This was my first John Nance book. The premise/jacket cover sounded great, but I don't think Mr. Nance delivered. The story was predictable and the action not so great. But, this is coming from a hard-core nerd that loves hard-core sci-fi. I would recommend this as a good read for non-nerds, as the technical detail is just enough for the layman, with an okay story to boot. ( )

Nance's writing skills really shine, in my opinion, when he is writing about flight, aerodynamics and the skill and art of flying.

This book was about a civilian winning a space flight from a private corporation to spend a few hours orbiting the earth. For various reasons the other three people who were to be passengers are not able to embark on the flight. So, he and the company pilot launch and begin the orbital flight together. The tension really ramps up when space debris hits and passes through the craft, striking the pilot, killing him instantly and disabling some of the spacecrafts functions. The passenger, Kip Dawson, wakes from a nap and gradually pieces together what might have happened. His emotions are all over the place and it is very hard for him to even imagine what he might be able to do in this situation. After much fear and anguish he accepts that he will most likely die in the craft as it continues to orbit the earth far beyond the ability of the on board CO2 scrubbers which clean the air and resupply oxygen to the spacecraft to continue performing their vital function.

Eventually he begins to review his life and the primary relationships he has had. There is a laptop computer on board and he begins keyboarding a document relating not only his feelings and thoughts, but also very personal memories of his family of origin, his present family and early romantic loves. Unbeknownst to him, there is a link that downloads his entries to earth and over a short period of time, millions of people are reading the feed (or translations of it) around the world.

My husband enjoyed this book more than I did. I felt some of it was a little gratuitous for my taste. I'm not a book snob and I love being entertained, but occasionally I felt I was being strung along, not in a good way, by the author.

It is really the flying and passages about flying where I as a reader greatly admired the skill of the author.

I would say it was a lukewarm thriller. I can understand how some people who haven't ever taken the time to examine their own lives and relationships would be inspired by this protagonist's journey to find himself and go on. ( )

The premise for this book intrigued me: an ordinary man is trapped alone in space, orbiting Earth in a damaged spacecraft with no ability to receive communication from Earth. With nothing to do but wait for death, he decides to write his epitaph on the laptop computer. Unbeknownst to him, his musings are being transmitted to Earth, and soon millions of people are reading his every word as he writes...alot like the film "The Truman Show". The ending seemed rushed, and the writing wasn't stellar, but the story is what grabbed me and made me anxious to find how it ended. ( )

Well written. Gripped me right to the end.

A modern day "Space Camp", but with a touch of "Truman Show".

Ending felt a tad rushed and wanted to see more of the consequences at the end, but it was a decent enough story. ( )

Very good book. ( )