Douglas Hastings’ passion for anything NASA drove him to analyze a treasure trove of Moon photos taken during all Apollo missions. Doug had started to believe the conspiracy theories and rumors that had swirled for years; that NASA had discovered more than just rocks on the Moon and had conspired to keep the rest of the world in the dark. A super computer’s enhancement and compilation of the old photos proved his belief and sent him on a quest that has now revealed revolutionary new space travel technology and will enable him to lead a group on a return journey to explore ancient ruins on the lunar surface. But Doug’s pursuit of the truth and discovery of a destroyed GLASS city on the Moon pale in comparison to what lies underneath the lunar surface. What he finds will solve the mystery of a long-dead Apollo Astronaut and provide clues to the missing elements of Earth’s ancient history. But, even he isn’t prepared for the discovery that will reveal the past and change the future of mankind…FOREVER!
( Format : Audiobook ) "Boy, am I glad to see you guys." 'Delightful' is the best way to sum up this peek into the past style of science fiction writing. It all begins with a mystery - an anomaly picked up by one Douglas Charles Hastings when entering data from photographs taken of the moon during Apollo missions. He becomes convinced that something - an ancient glass domed city? - is there and, together with a group recruited to help, determines to visit the moon to investigate. With much scientific explanations, and a lot of suspension of disbelief, the reader goes on an adventure to explore with this 'jolly' of mostly elderly NASA old timers. Slow paced and very visually written, Underneath the Moon has the feel of H.G.Wells' (early 1900s) book, The First Men in the Moon - or even the animated man and dog visit of Wallace and Grommit. Yes, quite delightful.
Superbly narrated by J.Scott Bennett, his reading is paced to fit the subject, with excellent expression and intonation. His voicings of the many characters are also distinctive, individual and appropriate, all adding to the simple delight of this slowly evolving mystery thriller. Another excellent performance by this talented voice actor.
If looking for a fast, action packed thriller, this is not for you. But for the listener wanting something quirky, more like the classic S.F. space explorations from before the time when we could finally see the dark side of the moon, give it a try. The narration is excellent, the ideas intriguing - and I, for one, will be looking out for a possible following story. the
The discovery is more than Doug Hastings can believe. After all, it was just a little project enhancing a large collection of old Apollo Missions moon photos. He didn’t expect anything like this! Yet, now, who should he involve? An abandoned and deteriorated glass city on the surface of the moon was probably noticed back then, so he’s not the only one who knows about it now. Doug pushes forward, pulling in folks he trusts. Plans are laid and an adventure set upon.
This story started off pretty exciting. The first person Doug tells about his discovery is his retired linguistics specialist wife Karen. Then he lets his good friend Dave Jensen know. After all, it was Dave’s father’s trunk of old photos that gave Doug this discovery. The men and their wives chat it over and they quickly conclude that there was no way the Apollo Mission crews missed this, so there had to be a cover up. This means they have to be careful who they let in on it. They start pulling in more trusted friends and friends of friends. Al Billington, who is retired from NASA personnel staffing gets roped in by Isaac Jensen, Dave’s father. Doug calls up an accountant friend, Melvin Simpson. If they plan to take this to the moon, they will need a budget, which means they will need an accountant. Professor Charles Liggens is tapped to be the anthropologist. Al gives Colonel Marvin Dean Andrews, a retired astronaut, a call and he’s more than happy to be a part of the team.
Meanwhile, there are forces working against them. The security guard at Doug’s work, Arnold Gavin, is the first to sound the alarm. He doesn’t know what he’s looking at, but he was ordered to report anything unusual he came across – like a glass city. Agent Allen Bruster puts some private investigators in place. Later, not only is the FBI involved, but also the CIA. A cloak and dagger game develops between Doug’s team and these agencies.
The pacing of the tale is pretty steady throughout. There’s very little ups or downs. A few little jokes here and there liven things up along with the G-rated run ins with the PIs. Eventually Doug’s team finds an investor, Michael Sheridan, and an inventor, Frank Gordon, to assist them in their plans to go to the moon to investigate the glass city. The story picks up a bit in pace at this point but still remains pretty level until near the end. While the level of excitement rises at the end, there was no big crescendo. The ending is suppose to be a climactic punch, but I felt it lacked emotion and oompf.
