The Life Below

By: Jamie Steinberg

Fascinating. That’s the best way to describe Alexandra Monir’s latest book The Life Below. Full disclosure, I have not yet read her prervious book in this series The Final Six. However, this book picks up from the cliffhanger in a place that I don’t think the previous context is needed. With that being said, Monir’s foray into life saving space exploration is absolutely intriguing that it’s easy to see why Sony Pictures were quick to snap up the rights to future films. Be ready for a book that you’ll find hard to put down.

Naomi Ardalan is a Science Officer aboard a space ship with five other individuals (“contestants”) all specially chosen for this trip. Their mission is to save a deteriorating Earth by traveling to Jupiter’s moon Europe – hoping to establish a new home for mankind. Naomi leaves behind her family and a fellow contestant, Leo, who she had grown quite close to (and fond of) during their training. Once aboard the ship the astronauts, including a couple of robot assistants, are guided by the leaders at International Space Training Camp. However, their superiors seem to be evading some truths about the mission participants. While aboard the ship Naomi becomes more determined than ever to uncover the secrets about those selected (or not selected for the mission. She also has a firm belief that the ISTC are hiding additional information about possible alien life on Europa.

Meanwhile, Leo is back on Earth and working on a secret project with scientist Dr. Greta Wagner. She has promised to fly him to space so he can link up with Naomi’s ship in an attempt to guide her to what Dr. Wagner has determined is a safer landing location on Europa than the intended target based on the alien life she is certain is there. It’s up to Leo to make it safely to Naomi’s ship on a risky to lend a much-needed hand.

There is intrigue, romance, mystery and some serious surprises to this tale of space travel. Each moment readers are unsure of what will happen next. Whether it is subterfuge, alien related accidents or the fight for survival, readers’ pulse will surely race. Plus, these characters are so well developed that you can easily imagine who they are and how they’d appear in real life. Additionally, through Naomi and Leo’s letters you get heartfelt moments needed to ease the intensity of not knowing one moment to the next if the crew will make it to Europa, let alone be able to establish a place for future Earth residents to call home.

Author Alexandra Monir clearly did her research on various space programs in order to formulate what life as an outer space adventurer would be like and the various personalities it would take to traverse such a serious and dangerous mission. She’s able to impressively create a captivating tale that will have readers glued to their books. Monir has some serious skills when it comes to creating a thrill ride of space exploration.

For fellow sci-fi fans, I urge you to explore The Life Below. Not only will you be completely captivated by the tale of space travel, but you’ll also find yourself invested in the lives of those who are putting their lives on the line to ensure the human race lives on. And stay tuned for future news about making this series into a film franchise. I suspect we have the future version of “Star Trek” on our hands.