Saturday, May 14, 2016

Moon Base Alpha #1: Space Case by Stuart Gibbs

Space Case (Moon Base Alpha #1)
My name is Dash. My parents are big-time scientists, so I "get" to be in the first group of humans living on the moon. It's not that great. The food is crappy, we can't go outside, and it's boring. However, during a late-night bathroom run, I overheard a scientist talking about a huge discovery he's going to reveal in the morning. The announcement was never made, because the guy died before breakfast during a solo moonwalk! The head of the base said it was an accident, but that doesn't make any sense. The scientist was super careful, and I think he was murdered! I've been ordered to keep silent about my ideas, but that doesn't mean I can't secretly investigate. I've discovered this well-liked scientist sure had a lot of people who wouldn't have minded seeing him dead.

This book is a murder mystery in a science fiction setting. The author describes the moon settlement as a rather bland place, so the murder is the entire focus of the plot. To me, he offered too many suspects; three-fourths of the way through the book, Dash still had about ten names be was investigating. Dash is a likeable main character, although I never developed a real connection with him until the end of the book. I would have liked Kira's character, and her relationship with Dash, to be more developed. Dash does his thing, and Kira does her thing, and then they get together and compare notes. The climax and resolution were pretty exciting, and it will be interesting to see where the sequel goes.

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