Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Oh boy, here I am finally, reviewing this. It’s been a heck of a year, and this wasn’t quite the right book for me earlier this year — I didn’t even get to the pandemic part, it’s just that the portrayal of a world slid out of control was too much for me in general. Goldilocks portrays a future version of Earth with women forced back out of the workplace, climate change out of control, and temperate areas overpopulated and struggling. A small crew of women are heading for a new planet, Cavendish, with the hope of finding and making a new home there, to save everyone.

Things turn out darker than that hope, in a way that’s difficult to talk about without giving too much away. There are some twists that are worth experiencing as part of the story, with its multiple timelines and carefully timed revelations. I’m usually pretty good at guessing ahead, but one or two twists caught me on the hop.

In the end, one particular character came across as a little too straightforwardly villainous for me. I didn’t have an ounce of sympathy for their aims or their choices on the way there, and that sat oddly with my earlier impressions of them. I’d have welcomed something that felt a little more nuanced, perhaps, though I did find Naomi’s reaction to them was nicely ambiguous. The ending seemed to suggest that things were meant to be that way, but after a certain point, they just went beyond the pale for me.

Overall, though, I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

I loved this! A great entry level sci fi, great character development, and I didn't feel like it was lagging at any point.

This was a great quick lady based space book.
Following a bunch of brilliant minded yet over looked ladies as they take back the adventure that was stolen from them.
With twists and turns and good Vs evil, this book would be a brilliant introduction into the scifi genre and for lovers if Becky Chambers Wayfarers series.

Wow! I really don't know where to start with this review. I don't read a lot of science fiction but have been wanting to read more. And for some reason, when I first saw Goldilocks, it just seemed like something I wanted to take a chance on. And man, did that chance pay off.

As the book starts, five women who prepared to be spearheading a mission to space for years but who were quickly replaced by men, hijack the spaceship Atalanta. The Earth has been drastically altered because of climate change and there's no doubt that in a few years, even more resources will be depleted. Missions to Mars have been successful, but Earth has its sights set on another planet, Cavendish. These woman, led by Valerie Black, want to get their first and prove mankind, and basically men, wrong. However, everyday brings new obstacles on Atalanta and there are some secrets Valerie hasn't shared with the rest of her chosen crew.

This book has it all - science, space, drama, relationships, action and adventure. It speaks of the devastation taking place on Earth and a future when people are penalized for having more than one child and where women are being delegated to primarily caring for their families and sacrificing their careers for their children. Naomi Lovelace was raised by Valerie following her parents' death. She was given every advantage and sometimes questions her own abilities because of it. While she knows Valerie is a cunning and ruthless, she has no idea the lengths Valerie will go to get what she wants. And when she finds out, Naomi is forced to make decisions she never wanted to make and face a truth she never imagined.

I loved Naomi so much. She is a great character and though flawed, is definitely morally sound. She values life and wants to forge a better place for people to live. The rest of the crew are also quite likable. But then there's Valerie. Lam created a very complex character who as much as I despised at times, I had to agree with at least some of what she was doing. She took charge of her own future and come on, it takes spunk to hijack a spaceship!

So basically I recommend Goldilocks to EVERYONE! If you're fairly new to science fiction like me, it's a perfect starting point. And I have no doubt that if you already enjoy the genre, there's a good chance this book is already on your radar. When the year ends, I have a feeling this one will be on quite a few people's "Best of 2020" lists.

I went into this book thinking I was going to get something completely new - and I definetly got something different.

Goldilocks is a piece of amazing writing. But it is very firmly a character driven book, the plot is less apparent and only really make an appearance occasionally throughout - between flashbacks and the present.
And though I found the premise and the characters compelling I did find the pacing slightly chaotic.

The idea of five women stealing a spaceship to make sure earth survives was what dragged me in, and had me sitting at the edge of my seat for this book.

And yet, the big plot twist at the end kind of ruined the rest of the story for me.
We start out strong, get introduced to wonderfully flawed characters - we see the stakes being raised, and then continue to up themselves throughout - and the similarites between our own day to day life and this book makes this a scarily accurate, and important read.

