who you are.

My highest recommendation!

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*

I completely identified with the female astronaut. Her sense of guilt even though she saved the lives of her other crew members. This story is well written and suspenseful. It makes you think about whether you could make the hard choices to save your planet even if it kills you or your team. It had a lot of twists and turns, and a few surprises. I especially enjoyed the ending. I like when the ending is just as suspenseful and surprising as the rest of the book. I will be reading more of this author's work in the future.

Sally Jansen, NASA’s top astronaut, was the Mission Commander for space mission Orbit 6, which was going to make her one of the first humans to walk on Mars. Her dreams come crashing down when the mission results in the death of one of her colleagues/direct reports. While no one directly blamed Jansen, she left NASA anyways.

Fast forward a couple of decades, and Dr. Sunny Stevens of KSpace approaches NASA with sensitive data that suggests the discovery of an alien spaceship not too far outside of Earth’s orbit. Since the catastrophic mission of Orbit 6, astronauts are in short supply at NASA because the training programs were scrubbed. With only a four month deadline, NASA rehires Sally as MC to lead the mission to investigate the alien spaceship.

I had really high hopes for this book based off of the premise, but this one definitely fell short of my expectations. I wanted an awesome alien invasion, and I just wanted to love this book. But I didn’t. It was middle of the road.

The pacing of the plot was off. There were moments that the plot was a painful slow burn that consisted of dialogue between the astronauts while waiting for something to happen then thrown into very tense scenes where we were introduced to the creepy space ship.

I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters in the book, and their character arcs were underdeveloped. We didn’t see any sort of character development over time. What you say at first was pretty much what you got.

I don’t mean for this review to sound overly cynical, I just wanted this book to be more than what it was. It had the potential to be great, but it just wasn’t.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Blog post: https://thereadingchemist.com/2019/07/23/book-review-the-last-astronaut-by-david-wellington-earc/

When a horrific incident scrapped her mission to Mars and turned her into the women who lost the second space race, Sally Janson never expected she'd return to space. Until a mysterious object brings NASA back into the forefront of importance and Sally back into a job—because she's the only person on Earth with the skills necessary to lead a mission to a potentially alien spacecraft.

I wasn't expecting this to be straight up horror, but that's exactly what it is. Think Annihilation with a little bit of the creepy shit that happens in The Luminous Dead and some of the danger of Gravity, and you've got this book.

First contact was scary, thrilling and I didn't want to put this down even though I was exhausted and knew it was probably going to give me nightmares (it did).

While I felt like a lot of the characters were bland stereotypes, it was engaging and entertaining. Sally Jansen was...okay? I was kinda curious why her name was Sally, since she would have been born around 2010 and who the hell names their child Sally in 2010 (it hasn't cracked the top 1000 in 15 years)?? I dunno. It seemed weird. Okay, I get maybe it's an homage to Sally Ride but still. The rest of the cast is kinda forgettable, which isn't helped by the fact that it's told with a lot of secondhand afterwards.

I know, I'm being very nitpicky. But names and characterizations aside, this was thrilling and engaging and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Welcome to the world, "The Last Astronaut"! Just ... keep your manifold teeth and hands and tendrils tucked away tight, alright?

There are a lot of different kinds of ways of writing science fiction horror novels that deal with the alien Other, all of which will be familiar to a fan of the genre in either book or film format. There's the alien Other which is impenetrably impossible to communicate with (I'm thinking of something along the lines of the alien Other in the Strugatsky brothers' "Roadside Picnic." There's the alien Other which is not only difficult to communicate with, but very much predatory and full of teeth perfectly designed to tear into human flesh (I'm thinking of the alien Other in, well, the Alien franchise). There are lots of alien Others that are chatty and benevolent, chatty and chaotic neutral, and which otherwise run the gamut of possibilities.

The alien Other in "The Last Astronaut" will feel familiar to fans of Star Trek. I think. It's definitely horrifying, and communication is difficult, and there are lots of teeth on display, but it is also *possible* to understand and communicate with this alien Other on some level, even if both understanding and communication are incomplete and incomprehensible in full. It draws its power from both body horror (the grotesque) and, simply put, its power to simply overwhelm (the sublime). It's not a bad approach, and the novel is in many ways well-designed to capitalize on the power of the grotesque.

