Bookworm Speaks!- Crater by Homer Hickam Review

Bookworm Speaks!

Crater (A Helium-3 Novel) 

By Homer Hickham

****

The Story: It’s the 22nd Century. A tough, pioneering people mine the moon for Helium-3 to produce energy for a desperate, war-torn Earth.

Sixteen-year-old Crater Trueblood loves his job as a Helium-3 miner. But when he saves a fellow miner, his life changes forever. Impressed by his heroism, the owner of the mine orders Crater to undertake a dangerous mission. Crater doubts himself, but has no choice. He must go.

With the help of Maria, the mine owner’s frustrating but gorgeous granddaughter, and his gillie—a sentient and sometimes insubordinate clump of slime mold cells—Crater must fight both human and subhuman enemies. He’ll battle his way across a thousand miles of deadly lunar terrain and face genetically altered super warriors in his quest to recover an astonishing object that will alter the lives of everyone on the moon.

The Good: The good thing about this book is the setting. The Moon is a much a character as any of the named characters. The setting simply breathes with personality and character. The author has created a world 238,900 miles away from Earth that would not be out of place in the wilds of western United States in the eighteenth century. Company owned towns of miners, trade caravans, indigenous natives with strange customs, morally ambiguous Sheriff’s, outlaws, all playing out on a rough and dangerous terrain. A spaghetti western on the Final Frontier!

The scientific angle is very well done. The setting and technology are very realistic and very plausible. The challenges of living on Earth’s satellite and the technology that would be utilized to do so never feel like they fall to handwaving, the book follows in a proud Hard Scifi tradition. There are some fantastical elements here and there but that can be explained by the rapid technological developments of the next century.

One of the best parts of the story is Crater’s gillie, for its personality and how it sometimes clashes with Crater’s. Actually, in the real world, there is a possibility of utilizing slime molds in computing as replacement for more delicate components. While it should come as no surprise considering the author, it is clear that he did his homework on appropriate scientific trends. 

Crater is a somewhat naive character who was raised on the Moon. This makes him unique among myriad of characters native to YA. He has everyman quality that makes him appealing to the American ideal of the honest dignity of the working class. He just wants to do his job and not cause any trouble. He is content with his lot in life. That is the main strength of the entire novel in that Crater is forced out of his comfortable existence and forced to grow in ways he never imagined. 

The Flaws: The biggest problem with this book is the main character at times. Crater is very much a nice guy, as a result he comes off as a Gary Stu in a lot of places. Crater is not a typical sixteen year old, and while that does earn points for originality, part of the appeal of teenage protagonists is that they are relatable on some level. Crater’s contentment is definitely not relatable to any sixteen year old. The fact that he is so nice, sometimes causes frustration with the character in the reader. Then again, provoking frustration is sometimes better than boredom, but it can turn off readers if the writer is not careful. Some of the other character’s can come off as a little flat in some places. Perhaps the intention is to save personal development for the sequels, but the mark of a good series is that every book can stand on its own. 

Perhaps the ‘Old West’ motif is played up a little too much in some places. It can definitely be seen that such an environment would arise as the Moon is very far away from any government authority but the Wild West stuff can become a little cornball. Remember, most of the Wild West tropes were invented by Hollywood screenwriters. 

While the science of the setting is done well, it would seem that the lesser gravity thing has not been explored as thoroughly as it could have been. It may simply be too complicated a factor to work within the story efficiently. On that not, this story is fun on the surface, but the reader might be a little disappointed if they try to dig deeper. Many elements in the story are not thoroughly explained, leaving the reader to figure it out for themselves. 

Final Verdict: Crater is an excellent start of the series for readers both young and old. Anyone who has a thirst for adventure in a plausible future will delight in the wonders of Luna. 

Giddy-up!

Four out of Five Stars.