However, the second half of this book made me wonder why? Why were these choices made? Why did it have to be a short book? As I think a deeper dive into it would have made for a more compelling read.

Over all the characters and the writing saved this book for me. And I am interested to see what more Laura Lam comes up with.
But the plot left me behind on earth.
.

Goldilocks by Laura Lam.

I love a good sci-fi novel, and I have to say Goldilocks did not disappoint. The book description really reeled me in, the synopsis full of intrigue and feminism.

The story starts when Naomi, the protagonist is asked to recount what had happened 30 years prior, all this time she has kept her side of the story closely kept to her heart. But feels if there ever was a time to reveal what happened the time had come.
Naomi describes how Earth’s future laid in the balance; it was on the brink of collapse due to human’s destruction of the environment. It was thought that life on Earth could not be sustained. So, scientists research other viable options, like Mars. But found a more suitable option, an exoplanet called Cavendish.

Naomi and her stepmother Valerie, along with a group of other female astronauts and scientists, fight for the right to be among the first to travel to Cavendish, having the experience necessary for such a task. However, women are currently being pushed out of the roles, they are encouraged to stay at home, repressing women in work and promoting men. It is not unlike the beginning of what occurred in The Handmaids Tale.

Valerie, the wilful, strong-minded women that she is, cannot abide by societies expectations of her and her team and decides to steal the spaceship, with or without the permission of the country. With a full crew, including Naomi the ship's botanist and food producer they set on their way to be the first crew on Cavendish. All seems to be well until a series of secrets start to unravel, where the immediate future of Earth may well be in trouble, and a plan has to be made.

One thing I really liked about this story, is the fact that this could happen, this is what we may need to do in the future to help Earth survive. I felt, after reading Goldilocks that Laura has thoroughly researched and has a good understanding of space travel and astrophysics as a whole.


This story combines genres, a dark dystopia, thought-provoking sci-fi and thriller all in one. I would 100% recommend if you love these genres, or even if you fancy something new.

A bit of a change here – Goldilocks is not a fairy-tale retelling but science fiction. Goldilocks, in this case, refers to the habitable zone around a star – not too hot and not too cold to potentially sustain human life. In the case of this book this zone is needed since mankind’s refusal to change lifestyle, even in the face of brutal climate change, means that a fresh start is needed sooner rather than later. Of course, this is a fairly common occurrence in ecologically inclined sci-fi: what is new here is the undercurrent of Gilead-style political misogyny. Yes, if you forced me to do the ‘x meets y’ definition I’d have to call it Handmaid’s Tale meets The Martian (and you’d have to force me – I made this comparison as I was reading the book – now I see that everyone is using it. Bah!). With a strong hint of reportage in characters that reminded me of both Trump and Elon Musk….

Naomi Lovelace is part of the crew of the Atalanta, a spaceship making its way to Cavendish, a distant planet which offers mankind an escape from the mess they’ve made of Earth. The mission and the ship they are on were the brainchild of Lovelace’s adopted mother, Valerie Black, and the crew were hand-picked by Black but, because of a repressively patriarchal political system, they are only there because, well, they stole the ship. Initially the crew, all women, are positive about what they have done – trusting Black to deal with demands from Earth to return the ship – but an atmosphere of mistrust soon emerge. Things begin to go wrong with the ship, Lovelace has health issues which will affect the whole crew and, it seems, Black is keeping secrets from them all. We move between the time on board the Atalanta and back to Lovelace’s childhood and youth – discovering more about the real character of Valerie Black as we go – and, finally, to a future where Lovelace is looking back and, finally, telling the truth about what happened on this fateful journey. This is good, thoughtful, science fiction which should suit readers of Becky Chambers – especially if they are also Atwood fans.

It didn’t take long for me to be interested in this story; interested in the background, where it was going & how it would work. Laura has written a fantastically fascinating story about a very possible future of our planet & it was near impossible to put down. I struggled at times with the spacey-wacey lingo but that just made me admire the intelligence of the characters even more (& it shows how much research Laura did). This space adventure is crammed full of surprises & fatal plot twists, & I absolutely loved it. This is a beautiful story about humanity, impossible choices & the magic of the universe we reside in. I absolutely recommend you pick it up immediately.

⚠️ Flashbacks to a house fire, deaths of parents, a very openly sexist Earth, discussions/references of off-page homophobia & racism, miscarriages, laws against abortion, violence, references to a global pandemic (eeek) & very real, hard hitting facts about global warming & human suffering ⚠️

Extended Review to Follow.

I absolutely devoured this book, I thought it was brilliant! This is the first time in a long time (potentially this year?) where I’ve read a book that I’ve been unable to put down. This is exactly what I want from my sci-fi dystopian books, and I can’t wait to buy a physical copy when it’s released later this year. Would definitely recommend to any science fiction lovers out there! Keep an eye out.

Goldilocks is a solid mystery/dystopian thriller. Set in the future when Earth's environment is a disaster, the future of humanity hangs in the balance. Women's rights are struggling with more and more restrictions placed upon them. Valerie Black has a different idea: an all-female mission to a planet where conditions are just right for human habitation. Things start going awry on the ship and the crew begins wondering if someone has it out for them. The story is filled with massive twists and solid characters. Highly recommended to readers looking for something original.

The Earth is in environmental collapse. The future of humanity hangs in the balance. But a team of women are preparing to save it. Even if they’ll need to steal a spaceship to do it.

Despite increasing restrictions on the freedoms of women on Earth, Valerie Black is spearheading the first all-female mission to a planet in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are just right for human habitation.

The team is humanity’s last hope for survival, and Valerie has gathered the best women for the mission: an ace pilot who is one of the only astronauts ever to have gone to Mars; a brilliant engineer tasked with keeping the ship fully operational; and an experienced doctor to keep the crew alive. And then there’s Naomi Lovelace, Valerie’s surrogate daughter and the ship’s botanist, who has been waiting her whole life for an opportunity to step out of Valerie’s shadow and make a difference.

The problem is that they’re not the authorized crew, even if Valerie was the one to fully plan the voyage. When their mission is stolen from them, they steal the ship bound for the new planet.

But when things start going wrong on board, Naomi begins to suspect that someone is concealing a terrible secret — and realizes time for life on Earth may be running out faster than they feared . . .

In this week’s review, Goldilocks by Laura Lam, humanity has reached the ultimate fork in the road; our planet has reached a crisis point and something needs to be done. The first option – continue as we are, eternally optimistic that everything will be fine as long as we ignore the obvious warning signs. Option two – seek out a new home that offers the potential to begin again. A clean slate where we can learn from our past mistakes and avoid repeating them.

Naomi Lovelace is part of a crew prepared to risk everything in order to make option two a reality. The complex relationship between Naomi and the ship’s captain, her adoptive mother Valerie, is what lies at the heart of the novel. Valerie is a self-made businesswoman and growing up, in the shadow of someone quite so awe-inspiring, has left its mark on Naomi. Though estranged, circumstance has brought the two women together and they are forced to confront the issues between them. In the close quarters of the ship, Naomi has no choice but to try and understand what motivates the woman she calls mother.

The novel’s timeline charts the journey from Earth to Mars and then onwards to what could become our new home, Cavendish. There are also chapters that flashback, giving insight into Naomi’s upbringing and the events that led her to the mission in the first place. These moments help to flesh out Naomi’s character and further define how she views her often brittle relationship with Valerie.

Politics also play a key role in the novel’s plot. The American government and their particularly loathsome leader (reminds me of someone, I can’t for the life of me think who?), have taken a backwards step with regards to equality. Women are being forced out of the workplace and back into the home. Individuals are no longer being judged on skill or the merit of their abilities. Valerie, Naomi and the rest of the crew decide to take matters into their own hands. They intend to prove, without question, that they are the best people for the job irrespective of something as arbitrary as biology. It made me want to stand up and cheer out loud. I’m always staggered that there are still those who value a person’s worth based on gender, sex or the colour of their skin. Seriously, what makes some people still think that way?

