Thank you to Net Galley and Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC of Goldilocks. I really enjoyed this book. It touches on a vast array of social issues. Women in the workplace, climate change and its dramatic effects on the Earth, motherhood, and a world wide pandemic. If you are not interested in stories that contain a subplot revolving around a pandemic during this time of Covid, you may want to save this book for another day. In fairness, I do feel like in the end, it was more of a "move along" sub plot, there was not much focus on what the disease did or the fatalities it was causing. But, there was a pandemic that decimated 18% of the Earth's population, so be warned if you can't read that right now.

5 female astronauts are heading to the planet Cavendish to make it habitable for humanity as Earth has been destroyed by its occupants and will not last for much longer. During this long journey, secrets and betrayals come to light and the main character Naomi has to grapple with all of these things.

The book is told in the present and in the past tense so the reader gets to see all the lead up to this incredible space mission from Naomi's point of view. I always enjoy this story telling device. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for something a bit different that is engaging and propulsive.

With Earth’s natural environment dying, a team of women are trying to save what is left of humanity by stealing a spaceship from NASA to colonise a planet - Cavendish in the Goldilocks Zone. Valerie Black leads the mission along with her surrogate daughter Naomi Lovelace, who is also a botanist. The crew will now consist of Valerie, an astronaut, an engineer, a doctor and Naomi. The bold attempt of these 5 women to continue with their mission is the rest of the story.

Many parts of this futuristic story is scarily relatable to current events. While reading it seemed that the story is similar to The Handmaid’s Tale (in terms of women oppression) and The Martian (in terms of space exploration) combined, but Goldilocks is more darker and has a wider angle in tending to the issues than both the books! It is way more extent - at least in my opinion. The book’s proposition very much implores my interests in Space travel, Feminism and Science.

To summarise, the story is a middle road between space mystery and literature fiction that left me thinking this is exactly what I want in a story about dysfunctional space travelling women!

Thank you Netgalley, Laura Lam and Orbit books for the ARC. This review is my own and is not influenced in any way!

This is a hard one to rate. I'll liken it briefly to Providence (a similar kind of story, with a small group of people trapped on a spaceship together for extended periods of time, some of whom are keeping secrets). In Providence, the author took great pains to give us a balance of character development across 2 and then 3 of the 4 characters (with a brief but acceptable focus on the 4th). In Goldilocks, we got to know Naomi exceedingly well but the rest of the crew was pretty much a mystery - especially since they all had to have known each other and trained together before stealing a spaceship together. I needed to see more of that intimacy that comes from close contact for that long. Instead we saw Naomi very isolated.

The pattern of flashbacks, while jarring at the beginning, ended up creating a really nice balance and gave the pacing an effortless boost (as much as I love it, space by itself is very boring). I also liked that it wasn't necessarily in order, it gave the bookends a little bit more plausibility (we'll get back to the bookends in a bit). Plus, we got to compare Naomi on the ground with Naomi in space and that ended up being very important.

Another thing that I appreciated was how the stakes incrementally increased. We're not faced with a big decision right away, but each decision comes with more and more dire consequences. And they're not easy choices. It gave a lot more weight to the... less believable aspects of the story. I'm not going to go into my "I hate villains" rant again, but I am going to put this little sentence here as a teaser/warning.

So we're back to the bookends. I think it's technically called framing, but I like calling it bookends. Basically, the beginning and end of the book match together as a frame for the meat of the story. It's not a structure I've personally ever liked. I would have much rather not had the bookends and let Naomi's story speak for itself. Because we unknowingly get some answers that make some of the more dire choices... Less so. We know right from the beginning that Naomi survives, for example. And I would much rather have been met with uncertainty.

Really enjoyed this book, a fast paced read that never loses its pace, and a twist or 2 along the way to keep you gripped.

Goldilocks is an upcoming scifi novel from Scottish Author Laura Lam. The book is being advertised as "Handmaid's Tale" meets "The Martian" - with occasional other advertising comparisons to Station Eleven and The Power as well. That's a hell of a group of novels to be compared with, and gives you a general gist of what I guess the novel is supposed to be going for - post apocalyptic (Station Eleven), dystopian in a misogynistic/chauvinist fashion (Handmaid's Tale), with entertaining science digressions (The Martian). And that is for once not a terrible description, although the sexist dystopian parts of the background for this novel mainly are used as the background for decisions made rather than as a center of this novel - a similar thing could be said about "The Martian"-esque sciency digressions. They are present, but this is its own novel rather than a duplicate of those earlier works.

And Goldilocks is a really interesting novel that is well worth your time. The story, of a group of women stealing a spaceship meant for men to first make landing on a healthy exoplanet to provide the start of an escape for humanity from a dying dystopian Earth, is captivating throughout, even as it bounces between time periods for explanations at various points. Its world is very easy to imagine happening, especially given who is in power in today's United States, and its characters are very believable from beginning to end, as they grapple with various ethical issues. I'm not quite sure I agree with some of the ethical implications of a major part of this book, but it's certainly interesting in its entirety. I'll also add that despite The Handmaid's Tale comparison, this is not a book that ends in a depressing fashion, despite it all, if that's what you are or aren't looking for.
--------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-----------------------------------------------------
30 Years Ago, Naomi Lovelace and the Atalanta Five did something that made them infamous and changed history forever, but she has never told the whole story.....until now.

Back then, Earth was a world on the verge of destruction, from climate change and other destructive man-made acts, with no more than 30 years left. In the meantime, the United States has responded by turning to sexist/misogynist leaders who have imposed policies directed towards such aims: no legal abortions, only one child permitted without paying additional taxes, and favoring heavily men in the workplace. So when brilliant CEO Valerie Black - whose Hawthorne Group had made innovations and rich developments in multiple industries - works with NASA to plan a journey through space - using new time-space bending technology - to a habitable exo-planet named "Cavendish", she finds at the last minute her project taken from her, and her all female crew replaced by men.

So Valerie and her crew - botanist Naomi, engineer Lebedeva, pilot Hixon, and doctor Hart - decide to steal the ship, the Atalanta to make the journey themselves and to claim humanity's future for women. Naomi had always dreamed of going into space, and since Valerie adopted her as a child, she has always worked towards that goal, while also trying to fend off (often sexist) accusations of nepotism. But once in space, heading towards a new planet, it all seems like it should be irrelevant, as long as she can do her job.

But things on the Atalanta didn't go as expected, with situations emerging that Naomi would never have anticipated. And soon it becomes apparent that Naomi's job on the journey would not just be scientifically trying to keep everyone alive, but in figuring out what is happening, and her decisions would have moral implications for their journey and for everyone....forever.

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Goldilocks is a story told by an unknown narrator, not revealed until the end of the novel, telling the main story of this novel from 30 years in the future from the rest of the story. As a result, the reader from the beginning is well aware that things in some way didn't go according to plan: Naomi went up into space but somehow wound up back on Earth on trial, giving testimony and becoming infamous in the process - but still mysterious, never telling the full story until telling the narrator just now. This setup also makes it subtly clear from the start that something better came out of the ruins of what once was. This is not a book heading necessarily for a depressing future ending, even if it's setup begins as such.

And well it's a depressingly plausible setup given our current state. This is a world where the United States has fallen under control of fascist sexist classist racist* (etc) men who have responded to the deterioration of the world via global warming with draconian measures. Moreover, such measures may be most prominent in the US, but they haven't escaped the rest of the world either. So abortion has been made illegal, parents are heavily taxed for having any child after the first and women are supposed to obtain an IUD after having that first child, etc. Perhaps most importantly, women are being forced out of the workforce - while they are still technically allowed to work, these rules promote women leaving the workforce voluntarily, and in certain jobs the culture has emerged to try and force women out if they don't accept these inducements - and to pass over them for jobs which they are fully qualified. Such as to be astronauts going into space, for instance.

