The Apollo Murders: 1

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Chris’ talents go beyond space exploration and flying. His singing and guitar skills were displayed while on the ISS. He recorded some music videos and even recorded a whole album while on the station. He’s been a TV show host, notably leading the series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes. The show saw contestants competing for Chris’ endorsement on their applications for astronaut to the European Space Agency. Before The Apollo Murders, he was already an accomplished author. His previous publications include a children’s book (The Darkest Dark), a book of photographs from orbit ( You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes: Photographs from the International Space Station), and his autobiography ( An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth) which he also read the audiobook for. Chris Hadfield is a Canadian former military test pilot and astronaut with a string of accomplishments in space, including being a mission specialist, operating the first Canadian robotic arm, doing spacewalks, flying on a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft, visiting the Russian space station MIR, and commanding the International Space Station. Hadfield even made a video of himself singing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” on the International Space Station (available on YouTube). The designated Apollo 18 astronauts are Tom Hoffman, Luke Hemming, and Michael Esdale, and the benign goal is for Tom and Luke to walk on the Moon and collect samples while Michael pilots the lunar orbiter. Hadfield manages to find a balance between the narrative tension involved in a thriller with the technical details space enthusiasts will be looking for. Chris Hadfield, the former Canadian astronaut, is the latest to venture from fact to fiction. The author of the well-received An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth about his life and the lessons learned from his spaceflight career, he’s now written what would best be described as a historical spaceflight thriller in The Apollo Murders.

Commander Hadfield takes us on an exciting journey into an alternate past. And who better to write about astronauts than an astronaut himself!" - Andy Weir, New York Times bestselling author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary An exceptional debut thriller and "exciting journey" into the dark heart of the space race from New York Times bestselling author and astronaut Chris Hadfield (Andy Weir, author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary).

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. I’ll never feel the same way again looking up into the sky at night, knowing that somewhere up there there could be people like Luke, Chad even Svetlana looking down on Earth going about their duties.

It’s not uncommon for retired astronauts to take pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and write a book. Most are memoirs about how they became astronauts and highlights of astronaut careers. Some turn their attention to other topics, like spaceflight or issues related to or inspired by it. A few even try their hand at fiction, like Buzz Aldrin, who teamed with John Barnes for the sci-fi novels Encounter with Tiber and The Return.A fun thriller that satisfied me scientifically. Non-science nerds are going to complain about the info-dumps, whereas I was thinking, “tell me more about the combustion process”. Colonel Chris Hadfield is one of the most seasoned and accomplished astronauts in the world. A multiple New York Times bestselling author, his books have sold over a million copies worldwide. He was the top test pilot in both the US Air Force and the US Navy, and a Cold War fighter pilot intercepting armed Soviet bombers in North American airspace. A veteran of three spaceflights, he crewed the US Space Shuttle twice, piloted the Russian Soyuz, helped build space station Mir, conducted two space walks, and served as Commander of the International Space Station. He was also NASA's Director of Operations in Russia.

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. Chris Hadfield's An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth was definitely one of the more interesting and compelling memoir of sorts that I've read - or rather listened to. Narrated by Hadfield himself in a very welcoming and approachable manner, it was thoroughly insightful and had more life lessons that I found relevant compared to a lot of self-help books out there. When I saw that Hadfield had written a debut mystery/thriller novel involving astronauts and a mission to the Moon, I was naturally intrigued given his firsthand knowledge. The author, Chris Hadfield, is an actual astronaut! So this book is as close to reality as you can get, for a fictional story on account of moon-landing that is. My one slight issue was the overly technical explanations that peppered the plot sometimes to the extent I skimmed past it-however for those who are really into outer space and all that goes with it this would definitely be a plus so a subjective downside.The next part is where it really gets messy, but I’ll keep it vague to avoid spoilers. Let’s just say that things don’t go well when Apollo 18 tries to sabotage the Soviet station, and there is absolute chaos for a few minutes as well a high probability that the space capsule has been damaged. A bunch of other shit has gone wrong as well, but despite it all, the astronauts go ahead and hit the Go-To-The-Moon button to do their burn for lunar orbit. Even when NASA gets involved again, they learn that the capsule has so many issues that it makes the Apollo 13 mission look like a cakewalk by comparison. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. His writing is incredible, his characters are so believable and well-developed in their strengths, flaws and humanity and his dialogue is true to the characters. You're present with the characters whether it's in the control room, Apollo 18 or the Universal Joint. What would you do if you were tasked to go to space in 1972? What challenges do you think you would encounter? What would you do if you saw your enemy in a spaceship next to yours? These questions are among the many posed in this month’s book review choice, The Apollo Murders.