There are, however, a few structural and stylistic elements which prevented me from being swept away as I like to be in a good work of horror, science fictional or otherwise; simply put, the characters often feel wooden. I appreciate almost all of them in concept, but I certainly didn't ever feel they were *real* in a way that made me care too much about their ultimate fates. This is unfortunate, given that a reader will have to spend roughly 400 pages with them, and it's difficult to be truly *horrified* when one doesn't care about a character's fate. There are two or three sections of the book where the plot gets bogged down in simply getting the characters from point A to point B, which probably doesn't help. Had this book been through just one more round of heavy editing, and slowed down just a bit more to give the characters personality and depth, this would have been a rollicking good time. As it stands, it's still good. It's still a *good* time. Just without any rollicking.

Don't get me wrong; I would never be able to write a book this good, I don't think. As a reader, however, it ticked some of my boxes. Just not all.

First Contact is always an interesting concept. This takes off like a rocket and never slows down. The science seems believable (though I am no judge of that) and the alien life force has a grandeur that I found frightening and fascinating. Great characters with no one carrying the whole burden alone. They have totally separate spheres of expertise and they all breakdown in different ways. I hardly ever say this, but I can imagine this being made into a decent movie. Enjoy it before that happens.

The Last Astronaut is a rollercoaster of emotions, flying through excitement, wonder, and sheer terror with the turn of a page. This is first contact fiction as it should be, filled with the doubts of mankind who thought we knew everything, only to discover we’re as insignificant as a spec of dust. By mixing the hard science, first contact, and horror genres, Wellington has created an incredibly compelling look at a being too epic and terrifying to fully comprehend. 

The gradual progression of the novel is key in its epic ability to draw you into the narrative. Wellington has mastered the effect of switching between characters while sprinkling in a few after-the-fact narrative moments that leave you compelled to figure out how the characters made it to a survivable future. What starts as a simple journey to a perceived alien craft becomes a marvel of biology and an examination of the limitations of humanity’s perception of life. It’s breathtaking to watch these characters slowly uncover what they’ve found, and terrifying once you realize the endgame.

The titular character is a fascinating character study. Sally Jansen is the most well-known astronaut on Earth for her part in a Mars mission that ended in disaster. She begins this new journey mired in self-doubt, convinced she doesn’t deserve to live. Every step of the way, she only considers saving those who are lost, often at the detriment to her living crew and the mission. Her entire life has been in pursuit of moving beyond human life to discover the beyond and, by the end of the book, it’s astounding what she becomes. 

Without giving any spoilers, the conclusion of the book is truly breathtaking. It’s infused with fear until the barriers of understanding are broken down to reveal an extremely complex conversation. Expect to find deep introspection about our place within this vast and unknowable universe.

Overall, The Last Astronaut is impossible to put down. Prepare to journey along with these flawed yet brilliant characters as the travel through the darkness, attempting to discover the light. 

Review to be published on 7/24: http://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/07/24/the-last-astronaut-book-review

I would not say that The Last Astronaut by David Wellington is a bad book. It just didn’t quite hit the marks that it set out to hit. The story itself was okay on its own; it did not feel entirely new to me, but it was not stale either. The possibility of extraterrestrial life visiting our solar system can be a fun way to uncover aspects of humanity left unexplored in other genres. The secrecy around the discovery in The Last Astronaut made the race to answer the question of ‘who are they and what are they doing here’ more personal than most first contact stories I have read. The general structure of the book’s beginning felt like I was going to dive into some characters who carried demons. I expected that this unknown entity was going to exploit this baggage, shining a light on the characters’ faults as they plunged deeper into the darkness of space. My eyes were open for whatever curveballs the author was ready to throw at me. Unfortunately, Wellington’s strange choice to frame the narrative as a documentary paired with his unremarkable writing softened the emotional punch foreshadowed for the characters.

