The Last Astronaut
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- Create Date：2021-06-15 09:53:09
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：David Wellington
- ISBN：0356512290
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Summary
Mission Commander Sally Jansen is Earth’s last astronaut–and last hope–in this gripping near-future thriller where a mission to make first contact becomes a terrifying struggle for survival in the depths of space。
Sally Jansen was NASA’s leading astronaut， until a mission to Mars ended in disaster。 Haunted by her failure， she lives in quiet anonymity， convinced her days in space are over。
She’s wrong。
A large alien object has entered the solar system on a straight course toward Earth。 It has made no attempt to communicate and is ignoring all incoming transmissions。
Out of time and out of options， NASA turns to Jansen。 For all the dangers of the mission， it’s the shot at redemption she always longed for。
But as the object slowly begins to reveal its secrets， one thing becomes horribly clear: the future of humanity lies in Jansen’s hands。
Sally Jansen was NASA’s leading astronaut， until a mission to Mars ended in disaster。 Haunted by her failure， she lives in quiet anonymity， convinced her days in space are over。
She’s wrong。
A large alien object has entered the solar system on a straight course toward Earth。 It has made no attempt to communicate and is ignoring all incoming transmissions。
Out of time and out of options， NASA turns to Jansen。 For all the dangers of the mission， it’s the shot at redemption she always longed for。
But as the object slowly begins to reveal its secrets， one thing becomes horribly clear: the future of humanity lies in Jansen’s hands。
Reviews
Lance
，
Interesting read。 What happens when the worms grow and a nutritious Earth lies so close？
Beth
，
It was okay - it took me a long time to get through because I had checked it out on Overdrive and didn't get it done in enough time， and of course someone had it on hold。 I wasn't really wowed by it， and I think that if I didn't finish it， I wouldn't have noticed。 At first， I liked the idea of where the author was going with the whole "this is an actual account， wink wink" vibe， but I think it fell apart。 He would have quotes from characters - kind of like a documentary style - but then the char It was okay - it took me a long time to get through because I had checked it out on Overdrive and didn't get it done in enough time， and of course someone had it on hold。 I wasn't really wowed by it， and I think that if I didn't finish it， I wouldn't have noticed。 At first， I liked the idea of where the author was going with the whole "this is an actual account， wink wink" vibe， but I think it fell apart。 He would have quotes from characters - kind of like a documentary style - but then the characters ended up dying， so I'm unclear of when they would give that kind of quote。 。。。more
Mike Welch
，
The Last AstronautOnce I started the story I had to keep reading to find out how the author would bring the story to a close 。 The end was good and the story was leading to the final climax。 So if you like sci-fi you'll probably like this。 The Last AstronautOnce I started the story I had to keep reading to find out how the author would bring the story to a close 。 The end was good and the story was leading to the final climax。 So if you like sci-fi you'll probably like this。 。。。more
Fabrizio Cantoni
，
Reminded me of the classic sci fi novels I have read but with a modern view regarding technology。
Zora
，
This was okay， more of an idea book than a character-driven book that explores human nature by exploring the Other （what I like about SF）。 But it didn't have any wit， as The Martian did。 Just monsters， really。 It felt written to be optioned by the movies， and the characters were good enough for the movies， but not really for novels。 Multiple viewpoints， multiple interruptions of a journalistic sort for no good reason I could see。 This was okay， more of an idea book than a character-driven book that explores human nature by exploring the Other （what I like about SF）。 But it didn't have any wit， as The Martian did。 Just monsters， really。 It felt written to be optioned by the movies， and the characters were good enough for the movies， but not really for novels。 Multiple viewpoints， multiple interruptions of a journalistic sort for no good reason I could see。 。。。more
Chris Mcneal
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Really solid Big Dumb Object story！ I’m always on the hunt for new BDO books and this one was a page turner！ Kind of a less nihilistic Blindsight vibe going on。 Awesome！
Nina The Wandering Reader
