Interesting fictionalisation of the Apollo Program from the POV of the wife of an Apollo-15 crewmember (irl Jim Irwin) who publishes science fiction tales under a pen name. Not knowing much about SF or its female exponents, it took me a while to cotton on that in this version of history, it's a female-centric genre, written and consumed mostly by women.

Sales doesn't so much break the fourth wall as methodically grind it into micron-thick particles of moondust. His intrusions into the text subvert the narrative to the extent that it ends up being more like an essay than a story. The lack of an ending — or maybe the historical story arc — have a similar effect. It's painstakingly researched, but sometimes the research shows through gaudily:

"This is no science fiction spaceship launch, this is the real thing. There are very few examples she can recall from movies, Hollywood has yet to embrace science fiction, despite such 1920s classics as Metropolis and Frau im Mond".

This excerpt covers my other gripe too, which is Sales' terminal addiction to the comma splice. A sentence without one comes as a shock, like an underdog suddenly landing a counterpunch. Still, I enjoyed this short novel for its fresh perspective and real-feeling period atmosphere. From other reviews it sounds like a familiarity with the first three books in the Quartet would increase my enjoyment of it. ( )

I just can't handle this series anymore. What started as an interesting series of alternate history focused on the Apollo program as devolved into a self-referential meditation on life as an astronaut's wife. I think. This series had a lot of flaws (invasive acronym explanation, confusing multiple story lines, etc), but I think that the meta-ness of this last story has just put me over the edge. ( )

The fourth book of the Apollo Quartet brings the series together by taken the insight from the author. The story is about an astronaut's wife that is also a science fiction author. It deals with the hardships of being in the limelight while also doing something that is not socially acceptable at the time, while also longing for something that is close but still not attainable. The story and main protagonist are very good. It is a good ending to the series. ( )

Published 2015.

"One of the strengths of science fiction is its capacity to literalise metaphors."

In " "All that Space Allows" by Ian Sales

If Shakespeare broke the 4th wall in several instances, why shouldn’t Ian Sales be allowed to do it? “A Midsummer Night's Dream” deserves special mention for Puck's ending speech, which can be condensed into "We're sorry if you didn't like the play." Even before that, Oberon seems to be addressing the audience when he explains how he is Invisible to Normals. It also deserves a secondary mention for the continuous breaking of the 4th (5th?) wall in the Pyramus and Thisbe sequence. Frequently the action stops so Bottom can reply to the characters watching the play. Plus, the prologues. Oh, the prologues. And of course in Henry V where the opening monologue is an extended apologia for not showing the tremendous battles that are going on in-between the play's scenes. Made doubly strange because it was retained in both the Olivier and Branagh films of the play, where they do show the battles. Also, any time Iago opens his mouth he is likely to address the audience by the end of the speech. And don’t forget one of Hamlet's many soliloquies (this one in Act II, scene ii) includes the lines "I have heard that guilty creatures sitting at a play/Have by the very cunning of the scene/Been struck so to the soul that presently/They have proclaimed their malefactions..."

If you're into SF, you can read the rest of the review on my blog..

This is an astonishingly good book. The fourth and last of the Apollo Quartet, it brings a beautiful and totally unexpected conclusion to the overall story. I laughed out loud in delight when I realised what Sales had done to bring the previous three episodes into the overall story arc.

It probably won't please everyone, and it's not designed to do so (I'm not going to spoil it).but as a subversive revisionist historiography of early SF and fandom it's marvellous. And as a literary exercise it's to my mind a triumph.

And as always, the depth of research Sales has done to underpin this whole series is breathtaking. Highly recommended. ( )