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Moon is Hell
John W. Campbell was the man who made modern science fiction what it is today. As editor of Astounding Stories (later Analog), Campbell brought into the field such all-time greats as Asimov, Heinlein, Sturgeon and many others, while his own writing blazed new trails in science fiction reading pleasure. The Moon is Hell is this great writer-editor's vision of the first men on the moon - written 18 years before Neil Armstrong made history. This is the story of the American space programme - not as it happened, but as it might have been.
128 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1950
11 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
John W. Campbell Jr.
778 books283 followersJohn Wood Campbell, Jr. was an influential figure in American science fiction. As editor of Astounding Science Fiction (later called Analog Science Fiction and Fact), from late 1937 until his death, he is generally credited with shaping the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.
Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in science fiction ever, and for the first ten years of his editorship he dominated the field completely."
As a writer, Campbell published super-science space opera under his own name and moody, less pulpish stories as Don A. Stuart. He stopped writing fiction after he became editor of Astounding.
Known Pseudonyms/Alternate Names:
Don A. Stuart
Karl van Campen
John Campbell
J. W. C., Jr.
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell
Isaac Asimov called Campbell "the most powerful force in science fiction ever, and for the first ten years of his editorship he dominated the field completely."
As a writer, Campbell published super-science space opera under his own name and moody, less pulpish stories as Don A. Stuart. He stopped writing fiction after he became editor of Astounding.
Known Pseudonyms/Alternate Names:
Don A. Stuart
Karl van Campen
John Campbell
J. W. C., Jr.
John W. Campbell
John Wood Campbell
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 10, 2016
Stranded on the moon, a team of men have to survive and eke out an existence. Originally published in 1950, some of the science is a bit off, but overall this collection of diary entries reminds me of The Martian and Apollo 13 - but without the potatoes.
Being about a collection of men, some interpersonal stories can and do evolve - from someone stealing food to others wanting to work alone on secret projects. These latter become the key ingredients for survival. The group dynamics really made this story for me, and this is a hallmark of author and amateur radio aficionado John W. Campbell Jr.
Curiously, his wikipedia entry says he stopped writing fiction when he took over as editor of Astounding in October of 1937. I was unable to determine if this novel was written before or after that time.
This "collection" also contains a novella titled The Elder Gods. This was written early in the author's career, and was a fun story in line with many Greek myths and legends.
Being about a collection of men, some interpersonal stories can and do evolve - from someone stealing food to others wanting to work alone on secret projects. These latter become the key ingredients for survival. The group dynamics really made this story for me, and this is a hallmark of author and amateur radio aficionado John W. Campbell Jr.
Curiously, his wikipedia entry says he stopped writing fiction when he took over as editor of Astounding in October of 1937. I was unable to determine if this novel was written before or after that time.
This "collection" also contains a novella titled The Elder Gods. This was written early in the author's career, and was a fun story in line with many Greek myths and legends.
March 6, 2016
Great old hard sci-fi, but I kind found myself wishing that somebody would rip it off wholesale, put it on mars, change all the language to sassy millenial Tumblr-speak, and make a crummy Matt Damon movie out of it.
July 31, 2023
I really did quite enjoy this. I feel like this would make a good movie. The reading style is that of reading a diary, however, it made me feel like I was there, and moon felt very much like Hell.
July 20, 2020
It will be a little over 50 years tomorrow since Apollo 11 first landed on the Moon and a little less than half a century since Apollo 17 made humanity’s final lunar foray. As amazing as those feats were, perhaps even more astonishing is the lingering question: “Why, with better technology today, haven’t we returned?” Perhaps author John W. Campbell offers a depressing answer, when he wrote the hard-sci-fi classic short story “The Moon Is Hell.”
John W. Campbell is usually considered one of science fiction’s best editors and a competent writer in his own right. Best known for his horror classic Who Goes There?, which was later adapted into the popular movie trilogy “The Thing," “The Moon Is Hell” also has fright woven into it. But, it’s vastly more realistic (or what is called “hard science fiction”), as opposed to being the swashbuckling, death-defying space flight and fights associated with many Hollywood blockbusters (or “soft science fiction”).
