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Jim Stanley #3
Moon of Mutiny
STRANGE GRAY "FLOWERS" ON THE MOON!
Were they only a myth, a dream--or were they really there, beyond the desolate, unexplored lunar ranges?
Fred Halpern had to know. Only the discovery of life--however primitive--could save man's struggling colony on the moon. And only by daring to cross the high ranges, where no man had gone before, could Halpern prove his own worth.
This splendid novel of adventure and suspense on today's frontier will delight Discriminating SF fans of all ages.
(Descriptive text quoted from book's back cover.)
Were they only a myth, a dream--or were they really there, beyond the desolate, unexplored lunar ranges?
Fred Halpern had to know. Only the discovery of life--however primitive--could save man's struggling colony on the moon. And only by daring to cross the high ranges, where no man had gone before, could Halpern prove his own worth.
This splendid novel of adventure and suspense on today's frontier will delight Discriminating SF fans of all ages.
(Descriptive text quoted from book's back cover.)
144 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1961
3 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
Lester del Rey
634 books117 followersLester del Rey was an American science fiction author and editor. Del Rey is especially famous for his juvenile novels such as those which are part of the Winston Science Fiction series, and for Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science fiction branch of Ballantine Books edited by Lester del Rey and his fourth wife Judy-Lynn del Rey.
Also published as:
Philip St. John
Eric van Lihn
Erik van Lhin
Kenneth Wright
Edson McCann (with Frederik Pohl)
Also published as:
Philip St. John
Eric van Lihn
Erik van Lhin
Kenneth Wright
Edson McCann (with Frederik Pohl)
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 17, 2009
A pretty exciting young adult SF novel.
February 26, 2018
This is a terrific boy's book by Lester Del Rey. I know people say "Young Adult" but I think "Juvenile" is closer—but I don't know, maybe those both have bad connotations these days, depending on whom you talk to. I would've read it at about 10 and enjoyed it.
The hero is an natural-born pilot with one special ability—he can compute trajectories more reliably than a computer!—and a reckless and arrogant nature. The beauty of the characterizations is that they're all from the hero's point-of-view, but they indicate enough of his shortcomings to give us an idea that just because it seems like the world (and the moon and the space station) is out to get him, no small part of this is due to his haughty nature.
This is good because it gives us a nice story arc, and one that most boys could probably do to identify with. And our hero's changing nature is revealed in a way that his thoughts (and the writing, which is 3rd person limited) don't give away, until a character points them out at the end at a dire moment. I could see this character arc really being under-appreciated, but it's one of the best I've read in a while, because it's almost all done through action. (The hero thinks about his own issues but never quite confronts them directly.)
Anyway, as a writer, I admired it greatly.
The story is just jam-packed wall-to-wall with action, as a seemingly (financially) doomed moon colony struggles to find a way to support itself before the USA pulls the plug. The world has sort of lazily let the moon fall into America's control, and America thinks it's a waste of money. (This is pretty dead on, too, when you think about it. It's why NASA is constantly "finding life" or "discovering water", but not really...)
I don't know how accurate any of it is: We still don't have a moon colony, if you can believe that, and this was nearly a decade before we landed on the moon, so del Rey had to use the best guesswork of the time. But it doesn't really matter: The perils presented are plausible enough, and the handlings convincing enough to really sell the idea that they're on the moon and it's quite challenging indeed.
In fact, I dinged it one star because del Rey does such a good job at presenting the treachery of the world that our hero's bold action at the beginning of Act 3 actually seems way too reckless and too reliant on luck, frankly.
This may not be an entirely fair charge to level against a juvenile SF book but if I learned anything from this book, it's that life isn't fair. Heh.
(P.S., I just realized how close this book is in its depiction to the moon as this 2018 Chinese movie, Till The End of the World is in its depiction of the Antarctic. Del Rey may have borrowed from some polar expeditions!)
The hero is an natural-born pilot with one special ability—he can compute trajectories more reliably than a computer!—and a reckless and arrogant nature. The beauty of the characterizations is that they're all from the hero's point-of-view, but they indicate enough of his shortcomings to give us an idea that just because it seems like the world (and the moon and the space station) is out to get him, no small part of this is due to his haughty nature.
This is good because it gives us a nice story arc, and one that most boys could probably do to identify with. And our hero's changing nature is revealed in a way that his thoughts (and the writing, which is 3rd person limited) don't give away, until a character points them out at the end at a dire moment. I could see this character arc really being under-appreciated, but it's one of the best I've read in a while, because it's almost all done through action. (The hero thinks about his own issues but never quite confronts them directly.)
Anyway, as a writer, I admired it greatly.
The story is just jam-packed wall-to-wall with action, as a seemingly (financially) doomed moon colony struggles to find a way to support itself before the USA pulls the plug. The world has sort of lazily let the moon fall into America's control, and America thinks it's a waste of money. (This is pretty dead on, too, when you think about it. It's why NASA is constantly "finding life" or "discovering water", but not really...)
I don't know how accurate any of it is: We still don't have a moon colony, if you can believe that, and this was nearly a decade before we landed on the moon, so del Rey had to use the best guesswork of the time. But it doesn't really matter: The perils presented are plausible enough, and the handlings convincing enough to really sell the idea that they're on the moon and it's quite challenging indeed.
In fact, I dinged it one star because del Rey does such a good job at presenting the treachery of the world that our hero's bold action at the beginning of Act 3 actually seems way too reckless and too reliant on luck, frankly.
This may not be an entirely fair charge to level against a juvenile SF book but if I learned anything from this book, it's that life isn't fair. Heh.
(P.S., I just realized how close this book is in its depiction to the moon as this 2018 Chinese movie, Till The End of the World is in its depiction of the Antarctic. Del Rey may have borrowed from some polar expeditions!)
February 12, 2016
Very Good SiFi story by a master of the genre. This is an excellent book for someone just starting to read SiFi or for a younger reader to be introduced to SiFi. Recommended
April 27, 2024
Given this book was written before we actually knew a lot about the moon, I was prepared to encounter a lot of dodgy science and outdated ideas. However, even with today's knowledge it's reasonably believable.
More importantly, it's a well-told story with relatable characters. I quite enjoyed this book and expect to re-read it at some time in the future.
More importantly, it's a well-told story with relatable characters. I quite enjoyed this book and expect to re-read it at some time in the future.
April 6, 2018
Rebellious hero is booted out of space academy because he can think faster than a computer; he loses the support of his co-workers and superiors for not being a team-player. Exciting plot; good descriptions of moonscape. Above average.
September 4, 2019
I read this as a kid, and have only recently come across it again. Perfectly average juvenile SF, about a precocious boy and a few others who surmount a bunch of issues on the Moon. It's not anything more notable than that, really, but it's a slight and enjoyable read (that I remember).
February 21, 2021
You need to go the hard road at times.
I read this book as a child in junior high school and dreamed of going to the moon. In senior high, men landed on the distant world for real. Over fifty years later, we plan to return for good. I hope I live long enough to see it.
I read this book as a child in junior high school and dreamed of going to the moon. In senior high, men landed on the distant world for real. Over fifty years later, we plan to return for good. I hope I live long enough to see it.
February 27, 2021
A short book (that felt long) of the beginnings of colonies on the moon. This story does a good job of detailing space as dangerous and treacherous and you can almost expect an issue every step of the way. A bit dry at times, but still a good read!
January 20, 2025
Interesting read for diving into the history and evolution of the sci-fi novel - author does a great too much telling as opposed to showing for my taste, but given his young target audience this is understandable. I’m interested enough to possibly finish the series!
January 25, 2022
The story got better near the end.
September 21, 2016
EDITED this review space to remove a deleted review from me somehow still displaying.
My ratings should be the only review of books from me showing on goodreads. They are my unincentivized, unconnected consumer product opinions.
The star rating reflects solely my subjective reading experience and resulting opinion of the book according to the rating scale used by goodreads. It's not intended to destroy anyone's livelihood nor to churn out book promotions for them — just my opinion/reaction shared with other readers and a means to track my reading, provide book comparison data and aid in book recommendations feature.
I rate here according to goodreads scale meaning that because goodreads determined most readers choose books they think they will enjoy, the goodreads average/okay rating on a 5-unit scale (2½) is rounded down to 2 stars where other sites like retailer Amazon round up to make 3 stars the average/okay read.
