Red Moon – David S. Michaels & Daniel Brenton

The plot of this story is set in 2019, with humans back on the Moon looking for fusion power fuel, and also in the Soviet Union in the late 1960s, at the height of the Moon race. As things fall apart during a Moon mission in 2019, a NASA scientist must travel to Moscow to find out about a mysterious spacecraft found on the Moon. He uncovers a deep conspiracy about the Cold War Soviet space program. Back then, unknown cosmonaut Grigor Belinsky is maneuvered into taking on an unthinkable mission.

I freely admit that I am a sucker for the subject matter. Secret Moon missions? Blending fact and fiction about the Moon Race? Oh my! I just had to read this book. It delivered beyond my wildest expectations. Unlike the deeply disappointing “Children of Apollo“, another independent publication in the genre, “Red Moon” is masterfully crafted. The plot is intelligent and elegant beyond words and moves powerfully towards a breathless climax. Not since early Clancy novels have I read something with this kind of page-turning power combined with depth.

And the characters! Belinsky feels so alive, so real. He is a classic tragic hero, his inevitable fate sealed by his deep drive and desire to do the right thing in an evil world. The whole way Russians are described is so spot on, showing their poetic and melancholy side, their deeply emotional selves, in a way that few Western thrillers manage. What a book! It satisfies on many levels, with the sprinkling of culturally rooted mysticism, the slice-of-life vignettes from the 60s and the believable, three-dimensional characters lifting what could have been just a competent thriller into the realm of the sublime.

4 Replies to “Red Moon – David S. Michaels & Daniel Brenton”

  1. Andreas (?) —

    (I’m not finding an “about” page here or on the old site, so I’m guessing this is your first name.)

    Thank you so much for this glowing review! Naturally I feel that Red Moon is a solid piece of writing. I have to say Dave Michaels did a hell of a job on it, and I feel my contributions to it are still some of my best work to date.

    If you want to learn more (more, most likely, than you ever wanted to know …) about the background and development of Red Moon, feel free to visit the dedicated Red Moonpages of our website Luna 15.

    Thank you,

    — Daniel

    1. Hi there Daniel.

      Thanks for posting! It’s quite thrilling to have the actual author comment. Wow!

      Thanks also for the link to the website. I am a big space program buff and it is always interesting to find new stuff to read. In fact I’m reading “Back to the Moon” by Taylor & Johnson right now.

      Andreas

      PS Time to fix an “about” page then!

  2. I just finished reading it and it completely blew my mind away! This is a 5+++++

    In the beginning it was a page turner, but the end… I just could not put it down!

    I will take a look at the other books these two has written 🙂

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