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May 21, 2019

Vessel by Lisa A. Nichols | Review

This post may include Amazon links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Novel Visits Review of Vessel by Lisa A. Nichols

Vessel by Lisa A. Nichols (debut)
Publisher: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Release Date: May 21, 2019
Length: 304 pages
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

A woman, believed to be dead, returns from nine years in space missing the rest of her crew and much of her memory.

From the Publisher

“After Catherine Wells’s ship experiences a deadly incident in deep space and loses contact with NASA, the entire world believes her dead. Miraculously—and mysteriously—she survived, but with little memory of what happened. Her reentry after a decade away is a turbulent one: her husband has moved on with another woman and the young daughter she left behind has grown into a teenager she barely recognizes. Catherine, too, is different.” 

The Draw
  • Space is a rare topic for me.
  • Thriller/mystery of a non-domestic ilk.
  • Living alone for so long and what that does to a person.

{My Thoughts}

There’s much to be said about picking up the right book at the right time and that’s exactly what happened for me with Vessel. I’d just finished a thriller that didn’t really thrill me and I craved a book I could truly get lost in. Thank you, Lisa Nichols.

The premise of Vessel is what drew me in to begin with; the idea of a female astronaut being presumed dead, gone for over nine years, missing huge chunks of time, and trying to walk back into her life fascinated me. I especially enjoyed the parts of the story focused on Catherine’s attempts to reconnect with her husband and daughter. There was ample love to go around, but nine years changes everyone and the family struggled to find some sort of footing.

At the same time, Catherine began waking up in strange places with no idea how she’d gotten there. Colleagues at NASA pushed her to find the memories of what killed the rest of her crew, but the harder she worked at it the more confused she became.

“Something about the entire place made Catherine feel uneasy. It reminded her of the Unabomber’s bunker; all that was missing was a manifesto. And Catherine wouldn’t have been surprised it there was one of those around somewhere, half-written. Something was wrong here.”

I liked this mystery aspect to the story very much, though part of its resolution was also Vessel’s biggest flaw for me. I don’t want to give much away, so I’ll leave it at – a mind-game that seemed way too simple! Despite this and a couple of other minor flaws, the fun and creativity Lisa A. Nichols brought to her debut made Vessel a winner for me. Grade: B+

If you liked this book you might also enjoy:
  • Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton – The fascinating story of a lone scientist left behind at a deserted Alaskan space observatory after the rest of the world goes silent. (my review)
  • The Martian by Andy Weir – Though Vessel didn’t have the edge-of-your-seat intensity that The Martian did, I still found myself thinking of Weir’s book often as I read.

Note: I received a copy of this book from Atria/Emily Bestler Books (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Associate links included within this post.

Filed Under: By Title, Debuts, Other Tagged With: 2019, Book Review, Grade B, Science Fiction, Space, Suspense




Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Angela says

    May 21, 2019 at 4:50 pm

    I love stories set in space! This sounds really cool, definitely adding it to my TBR! Great review!

    Reply
    • Susie says

      May 26, 2019 at 7:24 am

      I hope you enjoy it Angela. Let me know when you get to it.

      Reply
  2. susan says

    May 22, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    Vessel sounds pretty good. I’m not a huge space reader but I did read The Martian and liked it all right. Another recent space novel (out in May) I’m thinking about picking up is The Light From Other Stars by Erika Swyler which a lot of readers on Goodreads seem to have liked. Hmm. Could be a good pairing of these two.

    Reply
    • Susie says

      May 26, 2019 at 7:25 am

      That does sound like an interesting pairing. I hadn’t even heard of The Light From Other Stars. Like you, I’m not much of a space reader, but now and then I can enjoy one.

      Reply
  3. RK says

    May 23, 2019 at 5:53 am

    Great review! I always love a unique thriller. I still need to read The Martian.

    Reply
    • Susie says

      May 26, 2019 at 7:25 am

      The Martian and Vessel would actually make a great pairing.

      Reply
  4. Christie says

    June 6, 2019 at 4:40 pm

    Thanks for turning me on to Good Morning, Midnight. There was no wait for the audiobook, and it was fantastic! I hadn’t even heard of it before. How did this fly under the radar?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Vessel: A Novel by Lisa Nichols - The Gilmore Guide to Books says:
    May 24, 2019 at 12:07 am

    […] I guess if you’re a huge sci-fi fan then you’re already open to the myriad of possibilities of what alien life could look like on other planets. If you’re just a drive-by reader of the genre like me, then the direction Vessel goes feels seriously anti-climactic and a bit clunky. At the same time, Nichol’s writing is strong enough that I give her an A+ for effort. Much of the novel held my interest but when it counted I felt cheated. Having said that, I realize it may be me so if Vessel sounds interesting to you, please check out this review from Susie, a blogger I trust: https://novelvisits.com/vessel-by-lisa-a-nichols-review/. […]

    Reply

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Welcome to Novel Visits! I’m Susie and reading is my passion. Join me for new novel reviews, musing on all things books, and much more.

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