172 HOURS ON THE MOON // In Which I Talk Space Flight

Rating: Three stars—Good

I’d heard quite a bit about 172 HOURS ON THE MOON by Johan Harstad, and a lot of people seemed to have liked it, so I figured I would check it out. It’s advertised as creepy and disturbing, and I’ve been in the mood for that sort of thing since I started watching The Walking Dead in January. 

Unfortunately, I was relatively disappointed with the execution of the book. So let’s talk about it. 

The Plot. It’s been over forty years since NASA mothballed the lunar program. Now, in preparation for a mission, NASA hosts an international lottery for teens ages 14-18, offering the three lucky winners a chance to spend 172 hours on the moon. However, once our intrepid explorers reach the surface, they discover what their predecessors encountered before them—the reason NASA shut down the lunar program in the first place. 

The Creep Factor. I was, sadly, not the least bit terrified by this book. In the first hundred or so pages, during the build-up to the lunar launch, I felt a cozy sense of impending doom. But the fear factor never got beyond that for me, and it stopped feeling cozy pretty early on. I ended up being more weirded out than anything. Granted, it takes a lot for fiction to scare me, and what frightens someone else might not frighten me. So this could be a matter of personal taste and preference. I just know that I would have written this book differently were I the author. (I personally don’t think the ending is as powerful as it could be, but I don’t want to spoil it for you if you haven’t read the book. If you’re interested in how I would have written the ending differently, feel free to let me know via my contact form and I will gladly tell you privately. And if you loved the ending as it was, good on you. This is all subjective and not a matter of good writing vs. poor writing, so please don’t get your EVA suit in a bunch.) 

The Characters. I didn’t connect with the main characters at all. I understood their goals; I understood their motivations; I understood why each of them sees this as their big break. I don’t think they were poorly written, necessarily. I just didn’t feel anything for them (and upon further research, I’ve found that this is not an uncommon opinion). I did, however, quite like the retired astronaut in the nursing home—a minor character who contributes the only tension I really felt. 

Plausibility. I had a couple issues on this front. First of all, let me just say, I love YA. I have absolutely nothing against teens as main characters, nor do I see them as lesser humans. I am, however, very practical, and it does not seem very practical to send minors into space. Astronauts train for years and years, which is one of the reasons why astronauts are adults. But regardless of age, I also have a problem with sending anyone, kid or not, into space on only four months of intensive training when astronauts don’t get to go into space until they are experts and have been proven to be mentally and physically sound after rigorous testing. (Yes, I know, there have been seven space tourists in the past, but they each handed over about 20-40 million for the honor, whereas NASA is footing the bill in the case of these fictional kids. And the premise of the story says NASA needs these kids to encourage more funds.) It would be one thing if the main characters were hand-selected for their stunning genius. But they were chosen randomly. So that makes sense. 

These three teenagers count as nonessential crew members because they are not qualified for anything the mission requires. They are included on the mission as glorified tourists for the sake of publicity. Now, I don’t want to make your eyes glaze over if you’re not an astronomy geek like me, so I’ll avoid numbers and equations as best I can. But essentially, it takes tons and tons (think hundreds of thousands of tons) of propellant to get your shuttle off the ground and through the atmosphere, and even more if you want it to escape Earth’s gravitational pull. This means a single kilogram of equipment requires multiple tons (think thousands) of propellant. Translated into cash, that’s in the five digits (and remember, this is just for one kilogram). This is why the engineers who build shuttles use the most durable yet lightweight materials they can. This is also why crew members don’t get to bring their personal libraries or bowling ball collections into space. So no, NASA isn’t going to fork over crazy amounts of mullah in order to send up three inexperienced teens and their notepads and iPods, even if in forty years they have somehow managed to cut the cost of propellant in half. (Side note, in case you were wondering: When astronauts do bring music and literature and whatnot, they download it onto the mainframe because digital files don’t add mass.) 

Yes, I realize I have probably spent an obsessive amount of time thinking about this. But astronomy is somewhat of a passion for me (had you noticed?) and I find small fallacies in realistic space fiction very distracting. (However, I am by no means an expert in this field, so please take everything I say with a grain of salt and don’t built your rockets to my specs.) 

The Writing Style. I wasn’t hugely impressed by the writing style itself, and the dialogue seemed somewhat stilted and unrealistic (although some of that could have been due to translation, as 172 HOURS ON THE MOON was originally written in Norwegian). Also, fun fact—I spent the whole book wondering why the writing style reminded me so much of BATTLE ROYALE, so I was really pleased when the author mentioned, in the Q&A at the end, that BATTLE ROYALE was one of his writing inspirations. 

What I Liked. I didn’t absolutely hate this book. I mean, I did give it three stars, after all. Like I said earlier, I liked the initial build-up and the sense of dread that came with, although even that took too long (in my opinion). I liked the premise—the idea that there might have been a reason we stopped making trips to the moon, that there might be something very dangerous up there waiting for us to return. And I am a sucker for space travel stories, even when they’re not entirely faithful to the facts. Also, the story incorporates some black and white photos of lunar landscapes and suchlike, so that adds to the mood. 

In Conclusion. I hate to say this, but 172 HOURS ON THE MOON (in my opinion) does not work as a Young Adult novel. It’s one of those books where I get the itch to rewrite the whole thing because it feels relatively close to the mark, like an arrow that's hit just an inch or so away from the bull's-eye. However, that doesn’t mean 172 HOURS ON THE MOON won’t be exactly right for you, so if you’re still interested in it after reading this review, more power to you, and I hope you enjoy it. 

What about you, my little coffee beans? Do you find it odd that I’m simultaneously bad at math and passionate about astronomy? Have you read 172 HOURS ON THE MOON? What is something that awakens your inner geek? Have you secretly been to the moon? (If so, please tell all. I will pay you in coffee beans.)

