A book beginning with astronauts on the way to a mission, they have a front row seat to the incoming end of the world, as it goes down in a fiery blaze from nuclear weapons. Traumatizing the team, they are forced to not only continue the human race, but keep mentally sane seeing their home implode without them. A small team made even smaller by a suicide in the airlock, I can't really blame the man. They're then forced to land on the moon, wondering if the group of 5 or 6 people are the last ones.

But they're determined to stay alive, or continue the species by any means possible from the lunar base. They begin to plan for the future, whatever that may hold for them. But there are others in orbit, and what happens when people have unlimited power over others if they just reach for it? The small group becomes a family from working together, and everything seems fine at that point. That is, until they get a radio broadcast from their home planet.

Turns out, there's a plague ravaging it's firey hellscape, but there are survivors. The problem is, that there's a nuclear weapon not only functional, but in orbit with them, and it's targeting the radio signals from Earth. The team works hard accepting their new lives and establishing themselves, and rescuing the others not only on earth, but in orbit too. Max, our main character and viewpoint, is promoted from a mostly janitorial position, to head engineer. He basically builds and fixes everything around the lunar base and ship, as well as inventing the things that they may need to use around their daily life. Not everything is such a straight line, however, not all the other stations passengers are thankful to be saved and brought to the moon, and not all survivors are friendly.

A super long book packed full of information and story, it really gives you a ton of time to get to know everyone individually, and their situations. It's scifi and space, so of course I loved it, and I really thought that Max was such a chill guy that really just rolls with the punches and keeps everything moving smoothly. Even though it is such a long story, I had no problem staying deeply engaged with it, as everything was easy to follow. I loved the people and appreciated the ending, though i do wish that there was even more. Definitely recommend checking it out if you're looking for something to take control of your week and really pull you into it.

this is exactly what I was wanting from a scifi novel, the characters were great and I enjoyed going on this journey. It was a fun read and I can't wait to see what the author writes next.

Luna

"It's the end of the world, and I have the best seat in the house." What an intro! I had to reread that line and the entire first page to get my mind around it. Even though this novel seems to begin at the end, it is packed with relentlessly absorbing action, and yet it also conveys an underlying tension of suspense. I had to fight my curiosity and jump to the end. To say the action is nonstop is no hyperbole.

From page one, we are made aware that the narrator’s comments are not idle musing. He is writing for an intended audience, but we have to wait some time, possibly until the end, to find out who that is.

The narrator is an affable, team-oriented mechanical engineer on his way to the moon to help debug a prototype lunar dwelling. His language is straightforward and direct, exactly as I would expect an engineer to write for an intelligent nonengineer. For example, in technology this phase of the lunar dwelling rollout is called “sanity testing,” but he keeps in mind that his audience may not have an engineering background and uses very little specialized jargon.

The engineer’s good nature as is a key element to the story and reveals itself in smoothing interactions with others. Likewise, the intentionally cavernous moon dwelling conveys an atmosphere that’s the complete opposite of all the successful, claustrophobic, lonely astronaut stories we’ve read. All of these elements lead up to a fitting and satisfying conclusion.

Thanks NetGalley for a peek at this ARC

This is good overall. It has some humor, some works and some doesn't. It's a bit uneven, but the main character is kind of entertaining. It's a pretty light read for those seeking that kind of story after a bit of a slow start.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

Luna by Garon Whited

Oh wow! I loved it! The characters, the humor, the quotes, the inventions, the survival excellent job, I'll be keeping an eye out for more of Garon Whited's work.

A space shuttle, a planet nuked past oblivion, rescuing survivors, surviving, plots, anarchy, love, lust, girl fights, and happily ever after.

Much appreciation to @netgalley #netgalley for the complimentary copy of @luna #luna I was under no obligation to post a review.