[In] a James Michener novel, the story is in the theme more than in the characters, and "Space" certainly has a remarkable theme. The struggle between "immaculate science" and the vulgarities of politics is very well portrayed…. And Mr. Michener is eloquent in depicting the actual flights into space, as well as the blazing, apocalyptic re-entry of the shuttle into earth's atmosphere.

If his characters don't always touch your feelings, his events almost always appeal to your mind. And though there are a few black holes in his knowledge of novelistic technique, Mr. Michener seems to know just about everything else.

Anatole Broyard, in a review of "Space," in The New York Times (copyright © 1982 by The New York Times Company; reprinted by permission), September 29, 1982, p. C24.