Welcome friend! The second novel by astronaut writer Chris Hadfield in the Apollo Murders series isn’t set in space, and I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy that change of scenery. But reading a returning author in a new context is always revealing. It tells you whether you loved the setting or the storytelling more. Turns out, The Defector was every bit the page-turner that The Apollo Murders was, and I didn’t miss NASA at all. Here is what the story is about:
Chris Hadfield | Goodreads | Apollo Murders #2
From New York Times bestselling author, astronaut, and fighter pilot Chris Hadfield comes a riveting new thriller perfect for fans of Top Gun and The Hunt for Red October.
Israel, October 1973. As the Yom Kippur War flares into life, a state-of-the-art Soviet MiG fighter plane plummets to an unexpected landing. NASA Flight Controller and former US test pilot Kaz Zemeckis watches from the ground—unaware that its arrival will pull him into a high-stakes game of spies, lies, and secrets that hold the key to Cold War air and space supremacy.
For within that plane is a Soviet pilot pleading to defect, offering a prize beyond the workings of the Soviets’ mythical “Foxbat” MiG-25, the fastest, highest-flying fighter plane in the world. But trusting him is risky, and Kaz must tread a careful line. As Kaz accompanies the defector into the United States, to the military’s most secret test site, he must hope that, with skill and cunning, the game plays out his way.
Rich with insider detail and political intrigue drawn from real events, The Defector is a propulsive thriller from a growing master of the genre, filled with the nerve-shredding rush of aerial combat as it could only be told by one of the world’s best fighter pilots.
The Defectors – Review
When I read The Apollo Murders, I was completely drawn into Kaz’s story — a man whose dream to go to space is shattered by injury, yet who still finds a way to serve the mission from the ground. In The Defector, Kaz is on another high profile mission, this one takes him to Area 51, though his connection to NASA is still strong.
Vacationing with his girlfriend, Laura, in Israel, Kaz happens to witness an interesting aerial situation. I haven’t read many books touching on the conflict in Israel, Egypt and the surrounding area so it was fascinating to join Kaz as he met the Israeli Prime Minister and advised the American ambassador there. From the first page, there was a Situation (capital S intentional) and it just kept developing. I loved the political intrigue and the tension of war right on the heels of a very important Israeli holiday. On top of that, Kaz’s concern for Laura as she leaves an imminent warzone was just right! Here was someone who is used to danger but for the first time has to leave the person he loves in the hands of other professionals and fate.
Chris Hadfield did an amazing job of alternating perspectives in the last book and here too, I was not disappointed by the number of points of views I got in this story.The Soviet pilot, Grief, arrives with his MiG-25 — a plane the Americans have long coveted. It is proprietary Russian technology and to get it and the pilot was a dream come true. Or a nightmare unfolding… As a pilot himself, Kaz ends up being assigned to Grief, the defector, and spends time with him at Area 51.
Chris Hadfield often shares snippets of people’s lives without sharing their name. Or there would be narratives of people who touch the main plot based on the function of their job – such as the team responsible for moving all sensitive documents to the Reactor Maintenance, Assembly and Disassembly building – to show location of things that will come to be important later. He presents a brilliant puzzle through each chapter. Grief was written really well. He gave me a bad feeling from the start and I was right to not trust him. I liked the chapters that gave different aspects of him and for some time, kept me guessing who they were even about.
The story shows the height of surveillance. There are so many eyes on everything that is happening and ultimately it is the race to who will connect the dots first, recognize and combat the threat. Since KGB and Russian surveillance is still highly involved in The Defectors, I enjoyed meeting some old faces. Vitaly Kalugin was impressive then and he is impressive now. So many times in this series now, I meet characters who love their work and know that they are brilliant at it. I think that is one reason I keep coming back.
The Defectors sets the groundwork for the concluding book in this trilogy, Final Orbit. With the support of his superiors, Kaz’s flying license is reinstated and maybe his dream to become an astronaut will come true. The Soviet Union and USA are planning the Apollo-Soyuz mission as a gesture of friendship in space, the training for which is already underway in this book. It gave the opportunity to meet Svetlana again, the cosmonaut who had played a very important role, I would say the primary Russian protagonist, in The Apollo Murders.
Chris Hadfield writes tension like someone who’s lived it — the technical details feel authentic, the danger immediate, and the stakes sky-high. In The Apollo Murders, Chris had balanced the realism of spaceflight with the thrill of espionage. In The Defector, his flying experience showed through and I could not stop reading the aerial battle finale. Another cinematic feel! Here is a snippet I loved:
Droning along, the icy blackness of the ocean nine kilometres beneath the, and the endless dark and twinkling stars of the universe above, it felt as though they were suspended in air, going nowhere.
– pg 235
If you enjoy audiobooks, Ray Porter is an amazing narrator. He brings this story alive. Stay tuned for my review of Final Orbit tomorrow.
If you haven’t already, check out my review of The Apollo Murders.
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