Cover Image: Holdout

Holdout

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Member Reviews

I was so surprised by this book! I expected a bit more space, but I still really liked the journey this took me on. The conversation around climate change was particularly great.

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A politically themed thriller with a International Space Station stand off. It is NOT anything close to an Andy Weir book but was still a decent read with a different twist or two.

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If you are a fan space thrillers but also want a lot of technology and science and politics then this one is for you.

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I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a great adventure and I'm suprised I haven't seen more about it elsewhere. I loved every minute of this book. I thought the realistic protrayel of the world governments were entertaining and the coaxing that kept happening as the main character tried to bring attention to a world wide problem.

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I wasn't sure what I was getting into with this one and perhaps that was for the best. It's a space drama, sure, but also a story about politics and environmental issues. The writing itself was well done and engaging, but there were just too many weird plot choices and ridiculous shenanigans to make a compelling story for me.

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I love space themed books so reading this one was fun for me. Some parts of the book seemed far fetched and hard to believe. There were times when Walli was just so frustrating and it made it seems she was making everything more complicated than it was.

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This premise was intriguing and executed quite well, overall. I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 only because I found myself getting a bit bored through the middle of the book, but the last 100 pages or so are enticing enough that it made up for the rest almost entirely. My only other complaint would be the amount of run-on sentences in the book, which borders on egregious. Sometimes I’d find myself getting lost in a single, paragraph-long sentence that felt like it should’ve been 3-5 shorter sentences instead.

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Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This is one of the those stories that if you stick with it the enjoyment will come. To me the highlight is the interaction between the astronaut and the Russian space personnel. Seems realistic. The heroine has a Navy rank of Lieutenant commander which is too junior for a veteran American astronaut. The author seem incapable of writing a succinct and short paragraph. A good read if you stick with it.

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The Initial outer-space-related part of this story was excellent, but THEN, the calamity that triggered the outer space disaster was conveniently forgotten and mostly ignored by The Author, and THEN The Author allowed the tale to steer directly into social economics and other political issues — causing The Reader’s interest in the book to dramatically DROP, and the story became quite BORING!!! The beginning was easy to read; the remaining 95% of the book was a chore.

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Woof. This one was tough for me to read. I’m always interested in sci-fi and then I quickly remember why I don’t read it - it’s just too hard to follow. The writing lost me a lot of the time and that took the possibility of enjoyment out for me. But I’d still recommend this to friends that are more well versed in the sci-fi arena.

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This book was not for me. There is an astronaut on the cover but the book wasn't really about space travel or anything like that. I did not like the characters, they fell flat, and could not relate at all. I also did not like how the author was purposefully and almost being racist about how the main character is Mexican and darker skinned. Overall it was just a boring book with no exciting points.

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HOLDOUT - BY JEFFREY KLUGER

Unfortunately, HOLDOUT is a DNF for me at 70%. The story pulled me in immediately to the point I was fully invested in the character’s—the reason I continued reading. I want to know what happens at the end of the book, however, the pacing is too slow. I may revisit this one, but for right now, I’m setting it aside.

Thank you, NetGalley and Dutton Publishing (Penguin Random House LLC) for providing me with an eBook of HOLDOUT at the request of an honest review.

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I really enjoyed Holdout. I’ve always been intrigued by space travel and life aboard the international space station. While a great part of the narrative defies logic, particularly the astronaut that defies orders in order to achieve an ideological agenda,, I found the book a perfect read for helping my motivation while walking on the treadmill.

The characters are well developed and mostly likable. It is clear the author knows the space industry well. Really love how Walli bonds with her mice.

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Thank you Netgalley for this great ARC!
This dual timeline was was attention grabbing! I will admit the first half it was slow burn and more of a political perspective but holy cow the rest was action packed all the say until the end. It had my heart racing after each chapter. I ended up loving the ending and it made me tear up a little! If you're into science fiction, this is defiantly worth a try. It was my first book like this but never my last!

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Definitely one of the best books I read in the last year! How incredible to read about a female astronaut when all too often its a "boys club" It was so refreshing to read a sci-fi book where the woman wasn't just there to further whatever the men were doing. Wonderfully written featuring very well researched material and a story line that keeps you not he die of your seat. This book would make an excellent movie!

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This is overall an interesting political scifi following a strong female protagonist with extensive character development with the storyline set both in Earth and in space. Unfortunately the plot was so incredibly convenient and I felt no agency or importance. The ending was too predictable.
Full review to come on YouTube.

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I love the premise of this book. It makes for such an interesting read and the author did such a good job. This was unlike anything I've read before.The story was well-written and engaging.

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Enjoyed this book so much I had to go and buy a hard copy to keep. This is a solid read and I will have my book club read it in the future.

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An accident aboard the International Space Station has the ground crew ordering the evacuation of the station's three astronauts. As a last minute decision, American astronaut Walli Beckwith decides to stay aboard. To repeated orders to return to earth she only replies with a Bartleby-like, "I prefer not to."

Walli has been an outstanding astronaut and prior to that she was at the top of her class at the Naval Academy and a successful fighter pilot. Taking the space station hostage is totally out of character for Walli.

She goes about doing general maintenance and daily upkeep on the station and prepares for a live (a few second delay) public announcement detailing her reasons and what she wants to see happen before she returns to earth (where she will certainly be facing lengthy prison time as the ISS truly is international and other countries have already indicated they wish to try her.

What Walli wants is for the United States to lead and international agency (such as the U.N.) in stopping rebel movement and environmental destruction in another country. This is no small chore for any government and it has not been on the political agenda for the U.S. ... until now, of course. First she grabs headlines by 'stealing' the international space station, and then she spurs public opinion with a hard media focus and watches as the tide turns. But she may not be around to see what ultimately happens as one of the accidents aboard the aging stations is about to bring her life to an abrupt end.

Other than a little dust jacket copy, I had no idea what I was getting into when I approached this book. This reads a lot like a summer blockbuster action movie. Maybe that's a little bit good and a little bit bad? It's exciting and it moves a long quickly. There are clear 'good guys' and 'bad guys.' And throughout it all, there's mostly positivity flowing. But on the other side of 'blockbuster' feel, we have a very methodical story - you can fairly easily predict what is going to happen next and moments are spaced pretty evenly. And of course each dangerous moment could mean death for our protagonist.

I definitely got caught up in the story and enjoyed it, but the ending was a bit heavy-handed for me. Everything wrapped up nicer than a Disney cartoon which pushed the believability over the edge for me. But if you like a little Pollyanna in your scifi, this is the ticket.

Looking for a good book? Holdout by Jeffrey Kluger is a fast-paced action/adventure film book that will hold your attention and put you through a few emotional paces and then test your credulity.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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DNF at 1 hour. The writing was rough and the plot moved too slowly for me to be interested in continuing. I felt the author was doing a lot of "telling" vs "showing." Overall, just not the book for me.

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