Lisa A. NicholsRecensioni

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.½

Overall good, the last little bit of the ending felt a little rushed and odd, but the rest was fun.

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.

Intriguing And Well Thought Out. This book by debut author Lisa A Nichols can give Andy Weir a run for his money as a less technical yet still very well thought out and crafted story of a lone survivor in space. While NASA themselves likely won't be very happy with this book, it actually works well in presenting both the good and bad of the organization and of humanity generally. Highly recommended.

This was well written, extremely predictable yet interesting enough to keep me reading/listening.
Yet the ending felt unrealistic to me as did aspects of the storyline.
I would read other novels by this author.

Lots of great build-up. Interesting plot. Fell apart toward the end.

Could have been an interesting concept, but the execution leaves too much to be desired. The main problem is that many of the characters make way too many unreasonable decisions for the story to be anywhere new believable.½

Pros: great depiction of trauma, compelling story, interesting characters

Cons: not sure I believe the ending

Acting Commander Catherine Wells is the sole survivor of the presumed lost Sagittarius mission to TRAPPIST-1f, a planetary system on the other side of a warp hole. Her sudden return to Earth means NASA can better prepare the soon to depart Sagittarius II crew. Or it would, if she could remember what happened on the alien planet.

This is a quick read. The characters are all interesting, with the majority of the story focusing on Catherine returning to a husband and daughter who believed she was dead the past 6 years. There’s a lot for the book to unpack and the author does an excellent job of showing Catherine’s trauma regarding memory loss, extreme isolation for an extended period of time, survivor’s guilt for being the only member of her crew to survive, as well as the guilt over having been away from her family for so long.

The current memory lapses she has makes for a compelling storyline and I found myself rushing ahead to find out what was going on. I loved the periodic flashbacks to what happened on the Sagittarius I mission.

Once I found out what was happening some of that compulsion to finish the book dissipated. The closer the book got to the ending the less I believed how the higher ups at NASA were acting. The final acts of the protagonists seemed highly implausible and I had trouble believing NASA would go along with it considering the cost and time involved in implementing their plan.

On the whole it was an entertaining read, with some interesting twists though a somewhat unsatisfying ending.½

Catherine Wells is an astronaut. She has just come home from a mission in Trappist -1 F. Instead of six years it took her nine years to return. Alone. Without any memory as of what happened to the rest of the crew. Catherine has to face everything that has happened in her absence. Her daughter Aimee is all grown up. Her husband has moved on thinking she is dead. And her mother is suffering from Alzheimer's. And on top of that she has to deal with the publicity, NASA and the fact that she has retrograde amnesia.
I could not connect with Catherine. Her actions did not seem rational. But of course I have not been alone in space for six years. My favorite character was her daughter Aimee. She had grown without a mother, but was strong and in control of her own life.
This is a good mystery. It kept me guessing while subtly revealing the truth in the end. The ending was rushed though. And it looks like there might be a sequel.
Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy of this book.