Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Astronaut's Son by Tom Seigel Published by Woodhall Press on September 1, 2018
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pages: 241
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Amazon, Barnes & Noble
On the eve of the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing comes a novel in which a Jewish astronaut must reassess his moral compass when forced to confront NASA’s early collaboration with Nazis and the role it may have played in his father’s death.
Jonathan Stein thinks only a bad heart can stop him from reaching the moon. But when he discovers his father may have been murdered to protect an appalling NASA secret, he must decide whether his moral compass still points towards the stars. Days before the Apollo 18 launch in 1974, Jonathan’s father, an Israeli astronaut at NASA, died of an apparent heart attack.
A year before his own launch, in 2005, Jonathan, a typically devout skeptic, becomes captivated by the tale of a mysterious online conspiracy theorist who claims that his father had been killed. Unable to keep long-buried suspicions from resurfacing, he reopens the case, digging into a past that becomes stranger and more compelling the deeper he goes.
To get to the truth, he must confront Dale Lunden, his father’s best friend and the last man on the moon, and his elusive childhood hero Neil Armstrong. When his relentless pursuit of the truth leads to disturbing revelations about the Nazis who worked for NASA, the hardest questions to answer are the ones he must ask himself.
The Astronaut’s Son was inspired by the true story of Nazi scientists and engineers at NASA.
I was excited to be asked to review The Astronaut’s Son. I love science fiction, and mystery, and there’s a movie tie-in with Ryan Gosling! I am really curious to see if the book and movie share their plot or if the movie deviates.
The main character, Jonathon, is a Jewish man who is going to be an astronaut on the new round of space missions to the moon. His father, Avi, was scheduled to be on the very first mission which had Neil Armstrong, but died shortly before the mission of a heart attack. 
There is not a focus on his upcoming mission and preparation. Jonathon is mired in the past. He has written for the past roughly 20 years to Neil Armstrong to find out more about his father’s death. I guess it is odd with all their training, a man in his maybe 30s would have a heart attack. Jonathon reads websites on-line with various theories; he also tries to talk to his father’s friend Dale Lunden, who ends up on the mission instead of his father.
Jonathon does find out some things people did and probably would prefer to keep quiet. But the process of his delving into the past was not fast paced enough for me. In his quest, he also cheats on his pregnant wife. And he learns his mother cheated on his father.
Jonathon does bring forward an issue his father wanted uncovered about Nazis in the NASA program. He also has a mission role similar to what his father would have done. The original issue of whether his father’s death is natural is not really resolved. I didn’t really like Jonathon’s character very much personally. With little content about the actual space missions, it was not what I expected, but an interesting look at other aspects of the space program.
If you want to read other reviews, or enter the giveaway, check out the blog tour.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2018 New Release Challenge
Thanks for the review as the movie is being promoted and I’d wondered about the book. Perhaps this is one of those times the movie will be better than the book!
Maybe. Well it has Ryan Gosling so duh, that part will be better. lol. BUT I’m not sure they are related other than time period after more thought, and some real life people they share like Neil Armstrong. I have to keep in mind my issue with historical fiction is I fret over what is fiction and which is truth. I think I might do better to read non-fiction sometimes and not wonder.
The Calculating Stars worked for me because it had a huge event at the start which obviously did not happen so it said FICTION right away. This is completely different from fiction which has no relationship to real events.I can just let that go and look at it in a general way or assess how I feel about the characters and situations.
Huh…I had no idea these two things went together. Interesting take on the entire thing Anne.
OK with further thought, I’m not sure they do together. On the blog tour, they are giving away 2 tickets to the movie but that may be because it’s loosely related by being in the same historical time period and has some of the same people from real life. Anyway, it was odd it wasn’t tied up well as to what he though happened to his father. He did find out what his father was “upset about” though.
Oh I didn’t know aobut the movie or even the book I confess
Any movie with Ryan Gosling is at least on my radar.
I live under a rock. I didn’t know about the movie or book. LOL
lol this is true of 75% of the stuff I see. There is so much out there. So no worries.
I want to see the movie. Not so sure about reading the book though. You never know. I usually like to do both.
I want to see the movie too. But I haven’t been very successful at finding time to see movies lately.
I have not heard of this movie! I think I live under a rock sometimes. This does sound like an interesting story but I would have expected more about the actual missions.
Yes I think just a bit more about the actual science and missions would have added to it for me.
Interesting! The premise sounds intriguing, but I’m not sure whether the book appeals to me or not. Sounds like your reaction was mixed, too.
Yes, but I like the concepts so I was happy to read this book. I’d also like to see the movie.
The inspiration for this book sounds really good. I also want to watch the movie because of Ryan Gosling. Awesome Review.
Tori @ In Tori Lex
Thanks Tori! I like to read the books and the movie. And of course, with Ryan Gosling!