Lisa A. Nichols

On the surface, Vessel has everything I love -- Space exploration, astronauts, creepy alien horror, psychological suspense, and family drama. Unfortunately, it didn't click for me. I just didn't connect with Catherine's arc.

The reveal also was underwhelming. While I like that Nichols doesn't rely on "little green men" the explanation of what happened on the planet and ship left me scratching my head -- especially after so much build-up.

Still, the prose is excellent, and I can see this story working for others. Just not one that worked for me.… (more)

I had high hopes for this one, but it was much more soap opera-ish and much less SF than I was looking for.

While Nichols is fairly good at relaying the scenes of conflict with Catherine and the various supporting people (her husband, her daughter, her team, various NASA personnel), it seems like, in most cases, everyone goes away angry, then shrugs their shoulders and all is worked out with minimal effort.

And, unfortunately, Nichols sets up big areas of conflict—her husband's new relationship, her return after six years of no contact, the previous astronaut that faced all this—and then proceeds to give virtually every one of them short shrift. Instead, she dwells on the minutiae, and Catherine's drinking.

Yeah, this ain't [b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564._SY75_.jpg|21825181]. Nobody scienced the shit out of anything. Call this The Meh-tian.… (more)