Too Far from Home: A Story of Life and Death in Space

In February 2003, the space shuttle Columbia, returning from the International Space Station, exploded after re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, killing its seven passengers. Three other astronauts were left stranded aboard the ISS after the launch program was suspended in the wake of the tragedy. Jones follows the three aboard the space station and charts their eventual return home. Davies delivers a serviceable if lackluster performance. His voice is pleasant enough, but his narrative style is a bit bland. There are a number of dramatic scenes throughout the story that Davies simply recounts rather than dramatizes. Since most, if not all, of the dialogue between the ISS astronauts and mission control was probably recorded, not using them in the audiobook is a missed opportunity to really bring the story to life. Jones's tale of compelling human drama is fascinating, but the narrator doesn't quite have ""the right stuff."" Simultaneous release with the Atria hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 26).