About the Author

Colonel Chris Hadfield is one of the most seasoned and accomplished astronauts in the world. A multiple New York Times bestselling author, his books An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth, You Are Here and The Darkest Dark have sold over a million copies worldwide. He was the top test pilot in both the US Air Force and the US Navy, and a Cold War fighter pilot intercepting armed Soviet bombers in North American airspace. A veteran of three spaceflights, he crewed the US Space Shuttle twice, piloted the Russian Soyuz, helped build space station Mir, conducted two space walks, and served as Commander of the International Space Station. He was also NASA's Director of Operations in Russia. Chris is the co-creator and host of the BBC series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes? and helped create and host, along with actor Will Smith, the National Geographic series One Strange Rock. His zero-gravity version of David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' has received more than 50 million views, and his TED talk on fear over 10 million. He advises SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and other space companies, chairs the board of the Open Lunar Foundation, leads the CDL-Space international tech incubator, and teaches a MasterClass on space exploration.

Reviews

Tom Clancy-style fighter jets and a sprinkling of reality from Hadfield's time as a test pilot . . . It is a thriller in every sense
*New Scientist*

He controls the story with a fighter pilot's verve and confidence, bringing real insider expertise to a fast-paced cold war tale
*Financial Times*

As a writer, his strength is his ability to draw on his specialist knowledge to add verisimilitude . . . while his high-octane depiction of aerial dogfights stirs memories of Top Gun and Craig Thomas's Firefox. Afterburners on!
*The Times*

Chris Hadfield uses his experiences to great effect in this thrilling story about a defecting Russian pilot . . . [The Defector] moves at great speed and contains mesmerising descriptions of flying under supreme pressure
*Literary Review*

Nail-bitingly exciting . . . Hadfield is clearly destined to inherit the late Tom Clancy's mantle as master of the techno-thriller genre
*Irish Independent*

Action-packed, cleverly plotted and rich with the kind of satisfyingly authentic detail and keen insights that only a writer with Hadfield's extraordinary resume can provide, The Defector delivers on every level. Wondering what to do until Top Gun 3 arrives? Don't worry, Chris Hadfield's got it covered
*Rowland White*

Packed with the kind of insider knowledge you simply don't get in thrillers these days, The Defector is not just an intelligent book, it's an exciting book. Expertly paced with breathtaking set pieces, I raced through it in a couple of sittings. It reminded me of Frederick Forsyth in his pomp - highly recommended
*M.W. Craven, Sunday Times bestselling author of Dead Ground and The Botanist*

An extraordinary novel, brimming with detail and realism and full of pulse-pounding action
*Mark Greaney, bestselling author of Burner, a Gray Man novel*

Real-life figures collide with fictional espionage in former astronaut Hadfield's gripping sequel to The Apollo Murders . . . Hadfield keeps the suspense steady before delivering a knockout air battle that brings everything to a white-knuckle close. Kaz's adventures continue to electrify
*Publishers Weekly*

Ideal exciting escapist reading
*Aerospace*