Gravity

By: Tess Gerritsen

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Emma Watson, a brilliant research physician, has been training for years for the mission of a lifetime: to study living beings in space. Jack McCallum, Emma's estranged husband, has shared her dream of space travel, but a medical condition has grounded and embittered him. He must watch from the sidelines as his wife prepares for her first mission to the international Space Station.

Once aboard the space station, however, things start to go terribly wrong. A culture of single-celled organisms known as Archaeons, gathered from the deep sea, are to be monitored in the microgravity of space. The true and lethal nature of this experiment has not been revealed to NASA. In space, the cells rapidly multiply and soon begin to infect the crew - with agonizing and deadly results.

A recovery attempt ends in catastrophe: the NASA shuttle crashes, killing all onboard, and the space station is left dangerously crippled. Emma struggles to contain the deadly microbe, while back home, Jack and NASA work against the clock to retrieve Emma from space.

But there will be no rescue. The contagion now threatens Earth's population as well, and the astronauts are left stranded in orbit, quarantined aboard the station - where they are dying one by one....

Written with an exacting eye, Dr. Tess Gerritsen ensnares the imagination with Gravity, her most steely, unforgettable thriller yet.

©2010 Tess Gerritsen (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"She is better than Plamer, better than Cook... yes, even better than Crichton." (Stephen King)

One hell of a medical thriller!!!!

Don't confuse this with the hit movie starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.

Emma Watson is a research doctor who has always dreamed of studying living things in space. She trains for years and finally realizes her dream. Emma's dreams come true and she finds herself at the international space station. Things start going wrong and Emma finds herself in space with deadly cells, dieing scientists, and the powers that be fighting to stop the crew from returning to earth with the deadly cells.

Once I started, there was no turning back. I listened to Gravity from start to finish in one day and enjoyed every minute! If you're looking for a fast paced book to grasp your every moment, this is it!

A great listen

Any additional comments?

Having worked on the Shuttle program this was a fun reminder of a really great job in my life!

Different from her usual books

Even though this book was different from what I've read before, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Look forward to more reads from Tess.

We’ll Crafted!

Years ago, my college buddy and I pondered the notion of pure science fiction verses other forms of sci-fi storytelling. This writing hits the mark. All aspects of the narrative reinforce the initial premise. Just about all interpersonal emotional aspects of the narrative reinforce the development of the premise: what would happen is scientists serendipitously discovered microbial alien life on earth? Great writing down to the nuts and bolts of scientific detail.

Only an issue if you know medical drug names

I really wish the reader knew how to pronounce drug names. Not a big deal though.

Don't get sick in space!

Would you consider the audio edition of Gravity to be better than the print version?

No idea. I only listened to the audio version.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Pleased. ( Difficult to say anything that would not be a spoiler.)

What does William Dufris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Consistent characterization. He brought energy to the characters. Very good performance.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Some of the astronauts deaths ( particularly the first one ) was very intense and moving.

Any additional comments?

This offering caught me by surprise. It was more creative, interesting, and "different" than I would have otherwise thought. It does drag abit in terms of technical jargon, and could benefit from some more editing, but on balance it was very worth the time.

I was given a copy of this book by the narrator free of charge in return for an honest review through Audiobook Boom.

Possibilities are endless.

Throughly enjoyed this book. It has timely information and current topic possibilities. The reader did a good job of keeping the interest up.

Gripping Story

I stayed up all night to finish this book, as I couldn't find a good stopping point. I just *had* to know what happened next!

The narrator mostly did ok, but he mangled almost all the medical terminology, which made me a little crazy. But he brought great emotion and interpretation to the text which made it all the more engaging.

calm down & work the problem

For Astronauts & Dr's everyone panicked too easily, a little more problem solving would have gone a long way

Great Everything!!!!

Great Everything!!!! This is an older book I read years ago loved listening to it. Great story Great narration!!!!