Space: 1969

Overall 4 out of 5 starsPerformance 5 out of 5 starsStory 4 out of 5 starsRidiculously entertaining.This was completely ridiculous and over the top and I enjoyed it way more than I expected! I love all things space race so this hit all the right buttons. It was witty and silly and plan fun.Living in the DC area it fun to hear WTOP mentioned!The performances were excellent.

Terrible writing. Awful voice work. Ridiculous plot. It's trying to be some sort of sci-fi/political satire but it fails miserable. Not even Natash Lyonne can save this. In fact, if anything her acting style isn't suited to this kind of voice work. Every line sounds like a read.And if that isn't annoying enough, there are several sequences where President Kennedy is eating oranges that are absolutely stomache churning for anyone who hates recorded eating sounds.

Unlike a series like "Cabin Pressure", where you really feel the characters are alive, this one never lets you forget that these are just a bunch of voice actors (and mediocre ones at that) reading scripts in a studio. The jokes are stale and unimaginative.And the icing on the cake is the writers' political liberalism broadcasting straight into your ears, with no self-awareness that we came to be entertained, not preached at. From Kennedy beating Reagan in a prez election, the latter getting only Alabama (cue worn-out Southern prejudices), to Nixon being reduced to an estate attorney, while the glorious Democrat saviors create a brave new world in space--it's as much a cringey freak show as the online 2020 DNC convention.

The good.The cast did a great job and really carried the story. I’ve seen some of them in shows but haven’t heard them doing audio books before. I’ll keep an eye out for them in other books.The story was original. I had no idea what was coming next, unless it was something they were purposefully telegraphing in for a joke.The bad.The story is slow, the jokes are forced, the pop culture references run wild and free when someone really should have leashed them. I got the idea the author did a lot of research on the 60s and they’ll be dammed if they’re not going to use every scrap of it. It was too much by at least half.

This is a strange story featuring a maniacal JFK just starting his third term in office, and many other historical figures, with Richard Nixon serving as both a character and narrator. The fully dramatized cast plays their parts for jokes and the plot is so absurd that it is funny. It’s also very hard to figure out what is going on for most of the time. The main character is a nurse on the space station who sneaks out for a smoke with Jerry Lewis and therefore knows that the story of how he dies on the station could not be correct.This mystery is followed by a lot of senseless action including JFK convincing himself that he’s God and destined to start an American Empire in the solar system, a space shuttle hijacking, Richard Nixon running for Mayor of the Moon, and ultimately, an assassination attempt on the moon.I think the voice actors had a lot of fun recording this story. It would have been nicer if they had a stronger, more coherent script to read.

This is Not a 5 star book in the sense of Hemingway/Fitzgerald-classic definition, but books of this nature are not competitors in that zone, but is 5 star in its field, just as 'The Jerk', by Steve Martin was 5 star its field. but not relative to Gone with the Wind as a film. Space 69 was very enjoyable to listen to, a fun great escape without being stupid or like any of the typical garbage flooding the book market

Seriously--this was clever, engaging, and I didn't want it to end. I have tried audio dramas in the past and have often gotten "lost"--but not with Space 1969's wonderfully helpful narrator--none other than Dick Nixon! So much fun!

An entertaining, engrossing and meticulously-observed homage to the culture of the 1960s. The author's grounded and affectionate treatment of the are and its leading figures, including Kennedy and Nixon, carries the reader along on an improbable story that keeps on twisting and turning and expanding in scope and depth. Amazing performances, a treasure trove of period music and culture, and loving attention to detail add to the richness of the experience. If you don't have a six hour road-trip coming up on which you can listen to this, plan one!