The prose sparkles with warmth and urgency. It is compulsively readable, placing readers right among the ASCANs (Astraunaut Candidates) as they endure drills and training and share intimate conversations in off-duty hangouts. Reid doesn\u2019t romanticise NASA, but instead shows it for what it was in the 1980s\u2014sexist, queerphobic, and brutal. While exploring queer love in such a restrictive space, Reid writes, \u201cWhat they had together was a lit candle, and the wind could be fierce.\u201d<\/p>\n
The book introduces us to characters like Frances, turning Joan from an ambitious astronaut to a loving aunt. Joan\u2019s relationship with her sister Barbara is a subplot that looks at the lives of astronauts beyond their work.<\/p>\n
The book\u2019s structure builds momentum by weaving flash-forwards into the narrative. As the timelines come closer and connections between the characters deepen, a sense of impending doom creates an addictive uneasiness. <\/p>\n
Unlike Reid\u2019s previous novels, which explored public personas and performance\u2014be it on stage or in sports\u2014Atmosphere faces inwards. It is a diversion from Reid\u2019s home turf of spectacle. Rooted in restraint, it leaves us with two women in love, training to fly among the stars but still grounded by fear, duty, and desire. It reminds us that space is vast\u2014but love, too, is a kind of gravity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The prose sparkles with warmth and urgency. It is compulsively readable, placing readers right among the ASCANs (Astraunaut…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3938],"tags":[129049,3444,77,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-368759","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-atmosphere-book-review","9":"tag-books","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115081520569187291","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}