What do you think?
Rate this book
Luna
The Menace from Farside
In The Menace from Farside , Ian McDonald returns to his elegantly wound solar system of the twenty-second century, full of political intrigue and complicated families .
Lady Luna knows a thousand ways to kill you, but family is what you know. Family is what works.
Cariad Corcoran has a new sister who is everything she is tall, beautiful, confident. They're unlikely allies and even unlikelier sisters, but they're determined to find the moon's first footprint, even if the lunar frontier is doing its best to kill them before they get there.
Praise for Ian McDonald's Luna series
“McDonald's never written a bad novel, but New Moon is a great one.”—Cory Doctorow
"With an action narrative driving this political commentary, Luna is actually a fantastically fun read as well as an important one. "— Los Angeles Review of Books
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Lady Luna knows a thousand ways to kill you, but family is what you know. Family is what works.
Cariad Corcoran has a new sister who is everything she is tall, beautiful, confident. They're unlikely allies and even unlikelier sisters, but they're determined to find the moon's first footprint, even if the lunar frontier is doing its best to kill them before they get there.
Praise for Ian McDonald's Luna series
“McDonald's never written a bad novel, but New Moon is a great one.”—Cory Doctorow
"With an action narrative driving this political commentary, Luna is actually a fantastically fun read as well as an important one. "— Los Angeles Review of Books
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 12, 2019
50 people are currently reading
597 people want to read
About the author
Ian McDonald
265 books1,262 followersIan Neil McDonald was born in 1960 in Manchester, England, to an Irish mother and a Scottish father. He moved with his family to Northern Ireland in 1965. He used to live in a house built in the back garden of C. S. Lewis's childhood home but has since moved to central Belfast, where he now lives, exploring interests like cats, contemplative religion, bonsai, bicycles, and comic-book collecting. He debuted in 1982 with the short story "The Island of the Dead" in the short-lived British magazine Extro. His first novel, Desolation Road, was published in 1988. Other works include King of Morning, Queen of Day (winner of the Philip K. Dick Award), River of Gods, The Dervish House (both of which won British Science Fiction Association Awards), the graphic novel Kling Klang Klatch, and many more. His most recent publications are Planesrunner and Be My Enemy, books one and two of the Everness series for younger readers (though older readers will find them a ball of fun, as well). Ian worked in television development for sixteen years, but is glad to be back to writing full-time.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
November 22, 2019
Luna fans, don't get your hopes too high. It's YA-ish and features completely new set of characters, while having neither the exciting politics of the main novels nor its dramatic, larger-than-life characters.
Still, if you enjoy speculative fiction of a society living on the moon, this is still quite an enjoyable story.
Still, if you enjoy speculative fiction of a society living on the moon, this is still quite an enjoyable story.
November 23, 2019
Three and half stars.
In a way, it is true what is said about this short novel: that Ian McDonald collects the leftovers of the splendid trilogy of "Luna" and makes this story; but a rather entertaining story I can say, based on the great work that is the worldbuilding of the previous books.
The plot is about an adventure of four young not so friends in the Moon surface and, you know, "Lady Luna knows a thousand ways to kill you": In other words, it's like the 1986 movie "Stand by Me", a story of "coming of age" style. At some point Ian McDonald seems to laugh at himself, I assume that referring to some negative criticisms received about the trilogy - for example, the author "threatens us" with a cake, or the frequently mention of the word “telenovela” - but as I said the novel is at least entertaining, and for me its main defect is that this short novel loses if we compare it with its bigger sisters. In this sense, considering the literary quality of Ian McDonald’s prose, it can be said that a minor work from him is preferable than a good one by some other authors.
PD: I love it when the cover illustration of a science fiction novel reflects its content helping the reader imagine the story, something that is not so frequent.
In a way, it is true what is said about this short novel: that Ian McDonald collects the leftovers of the splendid trilogy of "Luna" and makes this story; but a rather entertaining story I can say, based on the great work that is the worldbuilding of the previous books.
The plot is about an adventure of four young not so friends in the Moon surface and, you know, "Lady Luna knows a thousand ways to kill you": In other words, it's like the 1986 movie "Stand by Me", a story of "coming of age" style. At some point Ian McDonald seems to laugh at himself, I assume that referring to some negative criticisms received about the trilogy - for example, the author "threatens us" with a cake, or the frequently mention of the word “telenovela” - but as I said the novel is at least entertaining, and for me its main defect is that this short novel loses if we compare it with its bigger sisters. In this sense, considering the literary quality of Ian McDonald’s prose, it can be said that a minor work from him is preferable than a good one by some other authors.
PD: I love it when the cover illustration of a science fiction novel reflects its content helping the reader imagine the story, something that is not so frequent.
November 29, 2019
This is probably the most disappointing book in the Luna universe. I’m not sorry I read it, because I do adore the world McDonald has created on the moon, but if you came here looking for more Cortas and McKenzies, you’re going to be disappointed.
Instead, The Menace from Farside introduces a new familial set up, ring marriages, and we follow the misadventure of a few young adults on a mission to capture a selfie with the first footprint left on the moon by Neil Armstrong, which they mutually agreed would be a perfect wedding gift for the newest couple to enter the ring marriage.
The main character in this story is Cariad Corcoran. She’s envious of her new sister-by-marriage from Farside, Sidibe, who is tall and beautiful and brave. While she was described as not immediately loathsome by some of the buddies I read this with, I also did not find her to be a likable character either. She’s petty and tends to make bad choices.
The entire book is similar to one of the opening scenes in New Moon, the moon run with Lucasinho. It also vaguely reminded me of scenes in Wolf Moon where Luna and Lucasinho are forced to cross the moon’s surface, without any of the tension that made those scenes so great. I simply hadn’t been given the time to care about these characters the way I cared about Luna and Lucas.
I will say I loved the writing here. The Luna books are written with a very distinct style and feel, cutting and cold and beautiful all at once, and that style continues in The Menace from Farside. There were some passages beautiful enough that made me stop and re-read.
So, although it’s not my favorite entry, it’s decently priced and can be read in the span of a day. If you decide to skip it, you aren’t missing anything.
Instead, The Menace from Farside introduces a new familial set up, ring marriages, and we follow the misadventure of a few young adults on a mission to capture a selfie with the first footprint left on the moon by Neil Armstrong, which they mutually agreed would be a perfect wedding gift for the newest couple to enter the ring marriage.
The main character in this story is Cariad Corcoran. She’s envious of her new sister-by-marriage from Farside, Sidibe, who is tall and beautiful and brave. While she was described as not immediately loathsome by some of the buddies I read this with, I also did not find her to be a likable character either. She’s petty and tends to make bad choices.
The entire book is similar to one of the opening scenes in New Moon, the moon run with Lucasinho. It also vaguely reminded me of scenes in Wolf Moon where Luna and Lucasinho are forced to cross the moon’s surface, without any of the tension that made those scenes so great. I simply hadn’t been given the time to care about these characters the way I cared about Luna and Lucas.
I will say I loved the writing here. The Luna books are written with a very distinct style and feel, cutting and cold and beautiful all at once, and that style continues in The Menace from Farside. There were some passages beautiful enough that made me stop and re-read.
So, although it’s not my favorite entry, it’s decently priced and can be read in the span of a day. If you decide to skip it, you aren’t missing anything.
November 8, 2019
"You see the blue first. Endless blue. Blue, to me, is the most terrifying colour. It is unnatural, alien, staring. Death is endless pale blue. Then you see the white on the blue--clouds: I learned that in colloq, though I still don't understand how they work. Next you see the green and brown beneath the blue--more brown than green, I'm told, and growing every year, every lune, every day. Last of all you see the lights along the night edge of the world, webs and knits and whirls of lights. I understand a terrible thing. My world, everything in it, all my friends and family, all my life, are just toys. Pretend. That is the real world: there."
Being the Richard Anderson fan that I am, I instantly recognized his work when the cover for The Menace from Farside was revealed. I love every single Flaptraps cover and this one is no exception. Designed by the talented Christine Foltzer, the art caught my eye immediately. I mean.. LOOK AT IT!! It's fucking glorious!
Unfortunately, the story itself is far less alluring than the radical cover.
This is a difficult one to review, because it just didn't make a lot of sense to me.
Described as a standalone, The Menace from Farside is set in the same world as Ian McDonald's Luna series, which I have not read.
This was intriguing at first with the Ring Marriages, a polyamorous marriage contract of sorts. Cariad Corcoran is a teenager who has grown up within a Ring Marriage. She was raised by her birth mother, Laine and Laine's two spouses - Dolores, her iz and Andros, her derecho. Each of those spouses then have two partners, link by link, so on and so forth around this ring. Okay, rad. I'm into this! After all, science fiction is no stranger to polyamory. Just look at much of Robert A. Heinlein's work! I believe this title is even a nod to his The Menace from Earth book, as well.
However, the story became convoluted. This novella was written as though Cariad is describing an adventure to find the moon's first footprint to a psychiatric bot. I never ended up warming to her, instead I found her incredibly annoying.
In my opinion, this needed more space (no pun intended) than the 152 pages it was given. Ultimately, the worldbuilding just didn't grab me as much as I would have hoped. It wasn't terribly memorable.
I can't say whether I would feel differently if I had read the main series or not, but my guess is I wouldn't.
(Thanks to Tor.com Publishing for sending me a copy!)
**The quotes above were taken from an ARC & are subject to change upon publication**
Being the Richard Anderson fan that I am, I instantly recognized his work when the cover for The Menace from Farside was revealed. I love every single Flaptraps cover and this one is no exception. Designed by the talented Christine Foltzer, the art caught my eye immediately. I mean.. LOOK AT IT!! It's fucking glorious!
Unfortunately, the story itself is far less alluring than the radical cover.
This is a difficult one to review, because it just didn't make a lot of sense to me.
Described as a standalone, The Menace from Farside is set in the same world as Ian McDonald's Luna series, which I have not read.
This was intriguing at first with the Ring Marriages, a polyamorous marriage contract of sorts. Cariad Corcoran is a teenager who has grown up within a Ring Marriage. She was raised by her birth mother, Laine and Laine's two spouses - Dolores, her iz and Andros, her derecho. Each of those spouses then have two partners, link by link, so on and so forth around this ring. Okay, rad. I'm into this! After all, science fiction is no stranger to polyamory. Just look at much of Robert A. Heinlein's work! I believe this title is even a nod to his The Menace from Earth book, as well.
