Customer Reviews

Zero-G

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For years, Alton Gansky has served up dollops of suspense, mystery, and even some supernatural thrills. With "Zero-G" he offers a book that ranks with some of his best.

Benjamin Tucker, a NASA astronaut, suffers through a tragedy on a shuttle mission. He returns as a hero, but he is still plagued by grief and doubts, all of which he bottles up. His family fears for his involvement in any future assignments, yet Tuck can't resist the draw of a new private enterprise, aimed at taking citizens on commercial flights toward the stars. It's a chance to renew himself and take a different branch in his career, while playing off his status as a respected American icon. The only problem is that his family has concerns, and others have ulterior--and deadly--motives.

Like two of my other favorite CBA sci-fi novels, Ingermanson's "Oxygen" and Johnson's "Ice", this book is fast-paced, yet never forgets to care about its characters. The details are never too much, providing just enough believable and intriguing backdrop for a suspenseful tale. The villains aren't given much time, but they do have credible motives. Although a few of the final components seem to wrap up a bit quickly and tidily, it all fits within this market's expectations and will please Gansky's growing fan base.

In conclusion, Tuck is challenged to consider how far his faith will go in the face of death. There's nice usage of a famous poem to parallel his spiritual journey. With Gansky's continued prolific output, we can all look forward to many more imaginative stories from one of the most consistent in the industry.

Alton Gansky covers a lot of different territories in his novels. In this novel he is writing about Benjamin Tucker, a NASA Astronaut, who is involved in a tragedy in space. He is thought of as a hero for his work during the tragedy but is left scarred. He leaves NASA to join a private group interested in sending the first commercial flights into space. Others hold grudges and unforeseen people are against Tucker. All of this causes Him to question his faith in God. A great novel that is worth the read.

Alton Gansky's book "Zero-G" is an excellent novel. It involves a disaster about the space shuttle and the subsequent ramifications of that accident.

I do not want to give plot details away, but let me say the characters are well developed, and realistic. The plot is well written and takes unexpected turns. The dialogue makes the characters even better.

The one slight draw back I have with "Zero-G" is that there are many deaths. They are not detailed in an inappropriate manner, but many people do die as the story unfolds

This book is an "okay" read. It has all the elements of a good suspense, with a little bit of science fiction, but it doesn't quite have that read-till-you-drop intensity. The main character is a true-to-life figure with haunting memories of an accident a year before. When examined for themes, pleading prayer is shown, as well as gratitude (though not as often as the former).

I've always been a big fan of Alton Gansky. He won me over with his JD Stanton supernatural thrillers back in the day and drove me to used bookstores everywhere to track down his out of print murder crime mysteries. He manages to write exceptional Christian supernatural thrillers and action adventure stories. In my opinion, his detective books aren't so hot (think Maddy Glen Series), but luckily this was a bio-techno thriller. Michael Crichton he is not,(and after the drudgery of Next, I'd have to say thank goodness) but he is top of his game in the Christian market.

Here is Zondervan's summary of Alton Gansky's suspense novel, Zero-G.

Poised to make history, SpaceVentures, Inc. hovers on the brink of launching the first space tourists into flight. The competition escalates as rich customers clamor to pay the exorbitant ticket prices ... and it's about to turn deadly.

Benjamin "Tuck" Tucker's skill and reputation have thrust SpaceVentures into the forefront in this powerful new space race. A veteran astronaut and reluctant national hero, Tuck accepts the coveted honor-and the risk-of piloting the Legacy on her maiden space voyage.

The danger is far greater than just the perceived risks.

The real threat, a plot far deadlier than anyone could have imagined, is exposed as the Legacy reaches the suborbital regions of space. Suspended seventy miles above Earth, Tuck has no choice but to place his life in God's hands-a God he has found it hard to trust since a deadly tragedy in space over a year before-as he desperately fights an unknown enemy who will not hesitate to kill again.

This book is a pretty good read. It has all the elements of a good suspense, with a little bit of science fiction, but it doesn't quite have that read-till-you-drop intensity. The main character is a true-to-life figure with haunting memories of an accident a year before. Often, pleading prayer is shown more than gratitude.

My rating: 3 stars. Good enough to get at a library; save your money for something else.

