Book Review: "Celestial Lights" by Cecile Pin

“I was born the day Challenger fell out of the sky, and I was born blue. At least, that is what I was told.”

Oliver was a smart, quiet, English child. His life began at a tragic moment for the world, but he was a dreamer, inspired by the things we didn’t yet know. His intellectual curiosity led him to study engineering, then to a Royal Navy submarine, and finally to a career as an astronaut.

Throughout his life, Oliver had trouble expressing his feelings, and many people found him cold. But he did fiercely love his parents, his wife, and his young son, even if his actions didn’t always convey that fact.

He is tapped to command a mission to the moon Europa, to see if the conditions there could ultimately sustain human life. It would require 10 years’ time, and during most of it, there would be no communication with Earth. Oliver cannot turn down the opportunity, even though it means he won’t be present to watch his son grow up, and the decision could end his marriage.

During the mission, Oliver thinks about the life-changing importance of what they’re doing. But as he looks back on his life and his family, he can’t help but wonder if the sacrifices will be worth it.

This was a beautifully written and profoundly thought-provoking book. Oliver is a complex character and I’m not sure I had him figured out by the end of the book, but I know that this will live in my brain for a long while.

Book Review: "Detour" by Jeff Rake and Rob Hart

John Ward is a billionaire who is running as a third-party candidate for president. He’s funding a mission to Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. The mission will lay the foundation for future settlements as the effects of climate change destroy Earth.

The crew of the mission is composed of three astronauts and three civilians. The astronauts are legendary and the hope is they will train the three civilians: Padma, the scientist whose research convinced Ward to form the mission; Stitch, a graffiti artist who won his seat in a lottery; and Ryan, a Washington, DC cop who helped foil an assassination attempt on Ward.

The mission will last two years. Ryan doesn’t want to leave his wife and kids for that long, but Ward promises him a $15 million paycheck which could change their lives. And although all six of the crew members are nervous about the mission, they move forward with it.

But when the ship starts circling Titan, things go wrong. The ship is rocked by multiple explosions which threaten their return home. Yet working together, they’re able to make it back to Earth and are hailed as heroes.

Upon their return, each person notices that their life isn’t quite what it was before the mission. They returned home to find things—and their loved ones—are strangely different, like they’re in the wrong multiverse. Ward has ordered that the crew members can’t talk to each other or the press. What happened on their mission? They’re not quite prepared for what comes next.

Science fiction isn’t my usual genre, but this sci-fi thriller was excellent. It’s the start of a series and I hope I don’t have to wait long for the next book!

Book Review: "Full Speed to a Crash Landing" by Beth Revis

I don’t read much science fiction, but when my friend suggested we buddy read the first book in Beth Revis’ new Chaotic Orbits series, I thought, why not? I mean, it was described as a “high octane sexy space heist,” so how could I resist?

Ada is a looter, trying to salvage anything she can from abandoned or wrecked spaceships. And while she found Roundabout first, she can’t profit from the spoils when she winds up with a giant hole in her ship and her spacesuit is running out of oxygen. She signals a nearby ship (obviously looking for loot as well) in distress, but it takes a long time for them to rescue her.

When she is finally saved by the crew of the Halifax, she is under scrutiny right away. They’re on a secret mission and really don’t want Ada tagging along, but she’s more than happy to take advantage of the luxuries aboard their ship.

While Ada tries to convince the crew to let her do the job she was paid for, the crew has other ideas. The captain of the ship isn’t actually the one in charge; it’s Rian, a handsome government agent who’s calling the shots. And he’s not convinced that Ada is an ordinary looter.

Rian fascinates Ada (and he’s great to look at), but she’s not sure what she’s up to. Who will win the battle of wills and flirtation to get what they want?

This was a quick read, partially because Revis didn’t do much world building to set the scene. Because it’s a novella, everything felt a bit rushed, and while I enjoyed Ada’s snark, it got to be a bit much after a while. I’m really curious to see how the story will develop, however.

Book Review: "Orbital" by Samantha Harvey

The recently named winner of this year’s Booker Prize, Orbital takes place in space but it’s not science fiction. More than anything, it’s a meditation on life, solitude, companionship, the passage of time, and the beauty and fragility of our planet.

