Goldilocks

by L.R. Lam, Laura Lam

The Earth is in environmental collapse. The future of humanity hangs in the balance. But a team of women are preparing to save it. Even if they’ll need to steal a spaceship to do it.

Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are just right for human habitation.

The team is humanity's last hope for survival, and Valerie has gathered the best women for the mission: an ace pilot who is one of the only astronauts ever to have gone to Mars; a brilliant engineer tasked with keeping the ship fully operational; and an experienced doctor to keep the crew alive. And then there's Naomi Lovelace, Valerie's surrogate daughter and the ship's botanist, who has been waiting her whole life for an opportunity to step out of Valerie's shadow and make a difference.

The problem is that they’re not the authorized crew, even if Valerie was the one to fully plan the voyage. When their mission is stolen from them, they steal the ship bound for the new planet.

But when things start going wrong on board, Naomi begins to suspect that someone is concealing a terrible secret -- and realizes time for life on Earth may be running out faster than they feared . . .

Goldilocks is a bold and thought-provoking new thriller for readers of The Martian and The Handmaid's Tale.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Space, Feminism, Adult, Thriller

352 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2020

About the author

Originally from sunny California, L.R. Lam now lives in cloudy Scotland. Lam is a Sunday Times Bestselling author whose work includes epic fantasy romance Dragonfall (The Dragon Scales Trilogy), the near-future space thriller, Goldilocks, feminist space opera Seven Devils and Seven Mercies (co-written with Elizabeth May), BBC Radio 2 Book Club section False Hearts, the companion novel Shattered Minds, and the award-winning Micah Grey series: Pantomime, Shadowplay, and Masquerade.

Their short fiction and essays have appeared in anthologies such as Nasty Women, Solaris Rising 3, Cranky Ladies of History, Scotland in Space, and more. Their romance alter ego is Laura Ambrose. Lam lectures part-time at Edinburgh Napier University and is Programme Leader of the Creative Writing MA.

*Please note I don't read my GR mail*

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many went about their day-to-day life with the vague unease that things were sliding past the point of no return. It was easier to push it away, to focus on the problems that could be solved. What to have for dinner. Fretting about how to pay for that leak in the roof. Those in power can worry about the larger things-- that's why we voted for them. What can one person do?

4 1/2 stars. Laura Lam is a seriously underrated author. I haven't read all of her books, but I've enjoyed everything I've read so far. Goldilocks is no exception.

So many parts of this book hit scarily close to home. It's set in the near future - a future which is feeling ever more present with each day that passes - and follows a team of five female astronauts as they defy their oppressive government and take to space in hopes of reaching Cavendish, a new home for humanity. And, as challenging as this journey is in itself, the claustrophobic life on the ship soon unveils the secrets being kept by its crew.

The marketing team have gone for a The Martian (because the book talks all sciencey) meets The Handmaid's Tale (government oppressing women) angle. There are hints of both in here, but do not go into this thinking it is much like either. Goldilocks is a darker book than the former, but with a much wider scope than the latter. It alternates between the present on the ship and the past, in which we see the gradual ushering of women out of the workplace; the slow but sure exclusion of women from more and more jobs; the steady collapse of the environment.

It is clearly inspired by the true story of the Mercury 13. Coincidentally, I had just been reading about them recently. They were thirteen female astronauts who completed the same screening tests as the male astronauts selected by NASA for Project Mercury in 1959, in some cases outperforming the men. None of them ever made it into space. While Goldilocks is definitely not a retelling, it does feel like a small attempt to imagine righting this wrong-- depicting women fighting back and taking what was denied them.

One thing I want to be clear on is this: this is not some kind of space mystery/thriller. Yes, there are secrets uncovered, but it is not so much about whether you can guess them, but about what they mean for the journey, for the five astronauts, and for humanity. Once you get past the science frills, this is an extremely emotive novel that asks a lot of moral questions, and left me feeling equal parts love and disappointment for humanity.

This is not really a criticism, but I did want to comment that: I’m no scientist, but I find it hard to believe they would be able to create and widely distribute the vaccine/cure within a single day, enough to say “new cases are slowing down”, even if Valerie did all the testing beforehand. Still, not really a criticism. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys their science wrapped up in very human dilemmas.

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[L.R. Lam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always do little picture reviews of my books, so why break the trend?

Goldilocks is the Martian by way of Handmaid's Tale.


It stars Naomi Lovelace, the ship's botanist. I imagine her as Caroline Ford.


The ship's captain is Naomi Black, CEO of Hawthorne, which was co-founded with Naomi's mother, Catherine. After Catherine died, Valerie took Naomi in. I imagine her as Jodie Foster. Think Elon Musk meets Sigourney Weaver.


She and three other women (Irene Hart, Oksana Lebedeva & Jerrie Hixon) are journeying to Cavendish, an exosolar planet 10.5 light years away. It's a fictional planet set around the real star of Epsilon Eridani.


Earth is dying due to climate change and humanity has thirty years left at best.


Women's rights are being eradicated. Think the MRAs are in power.


The five women on board are humanity's hope. But what if someone on board has a secret that could jeopardise everything?


Goldilocks is inspired by:
- Our obsession with going back to the moon and onto Mars
- The commercialization of space (SpaceX, Boeing, Blue Origin, etc)
- The growing threat of climate change
- The erosion of women's rights
- The radicalisation of politics
- The breakthroughs we've made in detecting exosolar planets in the Goldilocks/habitable zone
- How awesome astronauts are

As part of my research I've been able to interview experts who study: astronomy, astrobiology, medicine, climate change, algae in the context of climate change and evolution, space law, human spaceflight (including the former head of the Johnston Space Centre), innovation in space, Mars, viruses and vaccines, and more. I've learned so much but tried to distill it into a very human story about a group of women facing impossible odds in the vacuum of space. I hope you'll take a ride on the Atalanta. Any science mistakes are my own.

Photo cred available on the Goldilocks Pinterest Board.

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Earth has a case of human-osis. Nasty little mammals that are determined to be nothing short of terminal.

But nevermind. Here go strutting our 5 female sheroes (or whatever the correct feminitives would be).

What are they up to?
Bending space and time? Check.
Stealing a space shit? Check.
Screwing over the nasty men who would do their damndest to screw women over? Check. *eyeroll*
A cryofrozen ex-husband in storage? Check.
The 'longest distance relationship'? Check.
Enticing glimpses of the new planet? Check.
Someone turning to be a supermegalomaniak villainess? Checkity-check.
This gives us a recipe to a slightly schematic but engaging plot with some dev.