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When I picked up "The Last Astronaut" in search of an alien encounter plot， I hadn’t expected the story to grab me as intensely as it did！Set in the near-future year of 2057 （or more specifically， the year many of us Millennials will be in our 60s and 70s）， an unknown space object enters our solar system and is believed to be an alien starship。 Keeping it secret from the public while considering the best course of action， NASA seeks out Commander Sally Jansen， a veteran astronaut haunted by a fa When I picked up "The Last Astronaut" in search of an alien encounter plot， I hadn’t expected the story to grab me as intensely as it did！Set in the near-future year of 2057 （or more specifically， the year many of us Millennials will be in our 60s and 70s）， an unknown space object enters our solar system and is believed to be an alien starship。 Keeping it secret from the public while considering the best course of action， NASA seeks out Commander Sally Jansen， a veteran astronaut haunted by a failed space mission to Mars twenty years in her past。 In spite of her hesitancy， NASA wants Sally--along with three other scientists--on the mission to identify and try to communicate with the strange alien object。 But the crew quickly learns that this space object is nothing like their preconceived notions of an alien spacecraft。 What they’ve encountered is far worse， putting planet Earth in grave danger。If you love flawed and brilliant female protagonists， space missions， science jargon， suspense， and a unique otherworldly encounter experienced from multiple perspectives， I recommend this book right here！ 。。。more
Rick
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 There was a good story in here， but it got lost among the cliches。 TBH， I listened to the audiobook and the narrator seemed to have taken the tension out of it。 The Maguffin is weak。 I really did not care for the “unexpected twist” at the end。 Throughout the book we’ve been lead to believe certain people are still alive， when in fact they are not。
Ellie
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For me this book was wonderfully escapist， it did not require any thought， any scrutiny or ponderings， all I had to do was delve right in and go along for the ride。 And the ride was horrible， nail biting， scary as hell and simply put， wonderfully awesome。 I enjoy a good scifi movie， but a well written scifi book is definitely so much better。
Barbara
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I love finding new authors and science fiction is my favorite genre to read， so I assumed that I would love this book。 But I didn't。 The premise is intriguing， and the aliens are amazing， and first contact scenarios can be really good。 But I couldn't get past how utterly unlikable the main character， Sally Jansen， was。Her motivations are less than stellar （pun not intended） and she doesn't have many redeeming qualities。 She feels guilt over the death of an astronaut on a mission she commanded， a I love finding new authors and science fiction is my favorite genre to read， so I assumed that I would love this book。 But I didn't。 The premise is intriguing， and the aliens are amazing， and first contact scenarios can be really good。 But I couldn't get past how utterly unlikable the main character， Sally Jansen， was。Her motivations are less than stellar （pun not intended） and she doesn't have many redeeming qualities。 She feels guilt over the death of an astronaut on a mission she commanded， and I know I should feel sympathy for her， but I really wish the focus of the book were on some of the minor characters like Parminder Rao， who at least were somewhat likable。First contact is made with a large object that is supposed to at first be an asteroid but later is revealed to be a spaceship。 Another crew has disappeared after initiating contact with the ship， and Jansen is sent to help them and possibly find out if the ship has evil intentions before the combined military forces on Earth nuke it。The structure of the book with running commentary by characters as if they're being interviewed， really put me off。 This is less science fiction and more fantasy because the laws of physics are routinely defied。 It's not bad--the alien lifeforms are really cool--but it's not the best， either。 。。。more
Samantha Colwell
，
Listened to this audiobook through my library’s Overdrive and can’t recommend it more。 It’s a suspenseful， engaging read that—though predictable for most Sci-fi-horror fans—kept me consistently interested and arrested by the action。 It’s fun， it’s spooky， and the narrator is superb。
Stacie
，
This was a good book。 Not as scary as I thought it was going to be but the writing was good and very descriptive。 If you like futuristic science fiction thriller before book I would read it。
Katelyn
，
This is the kind of story I'd love as a TV series。 When an alien spacecraft shows up near Earth， NASA and it's competitor Kspace each send crews to check it out and make first contact。 However at first the spaceship refuses to respond。 And then The Kspace crew disappear inside the alien ship and don't come back out。 Sally Jensen， NASA's last astronaut and the woman who lost the race to Mars when her mission ended in disaster， decides to to attempt a rescue mission， determined to redeem herself f This is the kind of story I'd love as a TV series。 When an alien spacecraft shows up near Earth， NASA and it's competitor Kspace each send crews to check it out and make first contact。 However at first the spaceship refuses to respond。 And then The Kspace crew disappear inside the alien ship and don't come back out。 Sally Jensen， NASA's last astronaut and the woman who lost the race to Mars when her mission ended in disaster， decides to to attempt a rescue mission， determined to redeem herself from her past failures。 Except everything goes wrong。The characters felt a little flat to me， but the plot was fascinating and kept me flipping page after page。 。。。more
Adam Osburn
，
Overall a good， intelligent book。 But I felt it is a book you could divide into thirds。 First 1/3 good， middle 1/3 really dull and last third very good。 So the middle 1/3 - why the author thought it was necessary to describe in detail a very long walk in the dark for so long I do not know。 But overall an enjoyable book。
Marco Lanzagorta
，
Return to RamaQuite good and very engrossing。 Brings to mind Arthur C Clarke’s Rama books， but at the end falls short。 The ending， for instance， feels very unsatisfactory。。。。
Andrew Camilleri
，
Good plot and interesting characters （although not that fleshed out）。 However， the ending felt a bit rushed。
Crystal Staley
，
Wow I really liked this！ A great sci-fi/horror about first contact with aliens。 An object has been making its way through space seemingly just an object， traveling at the same speed。。。until it starts to decelerate as it gets closer to Earth。 So a mission is launched to go check it out and see if they can communicate with it。 Things aren’t what they seem。 This was a dark and creepy story with lots of adventure。 I was on the edge of seat during several parts。 Definitely recommend if you’re looking Wow I really liked this！ A great sci-fi/horror about first contact with aliens。 An object has been making its way through space seemingly just an object， traveling at the same speed。。。until it starts to decelerate as it gets closer to Earth。 So a mission is launched to go check it out and see if they can communicate with it。 Things aren’t what they seem。 This was a dark and creepy story with lots of adventure。 I was on the edge of seat during several parts。 Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a darker sci-fi story。 。。。more
Malea
，
I'd give it 4 stars for the science fiction， but 0 for everything else。 I'd give it 4 stars for the science fiction， but 0 for everything else。 。。。more
Ashley Myers
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Tremors in deep space meets The Fantastic Voyage。 That's all I could think about when I read this one。 Not so great。 Tremors in deep space meets The Fantastic Voyage。 That's all I could think about when I read this one。 Not so great。 。。。more
Earle
，
I enjoyed The Last Astronaut for the most part; it has an interesting plot/story line， which is good on the "science" （believable， consistent with the story）。 Characters and dialogue are well done。 It's the ending， the conclusion of the story that feels somewhat simplistic and disappointing， but that is often the hardest part for this kind of story。 A good effort， and worthwhile for hard-core sci fi readers。 I enjoyed The Last Astronaut for the most part; it has an interesting plot/story line， which is good on the "science" （believable， consistent with the story）。 Characters and dialogue are well done。 It's the ending， the conclusion of the story that feels somewhat simplistic and disappointing， but that is often the hardest part for this kind of story。 A good effort， and worthwhile for hard-core sci fi readers。 。。。more
Charlie
，
The word-smithing of this book was good， and the premise was interesting。 And that's all the positive I can give。 I can enjoy a science-fiction book in which the characters are well-written， the science is solid， and/or the premise is interesting and well-developed。 The Last Astronaut was zero for three。 The early set-up of the book was good， and it seemed to be headed in a good direction。 My discomfort with the characters began， though， with the title character's shame and self-flagellation ove The word-smithing of this book was good， and the premise was interesting。 And that's all the positive I can give。 I can enjoy a science-fiction book in which the characters are well-written， the science is solid， and/or the premise is interesting and well-developed。 The Last Astronaut was zero for three。 The early set-up of the book was good， and it seemed to be headed in a good direction。 My discomfort with the characters began， though， with the title character's shame and self-flagellation over a random accident。 It felt as contrived as the unwarranted dislike most characters felt for the designated "bad guy" colleague。 As the story progressed， the characters crumpled up and self-destructed， one by one。The science collapsed with a single plot twist， though maybe the problem is my limited ability to suspend disbelief。 I can only ignore one or two magical premises， and then， only as long as the rest of the plot is self-consistent。 Instead， this book felt like the author changed his mind about what he was writing and decided not to rewrite the beginning of the book。 In recognition that my expectations are growing more and more particular， I didn't rate this book。 Clearly there are those who enjoy it， despite what I consider to be its problems。 。。。more
Emma Herrman
，