Even more fascinating than Campbell predicting humans would land on the Moon – although he admittedly thought it would be in the early 1980’s, not the late Sixties— is that he very accurately described the environment: “Harsh, electric-blue sunlight [glinting]”; “the carters are gigantic, and their walls miles in height”; “Night was everywhere”; and, ultimately, “the moon, for all its terrible harshness and cold and heat [was] a frozen hell…” For the most part, the Apollos proved this to be true, even though they landed on the near side of the Moon!
Despite knowing all of this going in, Campbell still builds real tension and suspense by presenting the survival story of a dozen or so American astronauts in journal style. That is, it’s unknown, until the end, whether or not the main narrator (the mission lieutenant and physicist Dr. Thomas Duncan) is indeed alive or if his entries are being read posthumously. The lunar colonists also, to borrow a phrase from Andy Weir’s “The Martian,” “science the [heck] out of everything.” What the story lacks in their character development (as there is virtually no dialog, personal backstories, or even an accurate crew count) is more than made up for by the fascination with the astronauts’ ingenuity. Almost every device is either real or within the realm of possibility, such as: Extracting oxygen from rocks and then using electrolysis to the oxygen and hydrogen to make water and creating solar cells from gypsum for power. A personal favorite gadget for mining resources is pickaxes made of frozen mercury.
Perhaps most amazing though is when the astronauts must resort to building an underground base. It’s not only a creative break from the traditional above-ground huts that saturate lunar literature and film, but again it’s a bit of prophecy. Today, in the circles of those who propose colonizing the Moon, bunkers are more viable and safe structures.
As previously mentioned, maybe the only drawback in “The Moon Is Hell” is that if you are in to cinematic sci-fi, it will disappoint. Science is the main hero and villain, elevating or deflating the characters’ motivations. Also, overanalyzing the plot device of landing on the dark side instead of the near side spoils any suspense and horror Campbell delivers. The Deus ex Machina of territorial claim to the nearside seems a bit contrived, although it does cut off communications with Earth and even foments a bit of intrigue among the astronauts. After all, the story was written over a decade before the 1967 U.N.-sponsored “Outer Space Treaty” (which sets all of outer space as “province of all mankind”). Although maybe Campbell even anticipated such a treaty’s annulment; today, several countries have since made claims to certain sections of the Moon and individual entrepreneurs even try to sell lunar real estate!
“The Moon Is Hell” is a well-thought out story that’s also one of the most riveting pieces of hard sci-fi ever written. The limits of science and the constant struggles of engineering to go around them are captivating, considering the story was written years before the first artificial satellite (Sputnik) and the manned Apollo landings. After reading “The Moon Is Hell,” you may understand why humanity hasn’t returned in nearly 50 years.
While we can through better technology, perhaps legal and political fears are greater barriers. Legally, the Moon belongs to no one, and what natural resources exist are few and not worth the astronomical amounts of money to extract and export. And perhaps more importantly, politically speaking, one misstep in planning or just bad luck upon landing would almost certainly take superhuman feats of science and ingenuity to survive. In the aftermath, funding for future space trips might be again restricted to the relative safety of low earth or geosynchronous orbit.
John W. Campbell is usually considered one of science fiction’s best editors and a competent writer in his own right. Best known for his horror classic Who Goes There?, which was later adapted into the popular movie trilogy “The Thing," “The Moon Is Hell” also has fright woven into it. But, it’s vastly more realistic (or what is called “hard science fiction”), as opposed to being the swashbuckling, death-defying space flight and fights associated with many Hollywood blockbusters (or “soft science fiction”).
Even more fascinating than Campbell predicting humans would land on the Moon – although he admittedly thought it would be in the early 1980’s, not the late Sixties— is that he very accurately described the environment: “Harsh, electric-blue sunlight [glinting]”; “the carters are gigantic, and their walls miles in height”; “Night was everywhere”; and, ultimately, “the moon, for all its terrible harshness and cold and heat [was] a frozen hell…” For the most part, the Apollos proved this to be true, even though they landed on the near side of the Moon!
Despite knowing all of this going in, Campbell still builds real tension and suspense by presenting the survival story of a dozen or so American astronauts in journal style. That is, it’s unknown, until the end, whether or not the main narrator (the mission lieutenant and physicist Dr. Thomas Duncan) is indeed alive or if his entries are being read posthumously. The lunar colonists also, to borrow a phrase from Andy Weir’s “The Martian,” “science the [heck] out of everything.” What the story lacks in their character development (as there is virtually no dialog, personal backstories, or even an accurate crew count) is more than made up for by the fascination with the astronauts’ ingenuity. Almost every device is either real or within the realm of possibility, such as: Extracting oxygen from rocks and then using electrolysis to the oxygen and hydrogen to make water and creating solar cells from gypsum for power. A personal favorite gadget for mining resources is pickaxes made of frozen mercury.