Of course, I can't read seriously something that's so overly feministic that it seems like a caricature. But as a parody - sure! I totally think that vilifying most men is not the best approach about getting gender parity or eschewing sexist practices. (-1 star).

Besides, the male motivations were not made clear. It's like they had a case evileism for the sake of vilainity. Note, also, that when a male character does smth wrong, they get all bashed about how, MEN Do THIS & THAT! And when a female goes alfa-villain #1 of all the villains, I don't see the tirade about how WOMEN ARE VILLAINS #1! Or anything else.

Naomi vs Valerie dynamics, frankly, felt like a backstabbing workshop. While I totally get (and even partially endorce) both motivations, still it felt nasty.

The Cavendish debacle felt rather strange-y, considering that they went to and fro and to again. Hmmm… The ending resolved that, almost.

Some weird stuff:
Q:
Sunset brought back the night and she cooled again despite the EMU’s protection. (c) Sunset? In space?
Q:
… this was like living on a boat. (c) Because it is a boat. A space one. Duh.

Wowsers:
Q:
She’d wanted a shot at this since she was a child, and even the odd space shuttle blowing up as she watched the live broadcasts hadn’t dissuaded her. She’d tackled botany and astrobotany, mechanical engineering, astrophysics. Learned Russian and a smattering of Chinese. All for a chance of something that each day faded further into grey. (c)
Q:
Floating out there was a little like standing at the shore, looking out to the sea, beautiful but cruel. The currents would pull you under and would not care. In that moment, Naomi fully understood the meaning of the word “awestruck.” The word “sublime.”(c)
Q:
“Take a little jaunt to Mars and its shiny new warp ring. Fold space and time. Travel ten and a half light years. Establish a hardy colony on an alien planet. Wait for Earth to build the ships to start ferrying people across. Save humanity. Sounds doable enough, right?” (c)
Q:
Naomi’s first job would be working with Hart to ensure the planet didn’t harbour unknown pathogens and parasites that could wipe humanity (and their food supply) out as soon as they arrived. That the crops they planned to grow wouldn’t become invasive and unbalance the ecosystem. Or that the bacteria lurking within humans’ own guts, their skin, their breath, wouldn’t do the same to the planet around them. The complex feedback loops that make up a planet could easily be knocked into a configuration that could threaten human life rather than support it. If the last hundred years should have taught humanity anything, it was that planets were more delicate than most people thought. (c)
Q:
They sat in near-silence and took off their filter masks long enough to eat. The sugar and cold cream melted on Naomi’s tongue as she looked over the bay to the concrete sea wall. It did rather spoil the view. (c) Huh, see walls and filter masks as the fixtures of the new way of life. Huh.
Q:
She never saw the need to condense her wealth into hard rocks of carbon. She made rockets instead. (c) That's the spirit.
Q:
Even Cavendish isn’t going to be her perfect vision. Nothing in reality ever matches up to the dream in your head. (c)
Q:
Our pasts, our histories all faded as the four of us stood together, and watched the sun set over Cavendish. (c) Ohkay, had it not been for this one, I would've deducted another star but this is perfect.

[Blaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It hadn’t happened in a moment, but a series of moments, as slow and insidious as the melting of the ice caps. Women had been ushered out of the workplace, so subtly that few noticed until it was too late. There had been no grand lowering of an iron curtain, with passports voided and bank accounts emptied. There had been a few men in sharp suits quoting scripture with silver tongues, but it was cursory, just enough to wrangle part of the Christian vote. Really, they were afraid of women. Or hated them. Wasn’t that much the same thing? The country saw those angry men as a fringe movement right up until one was elected president. [emphasis added]
...
Humans were finally confronted with their fragility. Within a generation, they could all be gone. They’d outgrown this world, drained it dry. They needed a new one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books/Headline Publishing Group for sending me an ARC of Goldilocks in exchange for an honest review.

This book is being marketed for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Martian, and there are definitely elements of both books here. As climate change is in the final stages of making Earth uninhabitable for humanity, a group of five women are preparing to voyage to Cavendish, a planet 10 light-years away, to begin a colonization effort. But a group of conservative men win election in America and women are soon driven from the workplace. Leaving our five women with no choice but to steal the Atalanta and make the voyage on their own.

It’s a great premise, but somehow the story never came together for me. Too much of the societal backstory was presented in a huge info dump in the first chapter, when parceling that information out slowly seemed like a better way to build suspense. The plot takes an odd turn because one character becomes so unrealistically monstrous that they sabotage their own plans by forcing others to stop them. And a subplot involving a backup crew that could have been mined for innumerable plot choices was resolved much too quickly and unsatisfactorily. Ironically, for me Goldilocks was not too good, and not too bad, but right in the middle.

[frau.gedankenreich · Rating 4 out of 5]

In einer von Umwelt- und Klimakatastrophen gezeichneten Welt, in der Männer das Sagen und Frauen zu folgen haben, machen sich fünf Wissenschaftlerinnen ins Weltall auf, um auf einem Exoplaneten einen neuen Lebensraum für die Menschheit zu erschaffen. Doch schon bald wird klar, das eine von ihnen ganz eigene Interessen verfolgt, denn wer kann schon sagen, ob die Menschheit überhaupt Rettung verdient hat.

In ihrem dystopischen SiFi-Thriller "Das ferne Licht der Sterne" setzt sich Laura Lam mit brandaktuellen Themen auseinander und zeigt auf, warum es so wichtig ist, die Fehler der Vergangenheit nicht zu wiederholen.
Ich habe das Buch sehr gerne gelesen. Klug durchdacht und packend erzählt, umrahmt von der passenden Atmosphäre und einem tollen Schreibstil.
Es gab ein zwei Dinge innerhalb der Story die für mich nicht ganz nachvollziehbar waren, aber ich fand es wahnsinnig spannend, die moralischen und provokanten Gedankenspiele der Autorin aus rein weiblicher Sicht mitzugehen. Ich habe mir bis heute zum Beispiel nie wirklich Gedanken darüber gemacht, was es bedeuten kann, dass Sprachcomputer wie Alexa und Co weibliche Stimmen haben. Großartig wie Laura Lam es schafft, die verschiedenen Themen miteinander zu verbinden und auch ihren Erklärungen in den wissenschaftlichen sowie technischen Bereichen konnte ich problemlos folgen. Ein bisschen schade fand ich, dass sich die Erzählung hauptsächlich auf Naomi und ihre Adoptivmutter konzentriert und die drei anderen Wissenschaftlerinnen vergleichsweise blass bleiben, aber da sie alle Teil eines großen Ganzen sind, kann man darüber hinwegsehen. Der Autorin war es in erster Linie wichtig, bestimmte Dinge zu sagen und das tut sie auf beeindruckende Weise. Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass SciFi so sein kann und werde jetzt sicherlich öfter zu einem Buch aus diesem Genre greifen. Danke dafür!

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

The setting for this story is a very near future Earth on the brink of total environmental collapse. The political scene is shifting ever more dangerously to right wing conservatism, which includes gradually shutting women out of positions of power and responsibility.

There is a likely prospect for habitation on a now-reachable exoplanet called Cavendish, and the US has spent years and a huge amount of taxpayer dollars to fund an initial mission to start colonisation of the planet. Of course, that mission doesn't include any women, and this doesn't sit right with many. Taking matters into their own hands, a group of women put into action an audaciously conceived plan to steal the exploration ship, and make for Cavendish themselves.

The architect of this plan, Valerie Black, has been playing the long game. She recruits a select few, including her adopted daughter, Naomi, who have the skills to pull off the theft and, Val intends, to be the first to arrive at Cavendish to hopefully get a head start on a new and improved version of society where women won't be left behind.

But all of this is more the background than the heart of the story. Told in a way that alternates between the present and the past, the story focuses on Naomi, and her life and relationship with Valerie. As the story progresses Naomi comes to learn just to what extent that relationship has shaped her, and whether she has the strength or will to change her own trajectory when everything she thought she knew about herself and about Valerie is sorely tested.

As I was reading this I thought a lot about the movie Ad Astra, with Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones. The stories explore similar themes such as the way the parent/child dynamic shapes people, and how much work it takes to break free of your ingrained vision of that relationship has shaped you as a person. As much as anything, Goldilocks is a story about change, and growth, and the painful yet necessary step of breaking free in order to make the hard choices that confront you.

For me this was a gripping and emotionally engaging read, and one that I will continue to think about.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC received in exchange for an honest review 🚀

With the Earth on the brink of collapse after years of misuse from humanity, a team of women take matters into their own hands to try and save the future of mankind. All they need is a spaceship and a plan. Valerie Black is the leader of her handpicked crew of the five best females she could find. On an Earth where women have become increasingly oppressed and restricted in what they can do, she hopes that by spearheading a mission to a new planet she can create a new society, a better one, for all. She wants to make a difference. But at what price? When things start to go wrong on board their stolen ship, it’s left to Valerie’s adopted daughter Naomi Lovelace to uncover who’s been keeping secrets from the rest of the crew, and what sacrifices she must be willing to make in order to save those loved ones left behind on Earth.

I went into this with some trepidation – I’m not known for my love of science fiction, but what really pulled me in to this was the description of an all-female crew. For too long, I’ve felt that science fiction has been heavily fixated on men. This story centres fully on these women – their relationships, their lives and opinions, and most importantly of all, how passionate they are regarding their work. Naomi is the botanist of the crew – it’s her job to ensure the rest of the crew are fed, as well as unlocking the secret to getting crops to grow on their new home planet. It’s an incredibly important job, and we see how Naomi came into the profession, and watch her many rejections as well as achievements, that make her the woman she is. Being a woman, she’s had to work harder than most men to get where she is – and that’s made her resilient and resourceful. As a scientist at heart, she analyses her predicaments and comes to (mostly) logical conclusions, but also isn’t afraid to follow her gut when required. She was a great character, with a good amount of development over the past and present timelines we read about to make me really warm to her personality and what happened to her. I cared. I cared a lot.

I also really loved that the story itself has been inspired by a part of history I knew nothing about before this. It mentions briefly the history of Mercury 13, whereby thirteen female astronauts were screened for NASA, many outperforming their male counterparts, yet never made it into space. They were overlooked because of their gender. Goldilocks takes this idea, and re imagines the women fighting back for this injustice. It’s empowering and enlightening, and got me researching more into Mercury 13 and these forgotten women.

The plot itself is fast paced, with many twists and turns along the journey as we find our crew in increasingly dangerous and tricky scenarios to keep the reader in suspense for most of the novel. I wasn’t expecting a lot of the plot points, and some do hit a little close to home in the current climate, but I liked that for each new twist we got, we would see the women struggle with very real moral dilemmas. There often wasn’t a right or wrong answer, and it was exciting to see what decisions they would make. Naomi’s very important issue that arises early on was particularly great to see unfold – I wasn’t expecting a long distance love story to grip me in the way that it did. I do wish that the author had added a bit more backstory for the other crew members however, as I felt I never really got a good grasp of their personalities compared to Naomi and Valerie. I would have loved to have seen how Valerie recruited each of them properly, with flashbacks into their past as well as Valarie and Naomi’s.

This was a really engrossing and unique novel that feels very of its time. It’s a powerful example of the importance of women in science and the difficult decisions that those in leadership must make for the good of humanity. The ‘trolley dilemma’ crops up a few times in conversation between Valerie and various other crew members. If given the choice, would you do nothing and allow a trolley to kill five people – or pull a lever and kill one? What is the right choice to make? This novel explores that ethical concept and more. A thoroughly thought provoking read that I’d highly recommend.

[Bookphenomena (Micky) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounding up to 5 star review

GOLDILOCKS is the rare kind of sci-fi that kept pace from beginning to end without any kind of lull or overly descriptive narrative. I have just finished the book on a wow whilst congratulating myself on already having secured an order for a signed hard copy; it was that good.

This did not feel like a story I’d read before, it was fresh and gripping. The protagonist Naomi was the daughter of a renown scientist and protege of a leading researcher into all things space science. This story was set in the backdrop of a close dystopian patriarchy with an active programme of sidelining women and their rights. Therefore, this story took a matriarchal path into the future on another world.

I could not predict the twists in GOLDILOCKS, nor could I predict many of the character developments. But I knew Naomi, I came to admire her, cheer for her, will her survival. The team she was working in was complex with allegiances unknown. The morality and ethics of the mission had me taking quick in-drawn breaths, thinking…what???

Success will never be linear. Success is illusive, it’s a mirage. What you learn, what you do, how you react – that’s what matters.

Success came at a price in this story, this mission and whether the crew were willing the pay that price was the nugget to follow through the story. The ‘baddie’ of the piece came from initially unexpected quarters for me, although later I questioned why I hadn’t been more suspicious.

The science in this story was utterly palatable, readable and not beyond any readers’s comprehension. I liked the botany aspects of the science, I found the futuristic nutritional ideas fascinating. This was an intelligent read and I devoured it front to back.

I am now off to work out if I can turn Alexa into a male voice in my house…you have to read to understand this subtle but creepy suggestion.

Thank you to Headline Books for the early review copy.

This review can be found on A Take from Two Cities Blog.

[Olivia · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. I received this from Netgalley, but I'm considering buying it for my partner. This is the kind of science fiction she adores.

The premise is great. Goldilocks is set in the near future in a world that is on the brink of collapse and women are being forced out of the workplace due to conservative governments. So, it comes as no surprise that Valerie steals the spaceship that was supposed to be hers and takes her all female crew into space despite them having been forced out at the last minute.

The theme of the novel is pretty clear, and I'd even go as far as to say say that the author is throwing it in your face: we're destroying our planet (yup) and conservative governments are a threat to civil rights (no kidding?).

While the theme is a bit on the nose, the antagonist, unfortunately, is similar. Just a bit too much; just a touch too ruthless. To the point where I couldn't quite believe anyone in this position could turn out to be quite so monstrous! (You have to be very angry and bitter to go to the lengths the antagonist goes to and I could never root for someone like that.)

Overall, I felt like only one character (Valerie) was truly fleshed out and interesting, and all other characters, even the narrator remained somewhat bland. For a slow-burning book that centered around the characters for at least the first half, they were just a bit too flat.

However, I couldn't stop reading.

The prose is gorgeous, and I didn't want to put the book down; it kept me interested throughout. There's not a dull moment, and I just had to know what happens.

The science aspects were super interesting, and I enjoyed the relationships between the characters. And I must admit, most of the twists and turns managed to surprise me!

Recommended to all science fiction fans who find the blurb intriguing.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thought provoking, engaging space sci fi set in the near future. A group of women steal a spaceship set for the colonisation of a new planet. This a dark, intense read keeps you guessing and takes some weird and unexpected turns. Highly recommend.

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sci-fi, space voyage with one distinct difference from usual; it’s all women. No men need apply. As a female this excited me to see female astronauts steal a spaceship and try to ‘save’ all of humanity. Unfortunately, as is often the case, Laura Lam takes it a bit too far. By the end of the book I was so over all of these women, discussion of fertility and babies, and their giant space egos. Proving that gender holds no sway over how confident someone is in their own opinion being right.

Future Set-up
This is a future vision of Earth where a version of Trump is US president, and boy does this guy hate women. He’s systematically removing us ladies from positions of power, or even from working at all. Thus we have five women who bond together to steal a spaceship and take over a mission to find sustainable life on another planet (as Earth is nearly toast). And so begins the non-stop feminist agenda. It’s a rhetoric that doesn’t work for me personally. I believe all types of people and personalities are needed to build a cohesive team; especially one that is manning a five-person spaceship to find humanity a new Earth-like planet.

Babies
Someone might accuse me of jealousy here based on what I’m about to say. I’m okay with that, as it might very well be true. I doubt I would have picked this book up if the blurb had made it clear that a large focus of the story would be about re-population, pregnancy in space, and babies/children in general. As a childless woman, sort of by choice (I have medical constraints and chose not to pursue surgery, IVF, etc), I love real life tiny babies, am okay with toddlers and kids until about 7-years-old. Then I’d rather handle a 16-year-old as I have difficulty relating to middle grade children.
When a book throws at me an obsession with whose had a baby and when, especially if I’m not prepared for it, then I tend to shy away. This is where Handmaiden’s Tale influences come into place in Goldilocks. I think there are some interesting concepts to develop here; but I just wish it was a lot less of the story.

New Planet and Warp Technology
I’d have rather focused on the science of what is needed for a new planet similar to Earth for us all to move to. There is some context; like growing food, different length of a day, sky being a different colour, etc. But mostly it’s fairly vague.
Secondly I’d have rather focused on how and why the warp drive works that makes them faster than the speed of light. And while I realize this is fictional I like getting into some of the nitty gritty dirt of these types of scientific ideas or concept.

Overall
Thus it's 3 stars for Goldilocks because the blurb was a bit misleading. I was wanting to read some space cowboys with women; not about too much estrogen in the bloodstream and how a woman may handle that in space and not babies in space. If that interests you then you'll probably really enjoy this. If you are looking for a solid space travel book, or the way to find a new planet for humans this is an okay book; if you want a fun space cowboy story you will not find it here.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
From the synopsis, I originally expected an optimistic feminist piece of science fiction. So I was surprised to find that the story depicted a future America  where equality and women's rights have taken a step back. I initially wanted to read about a group of heroic astronauts and so I was disappointed their mission turned out to be an unauthorized theft of government property. I definitely went into this book with incorrect expectations, which ultimately let me down. I thought this book was about female empowerment, but it ended up being more of an emotional drama full of secrets and deceit.

To be clear, this was not a thriller or a mystery novel. Instead, this was a slow burning piece of science fiction that centered around the characters, particularly one of the women on the crew. I wish I found the characters to be more interesting, but I thought their personalities were rather flat.

The tidbits of science were easily my favourite aspects of the book. I was fascinated by the sections where the botanist was tending to the algae and other crops. These moments reminded me of the potato scenes in The Martian and I lives for those paragraphs in the book. 

Overall, while I appreciated aspects of this novel, I was regrettably underwhelmed. Again, this was partially due to my expectations. If you are looking for an accessible near future science fiction novel then you might want to try this one and hopefully enjoy it more than I did..

Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the publisher, Orbit Books.

[alexis · Rating 2 out of 5]

The entire time I was reading this book I was just like wow…I wonder if the main character’s adopted mother figure who’s the philanthropist billionaire girlboss SheEO of a cloning/AI tech company who pulled herself up by her bootstraps by marrying into an oil tycoon family at 16 and uses genetic modification to make herself look younger and is the Elon Musk-equivalent scientist who planned to “fix the roots” of global warming displacing refugees by terraforming a new planet so that the richest people on Earth can leave and go live on that planet instead is a……bad person??? The politics of this book were a little dumb in a “the 2016 trump election was the source of all sexism and racism” kind of way

[Raine McLeod · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this, but alas.

