Chris Hadfield

New York Times bestselling astronaut Chris Hadfield is back with an exceptional Cold War thriller from the dark heart of the Space Race. The far side of the Moon, 1973. Three astronauts are trapped in a tiny Apollo module, and one of them has murder on the mind . . . From internationally bestselling astronaut Chris Hadfield comes an exceptional Cold War thriller from the dark heart of the Space Race. As Russian and American crews sprint for a secret bounty hidden away on the Moon's surface, old rivalries blossom and the political stakes are stretched to breaking point back on Earth. Houston flight controller Kazimieras 'Kaz' Zemeckis must do all he can to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his Soviet rivals. But not everyone on board Apollo 18 is quite who they appear to be. Full of the fascinating technical detail that fans of The Martian loved, and reminiscent of the thrilling claustrophobia, twists and tension of The Hunt for Red October, The Apollo Murders puts you right there in the moment, a quarter of a million miles from home - a quarter of a million miles from help. Experience the fierce G-forces of launch, the frozen loneliness of Space and the fear of holding on to the outside of a spacecraft orbiting the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour, as told by a former Commander of the International Space Station who has done all of those things in real life. Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.

The Apollo Murders

Ed Kay

Well written, lots of 60s/70s Cold War intrigue and space race science, but just not that thrilling for a thriller. There was no clear hero, no one to root for, at times I wasn't even sure whether I was supposed to be on the side of the Russians or not. There was no detective work, no revelations by any of the characters really had any bearing on any other part of the plot, since one set of protagonists were on Earth and the others on the Moon. Meh

Good read. Took half the book to get through introductions, set the plot, and really get into the story. I flew through the second half of the book though. Lots of twists and turns.

A very educational piece of fiction. Gave me “The Martian” vibes.

Anna

An exceptional Cold War thriller from the dark heart of the Space Race, by astronaut and New York Times bestselling author Chris Hadfield 'An exciting journey to an alternate past' Andy Weir, author of The Martian 'Nail-biting' James Cameron, writer and director of Avatar and Titanic 'Not to be missed' Frederick Forsyth, author of The Day of the Jackal 'Explosive' Gregg Hurwitz, author of Orphan X 'Exciting, authentic' Linwood Barclay, author of Find You First '[A] stellar thrill ride' Chris Holm, author of The Killing Kind 'Gripping' John Verdon, author of the Dave Gurney series 'Relentlessly exciting' Stephen Mack Jones, author of August Snow 1973: a final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny module, a quarter of a million miles from home. A quarter of a million miles from help. As Russian and American crews sprint for a secret bounty hidden away on the lunar surface, old rivalries blossom and the political stakes are stretched to breaking point back on Earth. Houston flight controller Kazimieras 'Kaz' Zemeckis must do all he can to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his Soviet rivals. But not everyone on board Apollo 18 is quite who they appear to be. Full of fascinating technical detail, twists and tension, The Apollo Murders puts you right there in the moment. Experience the dark majesty of space, the fierce G-forces of launch and the rush of holding on to the outside of a spacecraft travelling at 17,000 mph, as told by a former Commander of the International Space Station who has done all of those things in real life. Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime.

A gripping Space-set thriller by a real-life astronaut

Fraser Simons

It is what it says it is: a commercial fiction Cold War romp with the specificity of hard science fiction. It does the thing. It’s a fun thing to consume. You need to be invested in either of those things to get much more out of it, I think. 

It’s far too granular on the details and intricacies of the technology for my tastes. I suppose I discovered that hard sci-fi and maybe astronaut fiction (is that a thing) is not something I care about all that much. 

It’s an entertaining book despite that though, which is a feat in of itself. And, tbh, any book that razes a Chad I’m behind. At an ideological level, you know?

Sarah | @sarahsbookcase

This is a wild book! I have always been so interested in reading novels about space (fiction and nonfiction) so this was right up my alley! SO much action in this space exploration journey and the author was amazing at providing intricate details about space. Characters were great and I felt like I was involved in the story! Great pick!

Alison McCormack

Excellent book! Wasn’t 100% what I was anticipating as I wasn’t expecting it to be so political but overall it was still very enjoyable.

An exceptional debut thriller and "exciting journey" into the dark heart of the Cold War and the space race from New York Times bestselling author and astronaut Chris Hadfield (Andy Weir, author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary). 1973: a final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny spaceship, a quarter million miles from home. A quarter million miles from help. NASA is about to launch Apollo 18. While the mission has been billed as a scientific one, flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis knows there is a darker objective. Intelligence has discovered a secret Soviet space station spying on America, and Apollo 18 may be the only chance to stop it. But even as Kaz races to keep the NASA crew one step ahead of their Russian rivals, a deadly accident reveals that not everyone involved is quite who they were thought to be. With political stakes stretched to the breaking point, the White House and the Kremlin can only watch as their astronauts collide on the lunar surface, far beyond the reach of law or rescue. Full of the fascinating technical detail that fans of The Martian loved, and reminiscent of the thrilling claustrophobia, twists, and tension of The Hunt for Red October, The Apollo Murders is a high-stakes thriller unlike any other. Chris Hadfield captures the fierce G-forces of launch, the frozen loneliness of space, and the fear of holding on to the outside of a spacecraft orbiting the Earth at 17,000 miles per hour as only someone who has experienced all of these things in real life can. Strap in and count down for the ride of a lifetime. "Packed with cosmic action... Featuring undercover spies, scheming Russians and psychopathic murderers, sometimes all at once, it teems with authoritative details." --The New York Times "Nail-biting . . . I couldn't put it down." --James Cameron, writer and director of Avatar and Titanic "Not to be missed." --Frederick Forsyth, author of The Day of the Jackal "An explosive thriller by a writer who has actually been to space . . . Strap in for the ride!" --Gregg Hurwitz, author of Orphan X

The Apollo Murders

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