Mark Twain on the Moon: Book One: Prospectors!

By: Michael Schulkins

Narrated by: Randy Hames

Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

In an alternate 19th century, young Samuel Clemens sets out for the mining camps of America’s wildest frontier: the moon. Travel with Sam and his partner Calvin as they venture into the desolate, deadly wastes of the Mare Imbrium and the Montes Caucasus in search of wonders, adventure, and a fortune in precious water ice. This is Prospectors!, the opening salvo in the epic saga of Mark Twain on the Moon, as told by the alternate Mark Twain himself.

©2019 Michael Schulkins (P)2019 Michael Schulkins

Not your goth niece's steampunk

I have not read the works of Mr. Samuel Clemens, but I am American educated in America so I do feel like I have some inkling of what Mr. Twain's writing must be like. This feels like it. It is human, and it is humorous.

And this business about being on the moon? It's delightful. While technically steampunk (what with it being steam fueled science fiction and all) don't expect the traditional extraneous gears and goggles. This is genuine American storytelling without the quasi-Victorian affectations.

It does, however, feel like half a book. Is that how Mark Twain published his works? I do not know, but I checked, and the second book is around twice as long as this one. I enjoyed this volume, but is the second book part two of two? Part two of four? Part two of two combined with part one of three? Those averse to hanging on cliffs may beware.

Otherwise, prepare to spend some quality time seeking your fortune and fame on the moon.

Nostalgia meets interesting subject matter

First off, the writing was solid from beginning to end only lagging in one spot perhaps. The performance was different but perfect for the type of story that the writer wanted to tell. This wonderful short book is not going to break any records or even new ground, but It was an enjoyable listen from beginning to end short and sweet.

The language used reminded me of the writing concepts of firefly by Joss Weaden in the vets they used older language in creative ways to describe things not found in the past which made for a fun experience.

This story is something special especially in a time where so many stories take themselves so seriously, it reads much less like a 3rd or 1st person complicated narrative and more like an old friend telling you stories from his youth despite having told you before.

Strong recommendation for those who want something different and nostalgic at the same time.

Good first half of a book with fun narration

The story is pretty well done. The author does a good job combined with the narration to give you a feeling of listening to Mark Twain telling you this tale.

I would listen to this again, if the entire series were put in to one complete edition. As it stands, I feel like this book is the build up and that there should be a second half with more action. Instead, they stopped here and put the rest in to a completely separate book.

Now, that being said, I still enjoyed listening to this book and would still recommend giving it a read. The science is glossed over, but that is actually a positive thing, as that is not the books focus. The characters are fun.

The narration is from the main characters point of view, so don't expect to hear different voices for each character. Normally that would bother me, but for this tale, it makes sense and actually made it more enjoyable for me.

A fun, short story

This book was goofy alt-history fun. I mean the title sort of says it all: Mark Twain on the Moon. There were points where it really sounded like Mark Twain. It's really short though and ends on a cliff hanger, sort of. And since it's so short I'm not sure why it's two books instead of one normal length book. It's not spectacular or super memorable but it isn't a bad book either. It's a fun, short listen.

The narrator did a good job.

I was given this book for free at my own request in exchange for a fair review