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A coming of age story set on the moon, Moonstroke shines with adolescent fortitude, adventure, and determination. A mission set on the moon to mine for platinum is ended when a solar flare severs communication with Earth and kills all but three adults and thirty-seven orphans. As the orphans become old enough they are sentenced to a life in the mines, serving under the managers who have special privileges including access to knowledge and use of precious resources like frequent showering despite the need to preserve water. With deliberately limited education, the teenagers live a life of servitude never knowing what else is out there until visitors from Iran land on the moon and begin communications. Corruption is afoot and quickly spirals out of control in this fast-paced and engaging novel. Alliances form out of necessity, but meaningful friendships endure.
Man has long been fascinated with the outer reaches of the cosmos, a frontier full of possibilities. Readler's new novel captures the essence of our primal infatuation with space as well as our inevitable greed for wealth and position at the expense of anyone else who gets in our way. With a cast of characters informed by but not indebted to the great star explorers of our recent cinematic past, Readler creates a rich dramatic world inhabited by familiar, but original archetypes. A keen ear for dialogue, strong connection to popular culture, and a finely-honed sense of interpersonal dynamics in tense situations ensure that the book will land well with its intended audience of millennials.