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE // Excuse Me while I Die of Happiness

Rating: Five Stars—ajklsdflk (when words fail to describe how wonderful a book is)

Oh my goodness, I can’t tell you how happy I am to have finally read ACROSS THE UNIVERSE by Beth Revis. It had been on my wish list for a couple years, but I had always ended up not having the money to buy it, or not remembering it when I did have the money, or not finding it in bookstores. (I know, I have a really hard life.) But, at long last, my sister bought me the entire trilogy for Christmas! So I am one happy little astronaut. 

The Premise. The idea of people cryogenically freezing themselves in order to travel across the universe (in this case, a 300-year trip) just to colonize another planet is spectacular. I don’t know about you, but I grew up thinking about this sort of concept a lot. What would it be like to leave Earth behind forever? What would it be like to set out for a new and unchartered planet in hopes of finding a better life? What would it be like to be frozen that long? Obviously ACROSS THE UNIVERSE was written just for me. (But you may also read it and love it, because I am generous like that.) 

The story gets better, though, because of course things don’t go according to plan. Fifty years before the ship is supposed to make landfall (planetfall?), someone pulls Amy from her cryo chamber, nearly killing her. Unable to return to stasis, Amy must face the bitter knowledge that she is stuck aboard a ship run by a tyrant and, worse, that when they do reach the planet and wake her parents and the rest of the frozen crew, she will be an old woman. She has given up everything—her home, her possessions, her friends—in exchange for this, and now someone is set on murdering the frozens and destroying all that they’ve sacrificed their previous lives for. Her only hope is that she and her new friend, Elder, will be able to stop the killer before it’s too late. Naturally, I love everything about this—the juxtaposition of the wonder of space travel and the loneliness and separation that come with, the cozy safety of the spaceship and the horror at being stuck inside with a killer. 

Godspeed. I love Godspeed and I love that the ship has such a palpable presence in the book. Despite all that’s going on, Beth Revis never forgets to keep us grounded in the setting, almost as if Godspeed itself is a character. As I was reading, I got such a clear picture of the cultural and physical landscape inside the ship—the sad, metal, pseudo sky; the fields with the genetically modified plants and animals; the weirdly complacent, mindless ship dwellers; the cryo level with its window into space, and everything else. I felt I could close my eyes and live inside that ship. 

Racism and Monoethnicity. While ACROSS THE UNIVERSE deals with a different sort of racism than we usually face in the real world, it is nonetheless effective at pointing out one of the core problems of racism. On Godspeed, all the shipborn people (descended from those who volunteered to run the ship so the frozen crew would be ready for landfall) have, essentially, been bred to manifest similar physical characteristics. This means they all share the same skin tones, the same hair colors, the same eyes, etc. While part of this homogenization is unavoidable, since the number of humans is too low to avoid inbreeding, it has also been further implemented to prevent any sort of discord caused by differences. So, when Amy shows up, freshly awake from her popsicle slumber, with her red hair, green eyes, and pale skin, she is instantly labeled a freak and treated like a non-person. 

The issue is not that she is different but that the people around her struggle to accept differences. In their minds, it would be much easier if she looked like them. And the fact that she doesn’t means there must be something wrong with her. At heart, we humans tend to want everyone to be the same as us—to look the same way, to think the same thoughts, to enjoy the same experiences. And, even with exposure, we tend to have trouble accepting those who don’t fit our criteria. If people like the shipborns have never been taught to understand and value the differences in others, it is unsurprising that they would dislike or be frightened by those differences. I love that this aspect of the book highlights how important it is to appreciate the way cultural and ethnical diversity makes the world a more vibrant, textured place to live. 

Amy and Elder. I love their voices. They both have so much to add to the story, and I never found myself getting bored with either of them. Typically, I don’t get too excited about dual narratives because I usually up preferring one narrator over the other. I also tend to forget which person’s head I’m in if the characters’ voices sound too similar (and they often do), which can be frustrating. But that never happened with ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. Amy and Elder are distinct and interesting in their own ways, and I enjoyed their chapters equally. Also, to give you a little perspective, I read most of this book while I was functioning on one-and-a-half hours of sleep. So the fact that the story could hold my attention and keep me from being confused is saying a lot. 

The Ending. No spoilers, don’t worry! Usually I find predictable stories a tiny bit disappointing, since I would like to be at least a tad surprised by the outcome. But while the ending to ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is rather predictable, it isn’t sloppy or weak. It just (at least to me) feels like the natural conclusion to the story, and any other ending wouldn’t seem right. So, while it’s possible Beth Revis could have maintained the mystery a little better, I was nonetheless satisfied with the novel’s conclusion. 

Sensitive Elements. While I am giving this book five glowing stars, I do want to warn you that ACROSS THE UNIVERSE contains some mature content. A good portion of this book is set during the ship’s mating period, and I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it makes for a fascinating anthropological study, and it adds very well to the dystopian vibe. But, on the other hand, some of the scenes do get a little bit more descriptive than I would have liked, so be advised. 

Also, just as a warning, if you have suffered as the victim of sexual assault, or you simply don’t like reading about that sort of thing, this book might not be for you. But, as I recently talked about how much I dislike the way rape/attempted rape is often used in certain stories, I did want to mention that Beth Revis handles these elements rather well, and I would like to applaud her for that. 

All in all, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is a gorgeous book. It is both cozy and scary, and it contains many of the elements I look for in Science Fiction. It also reminds me a bit of THE GIVER (but only in the best ways). Basically, I love it to pieces, and you should go read it or we can’t be friends anymore. 

What about you, my little coffee beans? Have you read this one? If so, what are your thoughts? What are some of your favorite Science Fiction novels/stories, if you have any?