When some authors strive to just write books, others strive for better. Alton Gansky is one of the better authors as far as Christian fiction goes, especially considering the company he has. He can always come up with something that looks great on the cover, and then has surprises inside that make it even better! And I admit that I was a little reluctant to pick up some space novel. But when I picked it up and started wading through the pages, I realized how relevant it is. And it can be relevant in everyday lives.

Benjamin Tucker was once among the best NASA had to offer. And while others still claim him a modern day hero, he thinks otherwise. And when a high level figure for video games thinks "Tuck" the best man for the job, he still doesn't feel worthy. But with the right persuasion, Tuck reluctantly agrees, and sending modern day civilians into space for a high price is part of the job. How high of a price? Higher than anyone might anticipate. And along with this, Tuck's family always supports him in what endeavor he chooses to pursue. Yet they still love the man of the house. And for lots of reasons, Tuck, the man of his house, has some problems with the Man Upstairs. Can Tuck once again trust God?

This might really hit home with some people. There are those out there who are angry with God because He didn't come through like they thought He should. Some people are reluctant to ever take any chances ever again, and in the midst of it all, God's asking you to take that chance. Will you take that chance, or stay locked up in your own ticked off world?

Reluctance and relevance are what Alton Gansky offers in this game. Oh, he also offers a good read! You up for it?

Although Alton Gansky has penned many suspense novels (such as FINDER'S FEE), in ZERO-G he hits his stride with his best page-turner story to date.

The story starts strong, placing the reader in the middle of a tragedy in the making. After surviving the terrifying debacle (which keeps readers glued), Commander Benjamin Tucker, or "Tuck" as he's known, becomes haunted by memories of his space mission gone wrong. Plagued by nightmares and grounded by NASA, he's separated from the thing he's most passionate about. Tuck is angry with his superiors, and most importantly to Gansky's story, Tuck is bitter about God.

What prompted the tragedy in space lays the groundwork for the rest of the story. Tuck is wooed away from NASA by Ted Roos, a hotshot video game mogul who is pouring large amounts of his cash and others into SpaceVentures, a company that is set to provide private space travel. Gansky creates a nice tension between Tuck and his family, who desperately want to support his dreams but who are still traumatized by his close call on the last space mission. He also shows well how some men and women are captivated by space travel or the idea of space travel, and nothing else satisfies.

Tuck becomes commander of the first tourist space flight, and everything looks rosy. But lurking in the background is the man responsible for the loss of Tuck's old crew, an Italian father determined to seek revenge, and Lance Campbell, a crewman with a grudge. Nothing is too obvious, and figuring out who is after whom will keep readers interested until the final pages.

The rich and famous soon sign on to be the first space tourists: Theodore Burke, Secretary of State; Ginny Lin, a popular starlet; Daki Abe, a Japanese businessman and multimillionaire; and James Donnelly, a top-notch journalist who is covering it all for the press. Careening through space in command of the Legacy on her first space voyage, Tuck once again must face a tragedy in the making --- and determine if he is willing to sacrifice his own family for the greater good.

Readers who want a clear outline of the plan of salvation will find that Gansky has worked it into the plot in the form of conversations between Tuck and his father, the likable Ben. Some may find these conversations a bit heavy-handed. Regardless, if anything could send a strong Christian into a tailspin of bitterness and indecision about his faith, it's clear that Tuck's circumstances would be plenty, so Gansky makes it believable. A few times it goes over the top, as in one scene where Tuck reaches out in the dark to "touch the face of God" (from the moving poem about the Columbia disaster in 1986).

Gansky does a wonderful job showing the depravity and injustice of evil and its effects without resorting to gratuitous violence or a big body count. The ability to do this is tough in faith fiction, and he strikes just the right tone. As well as providing page-turning suspense, Gansky uses his story to examine the problem of suffering and the injustice of tragedy.

If you enjoyed the movie Apollo 13 or just like a good suspense yarn, give ZERO-G a look. It's guaranteed to keep you up late reading.

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

I generally like Alton Gansky, but I found this work less gripping than most. This novel wasn't bad, just not particularly exciting.

Alton Gansky has never failed to keep me on the edge of my seat, and he did it again with Zero-G. This revolves around the first attempts at commercial space travel, and, more personally, the astronaut who will fly the first scheduled flight, along with his family and a host of characters, including a couple of ememies he is unaware of, who don't want this to succeed. The freaky thing is, right after I read the book, I saw in the news that the owner of Virgin Airlines is now delving into commercial space travel...oh oh...