Kings of Infinite Space

264 pp. Frank Lewis, a likeable research physisologist, exchanges Cambridge and a silk-trousered brunette for the excitements of Cape Kennedy and an ardent divorce.Grappling with the mental and physical effects of the space programme on its practitoners, both airborne and grounded - and women, takes Lewis throught the rigorous schedule of an astronaut, from manned spacecraft centre to the launching pad of Saturn V.But when he is selectef for Project Ulysses, a Deep Space probe towards Mars, secret doubts become waking nightmares and Nigel Balchin again demonstrates his uncanny ability to sustain a nerve-racking climax to absolute breaking point...