★ 02/06/2023
Wellington (The Last Astronaut ) skillfully combines hard sci-fi worldbuilding with tense mystery for a superior space thriller that never flags despite its length. United Earth Government Lt. Alexandra Petrova is introduced in the human colony of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede as she closes in on Jason Schmidt, the worst serial killer in Ganymede’s 100 year history. Her efforts are unexpectedly stymied by her superiors, and in the wake of her investigation’s untimely end, she’s exiled to Paradise-1, a fledgling human outpost 100 light years away, ostensibly to conduct a security analysis, and ensure that it’s “happy and productive.” En route, she and her two companions—Sam Parker, the commander of their transport, and doctor Zhang Lei—come under attack by an empty ship from the mysteriously abandoned Paradise-1, leading to a frantic struggle both to survive the assault and to understand what’s happened to the colony. Wellington excels at vivid descriptions (“The only light came from what reflected off the crescent of Jupiter, a thin arc of brown and orange that hung forever motionless in the night sky”), which further enhance the clever plot. Readers will be on the edges of their seats. Agent: Russell Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary. (Apr.)
"Wellington skillfully combines hard sci-fi worldbuilding with tense mystery for a superior space thriller that never flags...[he] excels at vivid descriptions, which further enhance the clever plot. Readers will be on the edges of their seats."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) Kirkus on The Last Astronaut BookPage The Last Astronaut propels us deep into the mysteries of space for a near-future SF/horror hybrid that's breathless, compulsive reading. This book deserves to be the one you see everyone reading on the subway or at the beach."—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of The Pandora Room and Ararat, on The Last Astronaut The Last Astronaut . Written with an uncompromising, white-knuckled pace, here is book that will leave you shaking and looking at the cold depths of space with equal parts horror and wonder."—James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crucible, on The Last Astronaut Caitlin Starling, author of The Luminous Dead, on The Last Astronaut Publishers Weekly (starred review) on The Last Astronaut B&N SciFi & Fantasy Blog, on The Last Astronaut The Last Astronaut bridges the worlds of science fiction and horror perfectly—Wellington melds the awe of discovery with the terror of the unknown to keep readers riveted to every page."—Fred Van Lente, New York Times bestselling author of The Con Artist, on The Last Astronaut Winnipeg Free Press Primmlife Just Another Damn Book Blog
04/01/2023
Special Agent Petrov and Dr. Lei Zhang have served their interstellar government with the best of intentions but not always with the best results. Both are being given another chance by being sent to Earth's first deep-space colony, Paradise-1, to provide a security overview. The second they are woken from their cryogenic travel sleep, their ship is under attack by frozen yams. Quickly orienting themselves and working with the ship's captain and its inventive and scene-stealing robot Rapscallion, the crew realizes that they are surrounded by dozens of ships that appear to be inexplicably devoid of life. As Wellington expertly balances a steady stream of increasingly dire action sequences, intensely creepy worldbuilding, satisfying character development, and an original monster stalking the protagonists, readers will be invested in the plot while coming to truly care about the characters along the way. VERDICT Wellington (The Last Astronaut ), one of the innovators of novel serializations, retains that spirit in this open-ended series starter. A solid entry in the popular space-horror subgenre, which will appeal to fans of S.A. Barnes and John Scalzi.
Timely and terrifying, The Last Astronaut propels us deep into the mysteries of space for a near-future SF/horror hybrid that's breathless, compulsive reading. This book deserves to be the one you see everyone reading on the subway or at the beach.
The Last Astronaut bridges the worlds of science fiction and horror perfectly—Wellington melds the awe of discovery with the terror of the unknown to keep readers riveted to every page.
This is sci-fi horror at its most terrifying-if only because the science behind it is grounded and all-too-possible.
on The Last Astronaut B&N SciFi & Fantasy Blog
If Stephen King had written a haunted house story set in space, it would look very much like The Last Astronaut . Written with an uncompromising, white-knuckled pace, here is book that will leave you shaking and looking at the cold depths of space with equal parts horror and wonder.
Wellington deftly plays with scale, from the aching intimacy of his human cast to the vastness of space and the enormity of their destination. Journey into a phantasmagorical alien landscape, where paranoia, loss, longing, and resolve interweave into endlessly shifting and always more terrifying configurations.
