Member Review

3 astronauts, 2 civilians, and 1 scientist embark on a groundbreaking flight, the first manned mission to Saturn’s moon Titan. They each have their doubts, troubles, and motivations, but the chance at glory and the massive paycheck offered by John Ward, an eccentric billionaire with presidential aspirations, make the journey too appealing to pass up. It's planned as a simple fly-by, but a series of explosions puts the crew and the ship to the test before they can safely make their way back home. Happy to be back on Earth and with some things suspiciously better, the crew soon find themselves isolated and forbidden from communicating with each other. They'll have to face even more danger if they hope to unravel the truth and make their way back to their real lives.

The main twist is a bit obvious, but I enjoyed the way things developed and how Rake gives readers little crumbs to connect as things progress. You know which characters are crooked, with hints of the big things to come, but everything feels very low-key right up until things get explosive back on Earth. It lets the characters develop in ways that help you connect to each of them, so when things start to go down, you want to know exactly where everyone is and that they're safe.
I would have preferred to spend a bit more time with them in space, if only to see their connections develop to the point that they trust each other so implicitly when back on Earth, but I get that the story is focused on the Earth they return to more than the space voyage.

Overall, it's a tight sci-fi story that slowly builds up to major revelations. I'm impatiently waiting to see what happens next.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Random House Worlds for the most excellent read!