l0bke's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
siobhanward's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I've read a lot of fanfiction in my time, and this reads like the worst of it. It made 0 sense, it was poorly balanced and was overall just boring.
The entire first half of the book is all about introducing our three teenage protagonists, their lives and a bunch of side characters who are completely irrelevant to the plot. Not to mention all the side plots that mean nothing - Mia not wanting to go to the moon? Unimportant after page 150.
I also get that you're meant to suspend your disbelief in books but oh my god this book is beyond implausible. NASA's solution to funding challenges is a random lottery to put teens on the moon? And they pick three people out of the blue without any sort of vetting process and they all just happen to be moon-ready? I also figured the NASA training period would be interesting and might serve to explain how/why all the characters are perfect for this journey, but nope, we just time jump to launch day.
Then we get to the moon and it's like a poor version of The Martian except without any good parts. And then suddenly everything goes wrong (and no duh you're in a 50 year old building full of old supplies) and no one can do anything or even bothers to properly investigate things (like the power goes out and no one checks what might have happened properly??).
The "horror" moments are just so wild and out of nowhere that they weren't scary, they were just weird. The ending was ok but predictable.
This felt like a tumblr story and would have been better left there
The entire first half of the book is all about introducing our three teenage protagonists, their lives and a bunch of side characters who are completely irrelevant to the plot. Not to mention all the side plots that mean nothing - Mia not wanting to go to the moon? Unimportant after page 150.
I also get that you're meant to suspend your disbelief in books but oh my god this book is beyond implausible. NASA's solution to funding challenges is a random lottery to put teens on the moon? And they pick three people out of the blue without any sort of vetting process and they all just happen to be moon-ready? I also figured the NASA training period would be interesting and might serve to explain how/why all the characters are perfect for this journey, but nope, we just time jump to launch day.
Then we get to the moon and it's like a poor version of The Martian except without any good parts. And then suddenly everything goes wrong (and no duh you're in a 50 year old building full of old supplies) and no one can do anything or even bothers to properly investigate things (like the power goes out and no one checks what might have happened properly??).
The "horror" moments are just so wild and out of nowhere that they weren't scary, they were just weird. The ending was ok but predictable.
This felt like a tumblr story and would have been better left there
amyaswin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
immortalgirl92's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Not the greatest idea to read this right before going to bed..
Not the greatest idea to read this right before going to bed..
ragnhildy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
lazygal's review against another edition
4.0
What an interesting horror story - and one with very little chance of a sequel (I hope!).
NASA, for various reasons, has decided to go back to the moon but they need an excuse and a way to gin up public interest. The excuse is a search for a mineral that would give America the edge in nanotechnology, the public interest angle is that three teens (between the ages of 14-18, of a certain height, in good physical and psychological health) will be chosen as passengers. In reality they're gong back to activate DARLAH 2, a Top Secret lunar base set up in the 1970s.
Mia only wants to play in her punk band, possibly cut an album and go on tour before moving to an artists loft with her band mates; her parents, rather that recognizing that she's nearly an adult treat her the same as they treat her 6-year-old brother and cannot believe she isn't eager to be one of the teens, so they enter her into the contest. Midori is a disaffected Japanese teen who only fits in when she's at Harajuku, spending all her money on items for her outlandish costumes; entering the contest is a way for her to escape and gain fame to spur her move to New York. Antoine has just been dumped by his girlfriend, stalking her by using the telescopes on the Eiffel Tower to peer into her bedroom; the contest is the perfect way for him to change his life (and possibly get her back).
The three join the NASA trained astronauts on the trip, which goes very, very wrong indeed. There's a reason why the moon trips stopped, but the people who were involved were sworn to silence or - like Oleg Himmelfarb - suffering from Alzheimers. Or dead. Mr. Himmelfarb, sitting in his nursing home, has flashes of memories but can't do anything about them.
There are some logic issues with this book (for example, wouldn't NASA have tested the three, or had a cadre of teens from which to ultimately choose, like some reality show?) but the subtle horror will render them unimportant. This is horror like that in Let Me In, with a higher psychological component than most American writers allow for.
ARC provided by publisher.
NASA, for various reasons, has decided to go back to the moon but they need an excuse and a way to gin up public interest. The excuse is a search for a mineral that would give America the edge in nanotechnology, the public interest angle is that three teens (between the ages of 14-18, of a certain height, in good physical and psychological health) will be chosen as passengers. In reality they're gong back to activate DARLAH 2, a Top Secret lunar base set up in the 1970s.
Mia only wants to play in her punk band, possibly cut an album and go on tour before moving to an artists loft with her band mates; her parents, rather that recognizing that she's nearly an adult treat her the same as they treat her 6-year-old brother and cannot believe she isn't eager to be one of the teens, so they enter her into the contest. Midori is a disaffected Japanese teen who only fits in when she's at Harajuku, spending all her money on items for her outlandish costumes; entering the contest is a way for her to escape and gain fame to spur her move to New York. Antoine has just been dumped by his girlfriend, stalking her by using the telescopes on the Eiffel Tower to peer into her bedroom; the contest is the perfect way for him to change his life (and possibly get her back).
The three join the NASA trained astronauts on the trip, which goes very, very wrong indeed. There's a reason why the moon trips stopped, but the people who were involved were sworn to silence or - like Oleg Himmelfarb - suffering from Alzheimers. Or dead. Mr. Himmelfarb, sitting in his nursing home, has flashes of memories but can't do anything about them.
There are some logic issues with this book (for example, wouldn't NASA have tested the three, or had a cadre of teens from which to ultimately choose, like some reality show?) but the subtle horror will render them unimportant. This is horror like that in Let Me In, with a higher psychological component than most American writers allow for.
ARC provided by publisher.
mazza57's review against another edition
3.0
There have been no space missions for some time when 3 teenagers are recruited to accompany 5 astronauts to the moon. There they will spend 172 hours . However the reasons behind the lack of missions in the past and behind this one in particular are not revealed until the moon stay has untoward repercussions.
This is a novel basis for a narrative and has a reasonably fast pace that i quite enjoyed
This is a novel basis for a narrative and has a reasonably fast pace that i quite enjoyed
littlesydneylouwho's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
the_lilrunaway's review against another edition
3.0
It was a really interesting concept but I didn't enjoy the execution of this book quite as much as I hoped. There were lots of things that didn't seem believable. I know the whole concept is a lot of accept anyway but I was having trouble buying into it. There were a few things that seemed like easy ways out of problems. Also the moral implications of sending three teenagers into space were never really addressed. I'm glad I stuck it out to the end though. The ending was worth waiting for.