Voyage

When Stephen Baxter had been writing for a few years, there was an opinion amongst many sf readers that "Baxter can do Big Dumb Objects, but he can't do characters for toffee." Then along came "Voyage" and blew that opinion out of the water.

The premise - an alternate universe where Kennedy survived assassination (just), and, invited by Nixon to the Oval Office to share in the reflected glory of the telephone call to the Moon in 1969, steals the show by publicly calling from his wheelchair for the next goal to be Mars, and no-one has the heart to raise any practical objections.

The story then develops as NASA devise a plan and begin to work towards it using 1960s technology. The characters have stepped straight out of "The Right Stuff" show more but they are beginning to get out of their depth. There are accidents, and there are human stories as the double standards of using Nazi rocket science come home to roost. Finally, the mission is accomplished, but at a price. And with a twist that shows that the alternate history Baxter portrays is truly different to ours.

(Baxter developed the universe of this novel in a short story [not collected, AFAIK] where a British attempt to put a man - Roly Beaumont, top test pilot of the 1950s - into orbit fails...) show less

Stephen Baxter's approach for 'Voyage' was to create an alternative history of the space programme that concluded with a successful manned mission to Mars. In his own afterword he describes that he has 'striven to be as factually accurate as possible.'

I'm sure he succeeded in his aims, this is without doubt a book that was meticulously researched and thoroughly thought through. It is very well written and also a well narrated audiobook.

Unfortunately, from my perspective, there are two enormous problems with the book. Firstly, the interrupted timeline robs the tale of any tension. Secondly there isn't a single character that is much more than a cipher, and certainly no one person or relationship that engaged me in the show more slightest.

Unfortunately, 'Voyage' simply reads like an authoritative, but boring, history book with a surfeit of detail that has limited interest or real significance. I'm glad I've finished it, but it just wasn't for me.

Throughout, I had a one word review entering my thoughts: dull. show less

An alternate history of the late 20th century space race focused on the race to land on Mars. Baxter's story has outstanding detail on all things NASA - astronaut training, political tensions, interactions and rivalries with aerospace contractors and more. The human cost of single minded dedication to space is explored. This has quickly become an alternate history favourite of mine. A positive, inspiring alternate history where you can cheer. It was my first Stephen Baxter read and I look forward to reading his other works over time.

Every space geek has fantasised about what would happen if nasa had chased Mars instead of the space shuttle. Most people think the shuttle was a mistake, and so therefore Mars would have been a much better thing.
This book charts an alternate history where NASA did shoot for Mars, but does so with similar style to how we saw the shuttle pan out. Politics are real an interfere with things, budgets are cut, accidents happen and suddenly the wet dream that is Mars suddenly becomes the harsh and unforgiving mistress that she probably is.
All that said I still think this is a positive and hopeful look at what NASA could have done and what it might have got wrong. If you've ever looked hopefully to Mars and considered the shuttle program a show more mistake then do read this book and see if it gives you second thoughts.

A very good book that avoids the pose coloured glasses many people see avenues untaken with yet still maintains the wonder at what we missed.

Personally after reading it, I was left thinking the boondongle that was the shuttle program was a better choice than the Mars mission as portrayed here - I know others disagree, but that is a discussion for another place... show less

A great alternate history of what might-have-been at NASA if it had continued to develop the Apollo program instead of detouring towards the space shuttle. Has enough hardware to be satisfying but the book is much more about the astronauts and their personal and political trials.

Reading this on the Kindle, I'm not sure how long it was, but it felt like it took a long time to get through. I read this one second instead of first in this trilogy, but turns out it doesn't matter. Each book appears to be stand-alone. Each is a story of "what if NASA took a different direction than Apollo?" An interesting idea, but unfortunately, this wasn't written well for me.

For fans of NASA politics, extreme detail in engineering, and loads of description, this might be a good book, but I found it far too long. There was much less "story" than description. Perhaps that's as intended in this series of "what if", but it made for tedious reading even though the concept and the journey itself were very interesting.

Skip this 25 hour snoozefest and go instead for the 3.5 hr full-cast BBC dramatisation version Voyage. It obviously glosses over a lot of the details but retains the essential core, and is a lot more entertaining and engaging.