Gunpowder Moon

De: David Pedreira

Narrado por: Jeffrey Kafer

An Amazon Best Books of the Year selection

BookBub Breakout Debut Novels of Winter 2018

The Verge - 18 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books to Read in February

Barnes & Noble - one of 25 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Debuts to Watch for in 2018

Nerdmuch - Best New Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books of 2018

Bookish - Winter 2018’s Hottest Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

Library Journal: Spring/Summer Best Debut Novels

“Interesting quirks and divided loyalties flesh out this first novel in which sf and mystery intersect in a well-crafted plot.... Pedreira’s science thriller powerfully highlights the human politics and economics from the seemingly desolate expanse of the moon. It will attract readers who enjoyed Andy Weir’s lunar crime caper Artemis.” (Library Journal, starred review)

A realistic and chilling vision of life on the moon, where dust kills as easily as the vacuum of space...but murder is even quicker - a fast-paced, cinematic science fiction thriller, this debut novel combines the inventiveness of The Martian, the intrigue of The Expanse, and the thrills of Red Rising.

The moon smells like gunpowder. Every lunar walker since Apollo 11 has noticed it: a burnt-metal scent that reminds them of war. Caden Dechert, the chief of the US mining operation on the edge of the Sea of Serenity, thinks the smell is just a trick of the mind - a reminder of his harrowing days as a marine in the war-torn Middle East back on Earth.

It's 2072, and lunar helium-3 mining is powering the fusion reactors that are bringing Earth back from environmental disaster. But competing for the richest prize in the history of the world has destroyed the oldest rule in space: Safety for All. When a bomb kills one of Dechert's diggers on Mare Serenitatis, the haunted veteran goes on the hunt to expose the culprit before more blood is spilled.

But as Dechert races to solve the first murder in the history of the moon, he gets caught in the crosshairs of two global powers spoiling for a fight. Reluctant to be the match that lights this powder keg, Dechert knows his life and those of his crew are meaningless to the politicians. Even worse, he knows the killer is still out there, hunting.

In his desperate attempts to save his crew and prevent the catastrophe he sees coming, the former marine uncovers a dangerous conspiracy that, with one spark, can ignite a full lunar war, wipe out his team...and perhaps plunge the Earth back into darkness.

©2018 David Pedreira (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Very Little Character Distinction

I found it challenging to connect to and keep track of different characters. I do a good job of recording character names as they are introduced, and mid-novel I was hearing names that were not on my list. I really never got into the action. The final 30 minutes of the book were encouraging but not enough to redeem the previous 7 hours. It had potential but left me wanting more.

A Great and Unique Story

This is a fantastic read. It takes a moment to get down to the nitty gritty but the payoff is absolutely worth it. The characters are realistic, the setting is intense and the events are life threatening. Couldn’t ask for anything more from a sci-fi novel. You can also tell the author spent a lot of time researching for this book. It is very accurate in the science department.

A Sci-Fi Political Thriller/Murder Mystery

3.5 out of 5 stars

For some reason, there have been a lot of "murder mysteries in space" books in my queue lately.  Gunpowder Moon was another one to add to the list.  This was on my list of "most anticipated" for 2018 and I'm glad it was.  I enjoyed almost every second of it thanks to Pederiera's no-nonsense writing style and Jeffrey Kafer's delivery.

I called this a Sci-Fi Political Thriller/Murder Mystery because that is every category I think this book fits into. There is a murder of a miner on the moon and we are tasked with figuring out not only who killed him but why.  The government gets involved and it spirals from there.

The plot of this wasn't anything new to me since I've read a few other books similar to this in the last few months - but I did appreciate that it was set on the Moon and not Mars.  That helped it stand out a little to me (and made it a little more believable).  There was some science in this that I wasn't sure if it was real or possible - and some other science-y parts that bugged me a little.  I don't expect every author to be Andy Weir level of science by any means.  Or even capital S science. But some of the stuff written in this just got on my nerves.  I understand that it's set in the future and "anything is possible" but it's not the Sci-Fi parts that were the issue.

The characters were a little take them or leave them until later in the story.  I didn't know much about most of these people until they were thrown into the blender.  It wasn't typically how I get to know them - but it worked for this story.

Overall, for a genre-jumping book - I thought that Gunpowder Moon was a pretty good one.  There was a little too much political pandering for my likes - but I just got past it and enjoyed the Sci-Fi Mystery part of it.

Not what I thought

I like reading about people living in space and I was so excited to read about a murder in space. But it’s not about space much at all. It’s a spy thriller with a space skin. That said, it was an okay read. I finished it. And some things were interesting. But it wasn’t anything fantastic.

Great Whodunit in space.

Well, I love the space mining mystery idea. The characters are likable and the mystery is compelling. I really like the information about what it takes to work and live on the moon. POSSIBLE SPOILER: I don't have trouble believing that we still have the same bad habits even 250 years from now. In evolutionary terms 250 years is .000001 seconds ago. The ending wraps up the current book, but leaves the possibility of a sequel open. I prefer this to the cliffhanger type of conclusion.

Mr. Kafer is one of my favorite narrators. His voice and reading style reminds me of the old news readers from the 30's and 40's. He and they made the stories all the more dramatic to listen to.

I think we need to hear more from this author, and I hope this team will continue to work together. Enjoy!

Terrific Space Thriller!

This is a fantastic audio book, with a great story and wonderful narration. It had my attention from the get-go, and held it all the way through. I really hope this author writes more sci-fi, because I would be lined up to read it!

Great listen

Loved it beginning to end. The story was absolutely amazing. I have already listened to it twice.

Enthrallingly dark story of human condition

This is not your happy go lucky sci-fi space opera. It’s a very realistic story of how we easily can end up, not far into the future.

The main mystery was unfortunately not very deep, and I figured it out pretty quick. However, the characters and pacing of the story kept me thoroughly entertained.

I’m looking forward to more from this author.

Likewise, the narrator Jeffrey Kafer was excellent, and I’ll look up further books read by him.

Meh

Narration was fine if not a bit overdone. Story was weak and filled with fluff. I never got a strong sense of world building and truthfully, didn’t care about the characters. It was entertaining at best.

Great quick read!! picks up towards the end

I really enjoyed this book — and I think you will too. You'll come to really care about the main character you follow, Dechert — a former military man turned moon mining base commander.

The themes are fairly relevant for today, and at time toward the end of the book I felt my heart thumping as I waited for what was going to happen next. If you got a few hours and wanna give this a shot, go for it!