Waste of Space

Moon Base Alpha #3

by Stuart Gibbs

Tensions are running high when multi-billionaire Lars Sjoburg is poisoned and everyone is looking to Dash Gibson to solve the case in this third and final book in the New York Times bestselling Moon Base Alpha series.

Moon Base Alpha was supposed to be an exciting place to live, but Dashiell Gibson didn’t expect for it to be this exciting. He’s already had to solve a murder and locate a missing moon base commander. Now, he just wants to have a calm, quiet thirteenth birthday. But, of course, trillionaire (and total pain) Lars Sjoburg ruins it—by being poisoned.

Now there’s another potential killer loose on Moon Base Alpha, and Dash is forced to identify the most likely suspects. Suddenly Dash finds himself with a target on his back. Whoever poisoned Lars will stop at nothing to keep his—or her—identity a secret.

Genres: Mystery, Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Fiction, Audiobook, Childrens, Space

368 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2018

Reviews

[Snazzy Reads]

I'm sad this is the end of the series!

[Jill Berry]

Not sure why Gibbs introduces a homosexual relationship between two adult men. It adds nothing to the plot and seems to be added simply to make a social statement in a book that is otherwise a great choice for advanced elementary readers. Even though there is nothing explicit, teachers and librarians should be aware of this.

[Mark Baker]

When someone tries to poison Lars Sjoberg, no one is really surprised. This trillionaire has rubbed everyone the wrong way since he arrived on Moon Base Alpha. In fact, the real question becomes who didn’t want the man dead. Dashiell Gibson is roped into helping with the investigation. How did the poison get on base? And who tried to kill Lars?

This is another fantastic mystery for kids of all ages. The setting is creative, fun, and realistically handled. The mystery is great with good twists and turns. I did feel the pacing slowed down a little in the middle for a series long sub-plot, but that is a minor complaint. The characters are still strong, and there are moments that are guaranteed to make kids laugh and cheer. This is our final trip to the moon with these characters, and the series is wrapped up in a very satisfying way.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Leo]

This series was a fun cozy mystery for middle grade and pre teens and I'm sad this is the end, was fun following Dash Gibson on his crime solving adventure on the moon base. I'm curious to read other books by Stuart Gibson and see if they are just as fun.

[angela]

In my honest opinion, this wasn't very well written. Maybe I just didn't how terrible the writing was in previous books, or Stuart Gibbs suddenly lost his writing ability. I mean, he can write books, but it isn't very well written. Please don't take any of my comments as hate, these are just me commenting on the book as a reader. Also, there may be a few spoilers, so be warned when reading.

Things I Didn't Like

1. When he put in extra letters to show that someone was stretching out the word.

"'Whyyyyyy nooooooooot?' Violet would whine. 'I'm bored inside. There's nothing to do on the moon.'"

Waste of Space, chapter one, page five

"Suddenly there was a howl of rage outside the room. It sounded like it had to come from the other side of MBA, but was loud enough to echo throughout the base. 'Niiiiiiinnnnnaaaaaaa!!!!'
There was only one person at MBA who ever made a sound like that: Lars Sjoberg."

Waste of Space, chapter 11, page 169

This ticked me off. A lot. I hate to see all of those extra letters in a professional, published book. Who needs nine o's in one word? Or four exclamation marks? I'm not a very experienced writer, but if I had written this book, I would have fixed the first quote to say "'Why not?' Violet would whine, stretching out the words to prove her exasperation." Or something like that.

2. How perfect Dashiell Gibson is
I mean, he has no flaws. Have you noticed that? Out of all Moonies, he is the one that gets targeted in each book. I feel like Stuart Gibbs is trying to make that a flaw, but it actually isn't. It just gives him more attention, to the attention that he already has. In this book, Nina actually asks him for help. Before, Dash just butted in with any help and managed to solve each mystery. In my opinion, I don't think it's possible for a twelve-year-old, oh sorry, a thirteen-year-old to solve mysteries before professional NASA scientists could. I don't think it was very realistic that Nina would do that.

"'That's better,' Dr. Balnikov said, then pointed at me. 'Who are you?'
'Dashiell.'
There were a few hushed gasps over the radio. People seemed surprised that I was the one who had been attacked."