*It should be noted that while the rulers of Earth in this setting are all of these things, this book barely explores the matters other than the treatment of women.*

This all serves as the backdrop for this story, but not it's direct setting: because our characters steal a spaceship, the Atalanta, at the very beginning. From there, the story jumps back and forth in time back to Earth on occasion, but in space, where only five women are living and trying to survive, is where the story is. That story is centered around Naomi and Valerie, mother and adopted daughter. Naomi is a really strong character - a woman struggling with the implications of the background and of what they themselves have done - and what she has done. Always having wanted to go up in space, but also always wanting to show that she deserved the jobs she was getting and that she was fully qualified. Most of the book is, since we're essentially reading a memoir of Naomi, slow revelations of Naomi's personal and professional life, as she struggles to make a mark on her very own. And in the sake of that, her struggle to escape Valerie's orbit - Valerie being not just her mother, but her mentor and the woman she in some way worships, and yet whom Naomi can't quite help feeling is a bit too controlling.

And Valerie is controlling - it's best to think of her as a genderflipped version of Elon Musk, although for the sake of this story Valerie is more action and less talk than Musk is, with a corporation that's actually profitable in multiple areas and her actually seeming to take action towards a public good. But even there, with her good intentions, a large portion of the plot comes down to conflicts between Naomi (and some of the others) and Valerie, as Valerie has always been in charge as the successful capitalist in the world they are leaving behind, raising questions if she should still be in the world they plan on making.

This is a book about ideas as much as character, and the Valerie-Naomi and Valerie-Everyone Else conflict goes to the book's central ideas as much as anything - what means should be used in birthing a new world? How capitalist should they be in their new world, and how socialist? With the five of them being expected to only be pioneers, and well being all women not exactly capable of populating a new world all to themselves, how exactly should they plan to establish the new colony - and how can they obtain consent for that establishment from the world that needs presumably to send them the actual waves of colonists? And can they use their roles as the first ones on the new planet to ensure the old planet doesn't discriminate in how it sends over the rest of humanity? As the CEO, Valerie has her own ideas on these methods and her controlling attitude, something Naomi has experienced her whole life, poses the potential to put Valerie in conflict with the others if they don't quite agree. It all leads to an ending that has some interesting answers to these questions on how things should move forwards, though it has some implications I'm not exactly sure I loved.

Ending Spoilers in ROT13: Nf vg gheaf bhg, Inyrevr gheaf bhg abg gb or ba gur yriry. Fur unf abg bayl ure bja onpxhc cyna bs rzoelbf ba obneq gur fuvc naq unf abg bayl znahsnpgherq n pevfvf gung jbhyq erfhyg va gur Ngnynagn 5 syhfuvat njnl gur 5 zna sebmra onpxhc perj vagb qrngu, ohg npghnyyl znahsnpgherq naq frg ybbfr n ivehf hcba uhznavgl onpx ba Rnegu - nvzrq ng xvyyvat bss gur nqhyg cbchyngvba gurer sbe gur zbfg cneg fb nf gb fgbc nal ubcr bs punfr naq gb qrfgebl gubfr jub jrer perngvat guvf ubeevoyr shgher irefvba bs bhe cynarg, frkvfg, enpvfg naq pynffvfg nf vg vf. Ba bar unaq, guvf cbfrf na vagrerfgvat vqrn nobhg ubj bar vf abg noyr gb ernyyl ohvyq n arj naq orggre jbeyq haqre gur lbxr bs fbzrbar jubfr yvsr vf gvrq gb fhpu ubeevoyr pncvgnyvfz.