Perhaps most amazing though is when the astronauts must resort to building an underground base. It’s not only a creative break from the traditional above-ground huts that saturate lunar literature and film, but again it’s a bit of prophecy. Today, in the circles of those who propose colonizing the Moon, bunkers are more viable and safe structures.
As previously mentioned, maybe the only drawback in “The Moon Is Hell” is that if you are in to cinematic sci-fi, it will disappoint. Science is the main hero and villain, elevating or deflating the characters’ motivations. Also, overanalyzing the plot device of landing on the dark side instead of the near side spoils any suspense and horror Campbell delivers. The Deus ex Machina of territorial claim to the nearside seems a bit contrived, although it does cut off communications with Earth and even foments a bit of intrigue among the astronauts. After all, the story was written over a decade before the 1967 U.N.-sponsored “Outer Space Treaty” (which sets all of outer space as “province of all mankind”). Although maybe Campbell even anticipated such a treaty’s annulment; today, several countries have since made claims to certain sections of the Moon and individual entrepreneurs even try to sell lunar real estate!
“The Moon Is Hell” is a well-thought out story that’s also one of the most riveting pieces of hard sci-fi ever written. The limits of science and the constant struggles of engineering to go around them are captivating, considering the story was written years before the first artificial satellite (Sputnik) and the manned Apollo landings. After reading “The Moon Is Hell,” you may understand why humanity hasn’t returned in nearly 50 years.
While we can through better technology, perhaps legal and political fears are greater barriers. Legally, the Moon belongs to no one, and what natural resources exist are few and not worth the astronomical amounts of money to extract and export. And perhaps more importantly, politically speaking, one misstep in planning or just bad luck upon landing would almost certainly take superhuman feats of science and ingenuity to survive. In the aftermath, funding for future space trips might be again restricted to the relative safety of low earth or geosynchronous orbit.
March 11, 2017
The Moon Is Hell is another hidden gem of classic sci-fi that I recommend. If you liked The Martian you might like this. John Campbell, the author, is better known as an editor, the precursor and mentor of much more famous names - Asimov, Heinlein, Sturgeon. The book was written in 1950 with a view to a manned Moon mission taking place in 1979.
As a historical artefact alone, the book is fascinating. The fact that Campbell looked ahead to Humans on the Moon some 18 years before it actually happened is a surprise. His other suppositions and scenarios are astonishing, both in their accuracy and inaccuracy. The book's expedition takes place on the far side of the Moon, long before the first pictures came back in 1959. The characters are out of radio contact unless they travel to the Earth-facing side. They weigh less. And Campbell even takes a confident stab at the Moon's history - all atmosphere and water blasted off it over two billion years ago, no evidence of life - not that far off what we actually know about the Moon today! In Campbell's story, Humans first land on the Moon in 1974, and return for a two year expedition in 1979 - 1981. By 1984 we have crewed missions to Mars and shortly after that, Venus. One can't help feeling wistful, from the position of 2017. Whilst we beat Campbell's estimation to a Moon landing, we've never done a two year crewed mission, nor personally landed on Mars or Venus. The author himself passed away in 1971, and he must've been confident that by now we'd have conquered the solar system. Still, it's not all a vision of a bright and glorious future. For example, all of the astronauts are male, as are their rescue, as are all mentioned future missions to Mars and Venus, etc. This really dates the book to 1950.
The story itself is written in diary form, with 'later' commentary supplementing it, and the prose is rather functional. What kept me gripped was the plot. It struck me when I first read this, years ago, that it reminded me of the diary of Captain Scott. It's a compelling survival thriller, with a sinister mystery plot added. But now I can make an even better comparison that will resonate with readers of today: The Moon Is Hell reads very similarly to The Martian. Yes. In fact I'm surprised that this book is not better known, given how popular and how big of a hit The Martian was. In this book we haveone thirteen astronauts marooned on Mars the Moon when something goes wrong with the planned flight out of there. In order to survive he they must use chemistry and ingenuity to pull off an exciting and daring plan until rescue arrives. Sound familiar? The main difference is that The Moon Is Hell lacks the pop culture references and wise-cracking... but then I always found that somewhat incongruous in The Martian - it really dates The Martian, for starters, and for second whilst it was amusing it lessened the thriller ambience of that book for me (I was never worried for Wattney, and what should have been a tense plot felt like Saturday night with my circle of nerd friends, making jokes and references).
Like The Martian, The Moon Is Hell relies heavily on SCIENCE! to get things done and drive the plot. If you liked the sciency bits in the former book, you might like this. Admittedly it is remarkable that Campbell lays down such good survival science on us but then gets silly things wrong. For example, at one point he describes the astronauts hearing an explosion outside their sealed dome... even though later he recognises and remembers that sound cannot be heard outside. Another time, the astronauts decide to switch their air from a 15 pound nitrogen oxygen mix to just 3 pounds of pure oxygen. With chemical processes and electricals and everything. Yikes! Perhaps most shockingly, the astronauts are allowed to smoke! Holy crap! I know this book was written in 1950 when you could still smoke on aeroplanes, but damn! Let's just say that both for astronaut health and the safety of delicate equipment, there's a reason space agencies don't allow smoking.
All in all, despite a few blunders, the book is a great mix of science-survival-thriller, and absolutely fascinating as a historical prediction/imagination of what we would call our present and even our past!
7 out of 10
As a historical artefact alone, the book is fascinating. The fact that Campbell looked ahead to Humans on the Moon some 18 years before it actually happened is a surprise. His other suppositions and scenarios are astonishing, both in their accuracy and inaccuracy. The book's expedition takes place on the far side of the Moon, long before the first pictures came back in 1959. The characters are out of radio contact unless they travel to the Earth-facing side. They weigh less. And Campbell even takes a confident stab at the Moon's history - all atmosphere and water blasted off it over two billion years ago, no evidence of life - not that far off what we actually know about the Moon today! In Campbell's story, Humans first land on the Moon in 1974, and return for a two year expedition in 1979 - 1981. By 1984 we have crewed missions to Mars and shortly after that, Venus. One can't help feeling wistful, from the position of 2017. Whilst we beat Campbell's estimation to a Moon landing, we've never done a two year crewed mission, nor personally landed on Mars or Venus. The author himself passed away in 1971, and he must've been confident that by now we'd have conquered the solar system. Still, it's not all a vision of a bright and glorious future. For example, all of the astronauts are male, as are their rescue, as are all mentioned future missions to Mars and Venus, etc. This really dates the book to 1950.
The story itself is written in diary form, with 'later' commentary supplementing it, and the prose is rather functional. What kept me gripped was the plot. It struck me when I first read this, years ago, that it reminded me of the diary of Captain Scott. It's a compelling survival thriller, with a sinister mystery plot added. But now I can make an even better comparison that will resonate with readers of today: The Moon Is Hell reads very similarly to The Martian. Yes. In fact I'm surprised that this book is not better known, given how popular and how big of a hit The Martian was. In this book we have
Like The Martian, The Moon Is Hell relies heavily on SCIENCE! to get things done and drive the plot. If you liked the sciency bits in the former book, you might like this. Admittedly it is remarkable that Campbell lays down such good survival science on us but then gets silly things wrong. For example, at one point he describes the astronauts hearing an explosion outside their sealed dome... even though later he recognises and remembers that sound cannot be heard outside. Another time, the astronauts decide to switch their air from a 15 pound nitrogen oxygen mix to just 3 pounds of pure oxygen. With chemical processes and electricals and everything. Yikes! Perhaps most shockingly, the astronauts are allowed to smoke! Holy crap! I know this book was written in 1950 when you could still smoke on aeroplanes, but damn! Let's just say that both for astronaut health and the safety of delicate equipment, there's a reason space agencies don't allow smoking.
All in all, despite a few blunders, the book is a great mix of science-survival-thriller, and absolutely fascinating as a historical prediction/imagination of what we would call our present and even our past!
