ARC Review - Detour by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart
Detour
by Jeff Rake & Rob Hart
Genre: Sci-Fi
Age Range: Adult
Series: Detour
Goodreads Avg. Rating: 3.85 stars
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3.5 stars
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The first section of this Sci-Fi/Thriller is starting off slowly. Mostly, as it is getting the introduction and setup done for the space mission itself. Even though it’s not said in the description, I do have an idea of what to expect here. We will see how it is accomplished and pulled off.
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The Starblazer flight is set to be the longest manned mission in history. Taking two years round-trip, six crew members will launch a satellite into Titan’s orbit to collect surface data of the moon. The hope is that in the near future, humanity will be able to create a settlement there. After some hiccups during training, the mission seems to be going rather smoothly. However, as the crew reaches Titan, a glitch in the navigation and a minor explosion occur as they are rounding the dark side of the moon. Making it back as hero’s the six crew members start to notice that something is very wrong.
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This book follows several characters, the six astronauts you're told about, as well as the billionaire, with a few more sprinkled in.
We are first introduced to John Ward, billionaire CEO and presidential hopeful.
Ryan Crane is a police officer in Washington, D.C. who just happened to be in the right place. After rushing a would-be assassin, Crane is offered a spot on the Starblazer crew.
Padma Singh is an astrophysicist who works for NASA and John Ward on the Starblazer project. It was actually her brainchild and whole focus to get a settlement for humanity on Titan. Courtney Smith, aka Stitch, was the person lucky enough to win the lottery held for the final spot on the mission. Stitch is an artist, kind-hearted and not at all what people expect at first glance. Mike Seaver is the first career astronaut we meet. He has been with NASA for over 20 years and has become a bit of an alcoholic. It seems to be an open secret, but he is still considered one of the best. Della Jameson is another astronaut with two decades under her belt. She is often the clear-headed, reasonable member trying to get everyone to work together. Alonso Cardona is the youngest of the astronauts.
The description and plot summary don’t give that much detail to the characters themselves. I even tried to limit the information about the characters here, but that is mostly because there are several, and that would be a huge section. Each of the characters has to go through something emotional and trying, mostly before the book begins. For two of them, I think the internal struggle is a big part of their story arc. While I think these familial connections were important, it also seemed to be a main focus for some characters more than their actual personalities, career fields, or intelligence levels. This might sound weird, as they were astronauts, but normally, an astronaut isn’t their only field. It could just be a me thing, but it seems that something was sacrificed just to make it so much about that one aspect.
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Well, after finishing the book, this is a story that could have been more. It still came out to be 3.5 stars because it was generally a fun read. However, the only time I would think about the story is when actively reading it.
Since this is the first book in a series and was completely planned that way from the “TO BE CONTINUED” that the book ends on, we could have spent more time with details and actual science, maybe. Then a good point to leave off on would be the actual return home and realization as the cliff hanger for the next book.
Maybe if I hadn’t known what one of the writers was more known for, then I wouldn’t have thought it. But I can’t be sure as the scenes of the book played out in a way that would be great on TV. That was a somewhat dominating thought in the latter part of the book. This is going fine, but it’s not deep will work well for the show.
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| 3.5 stars |
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The first section of this Sci-Fi/Thriller is starting off slowly. Mostly, as it is getting the introduction and setup done for the space mission itself. Even though it’s not said in the description, I do have an idea of what to expect here. We will see how it is accomplished and pulled off.
.png)
The Starblazer flight is set to be the longest manned mission in history. Taking two years round-trip, six crew members will launch a satellite into Titan’s orbit to collect surface data of the moon. The hope is that in the near future, humanity will be able to create a settlement there. After some hiccups during training, the mission seems to be going rather smoothly. However, as the crew reaches Titan, a glitch in the navigation and a minor explosion occur as they are rounding the dark side of the moon. Making it back as hero’s the six crew members start to notice that something is very wrong.
.png)
This book follows several characters, the six astronauts you're told about, as well as the billionaire, with a few more sprinkled in.
We are first introduced to John Ward, billionaire CEO and presidential hopeful. Ryan Crane is a police officer in Washington, D.C. who just happened to be in the right place. After rushing a would-be assassin, Crane is offered a spot on the Starblazer crew. Padma Singh is an astrophysicist who works for NASA and John Ward on the Starblazer project. It was actually her brainchild and whole focus to get a settlement for humanity on Titan. Courtney Smith, aka Stitch, was the person lucky enough to win the lottery held for the final spot on the mission. Stitch is an artist, kind-hearted and not at all what people expect at first glance. Mike Seaver is the first career astronaut we meet. He has been with NASA for over 20 years and has become a bit of an alcoholic. It seems to be an open secret, but he is still considered one of the best. Della Jameson is another astronaut with two decades under her belt. She is often the clear-headed, reasonable member trying to get everyone to work together. Alonso Cardona is the youngest of the astronauts.
The description and plot summary don’t give that much detail to the characters themselves. I even tried to limit the information about the characters here, but that is mostly because there are several, and that would be a huge section. Each of the characters has to go through something emotional and trying, mostly before the book begins. For two of them, I think the internal struggle is a big part of their story arc. While I think these familial connections were important, it also seemed to be a main focus for some characters more than their actual personalities, career fields, or intelligence levels. This might sound weird, as they were astronauts, but normally, an astronaut isn’t their only field. It could just be a me thing, but it seems that something was sacrificed just to make it so much about that one aspect.
.png)
Well, after finishing the book, this is a story that could have been more. It still came out to be 3.5 stars because it was generally a fun read. However, the only time I would think about the story is when actively reading it.
Since this is the first book in a series and was completely planned that way from the “TO BE CONTINUED” that the book ends on, we could have spent more time with details and actual science, maybe. Then a good point to leave off on would be the actual return home and realization as the cliff hanger for the next book.
Maybe if I hadn’t known what one of the writers was more known for, then I wouldn’t have thought it. But I can’t be sure as the scenes of the book played out in a way that would be great on TV. That was a somewhat dominating thought in the latter part of the book. This is going fine, but it’s not deep will work well for the show.
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