It has an excellent premise: a bunch of women steal a spaceship and try to get to another planet to save humanity? Sign me up.

The problem is in the absolutely dreadful execution.

1. There are time jumps. Ordinarily, it's like, here's the story, then flash back 10 years, then more story, then back 8 years, more story, back 3 years, etc. This was story, back 3 years, story, back 8 years, story, back 7 years, story, back 8 years, etc. It was a fucking nightmare to follow and felt like the author was attempting to build in exposition and red herrings but just completely disjointing the plot.

2. There is almost NO exploration of this futuristic society. There are hints of it being totally horrible for women, and then the entire plot revolves around 5 women who are incredibly educated and well-regarded in the careers they're allowed to have? Mmmkay. There is an interesting point made about our AI voices all being female and how men are used to bossing women around (in this universe specifically) and one of the women realises her husband has never actually ASKED her for anything, he just tells her he wants it and because of female socialisation, she just brings it to him (e.g. a glass of water). Completely shallow and a wasted opportunity.

3. The story is entirely told in hypotheticals. We hear the world is dying, people have to wear masks outside (lol for the covid zeitgeist), there's a child tax, we need to get to Cavendish to save humanity, but there are never any real stakes. It's all characters freaking out about WHAT IF WHAT IF and then we get to the truth and it's like, meh, and then the characters all spin out again with all these scenarios? I don't know how to describe it but I never felt like the story was actually happening, it more felt like an exercise in futile anxious fever dreams. (I understand how fiction works, particularly futuristic sci-fi, but there was never any actual action.)

4. The epilogue. We discover that Naomi and Evan stayed together (who cares) and Grace is cool and famous and then Iris is adopted when she's 5 by this couple and it's set 30 years after the women get back to Earth. All fine except for this portion is inexplicably told in the first person by someone we've never heard of. Someone who by the way goes out of her way to say "I don't look anything like my parents [insert description here because why not, she's a woman, we need to know what she looks like]" and YEAH NO SHIT BECAUSE YOU'RE FUCKING ADOPTED??? And you want me to believe that with the convenient death of the president and vice president will cure America of its ills? And that Valerie is going to die of cancer, that cancer hasn't been cured yet, when we can travel literally faster than light to another planet and terraform it so it's luxuriously livable by humans? Give me a break.

I'm bummed I wasted the time because I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this, and I was going to give it 2 stars, but right now I'm so mad it gets ONE.

[Lena · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 25%
A depressing failure. The MC female astronaut lets herself fall pregnant in space. These kinds of stories make women seem like out of control liabilities.

[Toya (thereadingchemist) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @20%

After recently reading and loving False Hearts by Laura Lam, I couldn’t wait to read Goldilocks.

That being said, I am shocked that these two books are written by the same author.

Goldilocks focuses on a group of five females who have hijacked a space ship in order to go to a planet named Cavendish to see if it’s inhabitable. We know that for some reason, society no longer allows women to be in STEM fields or basically work at all (even though we have no idea how this history came about).

My issue with this book is that it purposefully tries to be on the more hard science side of sci-fi by using a lot more jargon and technical speech. I’d be fine with that if it was used correctly, but in this case it’s not.

There’s a specific scene where a botanist discusses common flavor additives that she uses to make the food packs taste better. She then elaborates on how she plans to synthesize said common building blocks if her supply were run out: by using waste products from her algae plants (synthesizing vanillin and cinnamaldehyde from algae waste products?! You have got to be kidding me).

Umm. No. As an organic chemist, that isn’t remotely possible. It was clear the author was showcasing terminology from a subject matter that she has no expertise in and it felt cheap. If you want to do hand wavey science fine, but you might as well chalk this up to magic versus using terms incorrectly.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Martian meets The Handmaid’s Tale? Hell yes I want to read it!

[Yvonne (the putrid Shelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Space exploration. It’s always been the unattainable for the regular man. Its been my ultimate dream to see the black and ever stretching unknown. What would you see and hear? Could it possibly be everything that you had hoped or dreamed, or would it never live up to your fantastical expectations? Goldilocks gives the reader a first-class ticket to far away planet, Cavendish. Your feet will be the first to touch down, to see the sights never before witnessed but what would life truly be like being one of those first woman on an unknown world. What happens as one of those chosen ones?

Goldilocks was a no brainer for me. Anything space is an immediate yes. The idea of five women being the first to land on a new potentially habitable planet. Feel the wind through their hair, to touch the dust covering the surface and discovering the best place to establish colonies. The synopsis hinted at secrets being hid in plain sight. The words contained on each page threatened to suck me into its cleverly crafted black hole. I knew I shouldn’t have got so attached to the characters and the wonderfully enchanting setting. Laura Lam has concocted a sublime cocktail of equality, heart wrenching emotion and a narrative that is so stunning that your gut twists and turns.

Earth is in crisis. It is reported that it only has thirty years left. Humanity has ravaged the earth and brought about its demise much sooner than predicted. Our buying of plastics, the eating of red meat beyond our means and polluting our seas. The devastating narrative flew very close to home as this is ultimately the future that our children are facing. However, we have no planet B. Our technology hasn’t been developed that far. It is a race for survival.

With the varied skill set of our protagonists, Goldilocks offered me a rare, money can’t buy look into the fascinating world of space exploration. We had youth, experience, military, medical and botany expertise and teamed with problems with extreme stress we were given a front row seat to witness the good, the bad and the downright evil of humanity. Valerie Black has determined that Cavendish, which happens to be in the Goldilocks zone, is where we need to be. She has the means and more importantly the money with some financial backing to get her and a team there.

Valerie’s company Hawthorne and NASA build a drive that enables them to warp time and space and can make a jump just outside Mars to make the ten light year journey vastly reduced. They build a spaceship that is to carry Valerie, her adopted daughter, Naomi, Hixon, Hart and Lebedeva. Things hit the proverbial fan when new president, Cochran is elected, and the women are removed from the mission – apparently a woman’s place is in the kitchen pffft. Well, this isn’t going to be an order that Valerie Black take lying down. She has pumped everything into this mission and nothing will stop her seeing it through. The women take off from a disused Russian take off strip and essentially have stolen a craft to do it with. Naomi discovers that Valerie has been keeping secrets from her crew mates and doesn’t know if she has ever knew this person she once looked up to as a motherly figure.

Goldilocks is a captivating science fiction novel that investigates the human condition and survival. It was impossible to stop reading.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is this really a feminist book though?