The Last Astronaut takes place fifty years in the future after a failed manned mission to Mars. The captain, Sally Jansen, had to make a life or death decision and sacrificed a crew member for the rest of the group. Afterwards, NASA was defunded to near non-existence. Fifteen years later, an object is spotted slowing down as it enters the solar system, and with very few people who know about it, and even fewer astronauts remaining, Jansen is called in to lead a crew of inexperienced people to a presumed alien ship. Their mission is to make contact and find out what they might be doing here, and whether or not they could be considered a threat.

After the first chapter, Wellington tells the audience that the text that follows is a revised edition of the report he initially penned. This was not merely a statement of the facts, but an inspection of the characters’ mental and emotional states as they explored this alien artifact. The documentarian flair was unexpected and a little jarring, as it tells the reader exactly what to expect instead of letting the story tell itself. I did not pay too much attention to this stylistic choice at first because it felt like an afterthought. By the time the third documentary-style quote from a character appeared, I was already bored with it. It was not consistent enough to add any real tone to the story, and the weird pacing interrupted the natural flow. These little snippets offered little new information, and tended to just hang there, like the guy at the party who pushes his way into a discussion by repeating what someone just said. I was mostly able to ignore these asides, but as they continued to show up, it became a problem for me.

The whole book suffered from this mismanagement of tone. It felt like it was written to be a sci-fi blockbuster movie. The text lacked a real sense of tension, almost as if Wellington was relying on the reader to feel the wonder or fear of entering an alien spacecraft without experiencing it through the characters. There were moments where the author would dive into a description and relish in it, but there were no subtle reminders of the atmosphere or the character’s disposition. I did not even realize this was supposed to be a horror story until about sixty percent of the way through the book. However, the horror elements of the narrative were more to do with the plot than the tone or general ambience. It wasn’t until the crew was deep inside the alien ship that I realized that most of the scenes inside the alien craft were supposed to be set in the dark. This took place long after the crew realized they might be trapped and resources were limited. It was so jarring I flipped backwards through the pages to find descriptions of the dark setting and found little. Instead, Wellington preferred to describe everything that was happening- regardless of a character’s ability to see it- and then wait for you to remind yourself that it’s actually quite dark and scary. It was frustrating to say the least.

The characters were fine. They were not nearly as cardboard as others I have read, but they did not quite hit the level of depth I think Wellington was aiming for. If this was meant to be a journey into the darkness of space and the madness that comes from encountering an alien entity, there was a lot left to be desired. The character’s actions and choices often felt in service to the plot as if their arcs were already predetermined. The ‘darker’ qualities to the characters were amplified immediately, leading them to feel necessary to the plot and artificial. It kicked the story into overdrive, but at the cost of growth or underlying tension. It felt like Wellington was racing to the finish, wanting to reveal the nature of the alien rather than investigate the people involved, which seemed at odds with his initial framing. Little effort was spent in trying to convince the reader of the struggle within the various characters and their conflicting goals as they became more aware of the aliens’ goals.

The overall mystery of the ship and the increasing madness of the crew are good foundations, but they just didn’t feel fully fleshed out. Throughout the book, the only thing that compelled me to keep going was to find out the truth of the alien ship, not how the characters were affected. The retrospective framing was also distracting in a way that removed any sort of horror. It foreshadowed a nice conclusion, dissipating any tension that could be built. All of the emotional impact had to be supplied by the reader, never by the writing itself. If it had been a movie, it would have been an enjoyable schlock sci-fi horror flick. Instead, the book feels lackluster and in service only to itself.

Rating: The Last Astronaut – 5.0/10
-Alex

The Last Astronaut doesn't waste too much time getting to the heart of the issue, which I loved. it maintained a pretty quick pace throughout the book, alternating between bouts of action and bouts of discoveries about this alien object. The setting and tone are consistently dark, grim, desolate, lonely. The image of lights on a space suit cutting through a misty darkness were used repeatedly, which is perfect for this kind of book.

Which is why it baffles me that I didn't love it more than I did? Unfortunately, and this could just be the mood I was in, I found it really easy to pick this book up, but I also found it really easy to put the book down. I never dreaded picking it up again, and I definitely wanted to finish, but I wish it had compelled me a little more, kept me up late at night because I just had to see what happened next.

