My first book read in 2014 is complete! 172 hours on the moon or Darlah as it is known in other countries is a sci-fi/horror book written by Norwegian author Johan Harstad . It is set in the year 2019 and follows 3 teenagers who are given the opportunity to spend 172 hours of the moon with a number of other astronauts.
Throughout the book we are reading through the perspective of these three teenagers which usually I would find a little confusing however because they are of different sexes and of country origin it makes it a lot smoother to read.
The layout of this book I find really interesting and visually pleasing. It is split into three sections which group the three different stages of the book:pre launch, in space and back on earth. At various stages in the book there are full pages which show a picture or diagram which help to support the sometimes lacking detail. At some points I felt the author could of set the scene or location better therefor these images really helped not only to fill this gap in the book but to also visualise it from the point that we ourselves haven't visited the moon and that makes it even harder to imagine.( Quick note that in my book these pages would transfer the ink like crazy and I would get thumbprints on various other pages).
Personally I would of loved to of heard more about the teenagers training process prior to the launch as I feel this was just skimmed over and referenced here and there; however in the grand scheme of the book it didn't harm the plot line not to be included.
Throughout this book there is a second small side story that we keep coming back to of an old man in a retiring home called Mr. Himmelfarb, we get the feeling that he knows something about the real reason for the mission and this is revealed towards the end of the book.
I felt this story really kept me gripped especially from part 2 when they are in space. Harstad would include little sentences here and there that made me really question Nasa's reason for going back to the moon and what or who is really out there! I find the idea of being in space scary and this book really reenforced that to the point it would give me chills. I found that the last third of this story was really unpredictable and was surprised that it was wrapped up so quickly. I found the ending a little confusing and even had to look on wikipedia to fully understand it! I do feel that this book could of been given a sequel if it didn't' have the end mission statement which helps to wrap it up.
Overall I found this a really interesting stand alone book despite it having a little less character and location building than I would of liked.
Pages: 368
I give this book a 4/5
If you liked the "Across the Universe" trilogy you may like this book.
Sophie