Ohg gur vffhr V unq jvgu guvf gjvfg vf gung jryy, rira gubhtu gur qvfrnfr vf fgbccrq jura Anbzv naq perj svaq ure uvqqra inppvar, vg qbrf rabhtu gb qenfgvpnyyl punatr gur Rnegu.....naq vg nyy JBEXF va n jnl gung jbhyq unir znqr Inyrevr unccl - gur frkvfgf-va-puvrs qvr sebz gur ivehf, naq juvyr gurve ercynprzragf nera'g terng, gurl ner orggre naq gur erfhyg vf n zhpu zber cbfvgvir shgher 30 lrnef, naq rira svsgrra lrnef yngre. Vg rffragvnyyl pna or nethrq gung Inyrevr jnf evtug - nygubhtu Inyrevr qvqa'g guvax gung gur Ivehf jbhyq erfhyg va nalguvat ohg qrfgehpgvba naq oryvrirq gurl fubhyq fgvyy tb gb Pniraqvfu gb yrnir Rnegu oruvaq. Ohg fgvyy, univat tbbq pbzr sebz Inyrevr'f rivy zrnaf vf n ivaqvpngvba gung V qba'g ernyyl srry gur nhgube vagraqrq.....

Overall though, Goldilocks is a really interesting novel, and perhaps I'm overthinking the ending a bit. It's definitely worth a read.

Women in space along with a mad genius trying to destroy the world. Who could ask for more? Fast-paced, twisting adventure story with heroes and villains. This is a great fun read that never falls apart. A little bit about climate change, a little misogyny, and a lot about space. Read this, for sure!

I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book was really good. I loved that I wasn't expecting the twist near the end. The world that was created here was terrifying. One where women are looked at like 2nd class citizens, baby making machines, non important and pushed to the side. And on top of that the climate is even more destroyed by humans that it currently is. To walk outside in most cities you need filtration masks and it is said that there are maybe 30 more years left when people can live on it. It just paints such a bleak picture that it was a bit depressing to read.

Now the main story didn't actually take place on this planet, but in a space where five women who had to steal a ship to journey towards a new inhabitable planet. With this nonlinear plot, following the life of a woman whose ambition was attempted to be tamped down, I found myself really enjoying reading this. It is almost impossible to explain what it is about without giving anything away, because the plot is so nuanced and details are important.

The only part of this book that I didn't enjoy was the very end, after the actual plot was completed. With such an exciting plot and great characters, I felt like the ending just didn't do the story justice. Overall, it was a great read because it was such a unique perspective on the future of our species.

4.5 stars. Goldilocks had me with the synopsis of The Martian meets The Handmaid’s Tale.

Naomi Lovelace is part of a 5 woman crew who steal a space shuttle intended for travel to a planet called Goldilocks. Earth is failing, and the government has slowly removed women out of the workplaces and back home to keep house and have the one allotted child (more than one child causes an insane child tax). Since earth can’t be saved, humanity looks to the stars and finds a new planet perfect for humans.

Unfortunately, women are no longer allowed into NASA. To be sure the first humans to start the colonization process are women, and to make history, the 5 women have been secretly training for 3 years to make the voyage and set up shop after their arrival in their version of a new world, not the current government’s version.

While traveling to Goldilocks, it becomes apparent that all is not what it seems.

I loved Naomi and most of the other characters in Goldilocks. I loved the space science. I even loved the botany science. This was a very satisfying read!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the advance copy!*

Thanks to Netgalley and Headline Publishing Group for the opportunity to read Goldilocks. The book starts off with promise, with a group of women scientists that hijack a mission to a new planet when Earth is on the brink of collapse. The project they had been working on was essentially stolen from them and given to a group of men, until they decided to take matters into their own hands.

Goldilocks explores multiple issues: gender discrimination, dropping birth rates, pandemics, political power and instability, the search for new life. Unfortunately, the execution was not only a slow build, but I felt like it led us in circles and didn’t accomplish much in the end. Being stuck on a space ship with characters can either be very exciting or very boring. The latter was true in this case. Even the action seemed a bit dulled and anti-climatic, with very little feeling. The twists were predictable. I give this a 3 stars overall.

I selected this book because the description made me class it as "SciFi". Was I wrong! Space travel was the locale of this tale of two women with different views of their roles in life and with each other. The plot of this book entertained me throughout and, I must admit, had no surprises.

Stayed up WAY past my bedtime to keep reading until I finished this one, and I haven't done that in a long time.

