Title: Moon Luck
Author: Wayne Scott Harral
Publisher: Readers Magnet LLC
ISBN: 978-1956780178
Pages: 338
Genre: Science Fiction
Reviewed by: Michaela Gordoni
Pacific Book Review
In Moon Luck by Wayne Scott Harral, it is the year 2039 and astronauts from all around the globe have been brought to the Venturous, a moon base station. Various research is carried out, and new developments and discoveries are being made every day. ‘Moon luck’ is a saying that the astronauts like to use, meaning that everything that happens on the moon is up to chance. One day, when everything is going as normal (well, normal for the moon, anyway), a low-pressure warning alerts the crew that something is very wrong. There has been an explosion in the tool shed while someone was inside of it. When foul play is suspected, Special Agent Aaron Ghiassi is called on to investigate the matter, earth-side, at NASA headquarters. Will Ghiassi figure out who or what harmed the astronaut and put a stop to it, or will there be even more “accidents” on the Venturous?
Moon Luck is written very methodically, with great detail and a lot of space-facts. Analogous to a rocket launch, the book builds up in the beginning, but with a little patience, readers will notice it really picks up around page 80 or so. Readers will be able to tell that the author knows a lot about space exploration and that he wanted to apply it in some way, and a fiction novel was his medium of choice. There are over 40 characters in this story, and placing a character list in the back of the book for reference was good thinking on the author’s part because it is very much needed. And for as many different perspectives that this book rolls through, it is very brief at just 338 pages. Character development is a challenge with so many characters. However, a few people do stand out. Two of them are Dr. Kormendy, a bold and stubborn Hungarian woman, and Jim Sheppard, an American and family man who has been on the moon for three years.
One can imagine more adventures on the Venturous. There is a lot of potential for sequels. Death on a space station, whether accidental or not, is a great idea for entertainment value, and the book would make for an interesting and exciting film. Creative and full of plausible future scenarios, Moon Luck is a glimpse into what the future might look like. It is the perfect novel for space and science nerds.
