Luna

by Rick Chesler

On the threshold of opening the moon to tourist excursions, a private space firm owned by a visionary billionaire takes a team of non-astronauts to the lunar surface. To address concerns that the moon’s barren rock may not hold long-term allure for an uber-wealthy clientele, the company’s charismatic owner reveals to the group the ultimate discovery: life on the moon.

But what is initially a triumphant and world-changing moment soon gives way to unrelenting terror as the team experiences firsthand that despite their technological prowess, the moon still holds many secrets.

Genres: Horror, Science Fiction, Fiction

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2015

About the author

Author of over 30 novels, Rick Chesler holds a Bachelor of Science in marine biology and can often be found diving, boating or traveling to research his next thriller idea. A former contractor for the U.S. Deptartment of Commerce and the State of Hawaii, he now lives in South Florida with his family, at the edge of the Bermuda Triangle. Visit him online at twitter.com/rickchesler, facebook.com/rickchesler, or rickchesler.com.

SERIES:
ATLANTIS GOLD: An Omega Files Adventure (Book 1)
ARK FOUND: An Omega Files Adventure (Book 2)
GOLDEN ONE An Omega Files Adventure (Book 3)
CROSS FOUND: An Omega Files Adventure (Book 4)

JURASSIC DEAD (co-authored):
Jurassic Dead
Jurassic Dead 2: Z-Volution
Jurassic Dead 3: Ctrl-Z

OUTCAST Ops:
Game of Drones (co-authored)
The Poseidon Initiative
African Firestorm (co-authored)
Red Ice (co-authored)
Watchlist (co-authored)
Shadow Gov (co-authored)

TARA SHORES THRILLERS
Wired Kingdom
kiDNApped
Solar Island

DANE MADDOCK ORIGINS (co-authored)
Splashdown
Electra
Amber
Treasure of the Dead
Dane Maddock: The Tomb

OGMIOS TEAM ORIGINS (co-authored)
Lucifer's Machine

STANDALONE NOVELS:
Edit: A Prehistoric Thriller
Manuscript 512 (releasing Fall 2018)
Hawaiian Punch (co-authored)
Uncontacted
DMZ: A Dinosaur Thriller
The Tank
The Flat: A Novel of Supernatural Horror (co-authored)
The Yeti (co-authored)
Landing Party
Sawfish
Luna
Hotel Megalodon
Blood Harbor: A Novel of Suspense

Reviews

[Michael Hicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rick Chesler's LUNA is a decent enough read, but it lacks surprises and I found the horror element to be pretty light, which is unfortunate.

There's also a few big questions surrounding the nature of the threat itself - massive worms on the moon! - such as, how do these buggers survive on the barren, lifeless Moon? What do they eat, aside from the occasional and rather rare astronaut? How the heck did they evolve? These are fairly basic issues, but beyond the scope of this book and the science takes a backseat. Still, I'd like to have some exploration of these topics, but maybe that's a hang-up particular only to me.

The worms themselves and the setting of the moon do make for an interesting concept with an intriguing setting for a horror novel, but I never found myself much invested in the threats presented or the characters risking certain doom.

[Note: I borrowed this book through the Kindle Owner's Lending Library.]

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing
By Miss Lyn on August 28, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I really enjoy Rick Chesler's novels and this the best one ever!
Man has reached the point of branching out into space tourism.Two corporations are competing to be the first travellers to the moon. Who will get there first and what will they find there??There are just too many wonderful spoilers so I really suggest you rush and get your copy NOW! I can't wait for Mr.Chesler's next book!

[D.J. Weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 A.D….

Billionaire tycoon, Blake Garner, and a group of private citizens leave Earth to visit the Moon. Blake wants to make the Moon, a tourist attraction and he’s taking a few interested parties and government officials up for a test run. But Blake has information that could potentially spell disaster for the group in this gripping space novel from Rick Chesler.

Problems arise from the moment the Command Spaceship takes off, making it necessary to land off coordinates. Then Blake wants to drag the passengers and crew on a lunar walk that includes a cave system found during an earlier exploration. No one, except Blake, is aware that alien life has been found there, and lives have already been lost. What occurs next is an all-out fight for survival and escape by a few, from a gruesome, lingering death at the mercy of a horde of strange lunar predators.