Set on an international space station, the book examines one (long) day in the lives of the six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard. Two women and four men, they come from the U.S., England, Italy, Japan, and Russia. They’re on board for nine months, and each is dealing with their own issues—internal and external ones. And each has important contributions to make.

“And in time we come to see that not only are we on the sidelines of the universe but that it’s of a universe of sidelines, that there is no centre, just a giddy mass of waltzing things, and that perhaps the entirety of our understanding consists of an elaborate and ever-evolving knowledge of our own extraneousness, a bashing away of mankind’s ego by the instruments of scientific enquiry until it is, that ego, a shattered edifice that lets light through.”

There isn’t a cohesive plot per se; the book is composed of snapshots of the different characters as the space station travels around the earth. Small personal details about each are shared, as are their activities. But predominantly, there is a great deal of reflection about the view of earth from the space station, what it feels like to be there and watch morning turn to evening and sunset to sunrise, again and again.

This is a gorgeously written book, full of dazzling descriptive imagery, although it does get a bit dry and repetitive after a bit, because there are only so many ways to describe the view and the feelings it provokes. I don’t know that I would have read this had it not won the Booker, but I’m glad I did.

Book Review: "Interesting Facts about Space" by Emily Austin

Quirky characters have been all the rage, particularly in the years since the release of books like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Sometimes the quirkiness is understandable; sometimes I feel if authors create this type of character simply to provide a vehicle for bizarre habits or behavior.

Enid is a young woman who counts among her hobbies “listening to murder stories, having casual lesbian sex, and telling my mom interesting facts about space.” She has an inexplicable fear of bald men, she’s deaf in one ear, and she’s tentatively approaching a relationship with her two half-sisters, born after her father left her mother for another woman.

But Enid also feels like she’s losing her grip, perhaps unsurprisingly given her mother’s struggles with depression. Enid grows increasingly convinced there is someone following her and trying to break into her apartment. Clearly she has some repressed trauma in her life, because why else is she experiencing these feelings?

This is a tough book with a number of emotional triggers. But it’s also a beautifully written character study, which is at turns bleak and hopeful. Others have loved this more than I did, but I’m glad I read it.

The book will publish 1/30/2024.

Book Review: "Terrace Story" by Hilary Leichter

Have you ever read a book that you definitely enjoyed despite the fact that you weren't really sure what it was about? That was definitely the case for me with Terrace Story, Hilary Leichter's new book. It was beautiful, emotional, thought-provoking, somewhat confusing at times, and a little bit trippy.

In "Terrace," the first of four connected stories, Annie, Edward, and their infant daughter, Rose, have to downsize into a much smaller, cramped apartment. They are definitely saddened by this move, because instead of the view of the outdoors that they had in their old apartment, their view is now an air shaft. But one day, when entertaining Annie's coworker Stephanie, they find a beautiful terrace inside a closet. Suddenly their view has changed, and they are absolutely thrilled.

They quickly discover that the terrace only seems to appear when Stephanie visits them. They are torn between wanting to keep inviting her over and feeling bad that they're using her to keep having access to the terrace. But everything good comes with a cost, and one night everything changes for the small family, with repercussions for the future.

Some of the stories follow related characters—"Folly" focuses on a married couple, and the woman is a descendant of Rose; while "Cantilever" takes place in the distant future, with a young woman working at a space station, when she is visited by an older woman who says she wanted to meet her. "Fortress" is about Stephanie, and tracks her from childhood to a point in the future.

I found "Folly" the oddest story, and I wasn't exactly sure what Leichter was trying to say with that one. The other stories made more sense (although "Fortress" was definitely a bit confusing) and they definitely provoked emotional reactions.

Leichter is a tremendously talented writer. I'd love to do some research into what inspired her to write this book, because that knowledge might inspire me to re-read this at some point. This is definitely not a book for everyone, but I'd imagine fans of literary or experimental fiction may enjoy it.

Book Review: "Ice Planet Barbarians" by Ruby Dixon

Well, umm, this was interesting.

If ever there were a "Bookstagram Made Me Do It" book, it would be Ice Planet Barbarians. And now I can say that I was yesterday years old when I read my first piece of alien erotica.

Georgie often has weird dreams after a long day of work. But when she dreams of being abducted by aliens, it turns out it’s not a dream at all. She’s being held captive on an alien ship with a number of other young women, enduring harsh conditions and living in fear that they’ll be raped if they make a sound.

