This book has a unique mix of space, politics, and environmental issues. I went in expecting mostly a space centered story and found that to only be about a quarter of the content. Jumping back and forth through themes was a bit of a struggle and made the book feel clunky and scattered. I wanted to know what happened so it did at least catch my attention enough to see it though but I felt like I was slugging through most of it .

What I did enjoy was reading about one of the main characters in the Amazon and the important message of saving the environment. Although it didn’t work well for me, this is a well written book that I can see fans of a realistic sci-fi space-stories enjoying.

Thanks to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a riveting and exciting space thriller that I could not put down. I read it in a matter of hours. The pacing was some of the best I've seen for a space thriller. Kluger really knows how to keep the audience engaged without giving too much away and without being TOO quick. With HOLDOUT, Jeffrey Kluger has created a work that stands alongside Brent Weeks or Andy Weir. You must pick this up!

In this ambitious science fiction novel, the three astronauts on the ISS are expecting the arrival of a supply vehicle to equip them for their continuing long journey. Instead of decelerating on approach, the vehicle speeds up and crashes into the ISS, creating a dire emergency. The astronauts are ordered home, and the two Russians comply, leaving Walli on board alone, refusing to leave. It turns out that Walli's niece is serving as a doctor in the Amazon, where developers are setting huge fires to the jungle, killing thousands of indigenous people, so that there can be widespread and lucrative development. Walli has decided, therefore, to refuse to leave the ISS until a stop is put to the fires and murders in Brazil. The plot moves between space, mission control, and the Amazon, with the action heightening to the end. Undertaking to cover such complex issues as space travel, deforestation in the Amazon, long distance relationships, and international politics might seem to be too much to tackle, but Jeffrey Kluger is up for the task, and this book was thought-provoking, suspenseful, entertaining, and a most enjoyable page-turner.

Readers who enjoy stories such as The Martian or "Gravity" in which astronauts are fighting against the odds for survival will find a similar appeal in Holdout. When the ISS is damaged and the crew has to evacuate, Walli Beckwith chooses to remain on board to call attention to a problem back on Earth. Within the affected area in South America is Walli's niece Sonia, working with an international group of doctors. The story alternates between the scenes with Walli, those with Sonia, and the authorities on Earth who are trying to persuade/order/strong arm Walli into boarding the vessel to return to the planet.

Besides the wonderful technical details of how the ISS and ground control function, there are also plenty of scenes showing the politics of Washington, as well as the heartbreaking effects of deforestation and tribal displacement by unscrupulous governments. There is danger, intrigue, humor, political wheeling and dealing, a massive social media and protest campaign, and loads of affection between friends and family. For those who enjoy space based adventures, strong female protagonists, or stories with an environmental and social conscience, this is a great read.

This was a solid book. It wasn't quite what I was expecting in terms of comparison to The Martian but all the same an enjoyable read. Books with lots of space details are my catnip and this delivered those in spades. I did struggle a bit with the shift between perspectives of space and the Amazon and they were sometimes a little clunky. I related more to Walli than Sonia. Both characters lacked in the strong female leads department though, Sonia's dialogue was pretty dissonant for me. And as others have said Walli's reasoning for commandeering a space station seems a little too 'zealot-y' for career military. I would definitely recommend this book to patrons who love a good technical space caper with an added side of environmental drama and intrigue. Overall a good, mostly fun read.

Lost interest half-way though. The story didn't seem plausible and I didn't connect with the main characters.

How do you handle an astronaut that defies orders to evacuate the International Space Station and then holds it hostage until the ravaging of the Amazon forest by Brazil is stopped? Walli Beckwith
was an exemplary astronaut until she decides to create an international incident to correct what she feels will be the Earth's demise by throwing a Hail Mary pass. The author is able to show how Walli is a scientist first but is also moved to action because a family member is caught in the middle. She sees the extent of the damage from space and knows she has one chance to stop it. The science is made simple enough to not go over too many heads but the drama and life aboard the space station is interesting enough to satisfy those readers craving a solid space thriller. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

This was a fantastic and action-packed read. The author is a respected author and a writer for Time magazine. He most especially specializes in science coverage/space travel. With that said, you can be sure that this book was researched within an inch of its life...and it shows.

Unfortunately, with some of this book, I had to suspend disbelief in several parts. Some of the info dumps bogged me down a tad also. However, the rest of this novel was so fascinating that there was no way I could give this book less than the 4 stars I did give it. I powered through this book like a tornado.

