Lunar Options

by T.R. Locke

"For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence--on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system, which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations.

Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced, not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed." –President John F. Kennedy, 1961


This was true until 2025, when one event forever changed the world we knew and revealed every secret.

In 2025, a missile strikes the Capitol during the State of the Union address and kills the nation’s leaders. As the surviving heads of the military vie for power, they turn to Lazarus Coles (head of Joint Special Ops Command) and his wife, Dr. Karen Coles (Defense Intelligence Agency) to figure out what happened and why.

The Chinese admit the missile originated from a secret base they built on the Moon, but the Chinese swear they did not launch it. Are they telling the truth? Some military leaders doubt it and prepare to retaliate even though a likely suspect emerges—Laz’s former protégé, Develon. If Develon is behind the attack, only Laz can stop him. Laz and his team must find and terminate the threat before war with China breaks out.

But can they?

The chase from the Earth to the Moon and back leaves the whole world hanging in the balance and reveals shocking secrets of greed, the abuse of power and devastating revenge at the highest levels of government. This new techno-thriller from Author T.R. Locke will rivet you to your seat from start to finish.

Genres: Thriller, Science Fiction, Action

212 pages, Paperback

Published May 11, 2016

About the author

Author of:
What I Wish I Knew Before I Moved to Hollywood
Lunar Options
Oprah Winfrey Hates My Guts (as Terry MacMillian)

Check out his blog at: www.TRLocke.com
Twitter.com/TRLocke
Facebook.com/TRLocke
Goodreads.com/TRLocke

Reviews

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't wait to read the rest of the series. I was hooked from the PROLOGUE. The characters of the story are fascinating and complicated...and smart. I love smart characters. It feels like I'm reading a movie. Lunar Options is fast-paced and refused to let me up to breathe. I finished the book in just under 4 hours and wanted more. Dr. Lazarus Coles is a power to be reckoned with and definitely the wrong man to cross. The villains are wholly too believable. The book's style reminds me of Robert Ludlum mixed with John Grisham. It's got action wrapped in a mystery locked behind complicated characters in a future that is all too believable. Locke did an amazing job on this first novel. I look forward to more from him.

[Hershel Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very complexed and riveting story masterfully written. There are sci-fi thrillers and techno-thrillers that can feel very real, but often they contain static or one dimensional characters moving along a single plot line. This story and its characters are three dimensional, engaging, fascinating, powerful, and mysterious.

There are multiple things happening all the time but the author never loses the reader. T.R. Locke has a great skill at unraveling this mystery in bite-sized pieces so that we hold on until the very end. And the ending BLEW MY MIND. I haven't read a better thriller or mystery in years.

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A timely and captivating techno thriller about the militarization of the moon and its consequences for Planet Earth. T.R. Locke’s thriller is well-timed, as news about moon colonization and exploitation – ranging from SpaceX founder Elon Musk, NASA and congress – are at levels not seen since the 1970s. Locke’s portrayal of the new space race for lunar militarization and its consequences is thought-provoking and believable. When it comes to space and human physicality, Locke uses science (e.g. muscle atrophy after prolonged space travel) to make action scenes extremely compelling.

Read the rest of my review on BestThrillers.com

[Scott Tuffley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a ride! I just love the story of this book. I love the world the author created. It feels so real and yet so far in the future, but it's really just around the corner. I was watching Nat Geo the other night and they were talking about some country possibly testing nuclear weapons on the moon and I thought--WHAT? Didn't I just read something like that? I did. It was in Locke's new book, Lunar Options. Then they mentioned that there were plans to build a permanent military installation on the moon. Wait a minute. This isn't real is it? MKULTRA was a failed government project, right? Locke admits that, but imagines a world in which one aspect of that program did not fail, but remains to this day and influences leaders around the world. Lazarus Coles is no joke, and somebody got on his bad side in a big way.

