I loved Moonstroke by Blaine C. Readler. To be honest I have been hooked on books about living on the moon since I read Robert Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress in middle school. I love that book and I love this one. I have always been a fan of revolt against unfair systems and this is one of the major themes of Moonstroke. While Moonstroke is definitely a Young Adult novel, I am 58 years old and I enjoyed the hell out of it. There is just something exhilarating about young people going up against an authoritarian system. Maybe it’s the optimism. When middle-aged people go against the system it can often appear practical and at times pessimistic, but when young people do it, all you feel is the hope for a better future

My favorite character in Moonstroke is Van, a young hothead who is very smart, but sometimes has a little more heart than brains. His associates are typical teenagers in a way, but I think what makes Moonstroke stand out in every way is the setting. Blaine C. Readler has done a great job of describing what life on the moon might be like and the kind of society the harsh realities of living on the moon might spawn. Readler writes very well and the plot is perfect for this type of story. I hope this novel catches on and young people start dreaming of going into space and living on the moon, like I did when I was a kid.

Moonstroke by Blaine C. Readler is a thrilling futuristic sci fi novel about a platinum mining base on the moon. All communication with the rest of the world was lost 12 years before, as a result of a solar flare which killed the forty-four workers, leaving just three adults to bring up 37 small children. The first part of the book is a well written introduction to the many protagonists who make this a tale to remember. On the base, absolute control of all activities is in the hands of a dubious man named Meyer, the engineer Louden Dulles, and Dr. Cummings, the Chief of the base. Dr. Cummings' conversations with his daughter Katlin provide deeper insight into the psyche of the adults in the base. The children, now teenagers, are known as ‘nexgens.’ Everything needed to survive is extracted from mineral compounds or reprocessed from waste, including the bodies of anyone who dies. Believable descriptions of methods of water capture, purification, air filtering and oxygen extraction add plausibility to the story.

One day Val, a nexgen, wanders into an old disused archive shack, and discovers that everything is not what it seems to be. Further shocks arrive when he detects strange activity. At this stage of the story, the author quantum leaps from a sedate walk to a sprint. Suspense grows exponentially; there is a killing, and strangers approach the base. Can untrained nexgens take matters into their own hands to save the base? Certain destruction or death from without as well as within looms ahead. The storyline of Moonstroke merges seamlessly from one chapter to the next. Suspense builds to a fine climax. Overall, this is a very good book for its targeted audience.

Stranded on the Moon with little hope of rescue, out of contact permanently with Earth, a group of engineers struggles to maintain the semblance of an ordered society using a “points” system to keep the Nexgens in line: children whose parents were all killed, children who grow up on the Moon having only seen glimpses of Earth in the limited number of movies available to them. After a decade of isolation, they are surprised at the sudden appearance of a ship, then a strange landrover, as secrets of the past threaten to destroy their fragile community and kill them all…

Realistic science fiction is a rarity. Realistic science fiction with believable characters and plausible political and social interaction is even rarer. The building tension between the older engineers and younger Nexgen workers led to a climactic chase sequence so thrilling that I found it difficult to tear my eyes from the page. To say I thoroughly enjoyed Moonstroke would be an understatement.