Hot Moon

Reviews / Votes

"Set in an alternate timeline where Soviet cosmonauts beat the U.S. to the moon, this novel by Sidewise Award winner Smale (Tales from Alternate Earths Volume III) picks up at the end of the 1970s with Vivian Carter, the commander of Apollo 32, taking fire in what will become the opening shots in a war for the moon. Smale writes about NASA procedures, space history, lunar geology, and orbital mechanics with stunning detail and familiarity, while sending the reader on a fast-paced, well-plotted adventure aboard claustrophobic lunar modules, inside fragile habitats, and across inhospitable landscapes. Commander Carter becomes a tough-as-nails protagonist who's impossible not to root for as she navigates political intrigue, space combat, and the realistic, moment-by-moment requirements of surviving in a vacuum. The storytelling is extremely well done, the ideas are thoroughly researched, and both combine in a satisfying work of fiction.VERDICT For astronaut wonks and fans of realistic science fiction, Smale's latest will delight and enthrall."?Library Journal (starred review)


"Smale (the Clash of Eagles trilogy), a NASA astrophysicist and data archive manager, cleverly uses his insider knowledge of the American space program to craft a nail-biting thriller set in a plausible alternate 1979. The Cold War is heating up in space. The Soviet Union's desire to beat the U.S. has led to a reckless approach to its cosmonaut program, which has cost Russian lives, but also enabled the Soviets to land the first man on the Moon. For NASA astronaut Vivian Carter, however, there's been an upside to the competition; because the third Russian cosmonaut on the Moon was female, NASA responded by bolstering the roles of American women within its own program. Now Carter heads the Apollo 32 mission-but her planned lunar landing is jeopardized when the space station she's docked at comes under attack from a Soviet craft. Carter scrambles to keep herself and her crew safe-but this attack is just the opening salvo to what soon becomes all-out war. Smale makes the most of this conceit, coupling suspenseful plot developments with fully realized characters. Fans of Chris Hadfield's thematically similar The Apollo Murders will be hooked. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Assoc. (July)"?Publishers Weekly


"I loved it. Great 'hard' science fiction with convincing space battles."?Hugo and Nebula-wining Grandmaster, Larry Niven (author of Ringworld)


"The pace is headlong... the perfect balance of danger and
courage wrapped around science details that remind us that we're in the hands
of a writer who has the facts right. Masterful work."?Rick Wilber,
award-winning author of Alien Morning and Alien Day

"In the exciting alternate timeline of Alan Smale's Hot Moon:
the Soviet Union beat the United States to the Moon; the Cold War went hot; the
conflict spread to the Moon. This sets the foundation for a gripping tale of
space warfare.






In 1979, Ronald Reagan is the president, and the Soviet Moon
landing has energized the US's part in the space race. A planned, routine
photographic opportunity becomes life-threatening following an unprovoked
attack on an Apollo spacecraft. Its mission commander, Vivian, makes a
death-defying spacewalk with no life support and no way to guide herself,
except for a gas gun. The crew manages to escape to a Moon base, from where
they defend themselves against a Soviet siege.




The book alternates between the viewpoints of the Russians
and the Americans. Theirs is a cat-and-mouse game of strategy. Vivian is brave
and resourceful, and it is easy to get caught up in the suspense when she
encounters one challenge after another. One harrowing scene sees Vivian
captured and interrogated by Russian space soldiers, too.



The American characters are the best fleshed out, including
a commander, Sandoval, who puts up a fierce front, but who secretly is
terrified of the lifeless void of the lunar surface. The book's Russian
characters are more often stereotyped.



While the story is straightforward, there are twists and turns
that keep it interesting. The battles are realistic, reflecting the realities
of the environments on the Moon and in space. Illustrations of the Apollo and
Soyuz spacecrafts, and of what Moon bases could have looked like, further flesh
the book's environments out. An appendix discusses the plausibility of the plot
from technical, political, and historical perspectives.



Hot Moon is a provocative science fiction novel set in an
alternative but plausible reality. It follows a war in space with original, imaginative
flourishes."?Foreword Reviews

"I loved it. Great 'hard' science fiction with convincing space battles."?Larry Niven, Nebula and Hugo Award-winning author of Ringworld


"Alan Smale is one of the brightest stars in the hard-SF firmament, and Hot Moon is his best novel yet. Enjoy!"?Robert J. Sawyer, Nebular and Hugo Award-winning author of The Oppenheimer Alternative


"As the well depicted and conceived military action unfolds, the conspiracy that pits astronauts and cosmonauts against each other begins to surface. Not all enemies are actually enemies--and some friends and allies are anything but that."?Eric Flint, author of 1632