Final Orbit

An edge-of-your-seat thriller about China’s secret role in the space race—written by the New York Times bestselling author of The Apollo Murders and one of the most experienced astronauts alive.
 
Houston, 1975. A new Apollo mission launches into orbit, on course to dock with a Russian Soyuz craft: three NASA astronauts and three cosmonauts, joining to celebrate a new dawn of Soviet-American cooperation. But as NASA Flight Controller Kaz Zemeckis listens in from Earth, a deadly accident onboard the orbiting spacecraft changes everything.
 
Meanwhile, from a remote location in east Asia, the first Chinese spacecraft secretly launches. On board is China’s first astronaut, Fang Kuo-chun, whose mission puts him on a collision course with the Apollo crew.
 
As Kaz races against an enemy on the ground and for answers beyond the sky, the safety of the remaining crew hangs in the balance…

Perfect for fans of Project Hail Mary and filled with shocking twists and real history—including the fascinating story of Professor Tsien Hsue-shen, the “Father of Chinese Rocketry” and founder of China’s space program—Final Orbit accelerates to a thrilling conclusion that captures the beauty and terror of survival 270 miles above Earth, as could only be written by one of the world’s most experienced astronauts.

• “Phenomenally combines thriller and historical fiction. . . . Action-filled, believable drama that flows. Readers of sci-fi thrillers by Isaac Asimov, Andy Weir, and James Michener will enjoy the realism of Hadfield’s latest.”
  Library Journal (starred review)
• “Another high-flying adventure. . . . Hadfield is a terrific storyteller, and his blending of the real and the made-up is seamless. Another terrific thriller from a writer who is uniquely qualified to write it.”
   
  Booklist
• "Hadfield has developed a signature style that fluidly blends real historical personages and events with explosive action...Hadfield has established himself as a reliable brand in grounded, retro-flavoured SF."
  Toronto Star
• “Engrossing. . . . Deftly chronicles how China's clandestine launch of its first astronaut in east Asia leads to an international espionage incident and an accident that puts the entire joint mission in jeopardy.”
  Space.com
• Praise for Chris Hadfield's thrillers:
• "Commander Hadfield takes us on an exciting journey into an alternate past. And who better to write about astronauts than an astronaut himself!"
  Andy Weir, author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary
• "A Cold War thriller packed with cosmic action… Featuring undercover spies, scheming Russians and psychopathic murderers, sometimes all at once, it teems with authoritative details about what it might be like, for instance, to throw up in space or to grapple with a deadly Soviet astronaut who assaults you during a spacewalk."
  The New York Times
• “A Cold War thriller unlike anything you have ever read! The Defector is a full throttle, adrenaline-laced espionage page-turner spiked with history and intrigue that will leave you wondering if what you just read could have really happened."
  Jack Carr, author of the James Reece Terminal List series
• “The Defector is an extraordinary novel that is sure to keep readers enthralled. Brimming with detail and realism and full of pulse-pounding action, it's a well-crafted thriller that I just couldn’t put down!”
  Mark Greaney, author of the Gray Man series