Pitched as The Martian (loved) meets The Handmaids Tale (hated) so I thought this would be interesting. Thank goodness The Handmaids Tale wasn't really a spot on comparison. Yes, women's rights are quickly fading in this story, but there really aren't many men in the story at all so that you actually SEE our main characters being treated like dirt. They just talk about it and imply it a lot. So, I appreciated that. As for The Martian comparison, these women are alone in space for a time and have to learn to deal with things on their own, but no one is near so snarky as Mark Watney. Those are my general thoughts on the pitch after having read the book.

The book itself, just wow.
This sci-fi book is full of highly intelligent women who all want to prove themselves in a world where men have started repressing women's rights. It also covers what may soon become our only option of finding a new planet as the Earth described in this book has become overcome by climate change and the people on the planet have maybe only 30 years left before it becomes completely unlivable for humans. Five women steal a spaceship that is nearing launch to a planet they are hoping to make habitable for human life. Why steal the ship? Because they were never seriously considered to be a part of the mission because they are women, even though they contributed to much of the development of the project and plans for colonizing once the ship arrived. What follows is a story of mostly the interpersonal relationships of the five women on board and how they each contribute to the mission and how their views on what they are doing change as new developments arise.

I will probably read this one a few times and I hope Laura Lam continues to write science fiction because she has a true voice for it.

So, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It definitely had me glued to the page because the stakes were just so high. It was one of those books that made stop and just go “oh shit.” And I love those books. Add to that the claustrophobia of being trapped on a spaceship with such high stakes and it was just a perfect recipe for a stay up all night reading it kind of book.

SLIGHT BUT VAGUEly SPOILERY CW: I do feel a little obligated to mention that if you’re struggling particularly hard with the current pandemic and don’t want to read about something similar, it might be best to skip this book for now, cause I know I didn’t know and it definitely felt just a little too close to home (shitty timing on that one :( ).

I think this is a case where flashbacks work especially well to increase the tension, and the slow reveal of information was just *chef’s kiss*. I especially loved the dynamic between Naomi and Valerie, which I think does a mother-daughter relationship really well. It’s so tense and fraught and aaaaaaaaaaaahhhh.

Where I get caught up is that there were moments where what happened just… didn’t make sense. I don’t know if it’s cause I’m tired or what, but yeah, those moments where I really struggled with the suspension of disbelief. And there were moments where I felt that the women on that ship were just way too smart to behave that dumb. And my other hang-up was that I just found the other women on the ship weren’t that well fleshed out for me and were more props for Valerie and Naomi. Minor things that kind of irked me but didn’t ruin the experience for me overall—I still absolutely loved the book.

Overall, I think this is a book that would appeal more to people who love character-driven sci-fi rather than hard sci-fi. There are definitely elements of the latter, and I appreciate that the author did a good deal of research, but it was definitely the emotional bonds that really made this book shine.

Goldilocks is primarily a near future sci-fi, but also has some turn-paging thriller and mystery elements to it. There are a number of plot points that hit a little close to home with everything going on in the world...but I think that made the story more compelling than I might have found otherwise. The main character fell a tiny bit flat for me - I don't know exactly why. There's a certain event that happens near the end, and it should have been a highly emotional experience, but the writing was too rushed and her emotions felt wooden. I'm also not sure the plot device at beginning and end added too much - though did allow for one cool reveal. Overall, modern sci-fi with space travel is always a happy place for me :)

Title: Golidilocks

Author: Laura Lam

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Publisher: Orbit

Release Date: May 5, 2020



In a world where men openly consider themselves superior to women, five women risk it all for their chance at space travel. With Earth's climate at its boiling point, it's more pertinent than ever to find an inhabitable planet to migrate to. Nasa has planned a research mission to the perfect planet, located in the Goldilocks zone. Our all female main cast spearhead the mission, but before they even reach Mars, some of the crew realize things may not be exactly what they appear. Will they make it to their destination or will it all prove to be too much?

Favorite Quote: "Sometimes you only need one tiny proportion of the population to enact change."



First things first, I'd like to thank both NetGalley and Orbit Books for approving me for an advanced eARC of Goldilocks! This is my very first ARC, so I'm very excited to have an opportunity to read/review this book. 