However, the story became convoluted. This novella was written as though Cariad is describing an adventure to find the moon's first footprint to a psychiatric bot. I never ended up warming to her, instead I found her incredibly annoying.
In my opinion, this needed more space (no pun intended) than the 152 pages it was given. Ultimately, the worldbuilding just didn't grab me as much as I would have hoped. It wasn't terribly memorable.
I can't say whether I would feel differently if I had read the main series or not, but my guess is I wouldn't.
(Thanks to Tor.com Publishing for sending me a copy!)
**The quotes above were taken from an ARC & are subject to change upon publication**
May 21, 2022
Carino ma nulla di spettacolare.
November 28, 2019
Definitely a call out to the short story The Menace from Earth - which I've not read in quite some time. So basically a ya train wreck. But definitely gives you an introduction into the Luna world. Can't see it was a favorite of mine. The writing felt a bit tortured, and the main character was definitely not at her best.
September 1, 2019
Grabbed a signed galley proof of this at WorldCon, Dublin (thanks Ian!).
It swaps the intense family politicking of the main series for a good old fashioned moon adventure that's just as fun, backboned by the same razor-sharp writing and wonderfully dense world-building. After the three course meal of the Luna series, this is a wonderful little treat. Gulped it down in one sitting, and already eager for the next.
It swaps the intense family politicking of the main series for a good old fashioned moon adventure that's just as fun, backboned by the same razor-sharp writing and wonderfully dense world-building. After the three course meal of the Luna series, this is a wonderful little treat. Gulped it down in one sitting, and already eager for the next.
February 15, 2020
I have not read the rest of the series, but this story was understandable without. It's just a nice adventure story with young main characters. It contained interesting moon culture and technology.
To me, it hearkens back to Heinlein's moon-based fiction, both YA and otherwise, which is probably why I liked it so much.
To me, it hearkens back to Heinlein's moon-based fiction, both YA and otherwise, which is probably why I liked it so much.
July 15, 2020
3,5 / 5
Nos situamos en 2089, cuando Cariad Corcoran se estremece ante la llegada de una nueva hermanastra, Sidibe Sisay, que amenaza su estatus de poder. Es alta, guapa, segura de sí misma y con la deslumbrante capacidad de volar. Sin embargo, Cariad tiene un plan para socavar su autoridad. Cariad, Sidibe y otros dos familiares viajarán a escondidas hasta el Mar de la Tranquilidad para dejar sus huellas junto a las del primer humano que pisó la luna, Neil Amstrong, y hacer una foto como regalo de bodas. Una misión en apariencia sencilla, pero que se volverá peligrosa en cada paso del camino.
La amenaza de Farside (The Menace from Farside, 2019), situada años antes de Luna:Luna nueva, es una novela corta e independiente de la trilogía, pero que gana enteros si el lector ya se ha sumergido tanto en la jerga como en el futuro de la sociedad Lunar. Aquí no existen los grandes conflictos políticos de la serie original y en la Luna aún están dándose los primeros pasos, pero si ayuda a detectar ciertos guiños y caminos que la sociedad lunar tomará años más tarde.
Nuestro punto de referencia narrativa es Cariad Corcoran, una niña mezquina, desagradable en sus inicios, e imprudente en casi cada decisión. McDonald desarrolla la historia de La amenaza de Farside como si fuera un testimonio. Cariad está contando la historia a una IA psiquiátrica, narrando los hechos y explicándolos como le viene en gana. El tono es mucho más ligero que en la serie original, con una narradora en primera persona inteligente y articulada -con algunas reflexiones sobre vivir en la Luna poéticas-, dejando de lado el tono más frío y cortante de Luna, con cierto deje infantil.
Si algo me vuelve a fascinar de McDonald y su universo lunar es el mundo que construye.El autor inglés presenta una nueva configuración familiar, basada en el poliamor y denominada Anillo, donde cada cónyuge tiene dos parejas sucesivamente a lo largo del anillo familiar. Una red de relaciones construidas a través de enlaces donde cada persona tiene uno cada uno, tanto a derecha como izquierda. Un Anillo, que como todo en la Luna, se puede romper o modificar por contrato.
La amenaza de Farside es una aventura entretenida y ligera, no exenta de emoción y peligros, que dan un anticipo de lo que está por venir en la Luna. Apenas tiene el componente político -los cinco Dragones son apenas mencionados- y el entorno conocido está en plena construcción, pero puede funcionar como una pequeña introducción al exótico universo de Luna. Si la tomas como un complemento, su disfrute está asegurado.
Reseña en el blog: https://boywithletters.blogspot.com/2...
Nos situamos en 2089, cuando Cariad Corcoran se estremece ante la llegada de una nueva hermanastra, Sidibe Sisay, que amenaza su estatus de poder. Es alta, guapa, segura de sí misma y con la deslumbrante capacidad de volar. Sin embargo, Cariad tiene un plan para socavar su autoridad. Cariad, Sidibe y otros dos familiares viajarán a escondidas hasta el Mar de la Tranquilidad para dejar sus huellas junto a las del primer humano que pisó la luna, Neil Amstrong, y hacer una foto como regalo de bodas. Una misión en apariencia sencilla, pero que se volverá peligrosa en cada paso del camino.