When the ship has engine trouble, their crew leaves its human cargo on an ice planet. Georgie, who is the de facto leader of the women, goes off to find shelter and food. But what she finds is Vektal, a 7-foot-tall blue alien who is immediately taken with her. He doesn’t know what she is, but she makes his chest purr, and he believes she is his mate. And he’s willing to show her just how taken with her he is.

Vektal agrees to help Georgie by helping the other women from the ship. But what will he want in return? And will he be willing to let her go?

The steam in this book is off the charts and the story is surprisingly funny at times. I don’t think I’ll read the rest of the series but this was one I won’t soon forget!

Book Review: "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir

Andy Weir's latest book, Project Hail Mary, blinded me with science.

I've been waiting to read this for a few months now, since I really enjoyed The Martian. So many friends have raved about it, and the book has appeared on a number of friends' year-end lists.

A man wakes up on a spaceship. He can’t remember his name or his mission, and somehow he’s the only one on the spaceship who survived. What happened? What’s his mission?

Little by little, it comes back to him. He’s Ryland Grace, a science teacher, and he was drafted into a multinational effort to save the world from a being that threatens the existence of humanity. He’s been asleep for a long time, and the window for him to act is rapidly closing.

It’ll take all of his scientific bravado plus help from one of the most unlikely of sources to save humanity. Will he prevail? Can the threat to our world be stopped?

Andy Weir is an excellent storyteller. This is definitely a story with heart and emotion and, of course, you’re hopefully rooting for Ryland to save the day. The thing is, however, this book has so much science that it made my head hurt.

Sure, you can skim some of it and some of it you can figure out, but after a while it just reminded me that there’s a reason I didn’t go to medical school and become a doctor, thus contradicting the requirement in the Torah that the oldest Jewish son practice medicine. (I kid.)

Book Review: "The Gravity of Us" by Phil Stamper

This was so beautiful and thought-provoking!!

Cal is a successful social media journalist with over half a million followers. But he doesn’t just make wry or cynical observations, or talk about the latest trends or restaurants in his Brooklyn neighborhood or in NYC. He really uses social media to make a difference, and played a huge part in getting younger people interested in the last presidential election. And people noticed—he landed an internship with BuzzFeed he can’t wait for.

But his whole life is about to be turned upside down. Call’s father has just been selected as an astronaut for a possible NASA mission to Mars, so the agency is relocating all of the astronauts and their families to Houston, to try and recapture the camaraderie of the early days of the space program.

Cal isn’t prepared for the media frenzy surrounding the space program, and although he’s technically not supposed to do any more social media broadcasting from Houston, he can’t resist putting his own spin on things, which puts him in the middle of a battle between NASA and a trashy media program that somehow has gotten an exclusive to cover the astronauts.

Life isn’t all bad, though, as Cal meets Leon, the son of another astronaut, and they fall for each other quickly and intensely. But Leon has his own struggles to deal with, and when Cal realizes he needs to use his online fame to right some wrongs, he doesn’t realize how that might put other things at risk, including his relationship with Leon.

Can we save those we care about or do we have to let them do that themselves? What are our obligations to those we love?

Phil Stamper’s book is so good, full of the flush of first love, the emotional struggles many have to deal with, and the excitement of getting to explore unknown territory. I have been trying to get an ARC of this for a while so I was so excited to finally get it. His writing is fantastic, and this story is compelling from start to finish. It's always nice to find a story where the characters' sexuality isn't cause for scandal or emotional crisis, it's just another aspect of their lives.

NetGalleyand Bloomsbury USA provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

This book publishes February 4, 2020.

Book Review: "Artemis" by Andy Weir

Although it has been a few years since Andy Weir published The Martian, he hasn't been missing from the literary world, thanks to his sharing a number of free super-short stories with the reading public. (Annie's Day remains my favorite of the bunch.) Even so, I was anxious for him to come out with a new novel.

Artemis is the first city on the moon. While wealthy tourists get to experience the city's luxuries, for the ordinary citizens living there, it's almost like any other city—the struggles between the haves and have-nots, corruption, violence, crime, the usual. (Almost like any other city except for the gravity, and the fact that everything is encased in bubble-type structures to keep the extreme radiation and space dust out.)

Jazz Bashara is a low-level porter on Artemis. She longs for a better life but doesn't have the motivation to do anything more than what she does, even though she has the brains and the talent for much more. Instead, she ekes out a living as a criminal, smuggling in contraband from Earth for anyone willing to pay her. She doesn't care that it's wrong; in fact, she's more than a little proud to be gaming the system.

One day, one of Jazz's wealthy regular customers offers her a part in a scheme that seems almost too good to be true, but her part of the spoils would be enough to give her the type of life she has always dreamed of. Of course, what seems too good to be true usually is, and it isn't long before Jazz realizes she's in the middle of something much bigger than a get-rich-quick scheme—there's corruption, and people are willing to go to any lengths to protect what they believe is theirs. Jazz is going to need more than just her street smarts if she's going to survive this.

Jazz is a pretty fascinating character. She's pretty tough, smart, wily, and not embarrassed about her sexuality or her general laziness. She knows she could achieve more, but for the most part, she isn't motivated to do so through legal channels. I love the fact that Weir created a multi-cultural cast of characters without batting an eye—Jazz is a Saudi Arabian Muslim (albeit non-practicing), and there are characters from different races, religions, cultures, and sexual orientations that don't adhere to stereotypes.

Until I read Artemis, I somehow forgot how science-heavy The Martian was. But while all that science seemed to work in The Martian it seemed to weigh this book down a bit. (And no, it wasn't the gravity.) Weir has created quite a world, and certainly the descriptions helped paint the scene, but I felt at times the lengthy scientific diatribes pulled the plot off course.

The other thing that frustrated me about the book is the fact that Jazz speaks and thinks like a teenage boy. Even though you're rooting for her, after a while her lack of maturity started to grate on me.

Those criticisms notwithstanding, Weir knows how to tell a story. Even though I thought the caper (and that's the best word to describe the scheme Jazz finds herself in) was a little silly, I couldn't stop reading Artemis. It's a fun and interesting book, and you have to wonder how close to reality Weir's vision of life on the moon will come, if it ever becomes a reality.

NetGalley and Crown Publishing provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "The Wanderers" by Meg Howrey

Aerospace behemoth Prime Space, which has made its presence known in NASA's waning years, has a plan to put the first humans on Mars in four years. The company has selected the perfect crew for this mission—Helen Kane, Sergei Kuznetsov, and Yoshihiro Tanaka—each of them leaders in their own country's space program who have participated on the International Space Station. The three are chosen for their complementary skills, personalities, and backgrounds, which should mesh perfectly during their mission.

Given the risky nature of their mission, the three will spend 17 months in the Utah wilderness in an amazingly realistic simulation of every aspect of the mission, from launch to the return home. Prime Space's Mission Control will throw everything they can at the crew, from equipment malfunctions, atmospheric anomalies, personal crises, even imminent failure, to observe their actions and reactions in order to determine what things will need to be tweaked when the actual mission rolls around.

Beyond the mechanics of their journey into space, Helen, Sergei, and Yoshi are observed by Prime Space's team of "obbers" around the clock, who monitor not only their physical reactions to situations they are thrown into, but their psychological, emotional, and interpersonal relationships and interactions as well, even how they react to the messages they receive from their own family and friends. And the "obbers" aren't just watching them, they're also watching those closest to them—Helen's daughter, Sergei's sons, and Yoshi's wife—each of whom has their own challenges, both related and unrelated to their family members' imminent journey to Mars.

To spend this much time in close proximity with each other and know that you are being watched around the clock is challenging, yet the three are determined to present the most stable personas to those watching, those who could make the decision to bounce them from the real mission. Yet as the simulated mission proceeds, each faces their own doubts, fears, and regrets, and even struggle with the concept of what is truly real and what is being simulated to test them. Meanwhile, their family members are dealing with their own epiphanies, and how they feel about the absence of their loved ones.

For a book under 400 pages, at times The Wanderers has an almost sweeping, epic feel, as it covers weighty topics such as travel to other planets, the issue of personal legacy, and how astronauts are forced to cope with the double-edged sword of wanting to be there for their families yet constantly wanting to push the boundaries of exploration. But at other times it feels very intimate, as the astronauts deal with their personal feelings of fear, paranoia, regret, loss, and confusion.