One of the things that makes space exploration novels so compelling is that human element, that drive to triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds, to boldly go*. The best science fiction doesn’t just show us who we are, it shows us who we could be. Some might discount Goldilocks, view it is just a science fiction story. To do so would be a great disservice, this novel is so much more. I have no idea if our future will lie in the stars or not, but I do know we need to take note of voices like Lam’s before it is too late to find out. I have said before, and I’ll likely say it again, the best fiction doesn’t just entertain, it also educates and informs. Goldilocks left me with plenty to unpack and ruminate over, I love it when a book manages to promote such thoughtful introspection.

Goldilocks is a raw, emotive experience that remains consistently captivating throughout. Taking its cue from current events, Lam’s near future vision of Earth feels very real and should act as a frighteningly prescient warning to us all. The taught narrative shines a light on the realities of the issues that humanity is experiencing now. The backdrop of climate change, authoritarian regimes, gender inequality and global pandemics made it feel like at times I was reading the news rather than a work of fiction.

If you have got this far in the review, then I don’t imagine you’ll be hugely shocked when I tell you I really enjoyed Goldilocks. This is a truly exceptional piece of work and well worth seeking out. It’s times like this I wish I could give you all direct access to my brain so you could properly appreciate how much I mean that.

My musical recommendation to accompany Goldilocks is the soundtrack to the 2018 science fiction movie Fast Color by Rob Simonsen. It sets a tone that perfectly captures Naomi’s story. The fact that the plot of the movie is about a fractured relationship between a mother and a daughter is just a happy coincidence.

Goldilocks is published by Headline and will be available from 30th April. Highly recommended.

*I am as surprised as you are that a Star Trek reference appeared in this sentence. You will have to believe me when I tell you it was not deliberate and entirely unexpected.

Goldilocks surprised me at nearly every turn. I read enough that it is not easy to do that. Certain plots, certain tropes, certain themes often recur in fiction. Goldilocks toys with them, then casts them aside to become something new. This is a very good novel.

First, the name. The “Goldilocks Zone” is a designation given to areas around stars which are “not too hot and not too cold.” Planets of near Earth size that orbit their suns in that zone could have liquid water, and could arguably sustain life. Perhaps they could even sustain human life, were we able to get there.

Not many years in the future, America is ruled by a misogynistic yet charismatic president who has set a tone in public life that discourages women from full participation. Abortion is outlawed. Women are allowed to bear one child, but a prohibitive tax awaits a second birth. Women are also required to take five years away from work to care for their child. Not quite “Handmaid’s Tale” stuff, but frighteningly close to home for those of us living in today’s USA.

Naomi Lovelace should be an astronaut. However, being a woman, she never will get her dream of going into space and exploring the Goldilocks world of Cavendish, a world that looks perfect for human habitation. Then her adoptive mother steps in. Valerie Black is rich and ruthless. Her company has been frozen out of the space race after building much of the infrastructure allowing it. She devises a solution: steal the first interstellar ship and take it to Cavendish herself.

Black and Lovelace are joined by three other women, and together they embark on a journey that could end in death or prison just as likely as it ending on a new planet. Author Laura Lam takes us on their journey, with more than a few flashbacks to provide context and backstory. As you may expect, there are technical hurdles, emotional tensions, and relationship dynamics that become magnified in the cold and dark of space. What I did not expect, though, was how events could change not only the women themselves but the entire plot of the book.

What do you seek in life? For some, the question is easily answered: a career, a family, a reputation, a goal. For others, though, the answer is not as clear. Can I achieve my career goals and have a family? Can I keep my reputation while achieving my goals? For Naomi her answer has always been the same: get to Cavendish. She is, she believes, willing to do anything to get there, including stealing a ship. But when the price of achieving that goal begins to add up, it leads to some dramatic plot twists and changes that kept this reader racing to get more. Lam saves some of her biggest plot twists for the very end, an ending that was both surprising and utterly satisfying.

At its best, science fiction is just fiction. You have people rubbing against other people, making wise and poor decisions, handling obstacles with intelligence or obstinacy, maturing or stagnating according to their own internal motivations. Goldilocks is a beautiful example of the genre, a book that will stick with me for some time.