La amenaza de Farside (The Menace from Farside, 2019), situada años antes de Luna:Luna nueva, es una novela corta e independiente de la trilogía, pero que gana enteros si el lector ya se ha sumergido tanto en la jerga como en el futuro de la sociedad Lunar. Aquí no existen los grandes conflictos políticos de la serie original y en la Luna aún están dándose los primeros pasos, pero si ayuda a detectar ciertos guiños y caminos que la sociedad lunar tomará años más tarde.
Nuestro punto de referencia narrativa es Cariad Corcoran, una niña mezquina, desagradable en sus inicios, e imprudente en casi cada decisión. McDonald desarrolla la historia de La amenaza de Farside como si fuera un testimonio. Cariad está contando la historia a una IA psiquiátrica, narrando los hechos y explicándolos como le viene en gana. El tono es mucho más ligero que en la serie original, con una narradora en primera persona inteligente y articulada -con algunas reflexiones sobre vivir en la Luna poéticas-, dejando de lado el tono más frío y cortante de Luna, con cierto deje infantil.
Si algo me vuelve a fascinar de McDonald y su universo lunar es el mundo que construye.El autor inglés presenta una nueva configuración familiar, basada en el poliamor y denominada Anillo, donde cada cónyuge tiene dos parejas sucesivamente a lo largo del anillo familiar. Una red de relaciones construidas a través de enlaces donde cada persona tiene uno cada uno, tanto a derecha como izquierda. Un Anillo, que como todo en la Luna, se puede romper o modificar por contrato.
La amenaza de Farside es una aventura entretenida y ligera, no exenta de emoción y peligros, que dan un anticipo de lo que está por venir en la Luna. Apenas tiene el componente político -los cinco Dragones son apenas mencionados- y el entorno conocido está en plena construcción, pero puede funcionar como una pequeña introducción al exótico universo de Luna. Si la tomas como un complemento, su disfrute está asegurado.
Reseña en el blog: https://boywithletters.blogspot.com/2...
Read
November 30, 2019DNF
May 4, 2022
4.5 stelle...
Ian è il solito genio, innovativo, pieno di idee nuove e rivoluzionarie.. divorato in un giorno..
-luna minaccia da farside è un romanzo breve molto bello, a cui forse mancano un po' di colpi di scena, ma che prende da subito.. fantastico il concetto di famiglia Anello. 4.5
- il quinto dragone è un racconto veramente emozionante si Arianna Corta, vero prequel della trilogia Luna. 5
-la caduta è un racconto carino ma che aggiunge poco e nulla al Worldbuilding pazzesco della saga. 4
Ian è il solito genio, innovativo, pieno di idee nuove e rivoluzionarie.. divorato in un giorno..
-luna minaccia da farside è un romanzo breve molto bello, a cui forse mancano un po' di colpi di scena, ma che prende da subito.. fantastico il concetto di famiglia Anello. 4.5
- il quinto dragone è un racconto veramente emozionante si Arianna Corta, vero prequel della trilogia Luna. 5
-la caduta è un racconto carino ma che aggiunge poco e nulla al Worldbuilding pazzesco della saga. 4
August 8, 2020
Encantado de regresar al universo Luna creado por Mcdonald.
Una aventura entretenida que, aunque no tenga relación directa con la trilogía, se disfruta mucho más si la has leído previamente.
Una aventura entretenida que, aunque no tenga relación directa con la trilogía, se disfruta mucho más si la has leído previamente.
January 4, 2020
This novella is set decades before the events in the Luna Series., when the Moon was already on its way to losing its status as a frontier. Cariad Corcorian and her “siblings” are part of an arrangement known as a Chain Marriage. When one parent moves out and another is set to marry their “mother”, the teens and pre-teens decide to give them a wedding gift in the form of a picture next to the first footstep on the Moon. A foolhardy adventure ensues.
The story flirts with Young Adult fiction, but nevertheless displays the hallmarks of Mr. McDonald’s prose. Deep dives into the particularities of character, radical social structures, and a laying bare of the truth behind relationships.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2019/12/...
The story flirts with Young Adult fiction, but nevertheless displays the hallmarks of Mr. McDonald’s prose. Deep dives into the particularities of character, radical social structures, and a laying bare of the truth behind relationships.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/2019/12/...
December 8, 2019
"The moon wants to kill you and knows a thousand ways to do it."
YA adventure on the moon of the Luna trilogy, decades before Lucasinho and company moonrun. Good enough.
"They shouldn’t show you the Earth. Look up, they say. What do you see? The thing you can never have. Up there, all blue. All shining. Can’t have, can’t go. The guest-workers, they can go. They have to play it right, but they can go back to that world. Us moon-born, we can never go there. Earth gravity would melt us, mash us, stop our hearts, and shatter our bones. Look up, see that? Can’t have. Not yours. This is yours: rock and dust and a billion bootprints. We’re shut out of heaven."
This choice of phrasing, an elegy of Dominic Cummings (!!), I found, huh, curious: "Twenty days to take back control of my crazy family. Wait. Take back control."
YA adventure on the moon of the Luna trilogy, decades before Lucasinho and company moonrun. Good enough.