There's a lot going on in this book—sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn't. The book shifts perspective among the crew members, as well as Helen's daughter, Yoshi's wife, and one of Sergei's sons, and a member of the "obbers." I honestly think the book could have been equally as powerful without the family members' perspectives, because apart from one instance, the stories never really got closure. At times the book gets weighted down with technical speak, but luckily that doesn't last long, because the power of this novel truly comes from each of the astronauts, their self-discovery, and their interactions with one another.

I've been a fan of Meg Howrey since her very first novel, Blind Sight (see my review), and you can tell she did a tremendous amount of research to make this book feel authentic. But what I loved most were her storytelling, the complexity of her characters, and the imagery she uses. I thought the pacing of the book was a bit slow, but at its heart the story was very compelling. (By the way, this book is being marketed as Station Eleven meets The Martian, to which I'll reply, nope.)

NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Movie Review: "Hidden Figures"

When I went to see Hidden Figures I joked on social media, "Let it be said I am seeing a movie about math." While obviously this movie is about so much more than that, it is truly fantastic to see a movie which focuses on the superior intellect of women, particularly minority women, at a time when contributions from both groups in "serious" fields was hardly valued.

As the space race between Russia and the U.S. heated up, with the Soviets in the lead, NASA was under significant pressure to put a man in space. In addition to the large number of mathematicians, engineers, and scientists they had on staff, NASA relied on "human computers," African-American female mathematicians who were used to perform calculations and analysis—but not be seen or heard unless spoken to. Informally supervised by Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), these women were smarter and faster, but rarely even thought of beyond their abilities to get work done.

One of the smartest of these "computers" was Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson). She is assigned to work with the men calculating how to get a man into space before the Russians did so, and she quickly proves her worth, despite the resentment and prejudices of those around her. But despite the fact that she is asked to calculate figures without access to classified information that would help, as well as the subpar treatment shown to all African-Americans at this time in history, Katherine quickly catches the eye of the NASA Director (Kevin Costner), who begins to rely on Katherine more and more, despite some things he just doesn't understand about her.

Meanwhile, Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), is encouraged to apply for one of the engineering positions that has opened up at NASA. She's perfectly qualified (perhaps more so than others), but in an effort to keep African-American women from advancement, the job requirements were changed to include coursework that is only available at segregated schools. She wants to challenge the system, but is discouraged by some (including her husband) from making too much of a fuss.

At the same time, Dorothy is becoming increasingly frustrated by NASA's refusal to formally give her the supervisor position (and pay) for which she has essentially been doing the work for some time, but she sees opportunity in another challenge: mastery of the new mainframe computer that NASA has brought in, which has the potential of replacing all of the "human computers."

As NASA begins preparing for John Glenn's launch into space, Katherine's work becomes ever more crucial, yet she is challenged by the obstacles that keep being put in her path. She wants to attend the meetings where the up-to-the minute data is discussed, and she wants to be viewed as an actual member of the team, not just the typist who is actually doing all of the work. Will her calculations prove correct, and will Glenn make it to space and back safely?

Hidden Figures succeeds on so many levels. It brings to the public eye the achievements of some truly unsung heroes whose work made a huge difference in our world, as schools don't teach about Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan when they're talking about the space program, they talk about the astronauts. The film also conveys some strong messages, yet never seems heavy-handed. It also succeeds in creating tension even though you know most of what will happen, but you get so invested in the characters and the story you can't stop yourself from getting nervous.

This film may be a crowd-pleaser, but it's also a tremendously well-acted one. Henson plays a role very different to many of those she's played recently, and walks a line between the deference her character was supposed to show and her frustration that her intelligence wasn't valued the way it should. I really don't understand why she hasn't been more of a factor in the Oscar conversation, since she really has some great moments.

This is the second memorable performance that Monáe has turned in this year (after Moonlight), and this absolutely should land her among the nominees for Best Supporting Actress this year, as her Mary Jackson is fiery, funny, and unabashedly proud of her intellect. Her biggest competition is Spencer, who is always good, but I didn't think her performance rose to the level of Monáe's (mainly because her role wasn't as exciting). Where the Oscars are concerned, however, sometimes the familiar gets in over the more-deserving. (Ironically, when watching the previews before this movie started, Spencer is in five of the movies we saw previews for.)

I really enjoyed this movie, and absolutely expect it to get a Best Picture nomination in a few weeks. It's rare that a movie with female leads does as well at the box office—this weekend marked the film's second consecutive week at #1—and it's even rarer to see a film succeed which features women's intellectual prowess as such a significant factor. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come!