The book has a very inventive writing style--telling events from past in such a way that you beg for the prequel. What happened in Banyo, Cameroon did not stay in Banyo, Cameroon. In fact, it went all the way to the moon to get revenge. Damn and Double damn. I love Captain Billy Margate. Dr. Karen "Boyd"-Coles is a female character that oozes honest, intelligent power and crazy knife skills to boot. And Develon Shakespeare is the craziest villain I've read in a long time. But I guess if I went through what he went through with Laz, I'd be crazy, too.

I can't believe this is this guy's first novel. I read his What I Wish I Knew Before I Moved to Hollywood and saw that he was looking at novelizing screenplays. I think that must be what he did here. This feels very complete and thought through. I usually look for loop holes in the logic in books, but I couldn't any here. The science is on point and the story races at you at 75,000 mph.

I'm putting this up here to support independent writers because this is one of the best Techno-Thrillers I've ever read. It's up there with Ludlum and thinks futuristically like Michael Crichton. I highly recommend this book.

[Kwame Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Lazarus Coles is a bad mutha... (shut yo mouf)! I'm actually a little scared that someone like him might actually exist in the world. I would love him to be my friend, but I would hate him to be my enemy.

This book is a serious thrill with a twist of paranormal (if you call someone with the mental ability to mindf*#k you into thinking you're falling off the side of a skyscraper, paranormal). Hypnosis is real, so maybe it's not paranormal, but whatever Laz has is scary stuff. I got hooked on the mystery and I straight did not see the ending coming. If I'm reading this right, and I'm pretty sure I am because I read the whole thing twice, this is so much deeper with the history than you initially believe. You basically come into the middle of an ongoing feud. I can't wait to find out what happened in Banyo between Dev and Laz, but whatever it was, it clearly is not over.

There's a lot of fun here, too. I get off on new tech and I believe this book has a very plausible idea of the world ten years from now. Helium 3 is real. It's actually on the moon and people are trying to mine it. China is really on the moon and I heard someone discovered evidence of water. The way the characters play with the tech is cool. They're serious, but there's enough personal jabs to make vendettas feel real.

And I have to say I haven't seen love play out in an action story like this since Captain Hiller (Will Smith) and Jasmine (Vivica Fox) in Independence day or Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies. This couple is too cool. I'd get married if I could find a woman like Karen. That's what I call a "ride-or-die" chick.

In fact, I didn't see a single stereotype in the whole book. The characters were multi-dimensional, believable, at times hateable and at times likable. This was a really good read and it promises to be a remarkable series.

[Dave Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read. A load of fun. It was easy to get lost in the story and just drift off to the moon and back with the characters. The book makes you think, as another reviewer said, but it's not heavy-handed. It does it in an entertaining way. I really enjoyed the fight scenes. The author did a great job making me feel every wrist lock and nerve strike. Recommend.

[Yong Xun · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I saw the cover of this book, with the Chinese astronaut on the moon, I got nervous. As a Chinese-American, I thought "Here we go again, another book about the evil dragon, China, trying to destroy America." I was surprised, however, to find this is not your run of the mill military thriller full of stereotypical characters. This was a book about the real world and the way in which the powers that be can manipulate it for their own ends. China has advanced technology and a secret military base on the moon. But the base is compromised when a rouge US black ops agent infiltrates the base and takes over the weapons there. He then targets the United States Congress so that it looks like China attacked America. All of this is a cover up for a much more nefarious scheme run by an American CEO with ties to the white house.

I couldn't wait to see how this ended. I read the whole book through in just one sitting. I am a fan of T.R. Locke now. Not because he didn't dump on my home country, but because he wrote about us with respect and intelligence. In the world he created, everything is plausible and doesn't defy logic to get to its conclusions. Moreover, it concludes well. There's more story and books yet to come, but this story concluded well. I can't wait to read the next in the series. I highly recommend this book.