With excellent characterization and visual savvy, Rick Chesler weaves an interesting tale of space exploration gone wrong, in this frighteningly original story. The progression of events will keep the reader gasping for air and on the cosmic edge, as the characters fight to make it off the Moon alive. A great, compact read that will give you chills and have you watching the ground around you.

Four spiders for LUNA by Rick Chesler.

DJ Weaver

[Chris Bauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast, entertaining read.

[Jack Vessly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was, meh at best... it had a plot driven by an over used design. A man with too much money brings a small group of professionals to a tourist attraction on the moon, and things go sideways. The early plot reminded me of Jurassic Park...rich guy brings professionals to an attraction and things go sideways, then in mid book it felt like Tremors, but Tremors in space...

The writing is good, highly readable, which is on par with Chesler's work. I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it, maybe you'll have a different take on it? Give it a try!

3-Stars!

[Dixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick Chesler is an author to watch. This is my second fantastic book I've read. Definitely a keeper

[Jude Samson]

Despite not being that long there were just too many mind-numbing, common-sense-lacking issues I couldn’t bother to continue. If the writer can’t be bothered to put in effort, I can’t be bothered to do the same.

Was the narrator sick while reading?

Needlessly fixating on unimportant details that give nothing to the story. A prime example is the trivia fact that Armstrong forgot to say “a” man and prattles on about the grammar. Meanwhile, they use wrong words such as saying “every scintilla of his strength.” He’s wanting to say he has all of his earthly strength but scintilla means spark in the literal sense and typically is used to indict “barely a trace of” which doesn’t work with the intent of the sentence.

Would an astronaut (especially a Trekkie) be unimpressed with the moon?

Again, droning on about unimportant details. We don’t need to know all the little trivia facts he learned, most of us already know them (the flag being altered to remain rigid) and those who don’t - it doesn’t matter it doesn’t contribute anything to the story.

We don’t need all the unnecessary verbiage! Just say they have a vehicle. We are all well aware of vehicles thanks to all the different movies and historical pictures. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel and just tell the damn story!

Astronauts would all be very much aware of the technical stats of their buggy as part of training. They absolutely would not be asking those details all on the moon.

Thanks captain obvious. Good thing he said they should stop at the top so no one falls into the crater. The writer does realize his characters can’t all be incompetent clueless idiots, right?

Lol kept her rover training secret? And having the common sense to put chocks on the wheels is hardly speciality training.

He had not given her the moon. she worked and earned it herself.

Ahhh yes, let’s call the female scientist explaining there’s no ice a buzzkill until a male says “no, she’s right”. Male to the rescue!

After he just pulled a power trip to demand Caitlin get down into the crater over the safety step of securing the vehicle he then says no one has to be there with him in the crater and they could go back to the lim? And then what? Wait until someone comes all the way back with the vehicle while they’re out there alone and wasting oxygen? Especially considering that he made it a point to beat us over the head with basic facts such as the vehicles being used to conserve oxygen?

And people in a group might be too shy to speak up? First, how many people do they think are really going to be able to afford (and actually want to go) a trip to the moon? Lol it’s not like there’s going to be a horde of people. And also, those who can afford it are often heads of mega corps and are hardly shy or afraid to speak their mind.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book - interesting subject matter, diverse cast of characters and character motivations, well written and paced right up until the end. It had me guessing at a few points, and didn’t go the way I expected. The ending does feel a little rushed, which is odd. I would have liked an epilogue that at least went more into the ramifications of what happened after they got back and told their story. It would also have been nice to receive more speculation or explanation about what happened to the crew members that were assimilated by the creatures, and how they were still alive etc.

[Klinsman Hinjaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror on the moon!

