Dead Moon

By: Peter Clines

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's Summary

Audible number-one best seller Peter Clines returns with a thrilling tale of the creature above - and the deadly threat below. 

In the year 2243, the Moon belongs to the dead. 

The largest graveyard in the solar system, it was the perfect solution to the overcrowding and environmental problems that had plagued mankind for centuries. And the perfect place for Cali Washington to run away from her past. 

But when a mysterious meteor crashes into one of the Moon’s cemeteries, Cali and her fellow Caretakers find themselves surrounded by a terrifying enemy force that outnumbers them more than a thousand to one. An enemy not hindered by the lack of air or warmth or sustenance. 

An enemy that is already dead. 

Now Cali and her compatriots must fight to survive. Because if they don’t, everyone on the Moon may be joining the dead. 

And maybe everyone on Earth, too....

©2019 Peter Clines (P)2019 Audible Originals, LLC.

Critic Reviews

"Narrator Ray Porter actually catches a break with this gruesome science-fiction audiobook. Much of this thriller's cast is composed of thousands of silent zombies, so Porter doesn't have to differentiate much among them.... But he still shines while bringing to life multinational characters, ably employing distinctive accents and timbres. He really ramps up the tension as a dwindling handful of survivors struggles to save humankind from a chilling threat." (AudioFile Magazine)

Just not as good and doesn't fit

Just wasn't that good and it doesn't make sense with the rest of the universe he built. Just seems slapped together and someone that just wanted to write a zombie book set on the moon for fun. The concept wasn't that interesting and got old very fast. Felt like it had a lot of plot holes someone tried to fix after the fact and just didn't do a great job of it.

Doesn't make a lot of sense, really annoying..

Was so excited for this book, but it's really hard to get past the constant overly complex made up scenerios. It's space travel and they don't have coms? Or space suit repairs? Really?

Plot 100% driven by Pure Idiot Ball

I loved 14. I loved the Fold. I absolutely hated this one. My problem is that the entire story is entirely driven completely by pure undiluted idiocy of massive and unbelievable levels. Almost every single character behaves in the most ridiculously over the top lobotomized way possible (esp the 'Mayor')- and it's entirely what drives the plot and story. I could believe a character or two could be this dumb or just react poorly to the stress of the situation, but pretty much everyone on the moon seems to have been hit by a cosmic ray of mental enfeeblement. It strained my credulity to the breaking point and beyond. Just left me frustrated and angry.

This has nothing to do with Fold and 14

This has to be among the worst books that I've ever finished. That is not to say it is a terrible novel, but it is clearly unfinished, rushed with nigh a character that you care about.

I've read the other THREE books in the series (I have no idea how Paradox Unbound is not included in this) , and outside of the author, you can barely see any resemblance. The other three books deal with parelell universes and strange scientific occurrences, Those books were brimming with science.

This book is not a science fiction novel. It is a horror novel, a zombie novel with hints of Ctuhulu. Despite the strong opening that introduces to us a mysterious outsider, this interesting premise is soon abandoned for your run of the mill zombie movie tropes. The moon offers a dull and uninteresting backdrop and there isn't enough else going on in the book to distract from the absurd premise of burying bodies on the moon. The book prods on. The solution that "saves" the day literally is brought up about 3/4 of the way into hte book but the ending drags on so much that by the time you reach the end you are begging for all of the generic protagonists to be killed. Instead, the only people who are killed are those who are very stupid and very much no longer a plot device. Most characters make asinine decisions during the book that no one would make in such a crisis. For instance, an important item is carelessly left lying about. In another scene the 'greedy (que cartoonish handclasp) bad guy is completely unphased by the all out zombie attack and just wants to make some extra money. In another scene, the career-minded politician refuses to warn anyone because she doesn't want to lose her job.

Why did you do this? Just why?

I had this pre-ordered and was excited the new Threshold series book was coming. LOVED the first two and eagerly started this as soon as it hit my library. Sad to report I couldn’t be more disappointed. I’m not even sure that’s the word. I’m shocked at how bad this is. Remember those fun and well thought out sci-fi plots with great characters you really got attached to? Remember how there was some attention paid to science? Forget all that. That’s old news. You know what the people want these days?