"They shouldn’t show you the Earth. Look up, they say. What do you see? The thing you can never have. Up there, all blue. All shining. Can’t have, can’t go. The guest-workers, they can go. They have to play it right, but they can go back to that world. Us moon-born, we can never go there. Earth gravity would melt us, mash us, stop our hearts, and shatter our bones. Look up, see that? Can’t have. Not yours. This is yours: rock and dust and a billion bootprints. We’re shut out of heaven."
This choice of phrasing, an elegy of Dominic Cummings (!!), I found, huh, curious: "Twenty days to take back control of my crazy family. Wait. Take back control."
December 9, 2019
At the start of this novella, I felt stupid. It presents some strange concepts with family, and my brain could not wrap itself around what was being described. I was getting confused by the relationships of the characters. As the story progressed, I understood enough to get the point, and I could sit back and enjoy the actual story. I did not realize that this takes place in the world of McDonald's Luna series. I have not read those, and it seems that this is far enough removed from the series to not matter. In the end, I think The Menace from Farside is a fun, thrilling adventure filled with danger and real human moments. It has a good pace and an interesting world. It has intrigued me enough to want to explore more.
January 16, 2020
This is an excellent young adult science fiction novel (novella?) that invokes the spirit of Heinlein juvenile SF novels. Even the title pays homage to Heinlein’s “Menace From Earth”, while the marriage arrangements are reminiscent of those in Heinlein’s “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.” The story is an exciting tale of survival for four teens on Luna’s surface, with one disaster following another. The world-building is outstanding; I am now inspired to check out the author’s other Luna stories. I liked that one of the teens identified as “neko”, i.e. as a cat — the cover even shows that a pressure suit with cat ears — and another is autistic. But the charm of the story is the first person voice of Cariad, who personifies Heinlein’s idea of a smart, inventive main character.
October 3, 2022
I was happy with this YA lunar adventure novella, with its obvious nod to Heinlein's 1957 story "The Menace from Earth." This one is centered on the insanely complicated ring-marriages McDonald came up with for his Lunar colonists, and a grand adventure Cariad Corcoran came up with to celebrate an upcoming wedding in her family: a surreptitious visit to the first lunar-landing site in the Sea of Tranquility! As you can imagine, it's not a straightforward trip. McDonald was clearly having fun emulating Heinlein and some of his spunky female heroines. Recommended light reading.
November 17, 2019
This is a very satisfying read from the Luna universe. Read and enjoy. But remember - Lady Luna wants to kill you!
July 15, 2020
★★★ - Il caro Ian è uno che è in grado di scrivere una novella YA con protagonisti quattro ragazzini nel pieno della più insopportabile fase adolescenziale senza renderli odiosi, tirando fuori un'avventura lunare avvincente per il lettore teen ma assolutamente in grado di appassionare il pubblico adulto che ha letto e amato la trilogia di Luna.
La gioia di leggere uno che sa fare così bene il suo mestiere (e ha idee così brillanti) in un comparto spesso afflitto da scrittura sciatta e stereotipa come lo YA è impagabile. [...]
La gioia di leggere uno che sa fare così bene il suo mestiere (e ha idee così brillanti) in un comparto spesso afflitto da scrittura sciatta e stereotipa come lo YA è impagabile. [...]
February 3, 2020
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review.
This novella is a companion to McDonald's Luna books, and I don't think it is an easy entry point if you haven't read at least one of those. It's a teen book, or at least written from a teen viewpoint. It obviously takes its title from Heinlein's "Menace from Earth" but this is not a romance, at least it doesn't end up as one.
So, instead of a cute young thing from Earth coming to the moon and getting all the attention of the main character's boyfriend, a cute young thing (Sidibe) comes from the far side of the moon to the sunlit side and is about to become a sibling of the main character and all of her other siblings. Cariad's parents are in a ring marriage, which is a complicated family system that involves half siblings, step-siblings, and part of Cariad's problem is probably because she hasn't been consulted in any of this.
Cariad also bosses around her current siblings and she recognizes another queen bee when she sees her. Her solution to this upending of the current sibling power structure is to enlist her current siblings (Jair, who identifies as a neko, a cat, and Kobe, who is neuro-atypical in some way) along with Sidibe to go to the original moon landing site and get a commemorative picture for the parents' wedding. They will do this on the sneak, hitching rides on cargo buggies on the moon's surface, using a "borrowed" card to pay for the necessaries along the way, and hacking their way into where they aren't normally allowed. Cariad will be the boss of this journey, and hopes to come out of it covered in glory as the sibs' undisputed leader, and maybe make her new sister look a little less cute in the process.
Cariad is kind of a jerk. The adventure goes sideways, as of course it would, and she doesn't always rise to the occasion of being a leader. She does get her siblings to bond, though, even with herself although she puts them in danger several times. In the end, I'm not sure that Cariad has learned anything from this experience, and I didn't really like her much. That's why I'm not rating the book higher. It's a solid adventure story, though- maybe like one of Heinlein's.
This novella is a companion to McDonald's Luna books, and I don't think it is an easy entry point if you haven't read at least one of those. It's a teen book, or at least written from a teen viewpoint. It obviously takes its title from Heinlein's "Menace from Earth" but this is not a romance, at least it doesn't end up as one.
