MARS ROVER CURIOSITY An Inside Account from Curiosity's Chief Engineer

Bronson Pinchot does a solid job narrating this behind-the-scenes story of the Mars rover Curiosity. He expresses the enthusiasm and wonder of the technical team that developed the project—from propulsion to landing to wandering. But as able a narrator as he is, Pinchot can’t make up for some of the technical passages. It’s not that they’re overly detailed or too scientific. The authors try to keep the language easy to understand. But it’s hard to relate to the sheer geekiness of some sections. Also, the suspenseful seconds of landing and waiting for a sign that the rover is working can’t be maintained throughout the entire work, so it becomes easy for listeners to disengage. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2014]