I went into Detour completely blind because when Jeff Rake and Rob Hart team up, you just show up and buckle in. What I did not expect was the way this book grabbed my face, turned my head, and said “look closely,” only to twist everything in the final moments and leave my jaw on the floor. It feels like binge-watching your newest obsession right before a global shutdown, only to learn the next episode is delayed indefinitely. So here I am, sitting in the wreckage of my own brain, trying to piece together the shards of what I just read and wondering how I’m supposed to function until the next installment exists.
The setup already sounds like reality TV meets prestige sci-fi: three astronauts and three civilians get handpicked for a bold mission to Titan, Saturn’s famous moon, and the expectations are sky-high. Part of the goal is pure political theater. Billionaire John Ward wants shiny “I care about the planet” points as a third-party presidential candidate, and part of it is a genuine Hail Mary for a dying Earth cooked crispy by climate change. The astronauts bring the skill, the civilians bring the chaos, and together they launch into a mission that is equal parts noble, messy, and deeply suspicious from the jump.
And then the book detonates. Explosions, betrayals, weirdness in deep space, and a return to Earth that feels like stepping into the uncanny valley with a badge and a pulse oximeter. The final twist is so bold, so unhinged, so absolutely “wait, WHAT?” that I had to sit there in silence like someone just unplugged me. Detour is fast, fun, stressful in the best way, and full of that serialized cliffhanger energy that demands a season two immediately. If you like your sci-fi thrillers with high stakes, political shade, and endings that leave dents in your soul, this book is going to break you — and you’ll thank it.
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