Critical Mass

August 1, 2022

When things go wrong at a cutting-edge commercial asteroid-mining mission that's not yet won approval, two crew members are left stranded, and the crew that made it home must build an advanced rescue craft in time for the asteroid's next close sail by Earth. From the New York Times best-selling, TEDGlobal-speaking Suarez.

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 24, 2022
Former crew members of an unsanctioned mining operation on the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu race to rescue the colleagues they left behind in bestseller Suarez’s dragging and excessively technical sequel to Delta-v. Taikonaut Jin Hua Han, cave diver James Tighe, and roboticist Priya Chindarkar have four years to use the resources mined from Ryugu to build a space craft capable of traveling back to the asteroid to rescue their friends. It’s an exciting premise coupled with a high-stakes obstacle: the Russian, Chinese, and U.S. governments are each determined to claim the mined resources for themselves and so prevent their rivals from making any space-based advancements that would put them at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, the narrative is bogged down by bland, long-winded exposition as Jin, James, and Priya realize they will have to build all the infrastructure they need themselves, including a space station, a lunar mass-driver, and a solar power satellite. Suarez paints a depressingly realistic picture of a near-future Earth ravaged by climate change, but the exhaustive detail makes this read more like a textbook than a thriller. Even ardent genre fans will have a hard time getting into this one. Agent: Raphael Sagalyn, CAA.

November 15, 2022
Having survived a disastrous deep space mission in 2038, three asteroid miners plan a return to their abandoned ship to save two colleagues who were left behind. Though bankrolled through a crooked money laundering scheme, their original project promised to put in place a program to reduce the CO2 levels on Earth, ease global warming, and pave the way for the future. The rescue mission, itself unsanctioned, doesn't have a much better chance of succeeding. All manner of technical mishaps, unplanned-for dangers, and cutthroat competition for the precious resources from the asteroid await the three miners. One of them has cancer. The international community opposes the mission, with China, Russia, and the United States sending questionable "observers" to the new space station that gets built north of the moon for the expedition. And then there is Space Titan Jack Macy, a rogue billionaire threatening to grab the riches. (As one character says, "It's a free universe.") Suarez's basic story is a good one, with tense moments, cool robot surrogates, and virtual reality visions. But too much of the novel consists of long, sometimes bloated stretches of technical description, discussions of newfangled financing for "off-world" projects, and at least one unneeded backstory. So little actually happens that fixing the station's faulty plumbing becomes a significant plot point. For those who want to know everything about "silicon photovoltaics" and "orthostatic intolerance," Suarez's latest SF saga will be right up their alley. But for those itching for less talk and more action, the book's many pages of setup become wearing. An ambitious but plodding space odyssey.

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February 17, 2023
This sequel to Delta-V (2019) is a tour de force of space development. In 2038, Tighe, Chindarkar, and Han are deep space asteroid miners who have just returned to Earth. They work for Catalyst Corporation whose CEO, Lukas Rochat, has big plans to continue the work of the late Nathan Joyce: mining industrial materials on asteroid Ryugu in the inner Solar System. They lost three colleagues and suddenly left when their ship Konstantin developed problems, leaving Abarca and Adisa behind, but are determined to go back and rescue their friends. Planning to implement Joyce's vision for the industrial and economic development of Cislunar Space, Rochat sends Tighe, Chindarkar, and Han to oversee the development of Clarke Station. Despite the strong opposition by the U.S., China, and Russia, acts of sabotage, and the death of several colleagues, the station and Moon base are fully developed and are now thriving. With a richly detailed narrative, discussion of climate change, industrial development, and cryptocurrencies, readers of hard sf reminiscent of Greg Bear, Larry Niven, and Robert Heinlein will enjoy this optimistic novel.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 1, 2022

Suarez's follow-up to Delta-V describes a world in which science helps humanity rise above its petty political squabbles to enter an exciting new space age, where the bounty of the heavens can solve problems much closer to home. The novel is set on a near-future Earth, struggling with a changing climate and dwindling resources. The crew of the Konstantin comes back from space after successfully mining an asteroid that could potentially offer a wealth of new material. But a visionary scientist has a bold plan to instead use the material and energy resources to jumpstart the planet's space efforts. Tensions build as the crew becomes embroiled in the politics that threaten to keep humanity trapped under increasingly fraught conditions on Earth. The book gives a fascinating look at how the challenge of space exploration will meet the realities of a politically divided world. It will appeal to audiences who have wondered how humanity can ever hope to explore space, given the political and environmental problems holding us back. VERDICT This is a fantastic tech-minded sci-fi in the vein of Kim Stanley Robinson.--Jeremiah Rood

Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.