I enjoyed Goldilocks quite a bit. It was very engaging and quite different from other science fiction novels I have read. Lam explores many of todays hottest topics, such as feminism, climate change, and space travel. Because its not in the synopsis, I feel its important to mention here that Goldilocks also includes the outbreak of a  deadly, flu-like virus. It's not graphic, but I know a few people are wanting to avoid those kind of stories.

I loved these characters with all of my heart. Naomi was easy to relate to and I liked her personality and sense of judgment. My favorite thing about her is how unwavering she is. She doesn't let people take advantage of her, no matter who they are to her. That, to me, is a marking of a truly strong woman. Valerie is written so well. She's smart, she's determined, she's intimidating. I loved how she refused to be pushed aside by men and that she knew her worth. I'd love to read a novella about her upbringing. Maybe shed some light on how she became the cold, calculating woman we now know and love to hate.

 If I had any complaints about Goldilocks, it would be the world building. It's not terrible by any means, just a bit lacking in my opinion. You get a brief description in the beginning of what the earth looks like in the current climate and of the inside of the space ship, but that's about it. I just would have liked a little more back story

Regardless, I still loved this story a lot. Space travel + drama is my favorite brand of science fiction. Its always a good time and Goldilocks is no exception. If you enjoyed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, you would most likely enjoy this one!

I requested Goldilocks because it was described as The Martian meets The Handmaid’s Tale. This is the closest book I’ve read where a description of The Handmaid’s Tale is almost aptly used. Instead, I’d describe this as a female version of The Martian with a sprinkle of The Handmaid’s Tale.


Despite Goldilocks being very much science based, at the heart of the novel are moral and ethical questions. The most prominent being: is it morally acceptable to kill one person to save many? Throughout the novel, the main character is faced with these moral questions over and over as she navigates her future along side the other women. These moments are easily some of the best in the novel.

Lam paints a bleak future as climate change has irreversibly ravaged the planet while a right wing politician has been elected president in the United States of America and has begun to severely restrict women’s rights. The events leading up to the present are incredibly important for readers to understand the characters’ motivations. Unfortunately, Lam doesn’t spend enough time explaining these events or diving into the characters’ motivations for joining this seemingly impossible mission. The justification for their actions is weak at best.

Unfortunately, the characters are underdeveloped. There’s a glimmer of character development, but it’s soon overshadowed by the moral dilemmas and Lam’s weak attempt at world building.

Overall, Goldilocks is a semi successful feminist science fiction story that hits close to home in its speculations about earth’s future. If you’re a fan of credible science based science fiction, Goldilocks is sure to please.

DNF @20%

After recently reading and loving False Hearts by Laura Lam, I couldn’t wait to read Goldilocks.

That being said, I am shocked that these two books are written by the same author.

Goldilocks focuses on a group of five females who have hijacked a space ship in order to go to a planet named Cavendish to see if it’s inhabitable. We know that for some reason, society no longer allows women to be in STEM fields or basically work at all (even though we have no idea how this history came about).

My issue with this book is that it purposefully tries to be on the more hard science side of sci-fi by using a lot more jargon and technical speech. I’d be fine with that if it was used correctly, but in this case it’s not.

There’s a specific scene where a botanist discusses common flavor additives that she uses to make the food packs taste better. She then elaborates on how she plans to synthesize said common building blocks if her supply were run out: by using waste products from her algae plants (synthesizing vanillin and cinnamaldehyde from algae waste products?! You have got to be kidding me).

Umm. No. As an organic chemist, that isn’t remotely possible. It was clear the author was showcasing terminology from a subject matter that she has no expertise in and it felt cheap. If you want to do hand wavey science fine, but you might as well chalk this up to magic versus using terms incorrectly.

4.5 stars

Laura Lam knocked this one into orbit.

Five brilliant female astronauts steal a spaceship in an attempt to colonize a distant planet that can sustain human life. Earth is failing with fires, famine, and bad air quality to name a few humanity-threatening issues. The President of the United States is slowly removing all rights from women. I got a Handmaids Tale and Seveneves (great book by Neal Stephenson) vibe.

