The Last Astronaut

by David Wellington

Overview

Shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2020!



"A terrifying tour de force." —James Rollins


"Readers will be riveted." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)


Sally Jansen was NASA's leading astronaut, until a mission to Mars ended in disaster. Haunted by her failure, she lives in quiet anonymity, convinced her days in space are over.


She's wrong.



A large alien object has entered the solar system on a straight course toward Earth. It has made no attempt to communicate. Out of time and out of options, NASA turns to Jansen.


But as the object reveals its secrets, Jansen and her crew find themselves in a desperate struggle for survival — against the cold vacuum of space, and something far, far worse...



"Breathless, compulsive reading." —Christopher Golden


"A suspenseful, fast-paced story of first contact." —Kirkus

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316419574
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	07/23/2019
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	101,443
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

David Wellington is an acclaimed author who has previously published over twenty novels in different genres.

Editorial Reviews

★ 05/27/2019

Wellington’s terrifying exploration of near-future alien contact layers a shocking “what if” on the bones of current science and space exploration. Presented as a 2057 publication, the novel documents the encounter between the crew of the Orion 7, led by Cmdr. Sally Jansen, and the object dubbed 2I/2044 D1. Following the tragic events of the abortive 2034 Orion 6 Mars mission and the shuttering of the American space program, Jansen is largely retired. Then astrophysicist Sunny Stevens, a deep space researcher for a private corporation, makes the hugely significant discovery of 2I/2044 D1, an object that has altered course in an unnatural way and will come into alignment with Earth’s orbit in six months. He brings this knowledge to the remnants of NASA, and Jansen is called back into action as the most eminently qualified leader, despite her remaining guilt and trauma from Orion 6. Gritting her teeth, she gathers her crew and sets out to see what intelligence is driving 2I/2044 D1 and what it portends for Earth. Within its lightless depths, the crew encounter bizarre and nightmarish creatures, and the tension and body count ratchet up. Wellington (The Cyclops Initiative) creates a gripping story that reveals its horrors one inexorable, plausible detail at a time. Readers will be riveted—and will want to keep all the lights on. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"A gripping story that reveals its horrors one inexorable, plausible detail at a time. Readers will be riveted - and will want to keep all the lights on."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)


"A suspenseful, fast-paced story of first contact....A race against time to save humankind, a veteran astronaut trying to make things right, and an utterly strange and genuinely horrifying alien world to explore—this story's got everything."—Kirkus

"Timely and terrifying, The Last Astronaut propels us deep into the mysteries of space for a near-future SF/horror hybrid that's breathless, compulsive reading. This book deserves to be the one you see everyone reading on the subway or at the beach."—Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of The Pandora Room and Ararat

"If Stephen King had written a haunted house story set in space, it would look very much like The Last Astronaut. Written with an uncompromising, white-knuckled pace, here is book that will leave you shaking and looking at the cold depths of space with equal parts horror and wonder."—James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crucible


"Wellington deftly plays with scale, from the aching intimacy of his human cast to the vastness of space and the enormity of their destination. Journey into a phantasmagorical alien landscape, where paranoia, loss, longing, and resolve interweave into endlessly shifting and always more terrifying configurations."—Caitlin Starling, author of The Luminous Dead


"This is sci-fi horror at its most terrifying-if only because the science behind it is grounded and all-too-possible."—B&N SciFi & Fantasy Blog

"The Last Astronaut bridges the worlds of science fiction and horror perfectly—Wellington melds the awe of discovery with the terror of the unknown to keep readers riveted to every page."—Fred Van Lente, New York Times bestselling author of The Con Artist

From the Publisher

2019-05-13
A suspenseful, fast-paced story of first contact with an alien object that could destroy all life on Earth.

Sally Jansen was supposed to be the first woman to walk on Mars. But the 2034 Orion disaster put an end not just to the Mars mission, but to Jansen's career and any future crewed NASA missions along with it. Still, when a mysterious object shows up in the solar system and starts slowing down, everyone from NASA to its private-sector competitor, KSpace, knows exactly what that means: This thing is alien. And it's headed straight for Earth. NASA's got just four months to put together a team to go and make contact with this alien object (before KSpace gets there, if possible) and try to find out what it wants. And that means Jansen's getting back in Orion for one more mission. With the fate of the human race hanging in the balance, the stakes couldn't be higher, but each member of the Orion team has their own personal agenda, as well—particularly Jansen, who's determined that this mission won't end the way her last one did. Once they get inside the alien craft, the story moves seamlessly into dark, psychological horror as the crew struggles to survive and make sense of the incomprehensible dangers they find.

A race against time to save humankind, a veteran astronaut trying to make things right, and an utterly strange and genuinely horrifying alien world to explore—this story's got everything.

Kirkus Reviews

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