7 out of 10
April 27, 2013
This is a great example of 1950's era scifi, of which Campbell is a master. This book tells the story of the first mission to the far side of the moon. Most of the book is told as diary entries, unfolding the story day by day. I found that once started, I couldn't put the book down, reading it in one sitting (about 4 hours, it's not a long book). Having been written before the first real moon landing, you do have to overlook the scientific mistakes, but honestly in my opinion that only adds to it's charm.
July 10, 2010
Oh dear! I had high hopes for this one but I found the Diary entry style of writing with no actual dialogiue or character interaction very dull and staid. I got bored halfway through and so didnt finish it!
February 1, 2021
Classic Campbell
Like most of Campbell's works, a good read, from the age of good sci-fi. I'd recommend this along with Campbell's other books to anyone interested in the golden age of science fiction.
Like most of Campbell's works, a good read, from the age of good sci-fi. I'd recommend this along with Campbell's other books to anyone interested in the golden age of science fiction.
November 17, 2025
John W. Campbell’s novel The Moon is Hell was published in 1951; my copy was from 1975, some half-dozen years after the first moon landing. The back cover blurb states ‘... is a great writer’s vision of the first men on the Moon – not as the American space programme made it happen, but as it might have been!’
Regarded as a hard-science classic, it is a relatively short read, 123 pages. It’s in diary form by Dr Duncan, a physicist and second in command.
It’s 1981. Thirteen men have been on the moon in their protected dome for just over a year on the dark side of the moon. The crew consists of a surgeon, two chemists, two mineralogists, an astrophysicist, electricians and mechanics, and an engineer and cook. They expect to be relieved shortly. Unfortunately, the relief spaceship crashes, killing all crew and destroying equipment. ‘The burning fuel destroyed everything’ (p28); yet it’s unlikely that there would be any burning as there’s no air.
Because it’s on the ‘wrong’ side of the moon, there is no direct radio contact with Earth. To compound matters they learn that somebody is stealing food from the storehouse. Nil desperandum: the moon ‘is a single vast chemical laboratory’ (p33). They begin to manufacture oxygen and, ultimately, artificial food from clothing and paper, and photo cells for electricity and power.
It’s a race against time. By trekking to the earthside of the moon they might be able to send a message to Earth and hope that a rescue ship can get to them. Their ingenuity is laudable and life-saving.
The narrative, being technical, cold and scientific, leaves little room for characterisation, so there isn’t a great deal of empathy for anyone. A story has to have conflict and in this sense their conflict is with the inhospitable satellite itself; however, none of the individuals evince any conflict, save for the thief when finally discovered. On p10 there’s a hint that not all of them will survive. Perhaps not surprisingly for the date of writing, when food becomes an issue cannibalism isn’t considered! Yet what shine through is their adaptability and the determined resistance to defeatism.
A worthy addition to any science fiction collection.
Of course the concept was used, with adjustments, to great acclaim by Andy Weir in The Martian (2014), some sixty-three years later...
Regarded as a hard-science classic, it is a relatively short read, 123 pages. It’s in diary form by Dr Duncan, a physicist and second in command.
It’s 1981. Thirteen men have been on the moon in their protected dome for just over a year on the dark side of the moon. The crew consists of a surgeon, two chemists, two mineralogists, an astrophysicist, electricians and mechanics, and an engineer and cook. They expect to be relieved shortly. Unfortunately, the relief spaceship crashes, killing all crew and destroying equipment. ‘The burning fuel destroyed everything’ (p28); yet it’s unlikely that there would be any burning as there’s no air.
Because it’s on the ‘wrong’ side of the moon, there is no direct radio contact with Earth. To compound matters they learn that somebody is stealing food from the storehouse. Nil desperandum: the moon ‘is a single vast chemical laboratory’ (p33). They begin to manufacture oxygen and, ultimately, artificial food from clothing and paper, and photo cells for electricity and power.
It’s a race against time. By trekking to the earthside of the moon they might be able to send a message to Earth and hope that a rescue ship can get to them. Their ingenuity is laudable and life-saving.
The narrative, being technical, cold and scientific, leaves little room for characterisation, so there isn’t a great deal of empathy for anyone. A story has to have conflict and in this sense their conflict is with the inhospitable satellite itself; however, none of the individuals evince any conflict, save for the thief when finally discovered. On p10 there’s a hint that not all of them will survive. Perhaps not surprisingly for the date of writing, when food becomes an issue cannibalism isn’t considered! Yet what shine through is their adaptability and the determined resistance to defeatism.
