SpaceMan

De: Tom Abrahams

Narrado por: Kevin Pierce

Clayton Shepard is 249 miles above Earth when the lights go out.

He has no communication, limited power, and an unbreakable will to survive.

His one goal: find his way back to his family.

Shepard is an astronaut on his first mission to the International Space Station.

When a violent blast of solar magnetic radiation leaves him stranded in orbit, he's forced to use his wit and guile to find a way home.

He has no idea what he'll find when he gets there.

SpaceMan is a post-apocalyptic/dystopian tale that tells the survival story of a man and the family he left behind. It's written with the help of former astronauts, NASA team members, and well-respected astrophysicists that give SpaceMan a unique sense of detail and desperation.

©2016 Piton Press LLC (P)2016 Piton Press LLC

Great twist on the EMP/survival genre.

A unique twist on the EMP/survival genre. Clayton Shepard an astronaut on his first mission to the International Space Station is on the 72nd day of the mission when the huge solar storm hits earth and the ISS. The other two astronauts are outside the ISS working when it hit. The two outside were dead within minutes when their suits failed. Clayton struggles to get his two friends back into the capsule and then begins to prepare for the return trip home. At least he hopes things are working well enough for him to get home. The situation at home on earth is not going well either. The solar storm has crippled the grid and unfortunately people immediately revert to their base instinct. Good story. Kevin Pierce is great as usual.

Apocalypse while on the space station

A solar CME (coronal mass ejection) leaves Earth and the ISS (International Space Station) without electricity. Clayton Shepard is an astronaut on his first mission on the ISS, and he will have to find a way to rescue his two colleagues who were on an EVA at the moment of the CME, and try to get back to Earth before life support fails completely. On Earth his wife Jackie will suffer the consequences on a different level but not less stressful, taking care of their daughter and part of the neighborhood, while their son is on a camping trip with a friend.

The premises of this book is so good, and the blurb mentions that some NASA team members collaborated on this, that I was ready for a hard sci-fi book. The parts at the ISS were a bit, but I found them a bit confusing like they were somehow not very well described. I had problems to visualize what Clayton was doing and the space he was in. Even though the book is titled 'Spaceman' most of the action happens on Earth, where we see the rest of members of his family facing a post-apocalyptic world in which almost everybody has become selfish and cruel. The ISS part was a bit original, but not the part on Earth; we found the same stereotypes than in many other books. Nevertheless, I found that the riots started too early, while at the same time some people were still working at gas station stores. It just did not make a lot of sense.

The action in the book is quite slow, and the several flashbacks, instead of helping us to know the characters better, make the story drag. I was not able to connect to any of the characters, and Abrahams failed at transmitting their emotions and Clayton's sense of urgency at the ISS. I found myself not really caring for any of them, which bothered me since the setup was really great.

I have read comparisons between this book and the Martian, and even Clayton mentions Matt Damon during his ramblings while fighting for his life, but I would not put both books at the same level. As I have just said, I did not get the sense of urgency, nor could I connect to any of the characters. I just wanted to laugh at Clayton's sense of humor but couldn't.

In the end, I felt cheated. Clayton's story, the one giving the title to the book, is just a small part of it, and it is not even finished. I understand that this will be a series, but the end was quite underwhelming.

Kevin Pierce's narration was spot on, though, and he tried to transmit the characters emotions, even though they were not clear in the text. I am looking forward to other books narrated by Pierce.

I have found this book basically anecdotal. The fact that part of it happens on the ISS makes it more interesting, but the rest of the material did not live up to my expectations. Just another post-apocalyptic story.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

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awesome book

Kevin pierce is great as usual,as narrator the story was awesome the way they went from the space to the ground tragedy. I had to listen to it all at once. I hope there is another book that continues where this one left off
I received this book from the publisher, author and or narrator for a honest review and unbiased opinion via audio book boom dot com

Space and the Apocalypse

I've read many apocalypse-style books, and many start to sound the same after awhile. Spaceman by Tom Abrahams is not one of those. With a unique take on the genre, Spaceman tells the story of an Astronaut - Clayton Shepard - trying to get back to Earth after a large Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) knocks out all power on the International Space Station.

To add to the tension, the CME has also knocked the Earth back to the Stone Age - at least to some extent. The link between NASA and the ISS is broken, and Clayton Shepard is completely on his own.

Throughout the book, we also get to follow the troubles back on Earth as we see Shepard's family and friends struggle to come to terms with their newfound reality.

The first in a series, Spaceman does not disappoint. Good writing and excellent narration by Kevin Pierce bring this story to life. It was a real "page-turner" - I stayed up late just to finish it. I was voluntarily provided a review copy of the audiobook, but would not have hesitated to spend a credit on it. Really well done!

Too little emotion 4 a disaster book

From the beginning of the story I just couldn't understand where the characters were coming from. For instance, as disaster struck the characters glossed over a lot of what they saw without seeming to be too upset and focused more on how other characters were handling things.

The Spacemans wife came across as very bland. As I listened I kept thinking there needed to be more emotion so that I could identify with the situations more.

I received this audiobook from narrator, publisher and/or author in exchange for an honest review.