We have it all, including:

Space accident
Rebellion against the US government.
Hijacking of the International Space Station
Crimes against humanity
Meningitis
Fires in Amazon Basin to get the tribes off of tribal lands
More space trouble with the Space Station...oh my!

What more could you ask for?

I'm not usually one for something so scientific, but this book had me reading and wishing I didn't have to sleep!

ARC supplied by the publisher, the author, and NetGalley.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for an honest review!
This was hard to rate for me. I did like parts of it. It definitely passed the I Need To Finish It To Find Out What Happens test. I thought the main characters were well done and I loved the "peek" into space station routine and mission rules and how the crew interacts.
My problem was with the thinly veiled political references. I mean, I think I'd have enjoyed it more if the author had made up his own situations and people. I mean . . . a president of Brazil who hates native tribes and wants to burn down the Amazon, AND his name is Jair and starts with a B?? A foul-mouthed American president who is a businessman and stocked the Cabinet up with other businessmen who knew nothing about the actual work of their departments?? A "maverick" ex-military senior Senator from Arizona? It just didn't seem right or real to me, more like cheating.
Still, a fun read.

Holdout by Jeffrey Kluger was an exciting combination of climate fiction and adventure in space. I thought the political maneuvering felt of the moment, and it was exciting to see the power wielded by people around the world to make changes. It was good to see substantive issues in a propulsive thriller.

When I think of the International Space Station, I think of this serene, austere bastion of science and learning floating above the earth with astronauts who are tending to the science experiments that they have been tasked with and occasionally Skyping with schoolchildren.

Not so, in the Holdout by Jeffrey Kluger. After a catastrophic accident occurs when a supply ship is docking, the astronauts are ordered back to Earth. But Belka “Walli” Beckwith refuses to leave, famously saying that she would “prefer not to.” There’s a reason why that soon becomes clear. The Space Station can be other things besides a science lab. It is also able to report on the destruction that is happening in the Amazon rainforest as well as serve as a platform to influence national and world politics.

Which is exactly why Walli chooses to holdout from coming back to Earth as ordered by the flight directors in both Houston and Moscow. In an alternating chapter, we learn that Walli’s niece, who she loves like a daughter, is caught in the middle of a vast plot to remove the indigenous Amazonian tribes from their land in order for the authoritarian Brazillian dictator to be able to turn a profit from it In this book, they call this the “Consolidation.” Walli wants this to end and the only way that this can come about is through the intervention of the United States and other members of the Organization of American States.

She won’t be moved until then, even in spite of the catastrophic things that are bound to occur when you are the only person stuck on a damaged Space Station.

This is a really great political thriller and the fact that it is mainly set in space makes it all the more interesting. The sections of the story that are set in the burning Amazon rainforest are almost too grim to get a handle on and it is especially unsettling when you realize that it is very close to reality.

Jeffrey Kluger, a writer for “Time” magazine, who has covered the space beat for years now and has written other non-fiction books on space exploration has gotten all the details right. From launching and then landing a Soyuz capsule to the way that the command centers manage and monitor the space station back on Earth.

This book was a political, space thriller with environmental themes. Despite the heavy topics, it was an enjoyable read. The author is very well versed in soviet and NASA space details. Walli is a female astronaut that is aboard the ISS with 2 Russian cosmonauts. After an incident where one Russian in injured, they are forced to leave the space station and return to Earth. Only Walli refuses after seeing the destruction of the Amazon forests each time the space station passes that point over South America.
Walli's niece/daughter is a med student working in the forests of Brazil helping the indigenous population who are injured while being uprooted from their native homes in the forests. Walli essentially holds the ISS hostage while bringing awareness to the problem out to the public and hoping to gain American support in stopping the destruction.
This story got better as it went on. I definitely enjoyed it even though it wasn't a topic I would normally read. I received an ebook from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

I was personally underwhelmed by this story. I was hoping for more of an Andy Weir type of story but this was told from different perspectives and was really heavy on politics which I generally stay away from. It's an interesting story for those who enjoy more politics with their science fiction.

This is a well-written, completely unexpected yet plausible combination of science fiction, action/suspense, story of an environmental hero who forces the world to sit up and take notice of the degradation being visited upon the Amazon and its inhabitants and the folks trying to aid them, by taking a space station hostage. I did not see that coming! Additionally, the internet and social media collide with the powers that be to bring about a global save.