[A briefer way to put that is that yes I rate books one star lower on goodreads than on Amazon without in any way considering that to be bullying anyone or restriction of trade—I just do look to see if a site's scale runs 1-5 or 5-1 then what each unit means in that site because that's how I was taught to use scales.
I'm too durn old to be convinced otherwise, too durn ornery to believe that the only correct way to do anything is how it's done on Amazon.com site, and firmly remain convinced only people—not inanimate things like commercial products aka books—can suffer the psychological trauma of being bullied.]
My ratings should be the only review of books from me showing on goodreads. They are my unincentivized, unconnected consumer product opinions.
The star rating reflects solely my subjective reading experience and resulting opinion of the book according to the rating scale used by goodreads. It's not intended to destroy anyone's livelihood nor to churn out book promotions for them — just my opinion/reaction shared with other readers and a means to track my reading, provide book comparison data and aid in book recommendations feature.
I rate here according to goodreads scale meaning that because goodreads determined most readers choose books they think they will enjoy, the goodreads average/okay rating on a 5-unit scale (2½) is rounded down to 2 stars where other sites like retailer Amazon round up to make 3 stars the average/okay read.
[A briefer way to put that is that yes I rate books one star lower on goodreads than on Amazon without in any way considering that to be bullying anyone or restriction of trade—I just do look to see if a site's scale runs 1-5 or 5-1 then what each unit means in that site because that's how I was taught to use scales.
I'm too durn old to be convinced otherwise, too durn ornery to believe that the only correct way to do anything is how it's done on Amazon.com site, and firmly remain convinced only people—not inanimate things like commercial products aka books—can suffer the psychological trauma of being bullied.]
September 9, 2014
This is a near future, space exploration, where the main character, Fred Halpern is struggling with flight school. He's a great pilot and a mathematic savant, but doesn't like orders so much. He apparently was accident the 1st person to land on the moon in the previous book (MIssion to the Moon), and is famous (and imfamous) for it.. his father is the head of the story's equivalent of the international space station.
His attitude get him washed out of flight school, but he ends up on the struggling moon colony as a back up pilot, where adventures ensue, he grows up, and things turn out great!
Fun story... definitely young adult-y, but not in a bad way. The main character is definitely a Marty Stu trope, but it works just fine, IMO. Definitely worth a read for all ages.
His attitude get him washed out of flight school, but he ends up on the struggling moon colony as a back up pilot, where adventures ensue, he grows up, and things turn out great!
Fun story... definitely young adult-y, but not in a bad way. The main character is definitely a Marty Stu trope, but it works just fine, IMO. Definitely worth a read for all ages.
November 3, 2024
I should've written a review for this back when I read it. I would just like to mention that, while there's nothing particularly great about this one, it does one thing that I hardly ever see. The narrative is in the third person, but we're presented with everything based on the perceptions of the main character. So there are one or two characters we're conditioned to dislike or mistrust because of how he views them. But the protagonist eventually learns he was wrong about them and adjusts his opinion accordingly.
...
6/10
...
6/10
March 9, 2016
Pre-moon-landing moon fiction. Yeah, it's a trip. Witness maverick trope Fred Halpern get accidentally sent to the moon despite the better knowledge of sane men. Witness a moon expedition get stuck in pools of liquid dust, hide in airproof bubble caves, and much more. Witness a light dose of sixties woman bashing and a heavier dose of computer fear in an airless vacuum. Above all, be entertained despite your contemporary knowledge and sensibilities.
October 5, 2009
Lester Del Rey from 1961--an experiment on my part to read something I would have read in 1961. Classic outcast sent to the moon story the most interesting part was the way the computers were percieved. The computer on the space ship was used to print out a trajectory not to actually pilot the ship.
Seemed about right for the time.
Seemed about right for the time.
July 22, 2011
This was the book that I checked out with "Raiders from the Rings" by Alan E. Nourse in 1967. As I said in the other review: Reading these two books started me on a lifelong avocation of science fiction reading.
August 18, 2015
Pretty standard early 60's sci fi, with a young protagonist. A vert fast read.
March 6, 2016
Surprisingly good, actually.
November 12, 2014
1985 grade B
Juevenile
Juevenile
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews