Bouncing Off the Moon

From Publishers WeeklyNebula Award winner Gerrold doesn't disappoint in this follow-up to 2000's Jumping Off the Planet. Charles "Chigger" Dingillian and his brothers believe they can get along well enough without their recently divorced parents, if they just stick together. They move off Earth and discover that a robot monkey given to the youngest of them possesses a computer far more advanced than might be required of a toy. In fact the computer is of a power that could make trillions of dollars for the owner. The youth of the protagonists automatically reminds one of Heinlein's juveniles. Though it is doubtful that the convoluted science here could be followed by Heinlein's targeted 12- to 14-year-olds, it really doesn't matter, because the real story is that of being thrust into a world that is adult indeed. After Chigger and his brothers leave Earth just in time to escape a plague that results in social and economic collapse, new friends lead them aboard an automated cargo pod bound for the moon. The moon is an unforgiving and potentially deadly environment, but the brothers soon wonder whether several mishaps are just that or deliberate attempts at murder. As the story continues, the line that divides friend from foe becomes more and more indistinct in this engaging, believable and eventually riveting book from the author revered for his immensely popular Star Trek teleplay, "The Trouble with Tribbles." (Apr. 12) Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. FromAs the even more Heinlein-indebted sequel to Jumping off the Planet (2000) develops, the three young Dingillian brothers, aided by loquacious money launderer Alexei Krislov, must sneak off Geosynchronous Station to the moon. There they take a long hike across the rugged surface, which abounds with technological and natural wonders, and meet more perils than Pauline ever faced, as well as suspected human treachery on all sides. They barely run that gauntlet, only to fall into the hands of the legal authorities, who, acting on behalf of would-be claimants, seek the youngest brother's robot monkey for what it contains--one of the most advanced artificial intelligences in existence. Thanks to a libertarian judge and the AI, acting as machina ex deo, so to speak, the ending is extravagantly happy. Charlie Dingillian, the narrator, remains a convincing, complex 13-year-old, and his portrayal of his family's dysfunctioning still rings true, though the sequel lacks the exuberant creativity and tight narrative of its predecessor. Roland GreenCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved