Dead Man on the Moon

LCSI: Luna City Special Investigations #1

by Steven Harper, Steven Piziks

Sci-Fi Meets CSI. When humanity's only moon colony suffers its first murder, it's up to the forensic experts of Luna City Special Investigations to solve the case.

When the body of a man without a space suit is discovered on the airless surface of the moon, Luna City investigator and newcomer Noah Skyler struggles to identify the victim as well as the reasons for his death. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2006

About the author

A pseudonym of Steven Piziks

Steven Harper Piziks was born with a name that no one can reliably spell or pronounce, so he often writes under the pen name Steven Harper. He lives in Michigan with his family. When not at the keyboard, he plays the folk harp, fiddles with video games, and pretends he doesn’t talk to the household cats. In the past, he’s held jobs as a reporter, theater producer, secretary, and substitute teacher. He maintains that the most interesting thing about him is that he writes books.

Steven is the creator of The Silent Empire series, the Clockwork Empire steampunk series, and the Books of Blood and Iron series for Roc Books. All four Silent Empire novels were finalists for the Spectrum Award, a first!

Reviews

[Leigh Kimmel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is marketed as the first of a series, but I've never found any trace of further volumes, and it's been over a decade since it was published. Perhaps the sales numbers simply weren't what the publisher wants to see, so they declined to contract any further volumes, but they're getting just enough sales that they won't revert the rights so the author can go indie with future volumes. We may never know, other than it's a real shame because it's got some truly interesting characters in a fascinating setting.

It all starts with the discovery of a body on the lunar surfaces, not far from Luna City. A body without a spacesuit, desiccated to the point it's clearly been there for a while. Even a cursory examination by the chief physician, acting as a medical examiner, makes it clear this was not an accidental death. Which means a murder investigation.

One that lands right in the lap of Noah Skyler, a former cop who's come up here to take coursework at the prestigious Luna University. Because of the shortage of personnel, everyone has to take on additional duties, and his is to help the chief of Security, a man who can never go home because gravity would kill him. Only one problem -- when he first touches the body, he damages it, possibly corrupting the evidence against the killer.

And then he's got a second possible homicide -- one of the guys he kicked out of his apartment when he came home and found one of his roommates had decided to have a party. This being the beginning of the twenty-second century, the medical center has been able to revive the man, but his brain damage was so extensive as to require massive brain tissue replacement, which means that legally speaking, he's been resurrected as a new person, and whatever he may have done in his former life is over and done with.

So now he's got a burden of survivor guilt on top of screwup guilt, driving him to solve both cases at whatever personal cost. Worse, when he goes out to collect evidence on the murder, his evidence technician has severe issues taking responsibility for mistakes, and seems to be playing on Noah's own vulnerability from his own mistake.

I found it an excellent combination of near-term hard sf and police-procedural mystery genres. A lot of the evidence is drawn very heavily from the effects of vacuum exposure on the human body, and several key scenes involve lunar gravity. And the actual murderer was present from early on, but the clues to his role in the killing were overlooked until right at the end, when our protagonist draws everything together -- although in the second death, his survivor guilt and subconscious need to find a murderer leads him down an overly complicated false trail.

It is such a promising start to what could've been a really nice series of novels. But cross-genre is often a very hard sell.

[Pandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, simple read. Not very inventive with language, nor with any lasting impact or thoughts to associate with it.
The lunar community world creating was thought out and tangible. The sudden interpolation of sex scenes a bit jarring. And the actual mstery telegraphed.

But tidy enough for a modern quick Sci-fi read

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

LCSI : Luna City Special Investigations
The title says it all.

This book delivers exactly what you would expect given the title and the cover art. It is a procedural police drama set on the moon. The details are well done. The case is just interesting enough but not overwhelmingly complex. The story’s main character is Noah Skylar, a young crime scene investigator newly arrived from Earth to attend university on Luna. While he’s there he also has to work a job (apparently a rule that everyone had to work) so he is enlisted into the local police force. He hasn't even had a chance to settle in when a murder investigation tests his skills. Overall, it was a nice easy read. The characters were interesting enough if not compelling. Noah always seemed much younger than I think he was supposed to be. He was a cop going to graduate school but he felt more like someone just starting out – maybe only nineteen or twenty.

[Maura Heaphy Dutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic "old-fashioned" detective fiction: body found in impossible circumstances, the detective has to use his wits to figure out how and who, from among a varied cast with appropriates motives, opportunities and expertise. The twist, of course, is that the impossible circumstances -- the "locked room." so to speak, on a VERY big scale -- is a base on the Moon, in the not-too distant future. Makes an interesting change from variations on leafy British villages and the mean streets of LA!

The mystery is intriguing, the main character is appealing, and the opportunity it offers to experience what it might be like to live and work (and commit murder ...) in a Moon base makes this a very good read. Only regret -- the suggestion that this might be the first in a series hasn't worked out. Come on, Mr. Harper -- give us some more Luna City Special investigations!!!!