Cold War Novel Coincides With 50th Anniversary of the ‘Handshake in Space’

Chris Hadfield’s ‘Final Orbit’ is a thrilling suspense novel that seamlessly ties fiction and space age history together

"Final Orbit," a new release, by Chris Hadfield, pictured here in 2011. Public Domain

Author and astronaut Chris Hadfield is firing on all cylinders in his new Cold War novel, “Final Orbit.” Pulling from a lifetime of extensive aerospace knowledge and his gift for weaving a yarn, this was a thoroughly enjoyable and suspenseful read.

Hadfield, who is one of America’s most accomplished astronauts, has become an accomplished novelist. In his new book, he takes familiar foes—the Americans and Soviets—and plies them together as allies from a strictly aerospace perspective. Two three-person teams are sent into space as part of international goodwill collaboration. However, are the Chinese are lurking, ready to strike at an opportunity to obtain an American-made space weapon and foment further discord between the Americans and Soviets.

Great Characters, Great Detail

“Final Orbit” is a cleanly woven story that gives plenty of detail without getting lost in it. The characters, of which many are real, (like President Gerald Ford and his staff, as well as members of the American, Soviet, and Chinese space programs) are never flat. Hadfield displays a gift for dialogue and not overplaying emotions in his characters. Too often, especially in thrillers, characters are either one-dimensional, displaying little human emotion, or are so overblown that they are unbelievable.