On the cover it's made to be this tale of 5 brave women, who bravely save the world by going to space. But in the end, it would've be better for everyone if they didn't do it, right? I mean one of them turned out to be super-evil, planning to kill out most of humanity and start a crazy utopia on a new planet (which she was supposed to be the leader of, of course). And stealing the ship was her plan in the first place.

And then there is the main character, who's backstory we know the best, and yet I felt no connection to at all. And why was she pregnant in space? If it wasn't a good time for her to have a baby before, it certainly wasn't a better one now. In the end the baby provides good PR for them I guess, so good for them?

And then we have the rest of the caracters who just don't have any personality. For example, one is "strong and Russian", and that's basically all we learn about her.

So, like, the moral of this story is that women should stay at home and have children, or else they will bring the end of humanity ;)

Not to mention THEY NEVER EVEN GET TO THE PLANET (during this flight), which was a bit frustrating to me.

[ThatBookish_deviant · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️

“The silence had become its own lie.”

Goldilocks takes place in the not so distant future where climate change has made Earth an inhospitable planet. Concurrently, a global shift toward extreme conservatism leads to most women being ousted from the workforce.

Five female astronauts, cherry-picked to head a mission to the first "Goldilocks" planet, are ousted by NASA and replaced with less qualified men. The women decide to commandeer a spaceship and undertake the mission anyway, escaping Earth for the newly discovered hospitable planet, Cavendish.

I anticipated this novel would focus primarily around climate change, pandemic, misogyny and badass, feminist astronauts as they work together to escape all the bullshit. I hoped for some light at the end of the tunnel as they establish a better future together on the new Goldilocks planet. Instead, what I got was a story that focuses heavily around obsession, lies, and how sometimes ambition can corrupt and turn ugly. Not at all the empowering story of what women can accomplish when they work toward a common goal that I’d hoped for.

An interesting note on the title of this novel, Goldilocks. In astrobiology, the Goldilocks Principle refers to the range of distances from a star where a planet's surface temperature is just right for liquid water, that range is known as the Goldilocks Zone. In our solar system, Earth and Mars are in the Goldilocks Zone, while Venus and Mercury aren’t. However, just being in the Goldilocks Zone doesn't necessarily mean a planet has life or liquid water. Obviously it’s derived from Goldilocks and the three bears, where Goldilocks finds the porridge, chair, and bed “just right".

[Beige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading about womxn in the future (I actually help moderate a group with that very theme). I'm also interested in SF that acknowledges the climate crisis and I especially like reading about womxn working in STEM. This checks all of three of those boxes - but it wouldn't actually be the first book I'd recommend to someone looking for those things. I felt the book focused more on power dynamics in relationships, the politics of fear and reproductive rights. Also interesting, but just not where I thought this was going to go.

That being said, it sucked me in, it's the fastest I've read a book in a long time. I liked it, so 3.25 stars

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Earth is about to become uninhabitable for humanity due to environmental collapse and the disasters that brings. Just in time, there's a small amount of hope: interstellar travel is a reality and there's a destination, an Earth-like plant orbiting Epsilon Eridani named Cavendish. The plan is to send the a starship there to establish a base before eventually ferrying the population of Earth to its new home on a series of exodus ships. But growing restrictions worldwide on the rights of women, spearheaded by the USA has a small group of women astronauts ready to steal the first starship from underneath the noses of the US government and embark on the mission themselves. But the drama doesn't stop there, because someone on board is hiding something critical.

The story is told in alternating segments, with the current day being the lives of the five women on board the Atalanta and the alternating segments jumping around various parts of the lead-up to their audacious mission. The lead-up story mainly focuses on the relationship between the leader of the mission, Valerie Lovelace, and her adoptive daughter Valerie, which at times is troubled but always show the drive that both women have that has brought them to the current place in their lives.

The twist in the story has a terrible relevance to life in 2020, and it was weird to unexpectedly go that route. It's hard to say how much my emotional reaction to the story was influenced by that.

Unfortunately, the complete implausibility of the overall plan here is never addressed and undermines the supposedly hopeful ending. I refer to the idea of ferrying the population of Earth to a different planet. There's just no way that this could ever happen unless the population was reduced to numbers in the tens of thousands rather than the thousands of millions. The only way for Cavendish to plausibly be a new home for humanity is if the majority of humanity had been left behind to die a horrible death on Earth. Even if you could miraculously get millions upon millions of people out of a gravity well, how are you going to feed them on the new planet?

[Anissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came for the climate change and got a whole of lot internal character angst. A lot. I liked this overall but I didn't love the way it was told. The timelines going back and forth really sapped the pace and suspense of both.

Naomi was a member of the five-woman crew of the Atalanta and the story is mostly focused on her perspective of the events surrounding the commandeering of that ship and the journey to Cavendish (a habitable planet in another galaxy). She's the adopted daughter of Valerie, a billionaire aerospace engineer. Valerie also has a son, Evan, who is an immunologist. There are complicated family dynamics that I found interesting to a point and step-sibling starcrossed angst, which I found less so. It was over-wrought and drawn out too long in the narrative. The parts I liked most were the look at the destruction that climate change has had on the world and society. The political situation in the US is the only one we see and it isn't pretty but it's clear to see it's roots go back to our present. Women have been moved out of the workplace and have lost so many rights that I wondered if voting was also one of those things. There were some very highlight-worthy passages and insights and I wished there had been more delving into those themes. The bow on the hellscape that is Earth here is pandemic level virus burning its way across the planet. The characters Hixon, Hart & Lebedeva were just about my favourite along with Evan. Naomi was very bland and Valerie was very interesting until she was turned into all the horrors. And even that, didn't make Naomi any less bland so it was just irritating.

It was a fairly quick read and the back 40% really moved at a brisk pace, which I enjoyed. The epilogue was a decent enough nod but if it hadn't been tacked on, I don't think the story would have suffered for it. In book-likes, the space and technical spec parts reminded me of Seveneves by Neal Stephenson.

[Jin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein unglaublich interessantes Buch in naher Zukunft über ein Team von Astronautinnen, die auf der Suche nach der Zukunft sind. Ich fand es sehr interessant diese Art von Weltraum-Drama-Action aus Frauensicht zu lesen; ich musste dabei an den Film "Gravity" oder das Buch "The Terranauts" (T.C.Boyle) denken. Diese Geschichte ist nicht nur Science Fiction, sondern auch die Geschichte der einzelnen Menschen und der Menschheitsgeschichte.

Aber wenn man es einmal verinnerlicht hatte, kriegte man das Astronauten-Mantra einfach nicht mehr aus dem Kopf:
Bereite dich auf das Beste vor, aber erwarte das Schlimmste.

Auch wenn ich das Buch an sich gut fand und es mich unterhalten hat, hatte ich Probleme am Anfang mich in die Charaktere einzufühlen. Außerdem fand ich schade, dass manche Charaktere wie Valerie etwas eindimensional vorkamen. Ich hatte auch leider das Gefühl, dass die Geschichte vergleichsweise wenig "Science" von Science Fiction hatte, was ich schade fand. Insbesondere über die Geschichte der Erde und warum das Planet so unlebbar war und was für alternative Möglichkeiten es sonst gäbe, usw. kamen zu kurz. Der Fokus im Buch liegt schon eher bei Naomi, ihrer Entwicklung und ihrer Umgebung.
Trotz allem fand ich das Buch zum Ende hin spannend und mochte auch die Entwicklung der Geschichte. Wer die beiden oben erwähnten Titel gemocht hat, wird sicherlich auch Spaß in dieser Geschichte finden. Das Buch bekommt 3,5 Punkte hoch gerundet auf 4 Punkte.

** Dieses Buch wurde mir über NetGalley als E-Book zur Verfügung gestellt **

[Shaun Hutchinson]

I have mixed feelings about this book. The first half was wonderful. The second half was...confusing. I don't want to say it wasn't good, because it was, but it wasn't what I felt the first half had set up. The first and second halves just felt very different. Overall, I did enjoy it.

The only real issue I had was that the author, who lives in Edinburgh, chose to set the book in the US despite writing using British English. I mean, I have no issue with British spellings and/or phrases over US ones, but it just seems like an odd choice. One that threw me out of the narrative from time to time. It's a minor quibble, but aren't they all?

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another 3.5 star read for me.

I wanted to love this- and for the most part I enjoyed it. This will be one of those rare occasions where I say I think the book could have benefited from more.

For starters- I don’t believe the year this is set in is ever named. It doesn’t feel like a far flung future, it feels like it could be happening 10-20 years down the road, what with Bezos and Branson headed up into orbit and all. Anyway- a timeline would have been nice and seems like such a simple thing to include.

But I could have lived with that. I think what irked me the most is the way the women in the book are treated. It says they are being pushed back out of the workforce, having their reproductive rights limited and such. I just wish some insight or history had been given there. How did they get from Point A to Point B? I’m not saying it would have needed some huge overly complex explanation but anything would have been nice.

I liked most of the characters but wasn’t overly fond of any of them. None of them do a whole lot to endear them to me. Only a handful are particularly offensive.

The other thing I didn’t love was the ending. Just kinda seemed like after all that build up it glazed over too much. Obviously I can’t say much more than that without spoiling it.

All in all, not a bad read. I think I was hoping for something a little more like The Calculating Stars though and find myself disappointed.

[Lisa Lynch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fuck this book.

I hated Goldilocks by Laura Lam.

What I wanted was a fun, space thriller with a cast of badass science bitches and what I got was an implausible, ridiculous snooze-fest.

A bit about the plot: Goldilocks is about a brilliant scientist named Valerie who decides to commandeer a survival mission to space because, you see, the earth is cooking and won't be livable for much longer and she has the perfect plan to, literally, save the world. She recruits a team of female scientists, one of them being her adopted daughter, to assist with this mission. That daughter's name is Naomi and she is our protagonist.

So Valerie and her gal-pals steal this mission out from under the noses of the men who were going to run it. You see, women have been "pushed out" of the workplace, we are told, and Val knows those dummies weren't cut out for the job anyway.

But, you know what, I JUST DON'T FUCKING BUY IT. Nothing in this book was believable. First of all, where was security when these ladies were stealing a big ass rocket or whatever???? This is the thing that is supposed to save humanity and its left unattended and unsecured?? No.

Also, we are told that women have been "pushed out" of the workplace (whatever that means) but we aren't told why or how. And I JUST DON'T BELIEVE that our society would ever get to a point where women were repressed, but only in the fucking workplace. Like, what??? Let's train women to be botanists and doctors and engineers and astronauts, but not let them work?? Because of one single Donald Trump-like president?? No. Fuck right off with that unbelievable bullshit!

And speaking of bullshit... This book pretends to be about feminism and female power, but instead, presents a group of women who are easily manipulated and tricked, rarely use their training and knowledge to do anything productive, and who spend an endless amount of time reflecting on the past and their relationships with men. Like, what??

These characters weren't strong at all! I swear to Christ, a good chunk of Naomi's mental real estate is taken up with thoughts about both her ex-husband and her current secret lover and also with cravings of chocolate. Excuse me??

Btw, we hardly spend any time with the members of the crew other than Valerie and Naomi, so I'm not going to waste much time talking about them. Two of them were married to each other, which made no sense. Women aren't allowed to work in this future, but they are allowed to be lesbians?? Huh?

I was beyond disappointed by how few scenes we get of these women being badass astronauts and using their individual skill sets. There was one clever bit where Naomi crushes up some peppers to make mace, but other than that, she never uses her skills as a botanist in this book. I recall it being mentioned that the crew members were training each other on their own specialties so they have a better chance being successful with surviving on this new planet, but none of them ever really use their skills to do anything.

We are told that these women are brilliant, but none of them acted brilliant within the narrative. So, once again, I JUST DON'T BUY IT.

Also, there were long stretches of this story were I forgot we were in space on a mission to save humanity. Instead of thrilling me, this book bored me to tears. It is far too preoccupied with drama when it should have focused on science and action.

Speaking of personal drama...

I have a few more things to discuss, but I have to spoil things to do so. So here's you're warning.

**spoilers**

Naomi is pregnant on this space mission because she had a secret relationship with HER GODDAMN BROTHER. And yeah, she was adopted, so they aren't blood siblings, BUT WHY?? What's the deal with fetishizing brother-sister relationships and what tf is this shit doing in a feminist space thriller??

Also, the only reason her brother gets her pregnant is because HE FORGETS TO TAKE HIS BIRTH CONTROL. I'm about to implode thinking about how fucking stupid it is to imagine a future where women aren't allowed to work, but men are the ones who have to take birth control. No. Once again, I JUST DON'T BUY IT.