I will say the last 25% had me glued to the page so it ends much stronger than it started. If I had to pinpoint where I struggled with this book I can point to two factors, one of which is a spoiler, but the other of which is the characters. I did like all of them, but I think the character I connected to most, Sunny Stevens, the guy who kick starts the whole book, is absent from the 2nd half. He is the comic relief, he is the character that feels most alive to me. All the other characters are serious, grim types. Which is fine- most scientists probably are that way, but I really needed his jolt of personality to keep me caring about the events of the book. The other characters all feel human enough, I wouldn't say any of them feel shallow or flat, but they just weren't characters I connected to. Your mileage may vary.

The writing is great. Descriptive enough to give you the idea and convey the tone without lingering too long on it or slowing down the pace. The length also feels just right. At 400 pages, we're given just what is needed to tell the story, it's not bloated but it doesn't feel like any details were left out either.

The format of the book is that we are reading an in-world book that has been written about the events after they have happened. It's interspersed with little side snippets of what I thought of as confessions or transcripts from the characters themselves talking to (who I presume) is NASA. I personally enjoyed the format, and it definitely added a layer of impending doom to many of the scenes, but I know that's not everyone's cup of tea.

The ending is perfect, and I won't lie, it made me tear up a little. Overall a good read that's well worth checking out if you like a good alien, sci-fi horror mash up. Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an eARC for review. The Last Astronaut releases on July 23, 2019 and can be found on GoodReads or preordered on Amazon.

Sally Jensen is the last person on earth that has been to outer space and that trip did not end well. Since her last flight has stopped manned exploration until now. An unidentified object has entered earth's solar system and does not respond to any communication. NASA now wants Sally to take a team of untrained workers to intercept and assess the intruder. This is an action adventure that follows the first encounter theme of science fiction. It is well written and certainly plausible. I like that a woman is the hope of earth. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

In this well-written book, Wellington tells the story of first contact in the near future. What was first thought to be an asteroid or comet, has been classified as an alien vessel. NASA, no longer a space exploration entity, is tasked with sending a ship to make contact with the aliens. There are no trained astronauts since NASA was gutted after a catastrophic accident on a ship, on its way to Mars, cost an astronaut his life. The commander of the Mars expedition, Sally Jensen, while exonerated by NASA, but was found guilty by the court of public opinion. Now, NASA wants her back to command the ship going to meet and greet the alien ship because she’s the only person left with any first-hand experience of doing EVAs.

This is a stay-up-way-too-late page turner that has more than enough twists and turns to keep even a jaded reader engrossed. There is a plethora of characters, none of them defined in any great detail, and some mere caricatures of personalities, but it doesn’t matter, the reader will still keep turning the pages.

Even if you hate science fiction, give this book a try. It is flawed by the lack of finely drawn characters. But, then, this isn’t meant to be a character-driven book, it is a plot-driven book. The author ramps up the suspense a little at a time until the reader is swiping pages as fast as she can while her shoulders are hunched up around her ear lobes in typical high-stress fashion.

If you decide to read this book, put it at the top of your to-be-read list because it deserves to be there.

My thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for an eARC.

Neither NASA nor SpaceX will be overly happy with this one. This is another real-ish solar system space survival story in the vein of Andy Weir's The Martian or Lisa A. Nichols' Vessel. In terms of techno-jargon, it sits somewhere in between those two, with more jargon early in the book before the book takes a less technical turn towards the back half. Stylistically, this is a mockumentary type tale with both a storyline and documentary elements interwoven and uses various event names for the headings of the chapters rather than chapter numbers. Overall a solid effort and very much recommended. I'll be looking for more from Mr. Wellington in the future, that's for sure.

The Last Astronaut is a new science fiction book that brings a whole lot of terror to an oddly fun plotline. It begins with an unidentified object hurtling through space as it changes course and is speculated to hit earth.

