Two SF powerhouses team up for this near-future thriller that touches on one of the great conspiracy theories of our time: that NASA is keeping secrets about the Apollo program. When Jerry Culpepper, NASA public-relations director, listens to an audio recording that seems to reveal that NASA put an astronaut on the moon six months before Neil Armstong's one small step, he's inclined to dismiss it as some sort of joke. Why would NASA keep something like that a secret for 50 years? But, as more evidence appears, Jerry is forced to question everything he believes in: NASA, the space program, even himself. This is an extremely well told tale in which the authors dispense information a bit at a time, in the manner of a police procedural, and Culpepper is a well-designed character, an idealist (but not an idiot) with whom readers will find it easy to empathize. Bucky Blackstone, the larger-than-life billionaire who's planning his own manned mission to the moon (similarities to certain real-life individuals are surely not coincidental), is colorful and difficult to pin down: Is he a galumphing good guy, unaware of the confusion he's causing, or is he a devious villain? And the story's astounding conclusion is wildly imaginative but also completely believable. Readers, be warned to get comfortable before opening the book. You could put it down at some point, perhaps, but why on earth would you want to?
Thursday, February 14, 2013
The Cassandra project
by Jack McDevitt (Get the Book)
Two SF powerhouses team up for this near-future thriller that touches on one of the great conspiracy theories of our time: that NASA is keeping secrets about the Apollo program. When Jerry Culpepper, NASA public-relations director, listens to an audio recording that seems to reveal that NASA put an astronaut on the moon six months before Neil Armstong's one small step, he's inclined to dismiss it as some sort of joke. Why would NASA keep something like that a secret for 50 years? But, as more evidence appears, Jerry is forced to question everything he believes in: NASA, the space program, even himself. This is an extremely well told tale in which the authors dispense information a bit at a time, in the manner of a police procedural, and Culpepper is a well-designed character, an idealist (but not an idiot) with whom readers will find it easy to empathize. Bucky Blackstone, the larger-than-life billionaire who's planning his own manned mission to the moon (similarities to certain real-life individuals are surely not coincidental), is colorful and difficult to pin down: Is he a galumphing good guy, unaware of the confusion he's causing, or is he a devious villain? And the story's astounding conclusion is wildly imaginative but also completely believable. Readers, be warned to get comfortable before opening the book. You could put it down at some point, perhaps, but why on earth would you want to?
Two SF powerhouses team up for this near-future thriller that touches on one of the great conspiracy theories of our time: that NASA is keeping secrets about the Apollo program. When Jerry Culpepper, NASA public-relations director, listens to an audio recording that seems to reveal that NASA put an astronaut on the moon six months before Neil Armstong's one small step, he's inclined to dismiss it as some sort of joke. Why would NASA keep something like that a secret for 50 years? But, as more evidence appears, Jerry is forced to question everything he believes in: NASA, the space program, even himself. This is an extremely well told tale in which the authors dispense information a bit at a time, in the manner of a police procedural, and Culpepper is a well-designed character, an idealist (but not an idiot) with whom readers will find it easy to empathize. Bucky Blackstone, the larger-than-life billionaire who's planning his own manned mission to the moon (similarities to certain real-life individuals are surely not coincidental), is colorful and difficult to pin down: Is he a galumphing good guy, unaware of the confusion he's causing, or is he a devious villain? And the story's astounding conclusion is wildly imaginative but also completely believable. Readers, be warned to get comfortable before opening the book. You could put it down at some point, perhaps, but why on earth would you want to?