I found the book extremely interesting. I have always loved dystopian/end of the world books. However, I read this while in week five of my family’s self quarantine during the COVID-19 crisis and some plot lines were a little to close for home.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This book follows a crew of women as they steal a spaceship to embark on a voyage to another galaxy in order to save mankind after the earth has been ravaged by humanity. The concept of this book intrigued me and I could definitely see some parallels to The Martian as I was reading it at the same time as this. Unfortunately though, the first 75% of this book almost put me in a reading slump. I normally read books pretty fast, but it took me almost a month to get through this one. I’m not sure exactly why I didn’t want to keep reading it, but it just wasn’t the exciting read I was hoping for. The pacing seemed off and the twists that were thrown in didn’t improve the story for me. I also didn’t really like any of the characters all that much, especially our protagonist. The last quarter of the book got a bit more interesting, however, so I bumped my rating up to 3 stars. Overall, I don’t really recommend this book as there are so many other great science fiction books out there with a similar premise.

Goldilocks by Laura Lam

I’ve never read anything before by Laura Lam, but Goldilocks had shown up on several “upcoming 2020 SF releases to look out for” lists at the end of 2019. I’m often a sucker for “Earth is failing, lets get off planet now” stories, so I thought this would be right up my alley. I didn’t realize until I started reading it just how many things this book was going to try to do at once. The prologue asks more questions than it answers, setting the reader up for the idea that there will be some surprising revelations and all is not as it seems. I didn’t realize at first exactly what the prologue wa# trying to accomplish; halfway through the novel I skipped back and reread it, and I appreciated what the author was trying to accomplish more at that point. Chapter one begins 30 years before the prologue, starting out in an imminent climate apocalypse near future, which quickly reveals itself to also be an all too possible super misogynistic America, as if All of Mike Pence’s dream came true. 5 women heist Earth’s only interstellar-capable spacecraft to try to colonize a habitable planet. The narrator is a scientist whose adoptive mother designed and bankrolled the spacecraft project. Sadly, the book sometimes feels like a bit of a bait-and -switch, because the characters never do get to the planet in the so-called Goldilocks zone. The book tries to achieve a Martian-like feel of “science people sciencing in space” but it never quite achieves it - the scientific problems are solved a little too easily and don’t really further the plot very much. Instead the book pivots into mystery and intrigue. The mother-figure starts out as an Elon Musk type, but eventually reveals herself to be a full on Lex Luthor type. Maybe I’m just more cynical than the average reader, but her villainy was not too big of a surprise for me - it felt very telegraphed. What was a surprise was the extent of her villainous plot - not just trying to seize control of a new world, but mass murder through an engineered viral pandemic back on Earth was unexpected. When written, the book was not meant to be tone-deaf, but as I am sequestered at home in the midst of the Covid19 crisis as I read the book and write this review, the virus plot probably came off much differently than it might have if I had read this a few months ago. That was also the weakest link plot wise in the book - it is just glossed over that of course the Mother-figure has a virologist on staff who was perfectly happy to engineer a virus she knew would murder 90% of humanity. That felt a tad too cartoonish.

I don’t want it to come off that I didn’t like this book. I did! It was well written and enjoyable and I would seek out another book by this author In the future. I guess I just took the virus plot end a little hard and I am still miffed that this was not the planetary exploration book I had envisioned it being from the cover and blurb. Which is not the author’s fault at all.

Laura Lam's Goldilocks is an emotionally complex interplanetary journey in an eerily plausible future. Goldilocks uses a familiar sci-fi setting to present modern environmental anxieties in a unique narrative. Character development is strong, but the scope of events is much smaller than the description led me to believe. The novel's pacing restrains some of the author's brilliant writing, but an exciting conclusion makes up for the slow points. Fans of The Martian and The Power will find familiar territory, but may be disappointed in the story's lack of creative tension and sense of peril.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for the AR copy.