Thanks to my husband I have a new appreciation for space and the sci-fi genre as a whole。 We've watched a lot of near future space travel during the last year of the pandemic （you might say that we're trying to escape our current reality stuck on planet Earth， but I'm not a therapist so I'm not even going to open that can of worms）。 We've recently started watching For All Mankind which tells the story of the space race if Russia had won originally in the 1960s。 When I found this book on the shel Thanks to my husband I have a new appreciation for space and the sci-fi genre as a whole。 We've watched a lot of near future space travel during the last year of the pandemic （you might say that we're trying to escape our current reality stuck on planet Earth， but I'm not a therapist so I'm not even going to open that can of worms）。 We've recently started watching For All Mankind which tells the story of the space race if Russia had won originally in the 1960s。 When I found this book on the shelves of my library I thought I would give it a chance because in the antithesis of For All Mankind this book looks to the future of space travel and what would happen after a tragedy。Ok， so what happens？ Astronaut Sally Jansen was NASA's leading astronaut until the mission to Mars she was leading ended in disaster。 Now she's struggling to make amends。 Several decades after the disaster and the end of NASA's manned flights a mass is identified coming ever closer to our planet and it can control its acceleration and deceleration。 As the NASA's only remaining trained astronaut， Sally is called upon to investigate this new entity and see if they really do come in peace。 However， as Sally and her team learn more about the entity it becomes incredibly clear that this isn't a spaceship full of little green men。 It's much， much worse。Ok， so what did I think？ I couldn't help but think of another book I had read last year; Rendezvous with Rama。 Both stories are similar in that an unidentified flying object enters our solar system and a team of astronauts are sent into space to meet it halfway。 Throughout the course of both books both teams are able to enter into the approaching ships and learn a little bit more about the aliens inside。 However， Last Astronaut had a distinctly more horrific feeling to it。 While Rendezvous ended with no casualties and a general feeling of being a small fish in the ocean of the galaxy， Last Astronaut almost immediately launches you into the action。 The team NASA gathers is quickly thrown into space and into the belly of the beast。 In a scene straight out of Cloverfield， one of the scientists on board is immediately injured while exploring the ship and， for lack of a better word， literally explodes while the doctor on board attempts to patch him up。 It's a traumatic scene that is repeatedly returned to as Sally and her remaining astronauts continue to explore the hostile landscape of the approaching alien ship。For a book that is named after Sally Jansen， I was a little disappointed that Sally didn't have a more important role in the book。 Yes， she was one of the astronauts that explore the approaching ship （2I as NASA calls it or the Object as NASA competitor， KSpace， has named it）， but instead of the narrative sticking with Sally， it jumps from person to person including Roy McAllister， the man watching from the command desk back at NASA headquarters。 Some slight spoilers ahead so be mindful。 （view spoiler）[Sally goes up into space as the mission commander， but is quickly deposed and replaced with military meathead Hawkins。 （hide spoiler）] We rarely get to see much into Sally's mind except for the occasional angsty 'I must save my people to make up for my previous losses' and that more than anything was the most disappointing thing for me。Another issue I had was just the description of 2I。 Perhaps this is just a pitfall of writing about something that is literally out of this world， but I had trouble tracking what exactly the astronauts were looking at or where they were walking。 I will admit I had the same problem when I read Rendezvous， but it seemed more difficult to wrap my brain around the descriptions in Last Astronaut。 For example， during their second trip into he alien spacecraft Sally， Hawkins， and astrobiologist Parminder Rao traverse through what is described as a kind of forest where the arms of the trees are pretty much literally arms with hand-like appendages at the end of them。 You see where I'm coming from now？ Those hands would reach out for others kind of like how our brain sends electrical charges through a neuropathway （look at me ma， sounding all scientific with only an English degree to my name！）， but my brain just kept coming up with the image of literal trees with comical Mickey Mouse gloves at the end of the branches。Finally， I will say I enjoyed the layout of this book。 There's just something about a book that pretends like it was created in the timeframe of the story that I just love。 In the beginning there is a pseudo author's note from actual author David Wellington discussing how he has included interviews from "actual" characters like Rao and Sally to add some context to what was going on while within 2I。 Even the end of the book includes an extra little interview from Rao where she explains to the audience that it was her insistence that Wellington re-write his novel to include these insights in order to show how the team that went up into space， Sally Jansen included， were heroes。 As someone who still thinks about the Illuminae （catch the review I did for the series here） I love the idea of putting together a collection of fictional interviews， articles， and video transcripts into one cohesive story。 I just wish the rest of the book had been just as good。Long Story Short:-This is a horror space novel so if you don't like blood， guts， and fear maybe skip this one-We need more lady astronauts-Give me more books that are just collections of various pieces of media。 My lizard brain loves it。My Rating: 2/5The Literary Something | Bookstagram["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]> 。。。more
