Friday, December 31, 2004

Children of Apollo

Mark Whittington: Children of Apollo (Xlibris Corporation, 2001)

Children of Apollo is an alternate history of the Apollo program. Nixon decides to fith the Soviet Union in space by stepping up the Apollo program to include more missions to the Moon, plans to go on to Mars, and invites the Soviets to participate. There's a lot of good astronautical detail for those who like Hard SF, a lot of historical detail for those who like alternate history and a fun mixing of real historical figures and fictional characters (Bill Clinton even makes a minor appearance!) I did not like Children of Apollo as much as Stephen Baxter's own alternate history of the Apollo program, Voyage. However, I'm prejudiced by the fact that I read Voyage first and its one of my favorite books. Whittington has hinted about plans for another alternate history in space book, I look forward to seeing it.

No comments: