Tango Midnight

I recently took a writing sabbatical and did something I'd been promising myself for some years - to re-read Michael Cassutt's three superb techno-thrillers. I've read Crichton and Clancy, but for me Cassutt is the third "C" in this genre, and one whose works I particularly enjoy as spaceflight history is something very near and dear to my heart, and the subject of many of my own books. He is a gifted writer, and this is a beautifully-paced, well-written story that is very closely based on contemporary spaceflight matters and philosophies. I think in another five years I will retrieve this and the other two books ("Missing Man" and "Red Moon") from my bookshelf once again and enjoy them all over again. I might also add that as a writer I also rely very heavily on Michael's non-fiction books on spaceflight history - they are regarded by me and many others as the definitive source of reliable and well-presented facts.

Absolutely up to RED MOON, packed with detail about the real space program.

I don't know much about the space program, but this book was one of the best reads I have had in a long, long time. The plot draws you in right from page one and you don't want to put it down! I learned a lot about space and was thoroughly entertained too. Suspenseful to the end... great book!!!

As a non-fiction writer, Michael Cassutt has written some of the most important and notable space flight books ever, books which astronauts and cosmonauts themselves use to learn about the past and present of space exploration. There are, of course, many insider stories that CAN'T be told while the subjects involved are still alive. With this marvellous novel, Cassutt has created a very believable and thrilling premise, full of highly accurate detail on the space programs of three different nations, and created a fascinating, gripping thriller that had me eager to read more throughout. On a different but equally entertaining level, Cassutt has added in a good number of true-but-subtly-fictionalized stories, that let the reader know what really goes on behind the public image of the space agencies. Only someone with detailed insider knowledge, plus a great talent for telling a story could have pulled this off - and luckily Cassutt has both in abundance. A great book that I highly recommend and will greatly enjoy re-reading.