I am a big fan of horror books, but I am a fan of sci-fi books as well. I never thought I would find a perfect blend of horror sci-fi… But I did! The Last Astronaut by David Wellington is that perfect blend which incorporates just enough sci-fi elements and knowledge to make it seem real, and a solid dash of horror which will keep you on the edge of you seat.

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The Last Astronaut Summary

Sally Jansen is the last astronaut. While being the mission commander on the second space race; the race to Mars, she lost a crew member. Some think she might have even killed him… After the disaster of a mission, there are no more manned crew flights in space and NASA is basically a legacy relic.

She was unwanted for over 20 years, until an alien space object has made an entrance into our solar system and is heading straight on a collision course with earth. Now, once a leading NASA astronaut, she is called again to make first contact with the alien invader.

You will jump straight into action with this fast-paced futuristic thriller, in a race against time to save all of humanity. The alien object is not responding to any sort of communication and is accelerating towards Earth. Sally Jansen and her team must venture inside the alien spaceship and face the impossibilities and unique strangeness of this alien world, which is absolutely impossible to comprehend to a human.

I’m offering you a second chance. How many people get those, in life?

What I Loved About The Book

The Last Astronaut does not wait around, it just jumps straight into the action. One of the best parts of this sci-fi horror is that is it fast-paced and it reads as if you were watching a movie. There is just enough details and important information to fill in the important contextual details, but it also gives you enough breathing room to fill in all the rest with your imagination.

The story is very interesting and would please any sci-fi nerd or horror fan. Once the characters enter the alien spaceship, all hell breaks loose and the horror elements of the book begin.

It wasn’t a mouth as much as a dark cave full of grinding, tearing teeth, arranged in three circular rows to form a deadly funnel.

Basically all of The Last Astronaut was a nail-biting, edge of your seat read. There was never a dull moment and it always made you think about what would happen next. The scary elements were written in great detail. The sci-fi elements were actually based on some science which appeases the sci-fi nerd in me.

All throughout the book, you are constantly getting the perspective of different characters as the author jumps and writes from their point of view. You even get side notes of the mission which give you even more context on the story and how every character is feeling and what they are thinking.

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This was something very interesting to experience, because I have not read a style like that before. Maybe I just don’t read enough hehe.

The ending also did not deceive! Which was a great touch and a good way to end the book. It even made you think a bit, which is always appreciated after a wild ride of a read.

The Last Astronaut Weaknesses

To be frank, I did not find that the book had anything wrong with it. At times it did have some passages which were a bit long. With some of them, I was not even sure where it was leading the story.

However, once you finish the book, you realize that it was a very good way of advancing the story and setting this context of the unknown. Because this is exactly what the characters were feeling and experiencing!

Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a new sci-fi horror story which reads as if you are watching a movie, The Last Astronaut is for you! It’s an amazing story, with great sci-fi and horror elements which keeps you on the edge the whole way through. It was even shortlisted on The Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2020! You can’t go wrong with that.