A worthy addition to any science fiction collection.
Of course the concept was used, with adjustments, to great acclaim by Andy Weir in The Martian (2014), some sixty-three years later...
September 25, 2024
John W Campbell helped revolutionise SF by insisting on some attempt at scientific accuracy. It is interesting therefore that this 1950s novel fails so badly on that criterion. The premise is wildly implausible. An American lands on the Nearside of the moon in the late 1970s and claims it for the USA. But for some reason the claim is only valid for half the moon. Therfore another expedition planning to stay for a month or two, lands on the Farside to claim that. However, they don't have the fuel to return and the one and only relief rocket crashes, leaving them stranded. Another rocket must be built on Earth from scratch and another team must be trained to operate it. (!) There are also scientific errors: the daytime temperature on the moon is not enough to melt lead; the source of their water, gypsum, is a sedimentary rock and not likely to to exist there. They are surrounded by simple salts and ores which help them survive for the 3 years they are marooned. There is almost a complete lack of dramatic tension, except for someone stealing food. The entire book is a diary relating their ever more unlikely achievements, such as building a manned rocket for Lunar. exploration and a swimming pool. The only feature of note is that they are able to create synthetic food but it lacks an essential micronutirent and they can't survive without it. Eventually Earth finally manages to build another rocket and a handful of starving astronauts are rescued.
July 1, 2020
If the moon is Hell, Hell is pretty fucking boring.
January 15, 2025
A creative take on space exploration
December 4, 2024
Recensione pubblicata su Cronache di Betelgeuse
Ecco un’opera pionieristica che continua ad affascinarci con la sua visione audace e realistica dell’esplorazione spaziale. Il romanzo anticipa di quasi due decenni il primo sbarco sulla Luna e ci offre uno sguardo avvincente sulle sfide e le possibilità dell’esplorazione lunare, viste attraverso gli occhi di un autore visionario degli anni ’50.
La narrazione, strutturata come una serie di voci di diario e articoli di giornale, segue le vicende di un gruppo di astronauti naufraghi intrappolati sulla Luna, un ambiente descritto come spento, privo di vita e incredibilmente ostile. Questo formato narrativo non convenzionale permette a Campbell di esplorare la storia da diverse prospettive, creando un senso di immediatezza e realismo che cattura l’attenzione del lettore fin dalle prime pagine.
L’autore riesce magistralmente a trasmettere il senso di isolamento e paranoia che affligge i protagonisti, intrappolati in un ambiente alieno e potenzialmente letale. Uno dei punti di forza del libro è la costruzione del mondo incredibilmente realistica e credibile. Campbell dimostra una notevole immaginazione scientifica nel descrivere l’ambiente lunare, offrendo dettagli minuziosi che rendono l’ambientazione viva e tangibile.
I temi principali del romanzo ruotano attorno alla sopravvivenza, alla resilienza umana e alla capacità di adattamento in un ambiente ostile. Campbell esplora in profondità come gli esseri umani possano reagire di fronte a sfide apparentemente insormontabili, dimostrando una profonda comprensione della psicologia umana sotto stress estremo.
I personaggi chiave del romanzo, un pugno di naufraghi costretti a lottare per la sopravvivenza sulla Luna, sono al centro di questa esplorazione tematica. Nel corso della storia, assistiamo al loro sviluppo, vedendoli acquisire forza, coraggio e determinazione mentre affrontano le sfide della vita lunare.
Tuttavia, il romanzo non è esente da difetti. Lo stile di scrittura, sebbene sia avvincente, risente della mancanza di dialoghi diretti e di una caratterizzazione approfondita dei personaggi. Inoltre, essendo stato scritto prima che fossero disponibili immagini reali della superficie lunare, il romanzo contiene inevitabilmente alcune imprecisioni scientifiche, anche se sono comprensibili dato il contesto storico.
E un’opera che merita di essere letta sia dagli appassionati di fantascienza che dagli interessati alla storia dell’esplorazione spaziale.
Ecco un’opera pionieristica che continua ad affascinarci con la sua visione audace e realistica dell’esplorazione spaziale. Il romanzo anticipa di quasi due decenni il primo sbarco sulla Luna e ci offre uno sguardo avvincente sulle sfide e le possibilità dell’esplorazione lunare, viste attraverso gli occhi di un autore visionario degli anni ’50.