Space. Zombies. I wish it were a joke. It’s almost as if they tried to have AI write this and it decided to just copy paste from every possible cliche zombie book with one dimensional characters. Don’t worry. This is different because......they’re on the moon! The entire premise makes zero sense and there’s no attemp to explain any of it. At all. And there is no one or anything to care about in this stupid story. The characters aren’t developed and the “main” characters actions I could predict enough so that I was skipping through chapters just trying to find something interesting. Hours and hours of just, running from zombies, or not believing there’s zombies and then running from zombies. The only characters that made sense are the ones who kept saying “This is madness”. Yes it is.

I can’t review this without mentioning the female lead. It truly makes me question how this book happened. *Spoiler - I guess. Seems silly to call it a spoiler since there’s whole threads on reddit about this female trope. Picture this: Mysterious and attractive 25 year old who has secrets. Her intro starts with her jumpsuit being too darn tight in the hips and chest and repeatedly has to “adjust the crotch” much to the delight of males around her. How do we know? Because it’s mentioned often. What’s she hiding? Running from her secret past as a drug dealer? No. Victim of abuse? No. Death of someone close to her? No. Witness Protection? Nope. She’s a failed ballerina. That’s right. And she just has to turn down those modeling gigs because darn it she’s more than her beautiful and flexible body!! Which is also mentioned multiple times. This. Is. Real. This is a thing written, edited and packaged for fans of the Threshold series*

My god why have you done this to your fans? Why did you put this into the world? I tried to listen to the end and can’t do it. It’s that bad. I have less than 90 minutes and can’t. I have over 500 books in my Audible library and I can only think of a handful of times I couldn’t make myself finish. I’m sad to say this is one. Bring back this series please. This cannot count. We can all pretend this never happened.

No, just no

It's a bad zombie story. I hate to do it as I love Mr, Clines previous works, but this ain't the one to start with if you've never read him. I like zombie stories. I've read many, and can say this one is bad with some authority. Don't do it.

How can you call it Threshold series?

If you enjoyed 14 and the Fold (which I loved) and expected anything similar, then you will be disappointed. This has nothing to do with other two. This is basically zombie/alien outbreak on the moon in future. No reverence to Kavach, characters form other books etc. To the very end I was expecting some connection or plot twist that would put it with 14 and the fold in Threshold series. I like Peter Clines' writing style and Ray Porter is one of my favourite narrators. It simply was not on par with other books. First half was extremely linear and it was hard to keep focused. I also had feeling that Ray Porter forces himself to read throug it due to some loyality to the author. Even if I wouldn't have such high hopes for this book I couldn't give it more stars for the story.

Awesome Ray Porter, Horrible Peter Clines

If you look through my listening history, I don't think there's a book on Audible from Peter Clines I haven't listened to.

I've been trying to make it through this book since I bought it 3+ months ago and I've yet to finish it, even though I've made it through another 5-6 books since then.

I don't know how Ray Porter managed to finish it, and it just shows what a great narrator he is. He's awesome and delivers everything you'd expect from Ray Porter. Peter Clines, on the other hand, just didn't deliver. As long as Porter narrates the next book, I'll still give it a shot, but Clines is no longer on my "buy it now" list like he was before.

I'm clearly not the the only one disappointed...

I loved 14, I've listened to it a handful of times. I loved The Fold, it did an excellent job of building that lurking fear of the unknown.
I slogged through the "Ex" zombie books hoping to find some of the same intensity, but the zombie genre is so saturated that only the most well written and unique stories manage to hold their own.
I always assumed Clines wrote the "Ex" books because he could fire them out at a rapid pace and earn a steady paycheck. I figured he wrote them while he was brainstorming the good stuff like 14 and The Fold.
I listened to the first 9 hours of Dead Moon in a state suspended disbelief: "It can't just be zombies on the moon".
It is.
It's zombies on the moon.
Sure, there's a tiny bit of the same Space-Whale-Alpha-Predator story in the very end, but it's not worth getting there.

Silver Lining: Ray Porter remains an incredible narrator. Thank you Ray, for breathing life in to this husk of a story.

Not my favourite

I really wanted to love this, but I found it extremely slow to get going and without the two most important things I expect from a Peter Clines novel - awesome characters/character interactions, and twists.

I felt that the characterization was too little and much too late. I didn't have any reason at all to care about any of the characters until about 2/3 of the way into the book. By then, I would have already returned it, if it wasn't a Threshold book, to be honest.

The first 2/3 of the book is a very linear, standard story without surprises of any kind. It just wasn't very interesting, especially without strong characterization to carry the story along. There weren't any of the cool mysteries like the green roaches or blacklight fixture of "14", to pique my interest and make me wonder what was around the corner.

Don't get me wrong - there are some really cool scenes, and the Big Bad when it finally appears, really delivers! I feel like this book would have worked WAY better as a novella that omitted most of the first part of the story. I just didn't feel the moon zombies really added anything. Which is too bad because I thought the concept of moon zombies was pretty exciting :P

Still looking forward to the next book... just hoping it will be a little more like 14 and The Fold as far as pacing/characterization!

As if a different writer

Loved the first 2 so was exited for the 3rd story, it was not a follow on or linked in any way. Lumbering confusing scenarios and no real depth as in the first two books, really can’t believe the same person wrote it.

Zombies on the Moon. What's not to love?

A lot of very negative reviews here which I'd like to address.

A lot of comments that this title doesn't fit in with the rest of the series. I disagree. Zombies have always been a part of the mythos. Perhaps the issue here is that people didn't read far enough to discover the source of the zombies? Trust me, it fits in just fine.

A lot of comments that it feels like a different author or style. Again, I disagree. It has the same dry humour and style if you ask me. Again I don't see a problem here.

Couple of comments complaining there's too much talking. I mean.. it's a book? Are characters not allowed to talk about the situation and their plans? Don't understand this one at all.

End of the day this is a book about zombies on the moon. What's not to love about that? It's fun, there's no shark jump moments, the plot moves quite swiftly and makes sense. It's not a masterpiece sure but it's fun and it's entertaining. What more do you want?

Danger! There be Monsters Here!

Those of us that were drawn into the first book of this series, 14, who were intrigued by the quirky character mystery and the quite outlandish fantasia ending will have been awaiting the followups with considerable anticipation. But my, we have come a long way from there to get here. It's not just that Clines has taken us to the moon but that he's basically delivered a zombie-horror show that is so far removed from that odd tower block we started from we might as well, well be on the moon. This can easily be read as a standalone novel without losing anything.

Those who like a good zombie horror will likely enjoy this as I did. The added dimension that space brings really adds something to the mix. There's plenty of action, tension and hard-edged horror to get stuck into. Those looking for another installment like the first book could well be disappointed.

So, enter at your peril. There really are monsters here!

Superb. Quick paced cthulhuesque terror.

what's not to love about dead moon? Peter clines delivers another fast-paced character driven horror. masterful twists and chilling climaxes that will take your breath away just like losing pressure in a space suit.

A missed opportunity

Such a wasted opportunity to bring back the characters we know and loved from the first two in the series. The mystery and intrigue departs as we find ourselves instead in the midst of a zombie horror story set on the moon. The events of the first two books were bizarre and outlandish but relatable context and colourful characters kept the reader curious and hungry. It didn't matter how unbelievable it was because it was happening and you were there. Unfortunately this time the context is gone, the characters feel flat and uninspiring and the whole story just doesn't feel believable, even after 14 and the fold. Events unfold as they do in zombie horror books and if that it what floats your boat then I'm sure you'll love it. For me, threshold aside, this just didn't even feel like I was reading Peter Clines.

I pre ordered this one as I was desperate for the next installment of the threshold series but this just wasn't it. Hopefully there will be another and we can just put this one behind us.

Didn't really cross the threshold.

Whilst The Fold and 14 were fun and sometimes terrifying puzzle boxes that unfolded slowly, Dead Moon felt more like another in the "ex heroes" franchise. Just like in ex heroes we are treated to pages of detailed zombie takedown narrative with little tension built and (presumably redshirted) characters dying who we don't really care about. Compare to the hapless marines in The Fold, tricked into fighting in the basement. I really was rooting for them and when they were slaughtered I felt really hurt about it. All the characters who died in "Dead Moon" mostly died from incompetance and a failure to heed basic Zombie lore. Finally when we meet the antagonist of the plot the monster is too easily overcome in a way that felt derivative of the Alien franchise. A pity because I'd been waiting a long time for another in the threshold series. I hope another comes along and Clines thinks carefully about what made the first two books such good material. Please! No More Zombies.

Listen To Me !!

A cracking listen, really really good, wasn't really any section of the book that I didn't enjoy, will definitely be re - listening to this again in full....if you like sci - fi, then this will be up your street....

Fittingly devoid of atmosphere.

Given how good the previous entries in the Threshold Series were, "Dead Moon" probably feels more disappointing in comparison than it would do in isolation. After all, there's no reason why this shouldn't work: the premise - zombies on the moon! - is intriguing enough, and Ray Porter could narrate a shopping list and make it engaging.

Unfortunately, though, once things get going (and it takes a while - it's a slow, slow start full of go-nowhere threads and pointless details) there's really not much to see here. The protagonists are an unlikeable bunch not at all in keeping with the charismatic leads of "14" and "The Fold", the plot runs out of steam almost immediately, and the world-building is... dull. You'd be forgiven for thinking that the location would be a key selling point here, but the world we're given is remarkably free of any of the flair that defined the previous Threshold entries. Lunar City, it transpires, has a bar, a tree, some shops, and a Mayor. The citizens like sex, too. That's important for some reason. Oh, and everyone bounces around like Kirby because of the low gravity, which is as unintentionally hilarious as it sounds.

The biggest problem with "Dead Moon", however, is that the enemy - Zombies ON THE MOON! - simply aren't scary. Not even a little bit. They're all nicely dressed (because they've been given lunar funerals), undecomposed (no water or oxygen on the moon, you see) and remarkably un-hungry for human flesh. They only punch and choke and one of the characters gets a bit of a scratch at one point (immediately disinfected and bandaged, don't worry). The worse thing that these toothkess ghouls will do is undress you in the vacuum of space. A horrible fate, granted, but not one that evokes a visceral thrill or speaks to our innate, primal sense of horror.

Zombies cabable of high-order thinking and tool manipulation should at least scare our lead characters, but none of them seem that bothered. Once the barebones plot reaches the midpoint, characters happily sit in their space buggies without a care in the world while the dead hammer uselessly on the walls unheeded. At one point after a life-and-death dash to safety, our protagonists sit at a cafe - Lunar City is still, I had to remind myself, under siege by a zombie horde - and discuss whether or not saving the human race is worth the possibility of being sued for property damage. None of this makes a great deal of sense.

I gave up at this point, I admit. Once the characters lost interest in the magical space rock Macguffin and started to talk about how bad it was that tall girls couldn't do ballet (?), it felt a bit futile to continue. Fittingly devoid of atmosphere, the whole thing is a dead miss.

Zombies on the moon!

Quite liked this because I like zombie books etc Has a bit of a twist as it’s set on the moon but it’s really got the same ingredients as every other zombie book - with one exception the excellent I Zombi - any how it filled some time and wasn’t too taxing on my brain ...

Definitely not clines best work....

Firstly, Ray Porter is his usual great self.... but even he can’t save this one.

The story’s all over , the characters are forgettable, the things that happen, from the plot to the characters actions, make no sense and just leave you feeling frustrated and annoyed.
Such a disappointment, this is one to miss I think, it’s a below par zombie book.... a real struggle to get through!

Bad Form !