So, instead of a cute young thing from Earth coming to the moon and getting all the attention of the main character's boyfriend, a cute young thing (Sidibe) comes from the far side of the moon to the sunlit side and is about to become a sibling of the main character and all of her other siblings. Cariad's parents are in a ring marriage, which is a complicated family system that involves half siblings, step-siblings, and part of Cariad's problem is probably because she hasn't been consulted in any of this.
Cariad also bosses around her current siblings and she recognizes another queen bee when she sees her. Her solution to this upending of the current sibling power structure is to enlist her current siblings (Jair, who identifies as a neko, a cat, and Kobe, who is neuro-atypical in some way) along with Sidibe to go to the original moon landing site and get a commemorative picture for the parents' wedding. They will do this on the sneak, hitching rides on cargo buggies on the moon's surface, using a "borrowed" card to pay for the necessaries along the way, and hacking their way into where they aren't normally allowed. Cariad will be the boss of this journey, and hopes to come out of it covered in glory as the sibs' undisputed leader, and maybe make her new sister look a little less cute in the process.
Cariad is kind of a jerk. The adventure goes sideways, as of course it would, and she doesn't always rise to the occasion of being a leader. She does get her siblings to bond, though, even with herself although she puts them in danger several times. In the end, I'm not sure that Cariad has learned anything from this experience, and I didn't really like her much. That's why I'm not rating the book higher. It's a solid adventure story, though- maybe like one of Heinlein's.
October 5, 2021
I would call The Menace from Farside (Luna 3.5) a novella, rather than a novel, but regardless, it works well as a stand-alone adventure. It revolves around some changes to the family makeup of “the ring”, the relationship model in the story world on Luna. The storyteller, Cariad, is hesitant about the changes and decides to do something about it. This is how the adventure begins.
The Menace from Farside drops the reader directly into a rich world with little or no background. This is the first story in the series that I read, and although I was disoriented to begin with, but the story works itself in without having to go through a lot of worldbuilding information. It sets off sort of a hero’s journey as the protagonist’s group make an illicit pilgrimage to the site of a past event in the form of an adventure! The story moves at fast pace, as the group deals with a series of constraints and setbacks.
I enjoyed the different characters, although I did find the support characters to be just this side of inconsequential. They have a large part to play in the story, but they seem to be a little too compliant. They don’t take sides or have much input into the rivalry between the two main characters, even though the decisions will affect them.
Speaking of the main characters, there is more of a disconnect between them than a rivalry, in my opinion. The protagonist, who is also the narrator, seems to have created conflict with their rival based on her character’s insecurity. It is less what the rival has done, and more about trying to maintain her position within the ring. In some ways it is a cautionary tale on not over-thinking a situation.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. It kept me engaged. I thought it had just the right amount of hard science for me, constraining, but not overly technical. This is my first adventure in Luna series, and it invites me to go back and start on the first book in the series, and who knows where it will go from there? I give this one a strong four of five stars on Goodreads.
The Menace from Farside drops the reader directly into a rich world with little or no background. This is the first story in the series that I read, and although I was disoriented to begin with, but the story works itself in without having to go through a lot of worldbuilding information. It sets off sort of a hero’s journey as the protagonist’s group make an illicit pilgrimage to the site of a past event in the form of an adventure! The story moves at fast pace, as the group deals with a series of constraints and setbacks.
I enjoyed the different characters, although I did find the support characters to be just this side of inconsequential. They have a large part to play in the story, but they seem to be a little too compliant. They don’t take sides or have much input into the rivalry between the two main characters, even though the decisions will affect them.
Speaking of the main characters, there is more of a disconnect between them than a rivalry, in my opinion. The protagonist, who is also the narrator, seems to have created conflict with their rival based on her character’s insecurity. It is less what the rival has done, and more about trying to maintain her position within the ring. In some ways it is a cautionary tale on not over-thinking a situation.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. It kept me engaged. I thought it had just the right amount of hard science for me, constraining, but not overly technical. This is my first adventure in Luna series, and it invites me to go back and start on the first book in the series, and who knows where it will go from there? I give this one a strong four of five stars on Goodreads.
November 26, 2019
This novella (a little over 140 pages of text) is set in the universe of McDonald's “Luna” trilogy, but chronologically it is earlier than the first book in that series, and has different viewpoint characters. The first-person narrator is a teenage girl who is aghast when a new stepfather brings a smart, funny, beautiful daughter into the family. The narrator hatches a plot for the four family teens to make an expedition to the Apollo 11 landing site to take a selfie with the First Footprint on the Moon, with her (the narrator) as the team captain.
As the series motto goes, “the moon is trying to kill you in a thousand ways”, and the teens get into life-threatening trouble repeatedly, but their various skills and smarts get them out of it, of course.
This compact story reads very much like McDonald's tip of the hat to the Heinlein juveniles, in tone, plot and length. There's nothing wrong with that, and it's possible this book could be marketed as a YA gateway to his more engaging “Luna” series, which has been described as “Game of Thrones on the Moon”.
While a fun and breezy read that could stand on its own, I would recommend it as a companion piece to the larger series.
As the series motto goes, “the moon is trying to kill you in a thousand ways”, and the teens get into life-threatening trouble repeatedly, but their various skills and smarts get them out of it, of course.
This compact story reads very much like McDonald's tip of the hat to the Heinlein juveniles, in tone, plot and length. There's nothing wrong with that, and it's possible this book could be marketed as a YA gateway to his more engaging “Luna” series, which has been described as “Game of Thrones on the Moon”.
While a fun and breezy read that could stand on its own, I would recommend it as a companion piece to the larger series.
June 9, 2021
3.5 stars
Ian McDonald revisits his vividly drawn Luna in this enjoyable and action packed novella. McDonald tips a hat to the Luna of Robert Heinlein in his classic short story 'The Menace From Earth'. Like the older story, a visitor upsets the stable world of the narrator. And of course, the interloper in both stories has an interest in flying in the low lunar gravity. Whilst in the Heinlein story, flying is central to the plot, it is just facet in the richness of McDonald's worldbuilding.
Instead, the theme is Adventure, as four friends challenge the maxim that Luna has many ways to kill you. In their quest to find and create a memorable memento to celebrate the realignment of the narrator's family's Ring marriage which has resulted in the advent of the interloper, they experience this in many ways and guises. The action is constant and fast paced, and reads quickly and easily.
The novella length allows McDonald to explore the relationships of his cast of characters much more fully than Heinlein was able to (or needed to for the purposes of the short story).
The story is pitched more YA than adult, so the operatic intensity of the Luna trilogy is toned down a tad.Overall a worthy revisit to a brilliant series.
Ian McDonald revisits his vividly drawn Luna in this enjoyable and action packed novella. McDonald tips a hat to the Luna of Robert Heinlein in his classic short story 'The Menace From Earth'. Like the older story, a visitor upsets the stable world of the narrator. And of course, the interloper in both stories has an interest in flying in the low lunar gravity. Whilst in the Heinlein story, flying is central to the plot, it is just facet in the richness of McDonald's worldbuilding.
Instead, the theme is Adventure, as four friends challenge the maxim that Luna has many ways to kill you. In their quest to find and create a memorable memento to celebrate the realignment of the narrator's family's Ring marriage which has resulted in the advent of the interloper, they experience this in many ways and guises. The action is constant and fast paced, and reads quickly and easily.
The novella length allows McDonald to explore the relationships of his cast of characters much more fully than Heinlein was able to (or needed to for the purposes of the short story).
The story is pitched more YA than adult, so the operatic intensity of the Luna trilogy is toned down a tad.Overall a worthy revisit to a brilliant series.
August 26, 2022
piccola antologia di Urania che va a raccogliere una serie di tre racconti ispirati alla saga principale di Macdonald. Il primo, che poi da il titolo all'opera, è più un romanzo breve ed è molto orientato ai ragazzi che agli adulti. Nonostante questo, la storia è molta carina e ben raccontata, e che in certi momenti mi ha ricordato il capolavoro di King "Stand by me". Il secondo racconto "Il quinto dragone", descrive in maniera più approfondita i primi tempi di Adriana Corta sulla Luna e la sua illuminazione riguardante l'estrazione di elio-3 che farà la fortuna della sua famiglia. Niente che non sia stato detto nei romanzi principali (specialmente nel primo), ma mostra la Luna in pieno fermento costruttivo e con molte delle location principali ancora in fase di sviluppo. Il terzo racconto è quello meno interessante, che racconta del rapporto tra madre (incaricata di sviluppare le personalità delle 3 IA dei Sun) e la propria figlia (sempre alla ricerca di nuovi stimoli "pericolosi"). Lettura piacevole ma il finale è stato preso pari pari da un evento accaduto a Robson Corta nel secondo romanzo. In conclusione, se vi sono piaciuti i romanzi della trilogia, non potete certamente farvi mancare nella vostra libreria anche questo piccolo volumetto di Urania.
September 13, 2022
This is a funky little novella, full of character and plenty of suspense.
Our narrator (Cariad Corcoran) guides us along with her story of how she, and a group of friends (one of them is more of a rival) set out to get a picture of themselves next to Neil Armstrong’s first footprint on the moon; it’s a desperate trek across hostile terrain and may well be too much for a bunch of teens, especially with some seriously malevolent forces in play….
Except, while all that is true, the story is really about the jealousy that comes with a new a step-sibling who is more beautiful, more confident, more exciting… just more.. than you are.
Which is what gives the story it’s character. You could make this a story about dense political thriller type action but instead, the whole adventure is driven by a, in hindsight, quite immature desire to show who’s the best!
I’ve only read a couple of McDonald’s books (the Desolation Road duo set on Mars) and, like those, this has a similar conversational style to the story-telling as opposed to the drier, more straight and technical style of Arthur C Clark or, more recently, Andy Weir.
Nothing very deep and meaningful here but great fun and McDonald brings enough style to make it more engaging than it might have been.
Our narrator (Cariad Corcoran) guides us along with her story of how she, and a group of friends (one of them is more of a rival) set out to get a picture of themselves next to Neil Armstrong’s first footprint on the moon; it’s a desperate trek across hostile terrain and may well be too much for a bunch of teens, especially with some seriously malevolent forces in play….
Except, while all that is true, the story is really about the jealousy that comes with a new a step-sibling who is more beautiful, more confident, more exciting… just more.. than you are.