Waste of Space, chapter 18, page 261

Two things: Why the heck are you surprised that he was attacked? He's the one with the most attacks on his life on the entire MBA; you should have expected this by now.

3. The lack of showing, not telling
Did you see that last quote? "People seemed surprised that I was the one who had been attacked." Couldn't he have shown us? I mean, he started to, by saying that there were hushed gasps over the radio, but then he just ruined it by saying that people seemed to be surprised. And, this wasn't the only time! If you read it, you'll find some, but frankly, I'm too lazy to go looking for another quote.

5. How the mystery was solved
All of a sudden, when Dash was retelling the attack, he told everyone that Lars poisoned himself and then everyone just believed him. His evidence was only logic, there was no actual evidence. It does make sense though. But, they never showed us when he came up with this theory. It just suddenly comes up. I wish Stuart Gibbs had written more of how he had come to his solution since we are in Dash's head.

6. How the voices of the characters blend together
I wish there was more diversity in how the people talked. If you just took a quote, without the dialogue tags, you wouldn't be able to tell who said it. That's just me though, I don't know if that really matters.

Again, please don't take this as hate, this is just my personal opinion on the book. I think this book is good for elementary grade children, since, from my experience, they don't really care how well it's written, as long as it keeps them interested. If you enjoy Stuart Gibbs' books, such as Spy School, Fun Jungle, and other Moon Base Alpha books, you may enjoy this one. I personally didn't enjoy it as much as the other books because I realized everything wrong with it, though. Thank you for reading!

[Emma Ann]

I had no idea that this was the last book in the series until I finished it, and I’m not sure whether my dissatisfaction with the ending comes from the ending itself, or from my desire for Gibbs to write a million more of these Moon Base Alpha mysteries. I think a little of both.

Very few of the series’ main questions are resolved by the time we hit the end of the book’s main plot, which means that the epilogue has to do a TON of heavy lifting. I didn’t hate it—stuff does get resolved—but I would have preferred to see the events of the epilogue expanded into another book, or two, or three.

[Kari Burke]

Disappointing.....on so many levels. But especially because Mr. Gibbs decided it was appropriate to use a middle grade sci-fi mystery book to push an agenda on our kids. Homosexuality is not a subject I want my 8 1/2 year old to be exposed to yet- and if it was, I'd want to discuss it with her myself. I'd definitely not want to introduce the subject by having it subtly shoved down her throat in a book I consider to be nothing more than mind-candy/fluff that I let her read for fun.

[Charlie Newman]

This book was incredible the mystery was super fun. A really good book for sure.

[Holli Keel]

Cute ending. This was a fun series, and I’ll continue to read this author. Good pick for a middle grade reader.

Also, since some (very few, which is great, but still) people are upset that the author included a gay scientist in this one, I have to say that I was extremely happy he wrote it this way. Representation matters. It was a tiny part of the book, it’s for young kids, so there’s nothing racy or anything. Just a smart character who happens to be gay. Kudos to the author for that. (He also writes characters of various races in this one, which I also appreciated.)

[Eliza]

Read it, skimmed it, same thing.



Conclusion: I saw the end coming from a mile away, but still a fun, quick read.

[fantastykon]

Autor po raz kolejny wciągnął mnie do wykreowanego przez siebie świata. Co ja tu mam dużo mówić, jeszcze żadna napisana przez niego książka mnie nie rozczarowała! W przypadku „Afery w kosmosie” nie było inaczej.

Komediowa narracja głównego bohatera oraz intrygujące przestępstwo sprawiły, że nie mogłam oderwać się od czytania. Dodatkowo, cała seria miała w sobie coś takiego, że w każdym tomie odnajdywałam ciepło i komfort. I to mimo sporej ilości akcji, rosnącego napięcia oraz niejednej groźnej sytuacji, w której znajdował się główny bohater wraz z przyjaciółmi.

Ale uwaga, jest jedna rzecz, z którą nie mogę się pogodzić i do której muszę się przyczepić:

Dlaczego ta seria musiała się skończyć po zaledwie trzech tomach?!

Apeluję o napisanie kolejnych dziesięciu. To jest zbyt fajne, żeby miało już się kończyć!

Poważnie, gdy przeczytałam epilog jakoś tak smutno mi się zrobiło🥺. Niby dobrze domknął on tę trylogię, ale mimo wszystko… jak ja nie lubię takich dużych przeskoków czasowych.