Matt
，
I hope you’ve read some of this author’s other books - because there is a huge link/twist if you know what to look for！ Loved it
Roland
，
While the premise of the book was interesting， the back and forth narration between chapters hurt the pacing and it was ultimately predictable。 There's a solid horror/SciFi element but the book never went too deeply in either genre to be satisfying for me。 While the premise of the book was interesting， the back and forth narration between chapters hurt the pacing and it was ultimately predictable。 There's a solid horror/SciFi element but the book never went too deeply in either genre to be satisfying for me。 。。。more
Darren Hardesty
，
Nice spin on the Rendezvous with Rama but did not really enjoy the book all that much。 In places it was a real slog and i often did not manage to keep the map of the world in my head。 Characters were very one dimensional and very predictable。 It is nice to see people writing "hard sci-fi" that is not just "The Martian" rip off but it needs to keep an interesting story and crawling around in the dark was not really doing that for me at times i felt the slog the astronauts were going through。 Nice spin on the Rendezvous with Rama but did not really enjoy the book all that much。 In places it was a real slog and i often did not manage to keep the map of the world in my head。 Characters were very one dimensional and very predictable。 It is nice to see people writing "hard sci-fi" that is not just "The Martian" rip off but it needs to keep an interesting story and crawling around in the dark was not really doing that for me at times i felt the slog the astronauts were going through。 。。。more
Mark Villendrup
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Fairly written， but plot is basically stolen from the book Rama。
Hugh Carter
，
This was like one of those movie tie-in books from the 80s and 90s but the movie was a direct-to-video knockoff of Alien。It felt like the author would rather have been writing a screenplay - the weird narrative style talking-head cutscenes that substitute for nuance and foreshadowing， the constant visual description of extremely derivative environments， the outlandishly clunky characterization and dialogue。 This was not good。 Go rewatch ANY movie from the Alien franchise， it'll be better than th This was like one of those movie tie-in books from the 80s and 90s but the movie was a direct-to-video knockoff of Alien。It felt like the author would rather have been writing a screenplay - the weird narrative style talking-head cutscenes that substitute for nuance and foreshadowing， the constant visual description of extremely derivative environments， the outlandishly clunky characterization and dialogue。 This was not good。 Go rewatch ANY movie from the Alien franchise， it'll be better than this。 。。。more
Arthur
，
For some reason it's not possible to give 1/2 stars。。 Kind of annoying since a 3 stars wouldn't be fair as it really wasn't 'that bad' but it wasn't a 4 star book either。 I really enjoyed the character development of Jansen， the protagonist in the story。 I liked the tech stuff and the space stuff （otherwise a sci-fi space novel wouldn't have been the best choice。。） and I was really sucked into the tension of 'finding the aliens' while Jansen's team wondered through the alien spaceship。 All good For some reason it's not possible to give 1/2 stars。。 Kind of annoying since a 3 stars wouldn't be fair as it really wasn't 'that bad' but it wasn't a 4 star book either。 I really enjoyed the character development of Jansen， the protagonist in the story。 I liked the tech stuff and the space stuff （otherwise a sci-fi space novel wouldn't have been the best choice。。） and I was really sucked into the tension of 'finding the aliens' while Jansen's team wondered through the alien spaceship。 All good so far。 Unfortunately the story took a turn that led me to loose interest in the 2nd part。 I guess I missed the refinement and details in the story。。 I caught myself hoping the book would end soon so I could start another one。。 a better one。 A while ago I read 'Gravity' by Tess Gerritsen。 Now this is one hell of a ride。 I haven't read a sci-fi novel that good ever since。 So if there's any suggestions out there。。 please help me out。 。。。more
Joliette Hernandez
，
What a Ride！！！ I was glued to this book。 Excellent plot and characters you can relate to。 The story line- Amazing。 Will definitely look out for David's next book。 👍💪 What a Ride！！！ I was glued to this book。 Excellent plot and characters you can relate to。 The story line- Amazing。 Will definitely look out for David's next book。 👍💪 。。。more
Mindy
，
Mixed reviewWell written interesting story， but 。。。 many things did not hold up for me。 First was basic psychology， the characters were to stereotypical。 Second， the alien having mechanical entrances but it’s a biological creature， that made no sense。 But if you don’t scrutinize too much， it was a good read。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Last Astronaut
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Last Astronaut&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Last Astronaut&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0