Title: Good Morning, Midnight
Author: Lily Brooks-Dalton
Pages: 320
Publisher: W&N
Release Date: 12th September 2017
Blurb from Goodreads:
Augustine, a brilliant, ageing scientist, is consumed by the stars. He has spent his entire life searching for the origins of time itself. He has now been left alone on a remote research base in the Arctic circle, all communication with the outside world broken down. But then he discovers a mysterious child, Iris, who must have hidden herself away when the last of his colleagues departed. Sully is a divorced mother. She is also an astronaut, currently aboard The Aether on a return flight from Jupiter. This is the culmination of her career, the very reason for all the sacrifices she has made - the daughter she left behind, the marriage she couldn't save. But then something goes wrong with the ship's communication system. Marooned in the vast silence of space and the achingly beautiful sweep of the Arctic, both Augustine and Sully must find a way to make peace with the choices they have made and find a path to redemption.
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My Review:
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Orion Publishing*
Augustine is a scientist who is past his prime and working at a research base in the Arctic circle. Augustine is all alone except for a young girl called Iris, who somehow missed the rushed evacuation that resulted in all his colleagues leaving.
Sully is an astronaut onboard the Aether, a spaceship returning from a research trip of the moons of Jupiter. Sully sacrificed a lot to get to where she is, including her marriage and a life with her young daughter.
With a disturbing lack of communication coming from Earth, Sully and her crew-mates find themselves even more isolated than they normally would be in space, and are unsure what they will find when they return home.
Augustine is equally isolated and lonely.
What will become of Augustine, Sully and her crew-mates?
I first heard about this book when I saw that it was being adapted into a film. As a sci-fi fan, I immediately added it to my TBR.
Augustine was an intriguing protagonist and it made a change for one of the main characters to be older. It was interesting finding out about his past and his regrets.
Sully was also a good protagonist and I enjoyed reading her interactions with her crew-mates as well as seeing how they coped with their situation.
The plot was a lot more character-driven than I expected and there wasn't much action. The story focused a lot on who Augustine and Sully were as people more than what they did, which doesn't always hold my attention in books, however, in this case I was invested and wanted to read until the end, but I wasn't gripped or on the edge of my seat.
The two settings of the Arctic and the Aether were limiting and isolating, but also interesting.
The writing style was easy to follow and I would be interested in reading another book by the author.
While I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as I hoped I would, I'm glad I read it.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read.
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