The last thing that really pissed me off in this book is the character inconsistencies. Specifically, with Valerie. So Val is a brilliant, famous scientist hell bent on saving the world. But surprise! She was actually a crazy, murderous bitch who really wanted to destroy the world and somehow hid her true self to everyone, including her children. What?? I JUST DON'T FUCKING BUY IT!

I hated this story. I hated these women. I hated how stupid and implausible everything was. I HATED IT.

I rated Laura Lam's Goldilocks 1 out of 5 stars. This is a contender for worst of the year.

You might like this if you like: yeah, I've got nothing.

[Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars! I like books that I have no idea what I’m expecting but it certainly wasn’t that!

I enjoyed the book and the journey the main character Naomi going on. And I mean journey within the actual journey to space and the distant planet of Cavendish.

I was never exactly sure where characters were headed so there were plenty of shocking moments. A nice surprise in the fact that I never knew where the author was going. It’s not confusing or heavy science driven but just enough to immerse yourself in the future and space travel. I was thankful that it wasn’t too science heavy, the author found the perfect balance for me without going way over the top.

I really enjoyed it and will be keeping an eye out for more from this author in the future.

Highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of this title to review.

(I’ve also purchased a Goldsboro edition. It’s pretty epic!)

[The Nerd Daily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on The Nerd Daily | Review by Christina Ladd

Goldilocks belongs on the shelf right between The Martian and The Wanderers, the hyper-mechanical and the ultra-psychological novels about deep space. This finds some really good middle ground between the two, but its greatest strength is its ability to reflect on the political realities of the modern world. The race for the stars sprang from political rivalry, and Laura Lam describes a near-future world in which politics once again spurs humanity to other worlds. Only this time, it’s not a cold war but literal rising temperatures: climate change is killing the planet, and rather than do the hard work of reversing it, humanity is looking to start fresh. Or, certain segments of it are. The rich ones, and the male ones.

But a few highly trained women decide to change that. The Atalanta Five, as they come to be called, have to steal the ship that should have been theirs by right. They had the skills and the training. But a less experienced crew of men were given the honour at the last minute—or so they thought. And so Valerie Black, entrepreneur scientist and billionaire, takes back what’s hers, and puts an all-female crew onboard the Atalanta just before takeoff.

From the name of the ship to the name of the destination planet (Cavendish), and even the main character’s last name (Lovelace), the book is permeated by the names and stories of defiant and neglected women of history and myth. Heck, even the title, Goldilocks, refers to a woman—one who steals from bears and refuses to settle until things are “just right.” Obviously this is not the meaning of the title (Goldilocks Zones refer to planets on which liquid water can exist), but it provides yet another reminder of the ways that women’s and girls’ contributions are ubiquitous, inescapable. No matter what some do or say, female stories and female success resists and endures.

Naomi Lovelace, Valerie’s adopted daughter, has another potent story of resistance and endurance to layer atop those tales. Passed over again and again, Naomi has stubbornly remained true to her dream of space. But unlike both her mother and her adoptive mother, Naomi didn’t get into robotics or engineering. Instead, she focuses on xenobiology, developing crops that can sustain humanity during space travel and then on another world, under the light of a very different sun. It hasn’t been easy. We see her sacrifices of time, of relationships, and of all other facets that make a life. Naomi is a woman and all women, wondering how to reconcile herself to a world that doesn’t value her, wondering why she has to reconcile any of her choices at all.

Valerie is an excellent foil for Naomi, with similar dreams of space but different motivations and methods. Her confidence and determination spring from her ego, not her desire to please or do well by others, and much of her power comes from her charisma. Naomi, more reticent and inwardly-focused, nevertheless harbours an equally iron will, though she’s torn about how and when to put her foot down. How she learns to do so is a major part of her character growth, and a really excellent aspect of Goldilocks. Too often, books about exceptional people don’t show them changing or learning, but another of Naomi’s great strengths is her adaptability.

There are several twists I didn’t expect but really loved. Most have to do with motherhood, which is a thoroughgoing theme of Goldilocks. Who has the right to choose whether you have a child, or children? How do you give birth to a new biome, a planet, a society? How do you parent it, what values do enforce? The book really sheds a light on how climate action and gender are linked, but it doesn’t offer any easy solutions.

It does, however, have a pretty straightforward take on wealth inequality: it shouldn’t exist. Valerie Black may be a “good” billionaire trying to help the world, but her “help” always somehow ends up sating her ego and bolstering her company. As her motives become suspect and her means even more so, she and the entire crew have to grapple with the inequalities they only thought they left behind on earth.

The final confrontations, though, wobble dangerously on the edge of cartoon villainy, and the final decisions are made more for literary reasons. (In trying not to spoil anything, I’ll just say that no one on board is an immunologist or political leader. What exactly will their choice accomplish?) There are lots of moral questions raised, but solutions veer toward the pat, convenient. A dramatic crisis pushes people to change (even though crises more often deepen inequalities). A few brave souls make a world-altering difference (even though coalition-building is often more successful in the long term). The book doesn’t fully grapple with the moral questions, because it decided from the outset what those answers should be. Bad people die or are punished, and everyone finally sees the correct way forward, hooray! But the evil deeds had some dramatically positive consequences—so what do we do with that?

Sit with it, I suppose. Take it as a cautionary, that we can’t let things get so bad as to require deadly solutions. I don’t think this book will convince anyone who isn’t already onboard with its political stances, but it’s a good reminder not to put our hope in billionaires or demagogues. And remember that planets and political rights are fragile, and must be defended with both action and sacrifice. We can’t have oil and fast fashion and all the other trappings of capitalism and still have a planet. And we can’t solve the world’s problems if huge swaths of the population are excluded from the conversation.

[Elizabeth☮ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the near future, five women hijack a spaceship set to launch to Cavendish - a planet in the perfect habitable zone beyond Mars. The story starts thirty years after the events take place and Naomi, the protagonist, decides to finally tell the story behind what lead the women to take matters into their own hands.

An interesting view of why we have to find a habitable planet. It seems much of the Earth has succumbed to nature's wrath with ongoing wildfires and extreme weather events. There are refugees fleeing due to climate change. There is a need for masks to be worn at all times because the air is no longer safe to breathe.

But life on the spaceship is a contrast to what is down below. Or is it as idyllic as the women think it is? Will Cavendish be the utopia they hope it will be?

I liked the narrative as it isn't linear, so we find out the relationships between the characters in a way that helps build suspense. I haven't read anything else by this author, but I may need to now.