How to Die In Space

Pegasus £20  HB

Working out how to die in space might seem easy

– just take off the space helmet – but such trivial solutions are dealt with in the first few pages of this book. After that, the engineering and technological realities of space travel are dispensed with, and How to Die in Space takes us on a tour of the Solar System, then the Galaxy, then the rest of Universe.

Describing phenomena in astronomy normally relies on an abundance of analogy and metaphor. The metaphors are crammed in here, rushing to get off the pages and into your head.

Once you’ve got used to the style and tone, it feels very much like the author is