Wiecie jednak, co jest dziwne?

Gdybyście zapytali mnie, czy jest to jedna z moich ulubionych serii, to powiedziałabym, że nie. Bo czytałam lepsze. Jednakże mam wrażenie, że te „lepsze” książki szybko przeczytałam i szybko o nich zapomniałam. Fakt, tę niepozorną, teoretycznie dziecięcą serię przeczytałam jeszcze szybciej, ale wydaje mi się, że wspomnienia z czytania jej zostaną ze mną na dłużej. Czy to za sprawą świetnych bohaterów, czy innych, wyżej wymienionych powodów, tego nie wiem.

Wiem za to, że z całą pewnością mogę ją wam polecić🤗

[Melanie Dulaney]

Dashiell, Violet, Kira and all the other Moonies are still on Moon Base Alpha and murder and mayhem once again abound amidst all the science nerds and their families. This time someone tries to do what everyone has been thinking about doing since their arrival on the moon—kill Lars Sjoberg to stop the whining, yelling, and demanding! After proving himself a capable detective in the first two installments of the series, base commander Nina actually asks Dash to do some investigating while she deals with some more serious (!!!) issues on the station. Kira is, of course, anxious to jump right into a new adventure and even Violet has a significant role in this one. Extraterrestrial Zan pops into Dash’s mind throughout in her attempt to decipher human behavior and determine whether or not the species is worthy of receiving a solution to the impending doom that is on the horizon for planet Earth. All that might sound like too much going on in just one book, but Stuart Gibbs has once again created a highly entertaining story for 5th-8th graders that comes across as absolutely possible despite its currently implausible sci-fi plot. Dash is a strong positive character, intelligent, friendly, and a great older brother, but one with an adventurous, virtual reality game playing side that readers will find easy to connect to. I have thoroughly enjoyed all three MBA books and was more than a little disappointed when this one (and likely the series???) ended. For full disclosure, there are a few pages that may make this one difficult for some libraries or parents to purchase as one character reveals his homosexuality and Gibbs includes a few paragraphs discussing how America was once not so accepting of such a lifestyle choice. Outside of that, Waste of Space is free of foul language, extreme violence, or sexual content. (Review of DRC from Edelweiss Plus)

[CR]

Cream of the crop

Amazing book! Definitely tops the series; unlike other series, Gibbs sets the bar high, but manages to raise it each time, introducing plot twists, new characters/murderers, and new awesome ideas, and when combined, you get the MBA series. I must say I didn't expect this to be as good, thinking that he couldn't possibly meet the expectations of his previous books. However, I was proven wrong within the first page of the book. I'm not gonna say why cause I don't wanna spoil it. Gibbs launches right into the action, but still produces 250+ high-quality pages of content, making for a shorter but enjoyable read. I would highly recommend this author, the series, and this book specifically, even if you must pay $10 for it. I have two things I'm wondering: was Gibbs inspired by his name for Gibson? And, did Lars actually attempt suicide, or was it Lily all along? Or did Lily try but failed and it was Lars? Anyway, an amazing book for all ages.

[Emiko]

Thank you, Stuart Gibbs. I usually would never write a review, but this book is absolutely extraordinary. As a teenager from a close-minded state, it’s very rare to see any representation of LGBT characters in a positive light. The character’s sexuality was integrated into the story so normally. There wasn’t an fuss. We were seen as normal people. You cannot imagine how much it meant to me, to finally see myself represented, by my favorite author no less. Thank you, thank you so so much Stuart Gibbs. Those few pages may not be a lot compared to your other amazing works of literature but to me, they meant the world. Sincerely, a bisexual teenager.

[Dana Juliette]

When I started reading this series I didn’t realize the target audience was middle schoolers. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this series! The perspective of a younger narrator was fun to me. The narrative was action packed and laugh out loud funny. The series built upon itself in exciting and interesting ways. It was joyful for me to read a book I would have enjoyed reading when I was younger. The inverse of rereading your favorite childhood books!

[Leigh Anne]

We have loved the Stuart Gibbs books. This book surprised me by introducing homesexuality about half way through the book. It wasn't a conversation I was ready to have with my kids. Please be aware that this book has that topic in it so you'll be ready to discuss if your kids have questions.

