Book Review: Sex on The Moon by Ben Mezrich

 If you've been looking for Non-fiction that reads like fiction, this 2011 Beat the Backlist book is one you will want to read! 

 While normally I might say the title of the most audacious heist in history is overblown, in this case, I think it meets the criteria! Not so much that it was pulled off in any sophisticated manner, but that someone would decide that was the "thing to do" at all. 

   Readers are given an inside story of Thad Roberts, a one time fellow in a prestigious NASA program in Texas. While at NASA Thad, made a name for himself by being audacious, bold and curious. It didn't hurt that he was - by all accounts- very bright and conventionally attractive. 

Thad started out with an idea involving "decommissioned" moon rocks- those used for education, rather than hard scientific uses.  He and a friend dreamt of selling some of these "trash" moon rocks, and came up with a brave but not very sophisticated plan.  He was sure he'd never go through with it, but the more he dreamed and schemed, the deeper he got, until he found himself meeting a supposed buyer and being arrested by the FBI. 

   I enjoyed this book, but I will say, no matter how hard the author tried to make Thad likeable, I found him to be a complete Jack-Hole. This man had so many advantages in life, and decided to just be pushing the envelope in ways that didn't even make sense.  I suspect there is some sort of mental health issues at play in these decisions, but honestly, I feel like his time in prison was actually too short. This was a man with multiple opportunities ahead of him, and decided this was the most appropriate way to move through the world.  So not a fan. Not impressed, and deeply disturbed that he's now out in the world giving... TED talks. 

The writing is OK. I had the audiobook and for being only 320 pages, it did seem to drag on. So... 

revising my first statement, this is a book you MAY want to read. I have become obsessed with Axel Emmermann, a rock enthusiast who tipped off the FBI and assisted in multiple ways. So there is that.  This is a most interesting book and while I can't say I liked the main character, I did find the entire thing interesting.  So 3 stars out of 5 from me. 

STATS

First Published :  7/12/2011

Pages: 320

Available as an Audio Book :  YES (~8 hrs) 

Trigger Warnings: Heist, discussion of heights, drug and alcohol use, thievery, mild sexual behavior (this is not a full list, read responsibly)

Book Review - Gogmagog by Jeff Noon and Steve Beard 2.5/5 stars

   I read Gogmagog (The chronicles of Ludwich #1) by Jeff Noon and Steve Beard as part of my Water theme for 2025.

  I was so excited when the audio came off hold at the library. I had seen this book on social media and it seemed like it was going to be amazing.  I mean:  a river journey with a 1600 yr old woman, a thrall (mechanical AI type being, a girl made of seeds, and more. A river that is sort of a dragon? The journey promises to encompass old folk tales and present them in strange and alien ways. 

SIGN ME UP. 

(in my imagination, this is the River....)

Hall, Sidney, Etcher. Draco and Ursa Minor / Sidy. Hall, sculpt. Ursa Minor, 1825. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002695394/.

Sadly, I'm going to have to say.... take me off this sign up list.  Especially in the audio book form.  

Things I really liked: 

 -Cady's character is refreshing and super enjoyable. 

-The river itself is like it's own character

- the mystery of it all.

-the writing is solid and makes reading it to be fairly easy. 

Now... for me there was a lot I just didn't love. The narrative is kind of jumpy which didn't prove to be an issue with me, but i didn't really love that particular choice.  I felt like I understood what was going on , but I also felt like all the characters were trying to be the main character, and thus in the end, no one was really the main character and the overall story was lost... was it about the dragon, the child?, the Gogmagog?, Cady's body changes? Lek finding robotic love?  I would have DNF this book, but I had this sort of tingle that said it would eventually sort itself out.  For me, it did not- I felt it was "Almost there" .  Noon did a nice job of showing and not telling, but I did want a bit of telling so I could connect the dots a little bit more. Perhaps that happens in the second book, but, friends, I'm not going to give this series another 12 hours of my listening time. The narration was not to my liking, as whomever was "doing the voices" just managed to make me feel that tinge of aggravation that one feels sometimes.

The best way for me to describe this is that the reader is the audience for a Dungeon's and Dragons type role playing game in someone's parent's refinished basement and each player is taking a turn at advancing their character's story.  They are paying attention to the other's stories but they aren't incorporating them in any meaningful way so it ends up being a very surface type experience overall.  

Did I miss the point?  Maybe - I have also had some trouble with James Joyce's works... and even some lesser esteemed novels. 

Is this a book for someone?  SURE.  The writing itself is very good, and the premise is great.  Let me know if you've read this one and what you thought?  Enlighten me to what I missed!  I may try to read more from these authors just to get further into the weird, because I mean, perhaps it's a me problem. 

 STATS

First Published : February 13, 2024

Pages: 368

Available as an Audio Book : YES 

Trigger Warnings:  pandemic, death, profanity, alcohol, parental death

As always - this is not a complete list, read responsibly!