Hot Moon
Apollo Rising Book One
"I loved it. Great 'hard' science fiction with convincing space battles. "−Larry Niven, Grand Master (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association) and author of Ringworld
Two-time Sidewise Award-winning author, Alan Smale, brings us an exciting alternate 1979 where the US and the Soviets have permanent Moon bases, orbiting space stations, and crewed spy satellites supported by frequent rocket launches.
Apollo 32, commanded by career astronaut Vivian Carter, docks at NASA's Columbia space station en route to its main mission: exploring the volcanic Marius Hills region of the Moon. Vivian is caught in the crossfire as four Soviet Soyuz craft appear without warning to assault the orbiting station. In an unplanned and desperate move, Vivian spacewalks through hard vacuum back to her Lunar Module and crew and escapes right before the station falls into Soviet hands.
Their original mission scrubbed, Vivian and her crew are redirected to land at Hadley Base, a NASA scientific outpost with a crew of eighteen. But soon Hadley, too, will come under Soviet attack, forcing its unarmed astronauts to daring acts of ingenuity and improvisation.
With multiple viewpoints, shifting from American to Soviet perspective, from occupied space station to American Moon base under siege, to a covert and blistering US Air Force military response, Hot Moon tells the gripping story of a war in space that very nearly might have been.
Alan Smale writes alternate history and ‘hard’ science fiction and is a two-time winner of the Sidewise Award for alternate history.
He is also a ‘rocket scientist’ (working for NASA) who seamlessly blends his extensive scientific knowledge with his uncanny ability to present complex ideas in very understandable terms to create riveting stories that invariably garner outstanding reviews from readers.
His works include over forty short stories published in some of the most iconic science fiction magazines and anthologies currently published, and his original Clash of Eagles trilogy won widespread acclaim from both critics and fans.
Alan grew up in Yorkshire England, attended Oxford University, and currently resides in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, working for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (with over 100 published academic papers).