[Veronica]

great

[Carla]

I liked this better than #2, fascinating ideas about alien life forms, but the first book was still the best.

[Chan Fry]

This time involving the poisoning of a wealthy but unlikable (do I repeat myself?) space tourist, the conclusion to the Moon Base Alpha trilogy was just as enjoyable as the first two. It reads quickly without being simple, has a decent mystery, and is a great introduction to science fiction (and/or space travel in general) for children of a certain age.

(I’ve updated the review on my website to include the entire trilogy.)

[Nic]

Actual rating 4.5/5

[Hanna Bogdan]

3.25 ⭐️
Szczerze ostatecznie nie jestem fanką wątku kosmitów w tej książce i rozczarowało mnie wprowadzenie związku homoseksualnego do książki dla dzieci przez autora która zadeklarował że tego nie będzie robił. Poza tym naprawdę kocham tę serię 🫶🏻

[Teagan Murphy]

I’m screaming (out of joy), laughing and wanting so much more.

[Jude Angus]

This space series by Stuart Gibbs was probably one of my most favorite series ever. I love space so much, and I think Gibbs has a good ideal as to what aliens could be like. In all the books, but especially the third book in the Moon Base Alpha series, Gibbs is very detailed, descriptive, you learn a lot of stuff you really don't know (you can tell he puts a lot of research into it), and he's just such a good author. In all of these space books, it's easy to follow what's happening, and every chapter leaves you off with a good cliffhanger that makes you have to read the next chapter. I couldn't put this book down. I recommend reading these books to anyone who likes space. Also try Stuart Gibbs' other series (I recommend these book series too). Charlie Thorne (which has four books). And Spy School (which has 13 books so far).

[Annette]

Review by James, age 9, 1/5/19

This is the third book in a series about a moon base. In this book it is in the main character's birthday. For his present his dad goes onto the surface with him, which really is not allowed. But that was his present. Nina, the base commander, catches them and tells them to come inside immediately because they're violating a dozen safety codes. The dad explains that it's his son's birthday and asks for 5 more minutes. Nina says "no," and he mentions that the main character had saved Nina's life. She says "yes." Then they hear a scream. They ask what it was, and Nina answers "come inside right now, this is a direct order!" Lars Sonja is a billionaire who paid lots of money for his family to be the first moon tourists. His family has treated everyone horribly, messed up the robotics system in the base, and stole greenhouse stuff. It is found that he was poisoned. There had already been one murder on the base. Nina blackmails the main character to investigate and find out who did the poisoning.
I loved this book. I recommend it to outer space and mystery lovers.

Mom's note: This book contained a gay couple, carefully and sympathetically presented. The characters' sexuality was not in particular central to the plot, just "a thing." Indeed, the main character states that he was "more surprised that the rules of the moon base prevented dating than that they were dating each other." My 9 year old son didn't even know what "gay" meant - we are homeschoolers who get to learn some of these things at our own pace. An interesting conversation was provoked. Depending on your feelings about having such conversations or having these types of relationships presented as normative, you may wish to be aware of this before letting your kid at this book.

[Michelle]

Okay, here is what took this potentially "kid-centric sci-fi thriller" to a Waste of Space for me:

You do NOT put a just-turned-13-today boy and his 12-year-old friend into a room alone with an adult male character who announces his homosexuality, then names his partner (though any romantic relationships are not permitted in the book) then describes the difficulties of having a homosexual relationship in tight quarters under the eye of NASA with this partner. You just DON'T. (Oh, then ask the kids not to tell anyone.) What kind of political agenda do Gibbs & his editors have that they would think this is a scene that adds anything to a book other than discomfort and inappropriateness? Plot points about ANY adult's sexual business do not belong in a book people have recommended for 8 year old.

There's more:

The head of the space station asks this child, yet again, to keep his dealings with her secret, to the extent he is to spy on his own parents. Also, she threatens his family if he does not comply.

Gibbs has created this smugly-equal society yet women and children still hypenate their names but men do not upon marriage.

The continued bias against body-positiveness: the lazy, bad kids are overweight and the hero is buff as Superman. The kid with weight issues is not given guidance or support -- only scorn.

The continued racism: the only white characters are "jerks [for] life" and behave abysmally.

Sorry, but I won't be stocking this on my shelves because it goes way too far to be considered appropriate for any child.

[Sarah]

This was a fantastic ending to the trilogy.

BACKSTORY ON ME AND THIS SERIES:
I first found this series in 2016, and I practically flew through SPACE CASE and SPACED OUT. When I finished SPACED OUT, I just had to know if there was going to be a third one, and I saw the title, and then, I saw the release date...SPRING OF 2018?! How was I supposed to wait that long?! As the two years went by, I went hearing more and more about it, until finally...April 24 of 2018 came, and I got my book.

And let me tell you that it was everything I was expecting it to be.

First off, I feel like the whole idea of the mystery was very well done, as was the evacuation aspect of it, and the ending was great,

And as always, loved the interactions between Dash and Zan. Hilarious and heartfelt, as always.

So, you may be asking yourself: geez, Violet, if you loved it that much...why is it a four-star book and not a five star?

HERE’S WHY: while I felt that the mystery was done very well, I wasn’t too fond of the way it was resolved. I’m still confused as to who actually poisoned Lars. I’m still quite fuzzy on whether it was Lily or Lars himself.

Also, uh, warning for parents: one of the adults is revealed to be gay, so yeah, if that’s an issue then I’d skip this one.

Overall, though, I really liked it.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book*]

Gibbs, Stuart Waste of Space (Moon Base Alpha #3), 321 pages. Simon & Schuster, 2018. $17. Language: G (1 swear); Mature Content: G (LGBT character); Violence: PG (non-graphic attack and danger).

Dash’s birthday has arrived and his Dad sneaks him out for a secret moon birthday celebration. Their epic game of catch is cut short, however, when someone starts screaming - someone in side the base has tried to poison the despicable Lars Sjoberg. That means that the suspect list is much too long. Commander nina has ordered Dash to help her with the investigation. But besides the distraction of his birthday, Dash still has to meet with his alien friend Zan, and cope with the base-wide failure of their oxygen systems.

Gibbs ends his excellent Moon Base Alpha series with a bang. The epilogue adds just the right touch as a peek into the Moonies’ futures, too. I will miss Dash and his friends.

EL, MS - ESSENTIAL. Cindy, Library teacher
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...

[Hunter Satterfield]

This is the third and final book in the MBA series by Gibbs. I felt this was the weakest of the 12+ Gibbs's books I have read. The MBA series has less humor that the other two series by him which doesn't help when the plot of this one dragged on. I still loved the science aspect of this and the ability it has to teach middle grade readers advanced concepts in a lighthearted way. I especially thought the ending was excellent in talking about quantum physics and the potential for 4D travel.

One note - this is an excellent case of why I pre-read a lot of my kids' stuff. Towards the end of the book one of the characters comes out as being homosexual. It is not forced on the reader, but there is clearly an agenda by Gibbs as this didn't need to be in the book. It adds nothing to the plot and is unnecessary. It is helpful to know this is in the book to push this off for my younger kids to read and to foster conversation with my older son. It won't prevent me from reading Gibbs in the future, but just a fair warning for parents.

[diana]

Stop it. This book is so so so good this whole series is amazing and I know I’ve already said it in my other reviews but like I can’t stress it enough like. I had lowkey forgotten what had happened in this book so reading it felt new and I was not disappointed it had me HOOOKEDDDD like I was visibly reacting bro this book is so good, the way it’s written, how the characters are portrayed THE ENDINGGGG OMGGGGG I want moreeee but like I know why Stuart Gibbs made the ending what he did it was so good and so so nice to read but like I’m lowkey gunna miss it like I need more 😞 Overall it closed out really well and it was amazing, THERE 100% NEEDS TO BE A TV SHOW ADAPTATION LIKE PLEASEEEE IT WOULD BE SO AMAZINGGG. Anyway I love this book, I love this series, will forever be one of my favorites ❤️

[Christine Lucia Asha]

This series was sooooo good. This is the third and last book. I wish there were more. Made me think about us humans, how we take everything for granted: our easy lives, our ease of over-using the earth, our huge disdain for caring for other creatures and and any life that is not ours.

Beautiful characters and storylines. Would be a great graphic novel series or movie.

#wearnotalone #greenliving #humansneedpeace