Luna

By: Rick Chesler

Narrated by: Steve Rausch

Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

On the threshold of opening the moon to tourist excursions, a private space firm owned by a visionary billionaire takes a team of non-astronauts to the lunar surface. To address concerns that the moon's barren rock may not hold long-term allure for an uber-wealthy clientele, the company's charismatic owner reveals to the group the ultimate discovery: life on the moon.

But what is initially a triumphant and world-changing moment soon gives way to unrelenting terror as the team experiences firsthand that despite their technological prowess, the moon still holds many secrets.

©2015, 2016 Rick Chesler (P)2016 Rick Chesler

Engaging over time, especially for Luna!

What did you like best about Luna? What did you like least?

The concept was relatively original.
Some of the characters were not believable in either their actions or responses.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Difficult to disclose without a spoiler, but I will say who succeeds, or doesn't, it something of a shock.

Have you listened to any of Steve Rausch’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I don't believe I have and this offering was very good. Consistent and believable.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Likely.

Any additional comments?

I received a copy of this audiobook from Audioblast in exchange for a fair and unbiased review. Fact is, I had this in my wish list anyway, so it sort of worked out.
That said, this is a modest little piece of original scifi, with some interesting personal touches.
Once again I would note that some of the non-Audible productions have glitches in terms of background noise, editing issues, and other bumps that make headphone listening sometimes jarring. That said, on balance i recommend this.

Who does not like a space story...

“Luna” written and published by Rick Chesler is a rather unique science fiction space suspense thriller. The audiobook’s narration was professionally performed by Steve Rausch. If you enjoy a story that blends many of the elements of the movies like Tremors, The Martian (having more than one person stranded), and Gravity, you will get a good understanding of what you are in for when reading or listening to this book. There are many exclusive story components, so do not think the book contains nothing new; it does. Although the overall story lacked some technical and plot depth along with a need for more character development, it was not a bad story as a whole. If you are one who likes suspense, space, and monsters, you may find yourself liking this book. I gave the book an average rating because I could not find anything that was astonishing or earth-shattering based on other books I have reviewed previously.

I picked up this book as it had a somewhat unique premise, also who does not like good space and mystery story? I was not disappointed when I listened to the book, but I will say there were a few times where I did not feel engaged by it. Many of the main characters were more cardboardish or flat than I would have liked. Even though it is a monster story at its core, I still would have liked to have had deeper character development and interaction. I’m also aware this is a piece of fiction, but I found some of the accident chain of events to be somewhat over the top and required some suspending of belief.

With the story taking place a few years in our future, space travel becoming more commercialized and regulated by the ever-liked (sarcasm) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Being a pilot myself, I found it interesting that this government organization was the one assigned the duty to monitor and maintain the safety of space travel. I found the character and communication of the fictional FAA agent quite stereotypical of people when believed to be from the FAA or Government Agent. There are also a few other usual science fiction space tropes found in the book, but generally these did not get in the way.

I had no issues with any of the narration or audio recording done by Steve Rausch. He seems to not have a large number of book narrations under his belt, however based on the audio in this book I would have assumed more than he already does. I did like the addition of some of the extra actual audio recordings from past space flights, etc. It was well incorporated into the narration and did not take away from the book itself. I also did not note any audio artifacts observed while listening to the book.

A note to parents or younger readers. During the first half of the book I was surprised to have encountered a low number of vulgar words, but their use greatly increased as you progress to later parts of the book. Often these are used during times of intense stress or expression, but the author could have easily used other language to support his point. There are also a few scenes of intense violence that may not be appropriate for younger readers. Violence is what one would expect in a modern-day monster thriller. Had the author taken into consideration these aspects and removed them, I think he would have had a bigger audience. I actually believe younger readers would enjoy the book more based on its subject matter and writing style apart from the above-mentioned items.

In summary, if you like space, monsters, thrillers, mystery, and annoying FFA inspectors, you may end up liking Luna. As stated earlier, it is not a book that by reading it will rock your world, but it is a rather light tromp into space where we come face to face with a few obstacles. People die, people survive, and people sacrifice themselves for a better life of others.

Overall poor experience

Narrator utilizes racist and stereotypical accents, the female characters are caricatures, the science is bad, the writing is stilted, and none of the characters are likeable.

Disappointing.

Whether because of the narrator's lack of excitement or the author's poor writing, this book failed to give any semblance of urgency which is needed in this sci Fi horror. If it weren't for the occasional coarse swear this book easily could be children's story about the dangers of fighting with people you disagree with.

There are huge giant worm tunnel sized questions left after the listener finishes, absolutely zero character development, no sense of a hero and the story seemingly has no point. It's a tale of two hugely incompetent space programs bickering about whose the greatest getting out smarted by worms; Worms on the moon who are attracted to oxygen.

It seems the author wasn't sure about what he was going after, at one point questioning religion and then leaving that question hanging, then possibly calling out corporate greed through both space agency CEOs. The book had vision and potential for an interesting story but failed miserably at attaining any form of entertainment. I finished with the hope that maybe there would be some form of salvation for novel but there is none to be found for it ends abruptly without explanation. PLEASE DONT MAKE A SEQUEL.

It's...ok. But just.

What did you like best about Luna? What did you like least?

The story was average. Nothing stood out.

Would you be willing to try another book from Rick Chesler? Why or why not?

Sure.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

When reading, the narrator was good but I had some trouble with the voices used.

Do you think Luna needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Indifferent.

Any additional comments?

Overall, it could have been better.