For much of the story, the tale keeps things well grounded with what is plausible. I liked this about the story and it matched the collective experience of Doug’s team, which in large are retired or close to retired personnel. But then they get a ticket to the moon and, while they discuss it, it’s decided that no agency on Earth will really mind that someone is sending an unscheduled ship to the moon. I was OK letting that one slide for the sake of the pacing of the story. But then we get this one reference to Stonehenge and how it must have been a laser…. ummm… OK. That was simply taking the science out of this science fiction story. Finally, we get to the moon and things get back on track with exploring. Lots of nifty things going on here and some language they can’t decipher. Too bad the men didn’t bring along their one linguistic expert, Karen. In fact, she’s not even assigned to the ground crew, though I think at least one of the ladies got a little telecommunications smooch time with her man while he was in space. Finally, the big large secret is discovered and it didn’t float my boat.
Speckled throughout the tale were these tiny snippets of something out there somewhen potentially scoping out the moon or Earth. These little bits were brief and I couldn’t tell if they were from the past or happening in sync with the activities of Doug’s crew. In the end, I think they were blasts from the past trying to prep us readers for what they would find in the glass city. While they initially heightened my anticipation for adventuring in the glass city, I never got a full picture from them. I think they were a little too vague and in the end didn’t add much to the final scenes.
So let’s talk about the ladies. Now, this story is set in the 1990s. Several women (the wives of Doug’s team) get names and careers and interests. However, they are written like they are from the 1960s or such. The men get together and the women go off in the other room for tea and gossip. No ladies get to go on the mission. While they get to sit around their little impromptu ground control center, they don’t get to do anything of note. Al runs the coms and checks. In fact, the opposing team doesn’t have any ladies either – no female PIs or women CIA agents sneaking about. Obviously, this was a pretty glum representation of women of the 90s.
Did I like the story? Was it worth my time? A hesitant yes. I liked the initial set up. Doug’s (re)discovery of a glass city on the moon had me hooked from the beginning. I liked that Doug’s team weren’t naive or idiots. I even didn’t mind the ease with which they found their investor and inventor that allowed them to make it to the moon in record time. Some of the moon discoveries were pretty interesting, even as others didn’t wow me. So if you are looking for a scifi tale that hearkens back to the classics of the 1950s, then this might be the story for you.
I received a copy of this book at no cost from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.
Narration: J. Scott Bennett did a really good job with this book. There’s tons of male characters and he kept them all distinct using various regional accents and a few foreign accents. The ladies all sounded like ladies, though they didn’t have nearly as many lines as the men. Bennett used a British accent for the small snippets of the foreign entity speckled throughout the book. I think his British accent was steadier in Marley – The Other Christmas Carol, but I still liked that he made the effort here.
I really enjoyed this quick read. As others have mentioned, there are similarities to James Hogan's Inherit the Stars. But since I really loved that series, I really enjoyed this one as well.
What did NASA see up there, and why are they hiding it?
Imagine you've been spending most of your time enhancing photographs from the Apollo missions looking for something out of the ordinary. Now imagine you find something, something so big you almost can't believe it could be covered up. Now imagine you were a former NASA astronaut who lost his family in a horrific car accident and you weren't allowed to go to be an astronaut anymore. Well, these two worlds will collide in Underneath The Moon.
Narration for Underneath the Moon was done by J. Scott Bennett -- at first I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about his narration style. He seemed to have a theater voice, which is fine for some forms of literature, but for a conspiracy laced science fiction book I wasn't so sure it would work. Either he toned it down, or I got used to it because for the rest of the book I didn't seem to have any issues with his narration style. Bennett does a fine job with this book and gives a nice addition to the overall feel of the book
Easily, one of my favorite parts of this was explaining the new technology behind the new engine that they were planning on using. I just loved the science behind it, and the large change that it could/would bring into the transportation industries.
The main characters, while a little "cooky" as most conspiracy theorists are, were still likeable and enjoyable additions to the story. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about them throughout. They just kind of felt "out there" without much explanation. Granted, that's how most conspiracy theorists tend to be, but I felt this book was missing the "why" factor for some of the characters.
The science and engineering part of the story was incredibly interesting and I'm glad that it was included, it really made the venture and everything that happens later in the story plausible.
Overall, the story was above average good until the very last 5-10 chapters. Especially the final chapter. I wasn't sure how this story was going to end, and I won't lie it didn't end the way I had envisioned at all, but I'm okay with that.
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Great science fiction. This book narrates the story of Doug. His passion for NASA; and the conspiracies surrounding the moon. That passion or obsession, drove him to enhance and analyze Moon photos; taken during Apollo missions. Doug always believed rumors NASA had discovered more than just rocks on the Moon. And, that for years NASA had conspired to keep the rest of the world oblivious to what's really out there. A secret that could change history. This set events in motion to form an exploration team; which came with obstacles.
On a quest for the truth, formed by a team of experts and friends, space travel and exploration becomes reality. With revolutionary technology, the group go on their journey to explore the ancient ruins on the moon.
The spacecraft is one part of the story I found myself wanting to set foot on, at least once in my lifetime.
(っ♡▽♡)っFor Anime fans, the Moon Castle is as majestic as "Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon". A glass city which holds clues to Earth's ancient mysteries, underneath the lunar surface. Ooh, (°ཀ°) wish I could say more but it would be spoiling it for book lovers like me (´∀`)♡
I stopped listening when I heard "epilogue"... Literally freaked out and took a break. Realized why the ending seemed rushed. I had not noticed the time go by with the book.
I'm not sure if it was the story or narrator. But, hard to let go of book and time flew by. Kudos! J. Scott Bennett captured the different characters personalities and emotions. Even the machinery. At first I wondered if it was more than one narrator. ⊙_⊙ Excellent work done!!
Disclaimer: This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.
Update: noticed some of the 3☆'s ratings. They must not have read the same book; or are simply not into into science fiction. This was truly a book I was so into it, I'm glad my work is monotonous. And as of the moment the story began, a favorite one.♡
Have you ever wondered how important conflict is to a story? Sometimes when I'm reading a book or watching a movie, I get a bit annoyed because the inevitable "dip" in the story is so predictable, as is the protagonist's rise up from it. What if someone wrote a story without that "dip"? Wouldn't that be great? It turns out that, no, it is not.
This story follows a group of people who make a discovery and then head to the moon to check it out. The usual sci-fi elements are there, along with many of the conspiracy theories modeled after Chariots of the Gods. It's cool to see it pieced together, and there are little snippets before each chapter that sort of tell the story from the past (although many of them are a bit too cryptic to paint a clear picture). But, here's the thing...
Nothing ever goes wrong. There are people who want to stop them but they don't even factor into the story. There are exotic needs for the mission but the answer is always, "I know a guy" and the need is fulfilled. Seriously, there is no conflict. Even the characters agree with each other 100% of the time. And this was how I figured out how important conflict is to a story. The tension it creates is a required element. It can add suspense or motivation for the characters. It can create excitement as plan A has to turn into plan B. But because all that was missing from this book, the story felt flat. It felt sanitized. It felt boring. Which is a shame considering it could have been a fascinating tale.
This book held my interest throughout. I rarely read a book from start to finish in one sitting but I did in this case. Well written for a newcomer. Would have given a four star rating except it was way too similar to "Inherit the Stars" by James P. Hogan written in 1977 I think. He had the 4th planet exploding and a race of Giants as well. He also had evidence being found on the moon.
A good way to spend an hour or two. Enjoyable read. Nothing special. The characters, technology, dialogue, and basic plot are a throwback to the 60's. Think "All the Right Stuff". The sci-fi is of the "then magic happens" variety. Still the author has an easy style that makes for a pleasant read.
Great story, kept me enthralled. The editing was poor and there are confusing transitions and incorrect words. I hope the next ones have better editing.
For a story set in 1998 this one really works well. The storyline is a great one. There are a few details that really make the reader wonder if the government wouldn't do the things they do in the book. I'd like to get my hands on a sequel.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It made a very insightful look as to the possibility of "why" there were no more Apollo flights to moon. Looking forward to the next installment to this stiry
Well probably not but it makes a good story. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. When is the next one due out?. Please hurry can t wait for the next one to be published