Book Review: "Good Morning, Midnight" by Lily Brooks-Dalton

This book was absolutely extraordinary.

Loneliness is a powerful emotion, yet you can feel just as lonely while spending time with people, or in the middle of a crowd, as you might when you're completely alone. Lily Brooks-Dalton's powerful, haunting, contemplative debut novel, Good Morning, Midnight, is a meditation on loneliness, regret, ambition, love, and loss, through the eyes of two unique people.

"He was drawn by the isolation and the punishing climate, the landscape that matched his interior. Instead of salvaging what he could, he ran away to the top of an Arctic mountain, nine degrees shy of the North Pole, and gave up. Misery followed him wherever he went. This fact didn't faze him and it certainly didn't surprise him. He had earned it, and by then he expected it."

Augustine was once a brilliant astronomer, known as much for his devotion to his research as his self-destructive behavior and his reputation as a cruel manipulator of women. At the end of his career he is stationed in an Arctic research center, when news spreads that a catastrophe has affected the world, and all of the scientists must evacuate. But Augustine stubbornly decides to stay put, even though he knows he may never leave. While to his surprise he discovers a mysterious child abandoned in the research center, and that helps assuage his loneliness, when he discovers that the radio waves have gone silent, he wonders what will become of them.

"Even as a little girl the emptiness had called to her, and now she was a wanderer too. Remembering how her journey had begun distracted her from the uneasy question of how it might end."

At the same time, the crew of the Aether has just finished a groundbreaking voyage to Jupiter, going further into space than any before them. Mission Specialist Sullivan reflects on her journey to this moment, and the cost of this achievement—the end of her marriage, barely knowing her daughter. Yet traveling into space is all she has ever thought of, so she has convinced herself that the sacrifices were worth it. But when Mission Control goes silent for reasons they cannot explain, the crew must grapple with the idea that they may never make it home to Earth, and even if they do, life will not be the same as it was when they left.

Does pushing people away make you stronger, or does it leave you more vulnerable? What is the price of achieving your dreams, of reaching the pinnacle of your career, if you really have no one to share that with? Is it ever too late to make a true connection? These are some of the questions Augie and Sully ponder in this beautifully written book.

This truly blew me away. Brooks-Dalton created so much suspense that I kept waiting for a tragic event (beyond whatever has happened on Earth) to occur, yet I couldn't stop reading. I felt what these characters were feeling, and could picture what they were seeing so vividly, and that is a testament to her amazing strength as a storyteller.

It took a little while for the story to get going, but once it did, it honestly moved me and took hold of my heart. It reminded me a little of Peter Heller's The Dog Stars and, although I'm always loath to agree with the comparisons publishers draw, it also had a little bit of Station Eleven in it as well, but for those of you who were unimpressed by that book, it's more similarity of the feelings I felt than the actual plot.

I can't stop thinking about this, and wish the book were longer, because I want more time with these characters. Kudos to Lily Brooks-Dalton for creating an utterly captivating, gripping, truly beautiful world, and giving us the chance to visit.

Book Review: "The Dream Life of Astronauts: Stories" by Patrick Ryan

So let me make one thing clear before you make the decision whether or not to read this collection of short stories based on the title: despite taking place at or around Cape Canaveral (in some cases simply in the same Florida county), the majority of these stories have nothing to do with astronauts.

While a few have the space program as a narrative thread within them (or at least mention something space-related in passing), for the most part, these well-written stories are about people who find themselves at a crossroads in their lives. Some are emotional, some are thought-provoking, and at least one was laugh-out-loud funny, and a few are interconnected with others in the collection.

Among my favorites in the collection were: "Earth, Mostly," in which a woman who is raising her granddaughter finds herself assigned to a driver's ed class after a traffic accident and is attracted to the instructor; "Go Fever," which is about a man whose coworker is convinced his wife is poisoning him (but that's just the tip of the iceberg); "Miss America," in which an aspiring Miss America contestant is taken to an audition with a less-than-reputable talent scout, while she is dealing with upheaval in her own life and her mother's; "Fountain of Youth," about a man in witness protection from the Mafia now living in a retirement community and matching wits with the power-hungry head of the condo board; "The Way She Handles," which tells of a young boy whose parents' marriage hits a rough patch with the arrival of his carefree uncle; and the beautiful title story, in which a young man is drawn to a former astronaut and is unprepared for what comes next.