INTENSE AF

One of the best sci fi space junkie books I’ve read in ages. It’s got some wonderful characters that end up feeling like family, breath taking action sequences, massive galaxy encompassing stakes and also captures the spirit of some of my other favourite books and movies. The plot unfolds at a frenetic pace and gives the reader no time at all before they and the characters are thrown in the deep end. The writing is never slow or bogged down with too much information. The twists are really, really, ridiculously well done. I am so glad I picked up this book and I’m going to jump straight into more of David Wellington's work because his writing just meshes with me.

I like space science fiction stuff to a certain degree. The Last Astronaut was just a bit too scientific for my taste. Lots of jargon and bits I don't really understand. I get slowed down to a crawl and ready to give up. I forced myself to continue because the idea is good, and going to Mars would be awesome. I was creeped out by some parts of the story. It's thrilling and suspenseful and engaging if you can slog through the science word jungle. I don't think I would read it again, but it's not a bad book. I'm not the perfect type of reader for this, but others definitely are and will love it. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Astronaut is a superb sci-fi thriller. David Wellington has constructed a an engrossing page turner!

WOW that was unexpected and amazing.

First, the bad: I got a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, aka am obligated to write one. Had it not been for that fact I would have dropped this in chapter 1 - I tried to start it **three times** and stumbled on the writing style (short, stunted sentences), and awkward dialogue between the astronauts that was trying to be casual and friendly but sounded forced and unrealistic.

But I finally tried time #4 and am so glad I did, because after that chapter the writing style (unfortunately) stays the same, but the plot gets compelling fast, and I couldn't put the book down after that.

So many other reviews here spoil the tone by saying what the book is similar to. It's all legit (except The Martian - why is it a requirement that book is mentioned anytime something is sci fi? :| ), but will ruin the genuinely creepy turns of events that happen. Go in blind and you'll be better off. Just know it's sci fi/horror and is really damned good.

The only other thing I'd change is the actions one of the characters took near the end - while events were leading up to it, it still led to a dissatisfying result, and felt somewhat excessive.

Definitely check this book out if you like sci fi.

ARC/Science Fiction: This book has not come out so I will try to review this without spoilers and just tell you how I felt about it.

It is a pretty good book and I couldn’t wait to find out how it was going to end. To me there are really two scenarios that can happen. Either Earth bands together to fight evil aliens or the aliens are friendly and show Earth how to live cohesively and give out technology. I read John Stanford’s Saturn Run and I really thought this book was going to be a regurgitation of that plot. The first couple of chapters were. The white privileged scientist cons his way on a mission to meet the object. NASA is not the only ones questing to the object; China and a private company have noticed the same anomaly and have blasted off too. I liked the set-up. You meet the main characters as they are gathered up by the government. The main characters are all introduced: the washed up commander, Sally, that is the only one knows how to fly an obsolete ship, security specialist (our antagonist), biologist, and mission control.

What I liked: Everyone is expendable. It is space after all. The theory that aliens would not be humanoid is addressed. I liked the pseudo-science. The book takes place in the future, but most of the technology is advanced, but not super advanced. The like that the private company, KSpace, has its own agenda and does not do things “the NASA way”. I like that the Commander Jansen’s name is Sally; a homage to Sally Ride?

What I didn’t like: There was some filler that I didn’t like. There were lapses where I was ready for the story to move on. There’s suspense & anticipation and then there is drag of filler. I was ready for the next memory stick to play. I didn’t like that Commander Jansen was so wishy-washy on her choices of save the person or save the world.

I got this book from NetGalley in lieu of an honest review.

This was a very exciting and different book. I usually don’t read science fiction but this book caught my eye. First I’d like to thank NetGalley and Orbit books for allowing me to read and review this book. It is Alien on steroids or whatAlien would have been years later. The characters are really well described and believable as was the entire premise. No spoilers ahead but I feel it’s unlike any other book. If you are into sci-fi, you will love this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
From the very 1st chapter, the excitement began and I became addicted.
I thought it was a very well written, smart, fast paced and suspenseful Sci Fi thriller.
I could definitely see this book being made into a movie.
I strongly recommend reading this book and going on David Wellington’s journey, even if you aren’t a Sci Fi fan.