La narrazione, strutturata come una serie di voci di diario e articoli di giornale, segue le vicende di un gruppo di astronauti naufraghi intrappolati sulla Luna, un ambiente descritto come spento, privo di vita e incredibilmente ostile. Questo formato narrativo non convenzionale permette a Campbell di esplorare la storia da diverse prospettive, creando un senso di immediatezza e realismo che cattura l’attenzione del lettore fin dalle prime pagine.
L’autore riesce magistralmente a trasmettere il senso di isolamento e paranoia che affligge i protagonisti, intrappolati in un ambiente alieno e potenzialmente letale. Uno dei punti di forza del libro è la costruzione del mondo incredibilmente realistica e credibile. Campbell dimostra una notevole immaginazione scientifica nel descrivere l’ambiente lunare, offrendo dettagli minuziosi che rendono l’ambientazione viva e tangibile.
I temi principali del romanzo ruotano attorno alla sopravvivenza, alla resilienza umana e alla capacità di adattamento in un ambiente ostile. Campbell esplora in profondità come gli esseri umani possano reagire di fronte a sfide apparentemente insormontabili, dimostrando una profonda comprensione della psicologia umana sotto stress estremo.
I personaggi chiave del romanzo, un pugno di naufraghi costretti a lottare per la sopravvivenza sulla Luna, sono al centro di questa esplorazione tematica. Nel corso della storia, assistiamo al loro sviluppo, vedendoli acquisire forza, coraggio e determinazione mentre affrontano le sfide della vita lunare.
Tuttavia, il romanzo non è esente da difetti. Lo stile di scrittura, sebbene sia avvincente, risente della mancanza di dialoghi diretti e di una caratterizzazione approfondita dei personaggi. Inoltre, essendo stato scritto prima che fossero disponibili immagini reali della superficie lunare, il romanzo contiene inevitabilmente alcune imprecisioni scientifiche, anche se sono comprensibili dato il contesto storico.
E un’opera che merita di essere letta sia dagli appassionati di fantascienza che dagli interessati alla storia dell’esplorazione spaziale.
September 23, 2023
The Moon is Hell is a short novel that was published in 1951 – 8 years before Luna 1 and Luna 3 (the first lunar flyby and farside imaging, respectively), 15 years before Luna 9 (the first soft landing) and 18 years before Apollo 11 (the first crewed landing). Campbell was known as an editor who wanted to have at least some science in science fiction. As an author he did so too.
The Moon is Hell describes the second crewed lunar mission taking place in the early 1980s. Interestingly, the massive and lenghty mission takes the crew of about 15 men (of course) to the centre of the lunar far side. Curiously enough, there's no lunar satellite to provide communications with the Earth. Thus, the crew – most of them scientists of various sorts – are on their own until the arrival of the rocket to take them back home. As it's an all-male crew, almost all of whom are without any living relatives and apparently all of course heterosexuals, there's no need to deal with any annoying emotions.
The story of the expedition is told as short, more or less daily journal entries by one of the scientists (with some editorial comments here and there). When everything goes to hell, the crew have to rely on their ingenuity, skills and the extreme variety of useful minerals that just happen to be available near the lunar base.
I like the structure of the book and the story itself is interesting and exciting in the 1950s scifi way. However, I had lots of problems with the ridiculous lunar geology described by Campbell. I'll save a more detailed geological and mineralogical critique to another time and place, but everything the crew might need is provided by the Moon. It's more of a paradise than hell.
Although our knowledge of the Moon was very poor before the lunar missions and we had no idea what the far side was like, it's just bad story telling that everything is available on/in the Moon if you're smart enough. And it's not just the mineralogy that's all wrong, but the lunar surface is also for some reason full of deep chasms to provide occasional moments of immediate danger. Oh well.
Nevertheless, The Moon is Hell was an entertaining read and a good example of the somewhat better lunar science fiction of the early 1950s. Certainly worth reading if you happen to like this sort of stuff.
3.5/5
The Moon is Hell describes the second crewed lunar mission taking place in the early 1980s. Interestingly, the massive and lenghty mission takes the crew of about 15 men (of course) to the centre of the lunar far side. Curiously enough, there's no lunar satellite to provide communications with the Earth. Thus, the crew – most of them scientists of various sorts – are on their own until the arrival of the rocket to take them back home. As it's an all-male crew, almost all of whom are without any living relatives and apparently all of course heterosexuals, there's no need to deal with any annoying emotions.