In Luna, Rick Chesler takes us on a thrilling ride through a matter of life and death on the Earth's only natural satellite: the Moon. Filled with a great selection of characters, this novel is heart-pounding, suspenseful, and, in my mind, would make an excellent sci-fi movie! Additionally, I cannot think of a better ending than what the author presents to us – it's absolutely perfect! Can the humans survive the lunar ghastly reality? Read Luna and find out yourself!

P.S. Reading Luna has helped me grow a deeper sense of appreciation for our life on our planet.

[M.J. Edington · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was okay.

The: book was okay, though the need for an edit was evident in several places.
The story was good until the sheer number of alien life forms became rather ridiculous.
I'm happy it was a stand alone, and happier still to have it finished. It had become tedious.

[Yusuf · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5
While the novel never felt dull, it did feel somewhat disorienting. For such a short novel, there was a lot packed into it. The pacing and narrative felt a bit chaotic. There were some strengths— I like some of the ideas presented here and the narrative was fine. I never connected with any of the characters but I did like the dynamics between some of them.

[Tee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book as pretty good, but I couldn’t keep Blake and James straight, and to make matters worse the author would switch to their last names at times. The author should have chosen more unique names. Other than that, pretty good!

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great lunar adventure, with some interesting creature twists (abilities I've never seen before). sci-fi/ horror, with a minor twist on even that genre. very entertaining, fairly quick read.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Luna” written and published by Rick Chesler is a rather unique science fiction space suspense thriller. The audiobook’s narration was professionally performed by Steve Rausch. If you enjoy a story that blends many of the elements of the movies like Tremors, The Martian (having more than one person stranded), and Gravity, you will get a good understanding of what you are in for when reading or listening to this book. There are many exclusive story components, so do not think the book contains nothing new; it does. Although the overall story lacked some technical and plot depth along with a need for more character development, it was not a bad story as a whole. If you are one who likes suspense, space, and monsters, you may find yourself liking this book. I gave the book an average rating because I could not find anything that was astonishing or earth-shattering based on other books I have reviewed previously.

I picked up this book as it had a somewhat unique premise, also who does not like good space and mystery story? I was not disappointed when I listened to the book, but I will say there were a few times where I did not feel engaged by it. Many of the main characters were more cardboardish or flat than I would have liked. Even though it is a monster story at its core, I still would have liked to have had deeper character development and interaction. I’m also aware this is a piece of fiction, but I found some of the accident chain of events to be somewhat over the top and required some suspending of belief.

With the story taking place a few years in our future, space travel becoming more commercialized and regulated by the ever-liked (sarcasm) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Being a pilot myself, I found it interesting that this government organization was the one assigned the duty to monitor and maintain the safety of space travel. I found the character and communication of the fictional FAA agent quite stereotypical of people when believed to be from the FAA or Government Agent. There are also a few other usual science fiction space tropes found in the book, but generally these did not get in the way.

I had no issues with any of the narration or audio recording done by Steve Rausch. He seems to not have a large number of book narrations under his belt, however based on the audio in this book I would have assumed more than he already does. I did like the addition of some of the extra actual audio recordings from past space flights, etc. It was well incorporated into the narration and did not take away from the book itself. I also did not note any audio artifacts observed while listening to the book.

A note to parents or younger readers. During the first half of the book I was surprised to have encountered a low number of vulgar words, but their use greatly increased as you progress to later parts of the book. Often these are used during times of intense stress or expression, but the author could have easily used other language to support his point. There are also a few scenes of intense violence that may not be appropriate for younger readers. Violence is what one would expect in a modern-day monster thriller. Had the author taken into consideration these aspects and removed them, I think he would have had a bigger audience. I actually believe younger readers would enjoy the book more based on its subject matter and writing style apart from the above-mentioned items.

In summary, if you like space, monsters, thrillers, mystery, and annoying FFA inspectors, you may end up liking Luna. As stated earlier, it is not a book that by reading it will rock your world, but it is a rather light tromp into space where we come face to face with a few obstacles. People die, people survive, and people sacrifice themselves for a better life of others.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outer Limits, run by Blake Garney, and a rival company Black Sky, run by Kennedy Haig, are in a race to start providing tourist trips to the moon and each has hired a safety consultant and various experts to take a test tour of the moon, hoping for good publicity to attract the public. Both operations are close to each other as the experts explore but things are already going wrong when one craft is damaged on the journey, sabotage by one team on another takes place on the surface, and a strange lifeform may be responsible for a missing tour member...

I first read Rick Chesler because I liked the sound of his dinosaur book Landing Party. As I have read more of his books, I feel that his writing is evolving in a good way. His early stories are fun creature features but I think his more recent books are showing more polish and an even better style of storytelling, which I'm really enjoying. This book may be a slow burner when it comes to action but it kept me reading with the gradual ramping up of the tension and wanting to know what was going to happen to the characters and whether anyone would escape from the doomed missions.

The characters are varied and interesting. Our hero is James Burton, FAA safety inspector who is regretting his decision to join the group before the craft even launches. Black Sky's rich owner is angry that his rival may get the jump on him and rushes to get there, willing to do whatever it takes to win the space race. He and Haig are similar in this sense but they do make interesting characters, if a little steriotyped as rich bad guys who only want to win. I actually enjoyed their rivalry as it added more to the story than just a tour. Asami and Suzette are at each other's throats from the minute they meet and it causes an accident during the flight that might leave them stranded on the moon, a mile from where they were meant to land. I liked Asami who was a smart and nice woman and I agreed with her assessment of Suzette as a bitch! I also particularly liked the pilot Caitlin. We also follow Mission Control back on Earth where Caitlin's boyfriend Ray works and he is about to discover something that makes him fear the crew is in danger, while dealing with a threatening sandstorm that is about to mess up communications.

The tour begins with a drive in a moon buggy, followed by a trip into some underground tunnels, a prospect that sets James teeth on edge from a safety point of view. Blake is already twitchy and distracted, but is insistant that he has to show them something important and they are quite shocked to see a small worm like lifeform. James is already on edge about this discovery and decides he just wants to leave. It is then that things start to take a sinister turn when one of the team go missing in the tunnels, and their buggy back to the craft is sabotaged. James is about to discover that safety violations on the tour are going to be the least of their problems.

The book is part creature feature, in the form of the dangerous worms which sort of remind me of graboids from the Tremors films, and part conspiracy adventure with the moon exploration and everything that was going wrong. I really enjoyed the different setting, the Aliens type 'oh no we're trapped here with monsters trying to get us' vibe, and planning how they are going to get back to Earth safely. I liked the rivalry between the two teams and the issues within the team that threatened their survival. I enjoyed the worms and how they became more of a threat as the book progressed. It was a good mixture of plot and character, with plenty tension and interest. It also reminded me why I plan to stay firmly on Earth, thank you very much!

[David Hersh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thing go horribly awry on Luna....

When someone sets out write a book, and expects that people will pay him money to read that book, it seems to me more effort is required than simply slapping the keys on your computer with first thing that comes to mind. Worse, in this case I have to wonder whether on not the author figured out that his target audience would be sci-fi people, and space enthusiasts. Being both of those I can tell you that we are a very nit-picky bunch.

There are so many factual errors in the book that it's hard to fathom it all. Normally I don't do spoilers and I'm going to stick to that as much as I can. However, I will talk about the characters. There are two billionaire space entrepreneurs that are beyond belief. They are juvenile, petty, and as they are written not nearly bright enough to be billionaires let alone space entrepreneurs. Instead of being modeled on Branson or Musk, they have much more in common with Trump and Capone. Many of the people employed by these guys are just as immature as their employers. One of them drinks on the job and another basically does what she wants to even when ordered not to by her boss whose standing next to her. Then you've got ground crew who are probably the most juvenile of the bunch. They curse each other out, and one tells another to "mind your monitor fatboy". The best one is the mission commander telling a ground controller to "shut the 'f' up I'm try to get some sleep up here". A good runner up is the unexplained fist fight that breaks out at mission control. If it was explained, I must have missed it because in all honesty, I started skimming through the book at about 70%.

Then you have the astronaut who is filled with anxiety, and yet calmed by the idea that the landing was done by an automatic system. Hadn't she managed to work all this out in training?

My favorite character was the FAA inspector who was along for the ride to certify the the whole mess is safe for paying tourists. Well let's just say that he wasn't paying very close attention because the reasons for him to pull the plug started early in the story and are literally too numerous to count.

I'm happy to say that there is one area where author managed to hit a home run. His bio says that he has a degree in marine biology and he definitely drew upon that knowledge to create the books non-human bad guys. Unlike much of rest of this book, they are well crafted, and don't corrupt my willing suspension of disbelief. While they are clearly the high point of the book, they can't save it from itself.

I really wanted to like this book, but by page 30 I knew it wouldn't end well.

I'm sorry to say that I do not recommend this book...Two stars.

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised to see so many negative reviews of this book, I found it incredibly fun to read, so much so I stayed up most of the night to read it because I was enjoying it so much. The year is 2024 and two private space flight companies are competing to be the first to take tourists to the moon and eventually build on the moon: homes, amusement parks, cities, etc. The first flight for tourists is arriving for both companies within the year so this is the final safety flight for both to get clearance for the tourists business and they are taking a small crew and one FAA safety officer to go over the procedures they'll follow while on the moon with the tourists who take the trip. Well someone hasn't been quite upfront about how safe the moon really is and they hit some "snags" should we say, during their trip. It was fast paced, always interesting and kept me wanting to know what would happen next. There were times I actually had butterflies in my stomach from the situations the characters found themselves in. I recommend it. :)

[Bruce Wiles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apollo 18 meets tremors

The premise that a gigantic colony of alien worms is thriving on the moon without previous discovery stretches the bounds of credulity. On any other moon in the solar system or planet ok. But the moon that's been studied watch photographed scanned with every device known to mankind and visited by missions manned and unmanned doesn't work for me. Th creatures biology doesn't really stand up either, an oxygen breathing organism evolving on a planetary body with no atmosphere and bombarded with cosmic rays? And even with oxygen contained in the regolith it's doubtful there would be enough to sustain a thriving community of giant worms.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first novel by Rick Chesler and I was blown away. Always been a fan of cool monsters, and the vermiforms here did not disappoint. What should have been an exciting trip to explore the surface of the moon, turns into an adrenaline fueled nightmare as the astronauts have to survive and escape from a new and unique subterranean lunar monster. There are moments where there seems like there could be a sequel for this, but I guess only time will tell. Do yourself a favor and check this out.

[Barry Simiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little read from someone who is blasting along in the adventure fiction arena. Of course it's a little far fetched, but that's what we read for. neat writing, good premise, well thought out. Characters are good, though the two billionaires are a little formulkaic. The rest is good clean fun. Time well spent.

[Anadarko52 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average sci-fi

This book read like a made-for-tv movie. Not bad but predictable. Wonder where was NASA in the scheme of things. I would have factored the government into the plot for added interest.

[Sean Randall · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a few clangers in what was, honestly, a droll and humdrum story with all the pathos of a low-budget cheesy horror flick without any saving graces to mitigate. The new novel excerpted at the end looks good, though.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! what a book, I sure didn't want to put it down. I know there will be surprises if we ever do get too the moon, but I sure wasnt expecting this storyline.

I am glad it ended like it did. but I hated seeing some of the outcomes for my favorite characters.

[Terry and dog · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will gladly add this to my list of good sci fi horror books. This falls in the category of 'not bloody likely" to happen, but it's imaginative and fun. If you like underground, space, isolated and creature stories, you should have a good time reading this.

[Elizabeth Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!!

Full of monsters, strife and cool astronaut stuff, a super fun and fast paced read. Any fan of science fiction will enjoy this.

[Mickey Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will keep you biting your nails until the very end. A look at space tourism that might end all space tourism.

[Randy Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moon caves, Moon worms and a broken Moon lander. Two visionary billionaires race to be first to offer "out of this world" trips. Well, that's how it starts. No refunds.

[Ira Livingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This turned out to be a pleasant surprise. If you are looking for a good old Science-Fiction mystery with some graphic horror mixed in then this is the book for you.