Back to the Moon: A Novel (Hardcover)

by Homer Hickam (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Space is the final frontier--and its mysteries have fascinated Homer H. Hickam since childhood. In 1957, at age 14, he built his first rocket--and so began his space-age career, which eventually led to an engineering job at NASA. But in 1998, his calling blasted off in a new, unexpected way with the release of a bestselling memoir, Rocket Boys, (made into the mesmerizing movie, October Sky). Now, with Back to the Moon, the man-of-science-turned-memoirist dabbles in the world of fiction.

Despite its high-tech premise and lunar locale--Back to the Moon is no science fiction saga. It is, instead, a fast-paced technological thriller--filled with exceptional scientific know-how. (The author describes how spices are essential for astronauts because the normal aroma of food does not "drift into the sinuses or caress the palate in a microgravity environment.")

The space shuttle Columbia has been hijacked by an ex-astronaut and former employee of NASA, Jack Medaris. But Jack is by no means the bad guy--he has simply grown disillusioned with NASA, with its "timid" bureaucracy that no longer works for the good of mankind. Earth's supply of fuel is in jeopardy, and Jack believes that the moon holds the secrets of an alternative source of power. But a shady organization called the Millennium group is determined to stop the space shuttle from reaching the moon. As the shuttle hurtles through the galaxy, the renegade astronaut battles to steer the ship towards its destination. He also fights to keep himself from falling in love with one of the ship's crew members--a feisty female astronaut named Penny High Eagle.

Even if the plot complexities seems to defy gravity at times, Back to the Moon still dares to tread where few thrillers have gone before--into space. --Naomi Gesinger

From Publishers Weekly
From the informed imagination of the author of Rocket Boys: A Memoir (finalist for an NBCC Award; made into the movie October Sky), Hickham's fanciful debut novel reads like an Indiana Jones adventure-in-space. It's 2002 on Cedar Key, Fla., and former NASA engineer Jack Medaris's high-tech company makes plans to send a rocket to the moon. The mission is to bring back a quantity of the rare isotope helium-3 to power a reactor that will supply the earth with clean fusion energy for centuries to come. When the space vehicle is destroyed by shadowy conspirators, Jack decides to "legally" hijack the space shuttle Columbia. Just before Columbia takes off on its meticulously planned orbit mission, the renegade astronauts attempt to displace the scheduled crew, an unlikely all-female bunch Hickam has rendered ridiculous by portraying them as catfighting shrews. In the fracas, Jack's veteran shuttle pilot is fatally wounded and the Native American prima donna Penny High EagleAa gorgeous celebrity biologist, bestselling author and the object of contempt from the original female crewAwinds up in space with Jack. With romance blossoming in zero gravity, international forces collide as a sinister fossil-fuel consortium conspires to destroy the shuttle. Onetime NASA-engineer Hickam packs his narrative with complicated space-program minutiae, risking his readers' comprehension of the wild plot. Riddled with space jargon acronyms (LEM, EVA, etc.), the cosmic romp both enthralls and numbs. But as Hickam's tale heats up, the reader's tenacity pays off, and the rocket ride achieves high velocity. Major ad/promo; author tour. (June)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (June 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385334222
• ISBN-13: 978-0385334228
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (78 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,171,943 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grand adventure, March 28, 2000

By A Customer

I really liked Mr. Hickam's book. I also read Rocket Boys. This is a different kind of book - an adult space thriller. He kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It's a love story, too, and a darned good one. I've worked in the space industry for a lot of years and this book comes as close as you're going to get how things really work inside NASA. Sure, Hickam has things happening that have never been done before but his characters are right on authentic. And I'm with him. Let's go back to the moon!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Hickam for national pundit!, November 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Back to the Moon: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I found this a really good read, filled with interesting characters and a great plot.

It starts out with a highjacking of the space shuttle. Hickam has enough inside knowledge to make that perfectly plausible. There is a lot of work in space suits involved, something Hickam apparently was involved in a lot at NASA. Penny High Eagle, the payload specialist, is a great and sympathetic characture. Paco the cat who's aboard is a funny touch. There's a lot of fun to this novel. I think a lot of it is tongue in cheek that some reviewers can't figure out. It definitely is not boring and is a real page-turner.

It is very thought-provoking about the "Star Wars" killer satellites around the moon, plausible, too.

In a lot of ways, this novel is a love story. Jack wants most of all to go to find a message on the moon from his late wife. Yet, his wife never went to the moon so how could it be there? I teared up when I read what Jack actually finds there.

I noticed a note on a review about a pistol being fired in space. Gun powder does not require air to burn. It contains all the ingredients in it to work in a vacuum. A form of gun powder, after all, is what is used in solid fuel rockets! As for a space-suited astronaut getting his finger on the trigger, a .45 caliber pistol has plenty of room in its trigger guard. Recoil is a problem but Hickam has his astronaut well wedged in.

I enjoyed rummaging around the old Apollo 17 site with Medaris. Some really good writing here.

All in all, much recommended. Let there be no doubt that Homer Hickam knows how to write a novel. I love all his books. Remember, even his memoirs are written as novels

Keep it up, Mister Hickam! Can't wait for the Back to the Moon movie!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A novel written while Hickam was developing his skills, November 20, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Back to the Moon: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

First off, this was written before Hickam's Rocket Boys according to his web site even though it came out afterwards. Clearly, when he wrote this novel, Hickam was just developing his skills as a writer. Still, even though it's dated (he uses the ill-fated shuttle Columbia for this trip to the moon) this is a very good book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hickam's inside knowledge of NASA makes it a unique book. I think his tongue was very much in cheek most of the time while he was writing this but I still get the idea that the characters are based on real people he knew while working for the agency. After reading the novel, I felt as if I actually knew each and every one of the people in this book from old gruff Sam the head of mission control to Cecil the lawyer. I especially liked Cecil. He's a great character and is a good example of Hickam's development while writing this book into the great novelist he's become. Like his latest novel, The Keeper's Son, this is a novel filled with action and adventure but it is also a love story, too, and a good one. Not only is there love between the hero Jack Medaris and the beautiful Amerindian science reporter Penny High Eagle aboard the shuttle but there is also the memory of love still with Jack's dead wife who was also a rocket scientist. The scenes on the moon were especially well done. Hickam makes you feel as if you really are there. And the idea of having Jack walking around the old Apollo 17 site was pure genius. How lonely it must be there in reality. Hickam gave me that sense but also wrote it with wonder and hope. Then when Penny joins him and Jack reads the letter (I won't tell you who it's from), I got goose bumps! Even then, Hickam's talent was very impressive in his ability to make you feel for his characters. I read this novel in one long reading and was very impressed, especially since I've read Hickam's most recent work. He is a much better writer now and it's interesting to see his early work as he learned his trade. I look forward to reading all of his work from here on and I certainly don't hold this early effort against him. Read it for what it is and simply enjoy the ride.