While one or two of the stories didn't resonate for me as much as the ones I mentioned above, Patrick Ryan is a tremendously talented writer, and he created some memorable characters and situations I really enjoyed reading about. Although I felt that a few of the stories could have taken place anywhere and the connection with Cape Canaveral almost felt like an afterthought, it is the foibles of the human heart and our interactions with lovers, colleagues, family members, children, and strangers that powered these stories and imbued them with impact.

I am continually amazed at the immense talent among those individuals writing short stories today, and Ryan definitely belongs in this community. If you like short stories, this is a collection worth reading, even if you're not a space enthusiast. I look forward to seeing what's next in his career.

Book Review: "The Last Pilot" by Benjamin Johncock

Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks to Picador for making it available!

In The Last Pilot, Benjamin Johncock brings a true-to-life, "you are there" feeling to the fictionalized story of Jim Harrison, a test pilot for the U.S. Air Force, who in the late 1940s and 1950s was one of the elite few attempting to break the sound barrier. It was a dangerous task, one that led to countless pilot deaths and injuries, but the risk was worth the potential reward.

Harrison and his wife Grace live in the middle of the Mojave Desert along with the other pilots risking their lives for this achievement. And if the worry over the potential harm that could come to Jim wasn't enough, the couple is struggling with fertility issues, although they want so desperately to have a baby. And when Grace miraculously becomes pregnant, Jim puts aside the chance to become one of the nation's first astronauts so he can help raise the couple's daughter, Florence.

When tragedy strikes, Jim must decide whether to pursue the opportunity to join the Space Race, or wallow in the sadness and guilt that threaten to envelop him. But although he has shown tremendous bravery and fortitude in the face of amazing risk and danger, he is utterly unprepared for how hiding his pain may come to haunt him, not to mention the effect a life in the public spotlight will have on his marriage.

Jim appears alongside such real-life astronauts as John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Jim Lovell, Chuck Yeager, and Deke Slayton, but his inclusion in their story never seems false. This is a tremendously well-researched and interesting look at the U.S. in the midst of the Space Race, and how the astronauts dealt with all they faced. But beyond that, this is a book about how dangerous unacknowledged feelings of guilt can be, and the harm that comes from the things that remain unsaid. It's a powerful look at grief and loss, and the need to come to terms with one's feelings.

If you're interested in the early days of the Space Race and never tire of movies like The Right Stuff and Apollo 13, this might be a book for you. Johncock goes into immense detail to provide context, but even while he's immersing you in facts, he's also capturing emotions as accurately. Maybe it was all of the detail that numbed this book's appeal for me; while I thought it was well-written, it just didn't grab me as I had hoped it might, but I've seen many other 4- and 5-star reviews, so it might just be me.

Movie Review: "Interstellar"

With Interstellar, his first film since 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan attempts to answer whether the world is ready to be saved by Matthew McConaughey. (You know the answer is "alright, alright, alright.") In all seriousness though, this is a movie that makes you think, and leaves you with as many questions as it does answers.

It's the not-too-distant future, and our world has been affected by extreme climate changes (go figure) which are making food, water, and breathable air a scarcity. A blight has permanently killed off many crops, and the air is thick with clouds of dust nearly all the time. Cooper (McConaughey), a former astronaut until NASA was shut down by the government, is a reluctant farmer, raising his two children alongside his taciturn father-in-law (John Lithgow). He wants more for his children—his teenage son could be an engineer, and his 10-year-old daughter, Murph, is tremendously gifted, but this isn't what society needs anymore.

Cooper and Murph stumble upon a group of scientists led by Professor Brand (Michael Caine) who have discovered a mysterious hole in the space-time continuum, which they are hoping to exploit in order to find a solution to the problems facing the world. Brand convinces Cooper (much to Murph's chagrin) to pilot a space mission through this hole, beyond our solar system, in order to find a planet that can sustain life and thus save the human race from eventual extinction. But this is a mission which will force Cooper and his fellow explorers (Anne Hathaway, Wes Bentley, and David Gyasi) to confront the realities of time, since everything they do takes longer in real time than it does in space, thus putting those they're trying to save at further risk. They also are forced to make some harsh decisions about the directions the mission should take.

Interstellar delves into more of a scientific explanation for what the explorers are doing, and why what they does matters in specific issues. A lot of that explanation went over my head, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of this movie. (I did wonder whether what the characters were saying was accurate or not.) And the way the story concludes dealt with other dimensions and things I couldn't quite grasp but I got the gist of it. (Some of it, at least.)

At just under three hours, Interstellar is a bit longer than it needs to be, and at times I felt that Nolan wasn't sure whether this movie was a sci-fi thriller, an action movie, or an exploration of relationships against the backdrop of the all-too-fleeting amount of time we have in our lives. It definitely raised some big questions for me, however. Is love the strongest force of all? Do you work for the good of the few, or good of the many? Is it more dangerous to let people believe they're doing the right thing than tell them they're not?

The performances are good, particularly at emotional points in the film, but I felt like nearly every actor didn't have to stretch themselves too far. After a brief hiatus into other characters, McConaughey is back to his usual brand of McConaughey-ness in this movie. He's a talented actor, and he has some wonderful scenes, but at times, he almost seems like a caricature of himself. Hathaway is appropriately taciturn given that the weight of the world lies on the success of their mission, although she, too, has some good moments. Jessica Chastain hasn't quite pulled herself out of her Zero Dark Thirty character (which isn't a bad thing), but again, when dealing with her character's emotions, she is quite strong.

As I've remarked more times than I can count, I am a total sap, so you can bet the parts of the movie that dealt with McConaughey's wanting to fight for a better world for his children, and his sadness at missing out on so much hit me hard. But in the end, while this wasn't Nolan's strongest movie, I really enjoyed this, and I can't stop thinking about it.

Movie Review: "Gravity"

At one point in Gravity, mission specialist Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) says, "I hate space." And given what she has to endure in this movie, you certainly can't blame her for that statement!

When the movie opens, Stone, a medical engineer on a special mission for NASA, and seasoned astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney, in full Buzz Lightyear mode), who is on his last trip to space, are doing some routine repairs on their spacecraft. You hear the constant chatter of communication with Houston (the familiar voice of Ed Harris at Mission Control) and those on the spacecraft, and Kowalski shares anecdotes that everyone has heard hundreds of times, yet there is a comforting familiarity to all of it.

And suddenly things change: Mission Control reports that a Russian satellite has exploded, causing of chain of debris to fly through space at high speeds. Kowalski and his crew are warned to abort their mission and return to their spacecraft immediately, but because of some glitches, it's too late—they are hit by the debris and the ship is lost. At first, Stone becomes untethered and finds herself hurtling through space, panicking, because she thinks (rightfully so) she might be lost forever. (This is the scene most people have seen in the movie's trailer.)

But thanks to Kowalski's calm guidance (and some pretty cool space acrobatics), the two are able to reconnect with each other and need to head toward a nearby Russian Soyuz spacecraft to get home. And then pretty much everything else goes wrong.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Gravity. I loved director Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men, so I know he has an amazing way of transfixing you both with action and emotion, but how could you sustain interest in a movie that's about someone lost in space? But obviously, this movie is about so much more—it's about courage, letting go, not giving up, and the amazing beauty of outer space.

So many movies these days are shown in 3D, and it makes little difference to the movie experience. (Ahem, Great Gatsby, ahem.) But with Gravity, the 3D effects are so brilliant, they truly enhance the movie. You honestly feel as if the space debris is flying at you. (Yeah, I ducked once or twice. Or maybe four times.) And the way things float in zero gravity—from pens and files to human tears—is visually brilliant but relevant to the story as it unfolds as well.

I love Sandra Bullock and while I may have am still grumbled a bit when she won the Oscar for Blind Side a few years ago, she gives what might be her strongest performance to date in this film. It's panic and emotion and bravery and reckless abandon, and it's absolutely mesmerizing. George Clooney is, as always, a presence—I remarked after the movie that it's still hard to reconcile the Clooney of today with the Clooney of Facts of Life or Roseanne—although I always sensed his star quality.

Is this a perfect film? No, not quite. I did roll my eyes a tiny bit at the continued chain of bad luck that Bullock's character was handed, and kept waiting for another shoe to drop every time. But it is a tremendously moving and visually brilliant film, definitely among the best I've seen so far this year. And this would be a much-deserved Oscar nomination for Bullock, that much I can say.