by Algis Budrys
ISBN: 978-0-575-10800-4
First published: 1960
175 pages
Publisher: www.orionbooks.co.uk
Cover illustration by Dominic Harman
5/5 Stars
A thoughtful and carefully crafted sci-fi story. The title ‘Rogue Moon’ doesn’t really encapsulate what the novel is about. Reading in 2024, 64 years later, is reading a story set in the past, with the dreams and imagination of those at the cutting edge of 1960’s science.
It is fun to read as we see the main characters burdened by post-WWII expectations and then get challenged by an anomaly found on the moon.
However, the anomaly is less important as what man will do to get there. Nine chapters to reveal that.
It shares some similarities to The Prestige, written 35 years later. It also takes the idea of teleportation to its natural conclusion (something which Star Trek never did).
The question is, would man, and moreover, what man, would live with those consequences?
The Eclectic Book Review 