gilda_elise

Jerry Culpepper was proud to be NASA's public affairs director, long after the first moon landing, budget cutbacks, and public disinterest. Now a 50-year old secret about the Apollo XI mission embroils him in controversy and tests his willingness to spin the truth about a conspiracy of reality-altering proportions.

The blurb notwithstanding, it turned out that Culpepper doesn’t entirely remain the focus of the story. Once he turns coat, he’s replaced with his boss, Morgan “Bucky” Blackstone (Bucky? Really?), a rather sanctimonious, self aggrandizer, who thinks he knows more than anyone else…and, of course, the story is set up to try to make the reader think that, too. But if I had to read one more time that he had a smug look on his face, or have to put up with one more cutesy “You’re fired,” wordplay with an employee, well, it would have been very difficult to finish the book from the other side of the room.

Which would have been a shame, because the storyline is an intriguing one. Is NASA, or the US government, hiding a secret? Were there moon landings previous to that of Armstrong-Aldrin? Then there’s the sort of parallel story in which we learn about the world they live in, our very possible future. I found that part very readable. Probably because it’s seen mostly through the eyes of President Cunningham, a likable and well drawn character. I have mixed feelings about the ending, but, all in all, I found it a pleasant, if somewhat flawed, novel.