My one criticism of this book has to do with the epilogue. Much of the last chapter of the book felt unnecessary for me. The action was finished., and it seemed a natural place to end. Details in the epilogue man be great for some readers, but were anticlimactic to me.

What if you could save a small part of the world, just by your actions? Walli Beckwith makes a spur of the moment decision where she "preferred not to leave" the International Space Station after a resupply accident. With her decision starts a cascade of events that just might save thousands of lives, including her niece in Brazil. One seemingly small action can have overwhelming consequences and repercussions. This fast paced story will want you to keep going to see what happens.

From the publisher: When evil forces are going unchecked on Earth, a principled astronaut makes a spilt-second decision to try to seek justice in the only place she knows how—the International Space Station.

The science in Holdout is good; Jeffrey Kluger is also the co-author, with astronaut Jim Lovell, of Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which was the basis of the Apollo 13 movie released in 1995, and nine other books. The author worked fictional versions of real space incidents into the plot. I really enjoyed the descriptions of life and work in space, and the relationship between the Russian and American astronauts. Although it’s a minor plot point, I also liked the main character’s concern for the mice that were in space with her.

I did not feel there was a lot of tension in this book. Although there were dangerous situations, I was never on the edge of my seat. Also, the plot device of a non-indigenous adult rescuing an orphaned indigenous child is a bit overdone. The scenes set in the ravaged Amazon rainforest were heart rending, especially knowing how true to life they are.

Holdout could make a good book discussion book. It contains themes about standing up for what’s right, greed and hypocrisy, how indigenous peoples are treated, the environment and the Amazon rainforest, and international cooperation.

Holdout is a pretty good book. It wants to be The Martian, but it’s not quite. Still, if you enjoyed The Martian you may enjoy Holdout. I read an advance reader copy of Holdout; it is scheduled to be published in August. The Galesburg Public Library will own it in print and as an ebook.

If you are a fan of realistic science fiction, you will probably enjoy this book. Set in the near present, it involves the International Space Station and the astronauts who work there. When a resupply ship arrives and does not dock correctly, the 3 astronauts aboard are forced to leave on their Soyuz spacecraft that is already docked at the station. As the 2 Russians and one American go to leave, the American, Walli Beckwith, an experienced naval pilot and astronaut chooses to stay behind. We are unsure at first why she would do this and her reasons are slowly revealed as the story continues.
One thing that the space station gets everyday is beautiful views of earth and during this time the Amazon is going up in smoke and Walli is drawn into the cause of saving this valuable rain forest from the deprivations of man. A movement by the strongman President of Brazil called The Consolidation is the cause of most of the Amazon fires: he is directing fires to be set to move out the native peoples living there and turn the rain forest into arable land that can be given to his cronies who are helping keep him in power.
Walli uses her immense bully pulpit of being able to see these fires in real time (and using social media to share pictures of it). We are also given an inside view of the people on the ground through the eyes of her niece (and basically adopted daughter) who is a recent medical school graduate working with a group of volunteer physicians helping the displaced native people. It's an interesting story and the description of life on the space station and the mission control people in the U.S. and Russia is very appealing as well.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and I enjoyed it very much. I would recommend this book to fans of Andy Weir and I look forward to more from this author.

I reviewed this on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3915806399?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

This was an excellent space thriller. Belka is an astronaut on the Space Station when a rogue cargo delivery damages one of the modules in a failed docking event and the cabins depressurize. Her Two Russian companions are injured and Moscow orders all Three astronauts to enter the Soyuz spacecraft and return to earth. Belka refuses to go and in affect hijacks the space station. The other two astronauts return to earth and the hospital. Belka has her reasons for staying on board and soon fires up a controversy about the events she can see from space happening in the Amazon. This causes an especially thrilling situation as it plays out in Space and on earth.This was a thoroughly enjoyable read!

An astronaut risks her career in an act of protest to save the Amazon rainforest and its indigenous people..
This book really should have been amazing, but, honestly I found it really boring and muddled. The main character is not really given a personality beyond 'stubborn mother figure', and the other characters are all less characterized than her. She spends the first third of the book mostly thinking about how she admires all the male authority figures around her, telling us the backstories of side characters, and some characters who are never mentioned again after receiving their backstory.
I really couldn't find a logic to her actions, or a real statement to be found in the book. The United States is going to intervene with a tyrannical government that is forcing native people off their lands, rounding up, and assimilating them? Via military intervention? Seems both very unlikely, and a very bad idea.