Which is what gives the story it’s character. You could make this a story about dense political thriller type action but instead, the whole adventure is driven by a, in hindsight, quite immature desire to show who’s the best!
I’ve only read a couple of McDonald’s books (the Desolation Road duo set on Mars) and, like those, this has a similar conversational style to the story-telling as opposed to the drier, more straight and technical style of Arthur C Clark or, more recently, Andy Weir.
Nothing very deep and meaningful here but great fun and McDonald brings enough style to make it more engaging than it might have been.
August 18, 2022
Senza infamia e senza lode. Non ho letto il resto di Ian McDonald ma ho trovato i racconti e il romanzo breve piuttosto godibili. Il tema della colonizzazione della luna sembra sviluppato in modo interessante (e del resto, leggo che è argomento principale della sua saga!). Apprezzo molto anche i molti riferimenti alle culture giovanili e internettiane come il personaggio di Jair nel romanzo breve.
Che però è stato anche quello che mi ha convinta meno.
Il secondo, che tratta la storia di Corta, la quinta tra i Dragoni, mi ha incuriosita a leggere il resto ad esser sincera.
Mentre il terzo, Caduta, è sicuramente il più poetico, mescolando il punto di vista della protagonista con quello di una IA.
Non ho apprezzato molto il fatto che tutti e tre i racconti abbiano come protagoniste tre persone diverse ma sono scritti tutti e tre con lo stesso stile, o meglio, con lo stesso carattere. Dato che sono in prima persona ho trovato il tutto un po' piatto da questo punto di vista (nonostante lo stile di scrittura in sè sia accattivante)
Che però è stato anche quello che mi ha convinta meno.
Il secondo, che tratta la storia di Corta, la quinta tra i Dragoni, mi ha incuriosita a leggere il resto ad esser sincera.
Mentre il terzo, Caduta, è sicuramente il più poetico, mescolando il punto di vista della protagonista con quello di una IA.
Non ho apprezzato molto il fatto che tutti e tre i racconti abbiano come protagoniste tre persone diverse ma sono scritti tutti e tre con lo stesso stile, o meglio, con lo stesso carattere. Dato che sono in prima persona ho trovato il tutto un po' piatto da questo punto di vista (nonostante lo stile di scrittura in sè sia accattivante)
December 2, 2019
“The Menace from Farside” by Ian McDonald ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Four sort-of-siblings, kind-of-friends living in a moon base below the lunar surface decide to visit the original moon landing site and take a picture of Neil Armstrong’s footprint. This involves many risks and learning about each other. The four all have their own quirks and fears which makes working together tricky. This is a stand-alone short novel set in the author’s Luna world. I haven’t read the Luna series (yet) and I had no trouble figuring out what was going on. McDonald has the narrator give lots of explanations in a clever way - the narrator has been ordered to counseling and uses story form to explain her (mis)adventures to a machine/AI counselor. After reading this, I put the Luna series on my TBR list.
October 17, 2020
Although this is a coming of age story (btw: if the title makes any sense, I didn't see what) and technically YA, it doesn't have that icky chirpy YA-ness where there's tons of sex and gore and yet the character interactions are trite. Maybe just a tiny bit at the very end, but not much overall.
Beautiful descriptive writing, very strong worldbuilding, and the plot! The plot makes sense! It doesn't throw in a bunch of back and forth and round and round and pointless red herrings. It is beautifully parsimonious. In a 400-page novel, it wouldn't be enough to carry the length. But in a novella, it's perfect.
Beautiful descriptive writing, very strong worldbuilding, and the plot! The plot makes sense! It doesn't throw in a bunch of back and forth and round and round and pointless red herrings. It is beautifully parsimonious. In a 400-page novel, it wouldn't be enough to carry the length. But in a novella, it's perfect.
December 12, 2019
This is a really great novella, set in the universe of the Luna books, and taking place a generation before the events of the trilogy. It's still a young culture, with fewer of the established givens of the later books, but still entertaining nonetheless.
Even though it takes place chronologically before, I'd recommend reading it after you read the rest of the trilogy. It involves a group of kids on a mission, sort of a Stand By Me on the Moon. It's well written, and a delightful departure from the Serious Business of the other Luna books.
Even though it takes place chronologically before, I'd recommend reading it after you read the rest of the trilogy. It involves a group of kids on a mission, sort of a Stand By Me on the Moon. It's well written, and a delightful departure from the Serious Business of the other Luna books.
August 4, 2020
I really liked the premise of this one. A trek to see the 1st footprint on the moon.
Honestly, the writing just didn't work for me. Plenty of action which should have been exciting, but seemed more like filler to get to the next filler action scene.
What could've been interesting characters were over-ridden by the main character, Cariad Corcoran, dominating the story. I would've liked to see more of Jair, Kobe & Sidibe from their own POV's. To be fair though, it was Cariad telling the story, so it's all from her view.
Honestly, the writing just didn't work for me. Plenty of action which should have been exciting, but seemed more like filler to get to the next filler action scene.
What could've been interesting characters were over-ridden by the main character, Cariad Corcoran, dominating the story. I would've liked to see more of Jair, Kobe & Sidibe from their own POV's. To be fair though, it was Cariad telling the story, so it's all from her view.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews