Just finished reading the new (Aug16) novel “On to the Asteroid” by Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson, a hard science look at space travel about twenty years from now. If you’re like me and are anxious for humanity to return to the Moon, get going on exploring Mars and begin living, working and profiting from space I can recommend “On to the Asteroid” without reservation.
The basic plot, a runaway asteroid is going to strike the Earth is actually the weakest element of the entire book. We’ve seen all this before whether in novels, Arthur C. Clarke’s “The Hammer of God” or movies “Meteor”, “Armageddon” and Deep Impact” and I’m sure I’ve missed a few. That said “On to the Asteroid” is a thrill ride in a high-tech spaceship with plenty of plot twists, a homicidal maniac along with harrowing escapes from certain death.
The Authors, Travis S. Taylor and Les Johnson certainly know their science and technology. Taylor is an aerospace engineer, author and appears in National Geographic Channels “Rocket City Rednecks” while Les Johnson is a physicist who works for NASA at their Advanced Concepts Office so you know the science is done with three digit accuracy. Like Andy Weir’s “The Martian” the science of “On to the Asteroid” is the solid foundation of an adventure unlike anything anyone has yet experienced.
“On to the Asteroid” is a quick read, it took me two days to finish. It reminds me somewhat of the Dan Brown novels that have something happen every page which keeps you turning to the next page. I’m not going to spoil the ending or anything but “On to the Asteroid” is a roller coaster ride that will keep you in suspense till the very end.
“On to the Asteroid” isn’t either philosophical nor psychological. It isn’t great literature, but it is what science fiction has always done best, it takes you to other worlds!