A fascinating thriller that takes us deep into the heart of the Soviet space program, "Red Moon" is the story of the Soviet moon-landing project -- told from the inside. "Red Moon" begins with a murder, and follows the story of a young man, Yuri Ribko, as he grows from engineering student to Cosmonaut under the secret control of his KGB uncle.
"Red Moon" is a modern historical novel, faithful in detail, about the other side of the Space Race.
Here in America, we heard very little about the Soviet side of the Moon Race, especially once the Gemini program really got under way. Or so it seemed to me as a small child. Even so, my later reading about space exploration provided very little information on the Russian efforts to reach the moon. This historical novel is an interesting (and painless) remedy to that gap in historical knowledge. The main character has a Zelig-like way of being in the right place at the right time in order to continue relating the story. And occasionally, the author's machinations to put him there are a little too apparent. But apart from that, this is a fascinating and well-researched look into the Soviet manned space program of the 1960s. It has whet my appetite to look into some technical/science history books for even more information.