Moon Wreck (The Slaver Wars)
by Raymond L. Weil
Quick View: A Very Good Start To A Great Series
Quick View: A Very Good Start To A Great Series
Publisher’s Summary: Disaster has struck the first Moon landing to be attempted in years. Commander Jason Strong and his fellow lunar explorer Greg Johnson have become stranded with no way home. In desperation, they set off in their lunar rover to check out an anomaly they discovered on their descent. What they find will shake their beliefs and what they know of human history.
Full Review: No review of Moon Wreck is complete without first acknowledging the fact that this book is based on three smaller works.
That said, its also the first book in what has become one of my favorite Space Opera series, and I do highly recommend it.
That’s not to say the book is perfect – no book is.
However the story moves at a good pace, and overall the characters are very likable.
It also never seemed to bog down, and from the very beginning it remained an interesting tale of human discovery.
Something Familiar
In all the Sci Fi books I’ve read, there are some similarities in plot, characters, and technology, and Moon Wreck is no exception.
In fact, on my first read through I would have guessed the author was a fan of the Halo video game (as I am) as some of the tech seems quite similar.
That said, I don’t believe it detracts from the story, but anyone looking for a truly unique experience may wish to look elsewhere.
Character
Having just re-read Moon Wreck for this review, I still come away unimpressed with two characters (who fortunately don’t return in such prominence in the rest of the series.)
The first is Greg, the astronaut who signs-up to go to the moon only to find he hates moon dust.
He’s a strange mix of spaceman, pessimist, anxious new father, and fan of all things lasers and guns.
I never quite figured Greg out, except that maybe he’s like that negative Uncle you try to avoid at family gatherings.
The second character is Jason’s sister, who hates the fact that Jason works in a dangerous field as an astronaut, even though it’s Jason’s life long dream.
I’m not sure why she worries so much, or why Jason worries about her worrying such much, and I didn’t feel the author ever explained this behavior adequately.
Thankfully though, a new threat does break Jason from his sensitivity to his overbearing sibling’s concerns.
With those two characters critiqued, I want to mention how likeable the rest of the cast is.
From Tom at mission control, to Colonel Greene, to Lisa and Adam, and even Ariel and Hedon, most characters in the book are very likeable and would be worthy of kicking back and having a beer with.
Final Thoughts:
While Moon Wreck does seem to borrow some of its tech from other famous Sci Fi series, the story is unique enough and characters like-able enough to heartily recommend it.
And without including any spoilers (we save those for our forum,) let me just say that I found the end of the book very satisfying, as well as nicely setting up book two in the series, Alien Contact.
Now while Alien Contact is a prequel, I wouldn’t recommend reading it before Moon Wreck. If you did, the revelations made in Moon Wreck might not some so revealing.
That said, if you do read Moon Wreck I highly recommend you also read Alien Contact, which is one of the best Sci Fi books I’ve read in years.
So in summary, while Moon Wreck does include a couple of cranky characters, as well as some repetition in the dialog in part due to its origination as a three part series, the overall story are characters in the book make it well worth reading.
And it also happens to the beginning of a very enjoyable Space Opera series.
[stsig]
[ques]
[aff]