Heaven's Shadow [Paperback]

It's difficult to talk about this book without spoiling it a little so I will try to keep them to a minimum and not reveal some of the bigger twists that come later in the book. The synopsis gives away one of the main twists, but it comes early in the story so it's not too bad. Heaven's Shadow is written by David Goyer and Michael Cassutt who are both well respected TV and screenplay writers. Goyer worked on all three Blade movies and the TV series, both Nolan Batman movies and he's also a well known comic book fan who has written for DC. I'm less familiar with Cassutt, but from looking at a list of his work I have probably watched episodes of Eerie, Indiana and The Outer Limits that he penned. So the calibre of the writers is not in question and the idea is the sort of high concept that gets Hollywood folk excited. In fact, the movie rights for this trilogy have already been snapped up and optioned already. With all of that in the back of my mind I was expecting something quite remarkable and for the most part I was let down, not by the ideas, but the execution.

I read an advanced reading copy and this version of the book clocks in at a little over 560 pages, so the final version might change a little. However, I think you could cut 200 or more pages from this book and it would not have affected the story at all. In my opinion it would have made it much better, cleaner and sharper. Most of the time the story reads like a screenplay anyway. The chapters are short and punchy. The dialogue is fragmented and is exactly how people speak in real life. The description is light which helps the plot move along at a good pace. Unfortunately wedged into this exciting and tense plot is a lot of exposition, heavy SF detail and minor plot points and characters that will probably be culled from the screenplay for space and timing. I wish someone had done the same for the novel.

A vast Near Earth Object, or NEO, is on a trajectory that means it will pass through our solar system and it will come close enough for NASA, and a competing international space agency, to each send up a team. These two teams will land on the object, take samples, poke around a bit and then fly back, just as they would do as if they were going to the moon. As you might expect there is a lot of political wrangling and economic issues tied into the cost of sending up a team and what, if any, benefits there would be to such a mission. The really interesting part of the story comes when the object changes direction. This is not something that just appeared at the edge of the solar system one afternoon. It's been on its current trajectory for hundreds of years and suddenly, for no apparent reason when it gets close to Earth, it changes course. This suggests some kind of intelligence at work and I can't really say much more without spoiling it. Dodging around it I can say that the NEO has come to Earth for a reason and some thing has guided it there. The repercussions of that alone are astonishing, frightening and very troubling for some people as its solid proof of alien intelligence of some kind.

At this point I had a lot of questions and I was very keen to keep reading and find out what was going on. Then I hit a few barriers as the story lost momentum and the pace ground to a halt. If you like what some would describe as traditional science fiction, if you enjoy the technical side of `realistic' SF movies like Apollo 13 and you like NASA documentaries, then you will enjoy this. For me there were far too many technical details and I struggled to get through it and find my way back to the story. I was bogged down and bored at times and I found myself skipping whole sections filled with acronyms and unnecessary detail.

The fantastical twists come thick and fast soon after and I did enjoy that part of the story, but it's only about half of the book. The rest builds characters by awkwardly jamming in information, about their relationships and history, and by adding new characters to what was already a fairly large cast. There again, minor spoiler, but by doing so you practically know that some of them are red shirts and it's just not going to end well for them.

I think the movie of this novel will be a really good science fiction blockbuster which will end on one heck of a cliffhanger if it stops at the same place. As a novel it lurches from the exciting and fantastical end of science fiction to, what was for me, less interesting technical information. I'm totally willing to admit other people may not notice or care, and will whip through the whole book in a few hours.

It's not phenomenal, but it's very fast-paced! The short chapters and variety of viewpoints (some a bit surprising!) drive the novel along. It's a page turner, but the ideas are intriguing at times -- kind of Neal Stephenson Lite. The characters are fairly well-created, though a few of the emotional issues are glossed over. And, yes, it does owe a lot to some classic sci-fi novels, but it does stand on its own.

Beware, though -- it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger leading into a sequel.

From screenwriter, film director and comic-book writer David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Ghost Rider) and television producer, screenwriter and author Michael Cassutt (The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone) comes this sci-fi novel: Heaven's Shadow.

In 2016 amateur astrologers spot an object in the sky, literally over the South Pole. An object one hundred kilometres across and heading towards Earth...As the Near Earth Object (NEO) approaches two manned spaceships operated by NASA and the Russian - Indian - Brazilian Coalition race to be the first to land on the unexplored surface. What both crews eventually encounter on this NEO is a discovery that will change humanity forever.

I am happy to report that this is no inferior `Armageddon' rip-off (which has received much derision over the years anyway). This is a fresh take on space exploration and in particular a space race with a difference. The story is told by moving the action back and forth between Mission Control in Houston and Bangalore respectively and from the perspective of the crews of the two spacecraft.

Interspersed along the way giving events a dramatic immediacy are blogs from observers around the world, quotations and excerpts from press conferences, broadcasts and books. This all has the combined effect of making things feel authentic.

The techno jargon rings true as well making the mission more believable. The novel is also packed with mystery, intrigue, suspense and danger. This is your typical perilous mission into the unknown and it is handled well by Goyer and Cassutt.

I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of a `new space race' and the novel makes space exploration sexy again. Goyer has already sold the rights to Warner Bros to adapt this into a film and it does read like a screenplay at times.

Along with the action there is plenty of caustic dry wit and gallows humour in evidence. It is interesting as well to observe that the astronauts are bound by protocol and have to follow rigid doctrine. It is soon evident that NASA and the Coalition are woefully out of their depth and in unknown territory. With plenty of references to pop culture it's a lot of fun and tailor made for a sophisticated, cynical modern day audience.

It was interesting to read about the two crews with their different cultures, genders, outlooks and backgrounds; these are not your usual male, crew cut all-American stereotypes one would normally encounter in something like this and the novel is all the better for it.

Themes of science and religion are well explored and addressed here and the NEO will more than challenge humanities collective knowledge and beliefs regarding the universe. It is also a clever plot device of having the NEO coming to Earth rather than the usual long space journey to a distant planet.

The Advanced Reading Copy I read weighed in at a hefty 560 plus pages and could do with some trimming and editing here and there. This does get unnecessarily weighed down a little at times by back-story and exposition. That minor quibble aside this is an exceptional sci-fi adventure and it is easy to see why it is the first in a trilogy with a movie deal already in place. I am certain that the Heaven's Series will attract a diverse and an enthralled audience.