The Last Astronaut is a lot of things. Let’s start form the
top. It’s a near future sci-fi novel, in a world where, after a Mars mission
ends in Challenger-esque tragedy, NASA has ceased human space exploration. Decades
later, however, the commander of that doomed mission has been pressed into
service, to investigate an alien object falling into our solar system. Things,
as you may expect, do not go entirely to plan.
Though this is an ensemble story, I want to say up front
that the standout for me was Sally Jansen, the commander whose catastrophic
mission to Mars ended government-funded human spaceflight decades before the
story takes place. The Jansen we have before us is someone struggling with
themselves. With their own guilt, of course. But also with failure, with having
come close to living a dream, of embodying her own goals, and then seeing those
taken away. Not only that, but seeing that failure cascade, and strip away not
only her dream of going to Mars, but everyone else’s. Jansen is outwardly still
a woman at the top of her game, even if the game is over. A leader, who can
make hard decisions, think fast and act fast when she has to. And all of that
is true. She absolutely kicks arse, and it is a sight to see. The story isn’t
afraid to let her off the leash, to let her show her expertise, to let her
drive her own story.
But she’s also walking on thin ice. There are cracks in the façade
that we can see in her narration. The need to save others. To take the weight
of the shame and guilt for those she couldn’t save. The wish for redemption.
And its to the text’s credit that we can root for Jansen, even as we recognise
that the pressures that have shaped her may have been catastrophic; that she
is, internally, treading on thin ice. To her credit though, Jansen is smart,
resilient, and willing to pick herself up off the mat – both physically and
mentally. The mixture here is just right – giving us a protagonist we can
believe was a hero, with more than enough of the flaws that make us human.
Jansen is aided, of course, by a delightful ensemble cast,
including her new crew, some of who have secrets of their own.. There’s the
secretive military man, of course, but there’s also an effervescent scientist,
whose discovery of the object, and dream of going into space has catapulted him
into the big leagues. And the naïve researcher into xeno-bilogy with an
intellect so razor sharp she might just cut herself on it. They’re an odd crew,
and they definitely have their quirks, their mysteries, their moments of
difficulty. But along with the ground control team, they’re our emissaries to
whatever is heading toward us.
Of course, that relies on them being able to get there
first.
The text has an interesting narrative style; parts are written
from the viewpoints of the characters in the moment, and the visceral immediacy
of those sections hit like a freight train. Smaller sections are apparently
produced ex post facto, written or recorded as an after action report for an
event which looks set to change humanity forever. The contrast in tone, the implacable dry
bureaucracy of the reports, blended with the intimate horrors of the larger
chapters, not only kept my attention, but left me wondering what happened next –
looking for the reality under the formality of the reports and recordings,
looking for the indescribable in the layers beneath the formal reality.
This works really well for the earlier portions of the text,
as both we and our characters are brought up to speed. Trying to guess what
happened before it does, trying to understand what the after action reports,
the video transcripts, the scattered future artefacts are telling us.We, and
the characters, are caught up in the challenge, in the desire and dream of
space, of seeing what’s out there. Of touching down on something truly alien.
Of understanding, perhaps, that we’re not alone, and what that means. It’s
energetic and optimistic and an absolute pleasure to read, as everyone works together
to see what they can find outside the surly bonds of earth.
I won’t spoil anything here, but I’ll say this. The world
drawn here is top-notch. The sections in corporate America, and the government
facilities of Nasa, will send a tremor of familiarity through anyone who’s ever
been to either .The clinical construction of a mission, mixed with the spirit
of adventure and attitude that makes it work. You can see the people striding
forward, torch in hand, and you can see the world around them – ours. Once they
reach the object, things change. Again, no spoilers. But here the strange, the
unusual is what stands out, alongside the familiar. It shocks at the same time
that it seems tantalisingly within our grasp. The atmosphere is electric, and
the object is tantalisingly alien. Jansen and her team are somewhere strange,
where the rules don’t apply – less a frontier than a different frame of
reference.
In sum, I’m saying this: the characters are very human, and the
object is absolutely, vividly not. What happens when the two meet, is something
else entirely.
This is a book about discovery. About heroism in dark, dark
places. About doing what you have to, in order to survive, about courage, and
about duty. It’s about loss, as well, and love, and the things that make us the
same and different. The intimate horrors that we share with each other, and the
triumphs that get us through the day. It’s a very human story, and one that,
once it has you in its grip, isn’t going to let you go until it’s done.
If you’re looking for some hard sci-fi, blended with the best
of humanity as well as downright, primeval horror, then this is the book for
you.
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