Hot Moon - (Apollo Rising) by Alan Smale

About the Book

In an alternate 1979, the United States and the Soviet Union have permanent Moon bases, crewed spy satellites, and frequent hostilities. Vivian Carter, commander of Apollo 32, is on a mission to explore a volcanic region of the Moon when she is caught in the crossfire of a Soviet attack. Barely escaping, she and her crew are redirected to land at Hadley Base, a NASA outpost. Hadley Base, though, soon comes under attack, and the unarmed astronauts must find a way to defend themselves.

Book Synopsis

HAVE YOU READ ONE OF THE BEST SF BOOKS OF 2022?

"A nail-biting thriller."-Publishers Weekly
"I loved it. Great 'hard' science fiction with convincing space battles. "-Larry Niven
"Will delight and enthrall."-Library Journal
"A provocative science fiction novel."-Foreword Reviews
"A superb mind-expanding sci-fi novel!"-Grady Harp (Amazon Hall of Fame Top100 Reviewer)

From the two-time Sidewise Award-winning
author of the acclaimed Clash of Eagles trilogy
comes an 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.

Review Quotes

"Set in an alternate timeline where Soviet cosmonauts beat the U.S. to the moon, this novel by Sidewise Award winner Smale (Tales from Alternate Earths Volume III) picks up at the end of the 1970s with Vivian Carter, the commander of Apollo 32, taking fire in what will become the opening shots in a war for the moon. Smale writes about NASA procedures, space history, lunar geology, and orbital mechanics with stunning detail and familiarity, while sending the reader on a fast-paced, well-plotted adventure aboard claustrophobic lunar modules, inside fragile habitats, and across inhospitable landscapes. Commander Carter becomes a tough-as-nails protagonist who's impossible not to root for as she navigates political intrigue, space combat, and the realistic, moment-by-moment requirements of surviving in a vacuum. The storytelling is extremely well done, the ideas are thoroughly researched, and both combine in a satisfying work of fiction.VERDICT For astronaut wonks and fans of realistic science fiction, Smale's latest will delight and enthrall."-Library Journal (starred review)

"Smale (the Clash of Eagles trilogy), a NASA astrophysicist and data archive manager, cleverly uses his insider knowledge of the American space program to craft a nail-biting thriller set in a plausible alternate 1979. The Cold War is heating up in space. The Soviet Union's desire to beat the U.S. has led to a reckless approach to its cosmonaut program, which has cost Russian lives, but also enabled the Soviets to land the first man on the Moon. For NASA astronaut Vivian Carter, however, there's been an upside to the competition; because the third Russian cosmonaut on the Moon was female, NASA responded by bolstering the roles of American women within its own program. Now Carter heads the Apollo 32 mission-but her planned lunar landing is jeopardized when the space station she's docked at comes under attack from a Soviet craft. Carter scrambles to keep herself and her crew safe--but this attack is just the opening salvo to what soon becomes all-out war. Smale makes the most of this conceit, coupling suspenseful plot developments with fully realized characters. Fans of Chris Hadfield's thematically similar The Apollo Murders will be hooked. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Assoc. (July)"-Publishers Weekly

"I loved it. Great 'hard' science fiction with convincing space battles."-Hugo and Nebula-wining Grandmaster, Larry Niven (author of Ringworld)

"The pace is headlong... the perfect balance of danger and
courage wrapped around science details that remind us that we're in the hands
of a writer who has the facts right. Masterful work."-Rick Wilber,
award-winning author of Alien Morning and Alien Day

"In the exciting alternate timeline of Alan Smale's Hot Moon:
the Soviet Union beat the United States to the Moon; the Cold War went hot; the
conflict spread to the Moon. This sets the foundation for a gripping tale of
space warfare.

In 1979, Ronald Reagan is the president, and the Soviet Moon
landing has energized the US's part in the space race. A planned, routine
photographic opportunity becomes life-threatening following an unprovoked
attack on an Apollo spacecraft. Its mission commander, Vivian, makes a
death-defying spacewalk with no life support and no way to guide herself,
except for a gas gun. The crew manages to escape to a Moon base, from where
they defend themselves against a Soviet siege.

The book alternates between