The story of the expedition is told as short, more or less daily journal entries by one of the scientists (with some editorial comments here and there). When everything goes to hell, the crew have to rely on their ingenuity, skills and the extreme variety of useful minerals that just happen to be available near the lunar base.
I like the structure of the book and the story itself is interesting and exciting in the 1950s scifi way. However, I had lots of problems with the ridiculous lunar geology described by Campbell. I'll save a more detailed geological and mineralogical critique to another time and place, but everything the crew might need is provided by the Moon. It's more of a paradise than hell.
Although our knowledge of the Moon was very poor before the lunar missions and we had no idea what the far side was like, it's just bad story telling that everything is available on/in the Moon if you're smart enough. And it's not just the mineralogy that's all wrong, but the lunar surface is also for some reason full of deep chasms to provide occasional moments of immediate danger. Oh well.
Nevertheless, The Moon is Hell was an entertaining read and a good example of the somewhat better lunar science fiction of the early 1950s. Certainly worth reading if you happen to like this sort of stuff.
3.5/5
October 22, 2013
If this story were written today, it would very likely be considered trite. But it wasn't and it's not. (I've long since realized that to appreciate good science fiction, the need arises to put yourself back into the time it was written.)
Minor quibble (is there any other kind?): as the moon travelers scrape for survival, smoking is banned to conserve oxygen. Things are so desperate that they devise a way to make food from just about anything organic be it clothing, books, whatever. Yet, towards the "end", with all of the clothing and books assimilated, they allow themselves one last smoke. Why were they saving the cigarettes? If the tobacco was not of sufficient organic material to be processed, surely the paper wrappings would have been. Kinda surprised that Campbell didn't catch that.
The edition that I have (pictured above) has another story entitled "The Elder Gods". I found it kind of "meh". No actually, I found it unreadable and no amount of temporal mental gymnastics could redeem it in my eyes. As I do with every book I give up on, I skipped the pages for interesting passages. Found none.
Thus, My overall rating for this edition = 4 Stars
Minor quibble (is there any other kind?): as the moon travelers scrape for survival, smoking is banned to conserve oxygen. Things are so desperate that they devise a way to make food from just about anything organic be it clothing, books, whatever. Yet, towards the "end", with all of the clothing and books assimilated, they allow themselves one last smoke. Why were they saving the cigarettes? If the tobacco was not of sufficient organic material to be processed, surely the paper wrappings would have been. Kinda surprised that Campbell didn't catch that.
The edition that I have (pictured above) has another story entitled "The Elder Gods". I found it kind of "meh". No actually, I found it unreadable and no amount of temporal mental gymnastics could redeem it in my eyes. As I do with every book I give up on, I skipped the pages for interesting passages. Found none.
Thus, My overall rating for this edition = 4 Stars
August 25, 2018
Devo dire che mi ha affascinato questo romanzo breve di Campbell scritto sotto forma di diario dal dottore in fisica Thomas R. Duncan, che ci presenta la vita di veri e propri naufraghi di una spedizione terrestre sulla Luna dove sopravvivranno per ben tre anni. Questo romanzo fu scritto oltre sessant'anni fa, e risente del tempo passato, ma io mi metto nei panni dei ragazzini che lo hanno letto negli anni '50 e sicuramente, al loro posto, sarei rimasto a bocca aperta per le descrizioni lunari e gli esperimenti scientifici nonchè delle invenzioni di cui ci viene narrato. Noiosa, purtroppo, come lettura, proprio perchè Campbell ha scelto la forma di diario e quindi sono quasi assenti i dialoghi fra i membri della spedizione lunare, ma comunque ripeto a me è piaciuto. Simpatica l'invenzione di trarre nutrimento dalla trasformazione di libri, legno, coperte e magliette.
March 25, 2021
A story of the first explorers of the moon, as imagined back about 1951. They run into trouble and have to be rescued. A fast paced and tense story of how it might have happened. This volume also includes the fantasy novel "The Elder Gods" from 1939.
January 2, 2013
I liked it. In fact I found the diary style very interesting. I read it in München, Germany in 1975, June 11.
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