Good Morning, Midnight - a review

One thing I love about a vacation is that I read a lot. I finished one book while I was in Sanibel, read two more, and started a fourth. Last week I told you about the book I finished. This time I'm going to tell you about the second book I read, Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton.

This book was compared to Station Eleven (which I really liked), prompting me to buy the kindle version. The story is focused on two characters, Augustine, a brilliant astronomer posted at a research center in the Arctic, and Mission Specialist Sullivan aboard the Aether on its return flight from Jupiter. When alarming news reaches the Arctic outpost, all the scientist evacuate except for Augustine. Not long after he discovers a child and finds that the airwaves have gone completely silent. In space aboard the Aether, Mission Control has likewise gone silent, leaving Sullivan and the rest of the crew wondering if they can still can get home, and what will they find when they get there.

I was very invested in the mystery of what happened. Why has the whole world gone silent? Who is the child and how did she get there? Will Sully get home and find her daughter? The problem was I didn't like the characters enough. Augustine got no sympathy from me. As he considers his youth while he wonders what has happened, it's obvious he was a dick. Brilliant yes, but almost sociopathic in his his dealings with other people, especially women. Sully, on the other hand, was a much more likeable character and I wanted her to get home, but I still didn't love her like I do some characters, like Kell in A Darker Shade of Magic - I'd totally hang out with him, Sully and Augustine? No thanks.

My final complaint is a spoiler so I'm going to be non-specific. Not all mysteries are solved. If they had been maybe I would feel more satisfied. But I also suspect the author felt that that was the whole point because other reviews of the book loved that everything wasn't resolved. 

At any rate, excellent writing and I would still give this book a thumbs up.

Finally, I've heard a rumor of temps in the 50s this week and I'm wicked psyched.