[Debra Jones-baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really impressed with the female characters in this thriller. I don't usually read thrillers, but I think I might start. I didn't know they could be like this. When I grow up, I want to be Dr. Karen Boyd-Coles who "took no shit from anyone, ever." Loved that line and her. Even General Margaret Bessie was depicted powerfully and humorously in a room full of men. She held her ground. No females in this book took second seat behind the men. And the men were fine. In fact, I really loved the romance between Laz and Karen, husband and wife--how do they resist getting it on on the moon though? Terrorist or no, I'ma have to get some moon lovin from my man. Lol. The women though all represented powerfully, even the side characters. The story was crazy good as well. I can't wait for the next book. Kudos.

[Paulo Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend recommended to me this book and I'm glad he did. It’s been a while since I enjoyed a great techno-thriller that actually made me think about the world and the possible dangers inherent in the wars we fight in order to advance "American Interest" abroad. What are those American Interests? Lunar Options says they are nothing more than favors the rich and powerful do for each other at the expense of our fighting men and women. It's about time those powers got their comeuppance and I can't imagine a better way for them to get it than they got it here. Give this book a shot if you love books that make you think.

[Jordan Mcknight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It doesn't waste time getting into the story and once the hook is set, it just keeps pulling and pulling until you finish it. I have to go back to early Grisham for that experience. I'm not sure if it was the world, the characters or the story that held my face to my Kindle. All I know is I felt mesmerized and very satisfied.

What I think I'm saying is that it satisfies AND makes me want to read the next one. It doesn't leave me hanging or frustrated. It's a whole story and a damn good one.

[Mike Siedschlag · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was provided an e-version of Lunar Options by author T. R. Locke for review.

Lunar Options is at its core, a political thriller. Set on both the Earth and the Moon, this story is very action oriented. I found it to be a very entertaining read.

We have a crew of good guys in pursuit of a serious bad guy, taking them from the Earth to the Moon and back. We have military technology, military ego-maniacs, political ego-maniacs, terrorist ego-maniacs, and a hero with a wildly useful superpower.

Not a particularly long read, the action in Lunar Options makes it read even more quickly. It keeps the reader engaged from the first page to the last. The action sequences are interspersed with the political stupidity one would expect in an emergency that threatens the very existence of the U.S. Government.

There are a few moments of spousal tenderness (and discord) as two of the good guys are husband and wife.

With the length of the story and the strong action orientation, there aren't a lot of extraneous story lines, but that's okay. The story is strong enough to not need them.

One big plus; very few editing errors. The big negative? Lunar Options ends with the dreaded cliffhanger (as usual, that may be just me). So, obviously it is the start of a series. The version I received did not identify either the name of the series, or the title of the next installment.

All around Lunar Options by T.R. Locke is a good read for those who enjoy straight-forward action without a lot of other side stories to get in the way. Enjoy!


Mike

[Glen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this novel in a goodreads drawing.

A techno-thriller with a huge plot hole.

The usual megalo-maniac bombs the state of the union address, completely destroying the governing apparatus...except there's always a designated survivor. Sure it might be the secretary of labor or something equally useless, but they're always there. Anyway, China is framed. Of course, this means war!

A trio of secret agents must get to the bottom of things.

Not bad, but not completely thought through.

[Mattie Nieves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked in the first few pages, but life interfered finishing it as quickly as I would have liked to. I won the book from Goodreads, which did not affect my evaluation. The plot was like being on a roller coaster, all the way to the cliffhanger ending. Futuristic, but plausible 'inventions'. All I can say is, when does the sequel come out?

[Cali Brubaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very exciting, nail-biting time with Laz and Karen on the moon. What a cool couple, saving the world. I've not seen these type of three dimensional characters in an action thriller before. I felt transported to a world of espionage, intrigue and inhuman avarice. Really, really liked this book.

[Jim Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got into this. Really plausible and satisfying. Very cool story with a very cool cast of characters that I loved reading. Looking forward to the rest of the series.