Velocity (Judd Bell & Corey Purchase, #1) in Aussie Readers

Aug 23, 2012 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher, arc-are

I wasn't sure what to expect from Velocity but it's endorsed by Hugh Jackman and that's good enough for me!
Having lost his nerve after witnessing the death of his best friend in the explosion that destroyed the Columbia, NASA astronaut Judson Bell realises, when he crashes the simulated space shuttle, Discovery for the third time, that he won't ever make it back into space. When the Atlantis is cleared for a the next mission, Judd's newly ex girlfriend and fellow astronaut, Rhonda, is named as
I wasn't sure what to expect from Velocity but it's endorsed by Hugh Jackman and that's good enough for me!
Having lost his nerve after witnessing the death of his best friend in the explosion that destroyed the Columbia, NASA astronaut Judson Bell realises, when he crashes the simulated space shuttle, Discovery for the third time, that he won't ever make it back into space. When the Atlantis is cleared for a the next mission, Judd's newly ex girlfriend and fellow astronaut, Rhonda, is named as the pilot and Judd is assigned to the White Room for the first launch test. What begins as an uncomfortable situation for the pair spirals wildly out of control when the unthinkable happens and the shuttle is hijacked by a Frenchman and ex pop star.

I have to admit I was a little confused when I began reading, not sure how the events and characters in the first few chapters could possibly fit together but as the story unfolds, Worland brings it together masterfully. The plot centers around the stolen space shuttle, Henri's nefarious plans for it and Judd's desperate desire to rescue Rhonda from them. As the boffins at Cape Canaveral scramble to find the Atlantis Judd essentially stumbles across it in the Australian outback where he was sent after the incident to oversee the reactivation of a satellite tracker. With the reluctant help of Corey, an eccentric Aussie chopper pilot (and his dog, Spike), Judd takes on this group of mercenaries to discover if he can be in fact a steely-eyed missile man and save the day. There are some unexpected twists as traitors and allies emerge from the unlikeliest of places.

Velocity reminds me of a Nicholas Cage action movie, particularly ConAir, with it's mix of explosive aerial action, quirky, dry humour and flawed but courageous heroes. It's not a surprise really given Worland is a screenwriter and as such his style of writing creates scenes that are easy to visualise. Velocity contains its fair share of barely plausible incidents but it's easy to dismiss the unlikely in favour of the convincing effects and just enough credible detail.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the characters of Velocity. Judd is an interesting, atypical hero. His devotion to Rhonda may be excessive, especially given her casual treatment of him, but it provides a convincing motivation for his actions. Despite the overwhelming odds Judd never gave up fidning unexpected reserves of strength and savvy. My favourite character was Corey whose quick thinking, prodigious flying skills and laconic attitude to missile attacks earnt my admiration. His chats with Spike raised a smile every time and I could almost hear the music score as he swooped in driving a herd of cattle at the taxiing Galaxy. Even the villains had an odd appeal with an ex pop star turned merc, Kelvin's crisis of conscience and Dirk's frustration with Judd.

In Velocity, fast paced action and intrigue is accompanied by humor and heart with a touch of romance (because the hero always gets his girl). An exciting, funny and quick read, I've gifted Velocity to my dad for Father's Day and I have no doubt he will enjoy it.

PS. I'm not sure if Worland (and Penguin) intended the the trailer for Velocity to be amusing but it is, with it's very American film voice over and toy shuttle it's totally worth watching... especially after you have read the book.

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Jul 17, 2013 Josh rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read_2013, review_books, own

VELOCITY is big on action - a non stop joyride from NASA headquarters to the barren landscape of central Australia where theft knows no bounds and a burning desire for vengeance reins supreme.

Astronaut Judd Bell is plagued by his insecurities and haunted by the untimely loss of a close friend. His crippling dependency on workplace romance turned live-in partner, Rhonda is unhealthy - not only driving him to distraction but driving away the one thing that holds the fabric of his existence togeth VELOCITY is big on action - a non stop joyride from NASA headquarters to the barren landscape of central Australia where theft knows no bounds and a burning desire for vengeance reins supreme.

Astronaut Judd Bell is plagued by his insecurities and haunted by the untimely loss of a close friend. His crippling dependency on workplace romance turned live-in partner, Rhonda is unhealthy - not only driving him to distraction but driving away the one thing that holds the fabric of his existence together. Somehow, author Steve Worland creates a hero from a mere shell, turning this wayward astronaut into an accidental hero.

When a space shuttle is stolen by a group of highly organised and well funded individuals, Judd's world falls apart. Not only does he confront death up and personal, Rhonda is aboard the shuttle and headed for parts unknown. Still reeling from a violent encounter with some colourful bad guys, Judd finds himself deported to the Northern Territory and teamed with the humorous and distinctly outback bloke Corey - a tourist pilot with a penchant for high speed, high skill flying.

The duo take it upon themselves to retrieve the shuttle and return its cargo to safety - a feat neither had thought capable. Unfortunately for Judd and Corey, nothing is simple with each attempt and rescuing Rhonda thwarted time and time again - ever drawing closer that blood thirsty reaper.

What I really like about VELOCITY is that the reason behind theft of an aircraft and space shuttle isn't apparent up front. It takes time for the conspiracy theory and twisted rationale to filter through. Exemplifying Judd's plight is the danger not only Rhonda faces as a captive but mankind should the group succeed in achieving their goal. Worland does a great job at instilling a sense of urgency to this novel.

Fans of Matthew Reilly will enjoy VELOCITY, yet Judd is no Scarecrow. He's not some special ops, beefed up marine with a near perfect ability to kick ass and take names. He's a deeply flawed yet endearing character who grows throughout the novel. Not the sort of protagonist typical to this genre - refreshing to read.

I highly recommend VELOCITY and will be delving into Worlands' next book COMBUSTION very soon.

This review originally appeared on my blog: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
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Aug 14, 2012 Bree T rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, series, australian, suspense, saving-the-world, crime, military-thriller, thriller, survival

Judd Bell used to have it all. He was the top of his game as an astronaut, the man of the moment. And he had a beautiful, smart girlfriend named Rhonda who worked along side of him at NASA. There was no denying that Judd Bell was going places.

But then the space shuttle Columbia is lost, taking with it Judd’s best friend and the man of the moment loses his mojo. His career is suddenly going in a downward spiral, not rising up through the roof and it’s Rhonda that is rising. When she is chosen to Judd Bell used to have it all. He was the top of his game as an astronaut, the man of the moment. And he had a beautiful, smart girlfriend named Rhonda who worked along side of him at NASA. There was no denying that Judd Bell was going places.

But then the space shuttle Columbia is lost, taking with it Judd’s best friend and the man of the moment loses his mojo. His career is suddenly going in a downward spiral, not rising up through the roof and it’s Rhonda that is rising. When she is chosen to pilot a new mission in space, Judd knows that things between them have changed. She’s different now, and he doesn’t know how to fix it.

As the space shuttle Atlantis is preparing for take off, the unthinkable happens – the shuttle is highjacked by an advanced team of terrorists and completely taken over. The high level of skill, funding and even luck required to be able to pull off such a thing is baffling and no one can believe that it has actually taken place. A space shuttle, stolen off the launch pad – it’s unbelievable. This could be the end of the space exploration program, the end of everything if they don’t get that space shuttle back and prevent whatever it is the terrorists want to use it for.

But to Judd, that’s all secondary – what he cares about is the fact that Rhonda is strapped into that space shuttle and is little more than a pawn in a terrorist’s game. If they pull off their mission, there is no way the love of his life will come back alive and Judd knows he can’t let that happen. Frustrated about being sent to Central Australia to gain access to a satelite dish receiving data after the terrorists destroyed valuable ones for collecting flight tracking data in the take off, Judd is suddenly shocked to realise that he could just have inadvertently ended up right in the thick of things. A space shuttle gone blind in the night…..might not be so untraceable after all.

But Judd is going to have to overcome some problems if he wants to stop the terrorists and save not only Rhonda, but the world as well. For starters, he’s alone in the unforgiving Australian desert with nothing more than a crazy helicopter pilot who talks to his cattle dog for company and back-up. And Judd also has that little problem of his confidence….

Velocity is a heart-stopping new thriller from first time Australian author, Steve Worland. Having previously worked in film and television, Worland has now turned his talents to novel writing and the result is a fast-paced, action packed story that takes a reader on a pretty wild ride! We start with Judd Bell on top of his game, knowing he’s at the top of his game and that his life couldn’t be any more perfect. He’s an astronaut on the way up, he’s got a fantastic girlfriend, he’s the man. All of that changes when space shuttle Columbia breaks up upon re-entry to Earth’s orbit and Judd is crippled by grief and also, doubt. All of a sudden he’s making mistakes, he’s struggling with simple SIM exercises and chances are, he’s not going into space when Atlantis is cleared for its mission. Not only that, but his relationship with Rhonda is suffering greatly. Judd’s lack of confidence has caused him to become needy and Rhonda is not in a position to be able to shore him up and deal with that neediness.

When Atlantis is high-jacked and Rhonda along with it, Judd’s focus is getting her back. The fact that he also needs to stop what the terrorists have planned is in his mind, but his thoughts are primarily for Rhonda. At times I did question whether or not Rhonda deserved such devotion from Judd – she was quite rough on him in terms of his state of mind and unable to really want to deal with a boyfriend that was no longer the man of the minute. I felt that I didn’t quite get a good enough handle on the good times of their relationship to really appreciate the depth of Judd’s feeling and desperation to save her.

But apart from that, this book was really fun! I don’t really like action movies so much because I am the person who always criticises the lack of plausibility but for some reason, I don’t seem to have that issue when I am reading books. I think that Worland really thought out the possibilities of actually high-jacking a shuttle, what it would take, how long it would take, the sort of skills that would need to be involved and that shows in the writing. So many things are covered, so much planning and meticulous detail and this continues throughout the story when Judd is sent to Central Australia and what he discovers there. I know that Worland is Australian, so it’s not surprising to see our country playing a large role in the plot but I do always get a kick out of seeing Australia featured in a global story as an important part! I also really came to like Corey, the rather ‘different’ Australian helicopter pilot that assists Judd, and his dog Spike. At first I wasn’t quite sure about them – but I think the amusing dialogue combined with Corey’s relaxed manner and skill as a pilot won me over.

Worland is currently writing a sequel to Velocity which will be released next year from Penguin AU and I’ll definitely keep reading. If you are fond of expansive terrorist plots, explosions, gun battles, stunt flying and the battle of good vs evil then you’ll find lots to enjoy in this book. It makes a great story to read in one sitting. ...more

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