I did enjoy this book and wanted to finish it in one sitting to see what happens and to find out all the minute plot twists that culminate in the final big one but with the current climate and the pandemic it may be one that hits just a little bit too close for home for comfort.

Great space read, would have enjoyed to see more of the others lives on board the ship and maybe less flashbacks to her life but overall I enjoyed it.

This is a future where humanity is reaping a bitter harvest. The world has been ravaged by environmental disaster, greed and oppression, and time is running out for life on Earth.

But there may be light at the end of the tunnel. A planet has been identified in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions may be just right for humanity to start again - the planet Cavendish.

Although the current political climate is bringing more and more restrictions on the freedom of women, entrepreneur Valerie Black is heading up the first all-female mission in space. on the ground breaking ship Atalanta - one to the new promised land of Cavendish - and she has recruited her adopted daughter Naomi to take on the role of ship's botanist.

When political pressure means that the mission is snatched out of Valerie's hands and her all female crew is dropped in favour of an all male one, she is not content to let sleeping dogs lie. In fact, she and her brilliant crew of women steal the Atalanta from under the nose of NASA and head to Mars in preparation for their space-time bending jump to Cavendish.

Unfortunately, when things start to go wrong on the ship, Naomi starts to suspect that Valerie's intentions are not quite as altruistic as she has represented to her crew, and the time left for life to exist on Earth may be a lot shorter than they thought.

Can Naomi finally step out of Valerie's shadow and really make a difference, even if it means going up against the woman who she has come to look on as her own mother?

***********************************************************

As soon as I heard about Goldilocks, I knew I was going to love it - and dear reader, I did!

It has been described as a high-concept thriller, akin to The Martian by way The Handmaid's Tale, and I can see why. There are certainly elements which are reminiscent of both of these stellar (pardon the pun) novels, especially since Laura Lam places quite a lot of emphasis on the way women are gradually being sidelined in Naomi's time in the name of safety - and of course, Naomi is a botanist, much like dear old Mark Watney.

Undeniably, the disenfranchisement of women is important as a plot device in this book and it is one which inevitably gets the reader wholeheartedly behind Valerie and the gang when they take the decision to snatch the Atalanta and proceed with their mission as planned - take that patriarchal NASA! What do you know, women can be astronauts too! And, as such, this is a very enjoyable feminist set-up against which to play out the story, which gives Laura Lam scope to explore how an all female crew might shape the future of humanity.

However, I am am wary of comparing this with Atwood's dystopia too much, as I think it detracts from the fact this this book is a essentially a cracking space story - there is much more Martian here than Margaret, albeit with an all female crew, and the book is all the better for it.

Although the timeline goes back and forth, so we can get to know Naomi well, and get a glimpse into the kind of woman Valerie may really be underneath the steely exterior, the guts of this tale take place in space, not on Earth. And it is clear that Laura Lam has really done her homework here. This is an exciting tale, with credible detail about life aboard a space ship, and I thoroughly enjoyed the way Naomi has to use her experience and intellect to solve all kinds of problems along the way.

There is plenty of suspense and the tension builds rather nicely, with a nice little bit of long-distance romance thrown in too. I also appreciated the nice twist at the end.

Inevitably, there have been the usual rumblings about this book on some reviewing platforms from the crowd who are sniffy about women authors in the science fiction genre - other than as scantily clad bimbos - but of course, they are talking utter rubbish, as usual. This is an intelligently written, thrilling book that deserves to go onto great things, and I will be singing its praises as much as I can - and also searching out more of Laura Lam's work. Highly recommended!

The premise is great. Goldilocks is set in the near future in a world that is on the brink of collapse and women are being forced out of the workplace due to conservative governments. So, it comes as no surprise that Valerie steals the spaceship that was supposed to be hers and takes her all female crew into space despite them having been forced out at the last minute.

The theme of the novel is pretty clear, and I'd even go as far as to say say that the author is throwing it in your face: we're destroying our planet (yup) and conservative governments are a threat to civil rights (no kidding?).

While the theme is a bit on the nose, the antagonist, unfortunately, is similar. Just a bit too much; just a touch too ruthless. To the point where I couldn't quite believe anyone in this position could turn out to be quite so monstrous! (You have to be very angry and bitter to go to the lengths the antagonist goes to and I could never root for someone like that.)

Overall, I felt like only one character (Valerie) was truly fleshed out and interesting, and all other characters, even the narrator remained somewhat bland. For a slow-burning book that centered around the characters for at least the first half, they were just a bit too flat.

However, I couldn't stop reading.

The prose is gorgeous, and I didn't want to put the book down; it kept me interested throughout. There's not a dull moment, and I just had to know what happens.

The science aspects were super interesting, and I enjoyed the relationships between the characters. And I must admit, most of the twists and turns managed to surprise me!

Recommended to all science fiction fans who find the blurb intriguing.

Goldilocks is at once a feminist parable, a future thriller, a mystery and a dystopian tale which is a huge undertaking for any author and yet Laura carries it off. The narrative spinning out into space making the possibilities of the story of these 5 women feel endless and limitless, whilst being confined by their biology and inherent claustrophobic quarters of their spaceship:all these relationships are played out across multiple timeframes.

From the prologue which sets this as the only time Naomi, one of the 5 crew members of the Atalanta spaceship will tell what happened on that voyage, to the journey she takes, this neatly builds up suspense and tension in the mind of the reader as you constantly have that 'what happened? what went wrong?' in the back of your mind.

Goldilocks, the fairy tale, is used as a cautionary one to warn girls not to take more than their share, what is given them is enough and they don't need to ask for more-to do so risks moral character and such disatisfaction, and theft, is a character defect. In worlds built for, and engineered by, men who represent the norm, and women as a lesser species, however, this tale shows that girls have to go for, and grab what they can, until they find what's best for them, what tastes right.

Valerie Black, her daughter Naomi, same sex couple Hixon and Hart, as well as outsider Lebedevra steal the Atalanta. Funded and created from Valerie and other scientists extensive research and money, they find themselves on the outside of the mission to locate, and colonise a new Earth. The threat to humanity's future is a ticking clock to extinction-set in a not too far off future, there are mere decades left after Earth's resources have been plundered past resurrection point.

Their only hope is to fly the Atalanta into a warp ring discovered off Mars and then to bounce off there to a planet called Cavendish. As soon as it is settled, an ark will begin transporting humans to the planet to begin again.

But in the process, US President Cochran (such a great name!) is scaling back the roles and rights of women, so despite bank rolling the project, Valerie and her crew are not even considered good enough for the backups who were supposed to be out into a cryogeneic sleep in case the original 5 don't survive the time jump.

Instead, Valerie steals the ship under the noses of NASA, accompanied by her botanist daughter who has always wanted to go into space but found each step thwarted due to her sex. As the journey prgresses, Valerie's plans become clear-she plans to hold Cavendish at ransom to give normal people, not the privilged elite, the first shot at being able to set up a new society without making the mistakes of the old one. A noble plan, to be sure, but will the crew go along with it? What happens when they reach there?

Will they reach Mars, let alone Cavendish?

Followed into space by Earth set missives giving you the reaction back on Earth-which turns from bargaining to threats, super quickly-the focus is on these 5 women and how they interact, hopw they cope and how they plan for the future. Using science and technology, their hope is to reach the Goldilocks zone and re-establish humanity.

I don't want to compare it to any other dystopian thriller as this stands entirely on its own merits-it is engaging, beautiful , vividly imagined and equisitely wrought . The role that sex plays in opportunities given, and chances taken is so well rendered, you totally go along with the story and are willing the 5 to make it Cavendish, you want this utopia to be a reality. I don't want to say anymore about the plot for fear of spoilers, but I will say this is stupidly highly beyond the stars recommended by me, I loved it so much and cannot wait for my hardcover to arrive and then read it all over again!

I loved this! whodunnit meets space, I kind of filled in the whodidit, but the background dystopian history was enthralling too. Recommended in spades.

Reader, I loved this book. It’s smart, on-the-button near-future sci-fi with a cracking cast, a plot that goes from zero to escape velocity pretty much on page one, and doesn’t let up.

Earth is, not to put too fine a point on it, screwed. Environmental issues and overpopulation have pushed her past the tipping point and humanity has maybe thirty years left. Luckily humans have one last hope – an exploratory ship going out to Cavendish, an exosolar planet in the habitable ‘Goldilocks’ zone around a star ten light-years away.

At the last minute, the all-female crew are replaced by men (rampant misogyny abounds in the future here, all too plausibly, alas), but lead by Valerie Black, the hand-picked crew promptly steal the spaceship and go anyway.

Hijinks ensue.

And what hijinks they are. Valerie Black and her crew are up against it all – criminals in the eyes of the men in charge back at home, but a shining beacon of hope for humanity, they must steal the Atalanta out from under the nose of NASA and embark on a perilous voyage, first to Mars, then on into interstellar space.

I loved it. Loved the dynamics between the women on board the Atalanta, loved the meticulously researched science, the climate science, botany, cryonics feel really… real. The blurb compares the book to The Martian in that regard, though Goldilocks‘ Naomi Lovelace is less ‘look how smart I am’ Watney, and hugely more relatable for it.

For all its sci-fi stage dressing (and immaculate dressing it is), Goldilocks is, at heart, hugely character-driven, and ultimately hopeful. It would make a brilliant film. Netflix, if you’re out there, get on it.

Superb. Highly recommended.

3.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2020/05/04/goldilocks-by-laura-lam/
Goldilocks is my first book by Laura Lam and I have to say I enjoyed it although it was quite different than I expected and I did have a few issues.

This is s story set in the near future when the earth is on the brink of giving up. Yes, humans have finally ruined the planet and in fact we’ve found another planet that is inhabitable. Plans are in place, spaceships built and teams assembled but when the mission eventually launches it’s with a rogue crew on board. Five women have stolen the spacecraft destined for adventure and are about to embark on a groundbreaking journey, albeit with the threat of imprisonment looming (although not looming too closely given where they’re heading to). As the spacecraft heads into deepest space however things begin to fracture a little and the small team begin to realise that something much bigger is taking place.

I won’t go further into the plot as there are a couple of twists here that are best discovered during the read.

What I really enjoyed about Goldilocks was that it comes across as strangely prophetic. By taking certain things and exaggerating them only slightly elements of the story have a very real and quite ominous feel. Climate change is the biggest threat with raging forest fires, unclean atmosphere that makes wearing face masks a permanent necessity and a strange denial by the masses to accept the situation and make changes even in the face of such overwhelming evidence.

Oddly enough although science has made leaps and bounds women’s equality has taken a step backwards with women finding themselves with greater restrictions on their freedom. Valerie Black is a rich and ambitious woman who has long held onto a dream and is determined to succeed at any cost. She has assembled an all female crew and masterminded a plan to steal a spaceship and travel to the distant planet of Cavendish situated in the Goldilocks zone.

The two main characters here are Valerie and Naomi Lovelace. Valerie became Naomi’s guardian after her own mother died . The two have not always seen eye to eye but their hopes for this mission have reunited them and helped them to put their past differences aside. Naomi is the botanist aboard the ship. It’s her job to grow plants that will sustain the women during their journey and also eventually become their source of food once they arrive.

I enjoyed the author’s style of writing and thought she managed to paint the two main characters very strongly, although the surrounding characters did suffer a little by comparison. I also found myself really enjoying the parts of the story once the crew had set off into deepest space.

My main issue with the story is that it lacked tension somehow. I can’t really put my finger on why or how because to be honest I had no problem reading this, there was never a point that I wanted to give up and I was keen to see how everything panned out. But, I wouldn’t say I was on the edge of my seat whilst reading. Perhaps it boils down to certain elements of the story being too reflective of the current world crisis or my own lack of concentration but for some reason I never fully engaged with the characters.

That being said, this is a very easy book to read and I really enjoyed certain aspects of the world building like the politics and scheming and I would definitely be keen to read more by this author.

My rating 3.5 of 5 stars.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, or which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.