One of the best novels I’ve read this year! It was so simply written and profound, in a quiet way. Although some of it is set in space, the book has a crossover appeal to readers who wouldn’t normally go for science fiction. It’s more about the choices we make and the complexities of relationships. One of the interesting things about the book is that at first, it appears to be in our world, because the narrator Ollie discusses the Challenger disaster, as he was born at the same time. However, we hear of a manned mission to Mars and it becomes apparent that space travel continued apace, so that around our present year, after studying in London and a Navy career, Ollie commands a crew on a 10-year journey to Europa and back. It’s therefore set in an alternate timeline, but in all other ways the same as our world.

The narrative switches between Ollie’s memories of his younger days, especially of a quirky girl he befriended one summer, and his diary on board the spacecraft on its long journey, where they are out of contact with Earth. He made a decision to leave his family to go on this mission and he’ll forever wonder if he did the right thing. It’s quite a sad novel in some ways and the main character remains somewhat mysterious. I was very impressed by everything about this book. The author also mentions Tim Peake’s Limitless in her acknowledgements, for a sense of what it’s like to work in space.

Published by 4th Estate, 2026.