Review: Vessel

Vessel by Lisa A. Nichols
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Can writers write smart characters if they themselves aren't also smart? A loaded question to be sure but still somehow begs to be asked. It repeatedly came to mind as I read this novel, Vessel by Lisa A. Nichols. Not that this book is dumb, far from it, but it falls more into the range of above average. This novel uses its brain, which I liked, but the problem is that we have a bunch of characters that work at NASA who don't seem qualified for the positions they hold. I'm not saying you have to be a rocket scientist to write rocket scientists, but it helps.

It starts off well enough, with a strong you-can't-go-home-again feel to it. If it remained a character study about someone returning home after spending years in space than I probably would have liked it a lot more. However, the actual plot that surrounds our characters isn't as strong as the characters themselves. It's more drab and predictable than it otherwise pretends to be. Most of the book sticks with the lead character and her returning to Earth troubles, which is its strength, but every few chapters it has to remind us that it has a half baked plot cooking in the background.

I would say Vessel's worst problem is that it gets less interesting the more it goes on. It doesn't fall apart by the end, I would have hated this book otherwise, but it rather just of fizzles out. By the latter third of the book, it's just not convincing. The secondary characters aren't allowed enough insight, so their actions just seem rather idiotic. At first, I thought something sinister was going on, but no, they were just being stupid.

There is also a secondary narration that feels pretty useless until the closing chapters. It takes away the focus from the main character and it doesn't provide enough insight into the plot to justify it. I know the resolution to the ending conflict was more practical by having someone other than the main character solve it, it just makes for bad storytelling.

Ultimately, I would say this book is flawed but otherwise worthy to be read. So I would recommend Vessel but with an asterisk. It's mostly good, it's mostly smart. It just isn't as good or as smart as something like The Martian.

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