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The Moon is Not Haunted is a 2023 techno-thriller and science fiction novel by American writer J. R. Cygal about a fresh-faced outsider and engineer arriving at a near-future lunar mining facility. The novel shows the mental degradation caused by working in extreme environments such as paranoia, loneliness, and Third Man Factor. It also provides an evocative narrative on the political turmoil experienced by aerospace engineers when corporations prioritize shareholder value over engineering vision and public safety.

Plot Synopsis

Samuel “Scorcher” Robertson is a fresh-faced outsider arriving at a remote outpost for lunar mining. He is ready to bring his problem-solving expertise to a locale where he thinks it will be valued, as far away from his past life as possible.

As soon as he arrives he finds challenges in navigating the realities of life at the outpost and the interpersonal dynamics therein. Life on the moon is tediously mundane yet terrifying at the same time, which drives the quirky personalities he encounters and the steady digression of his own mental stability.

Minor crises at the outpost escalate, fueled by external catalysts with which the place isn’t ready to cope, the consequence of shortcuts taken in order to win the lunar mining space race. Tensions ratchet up after Scorcher encounters the lunar grave of a colleague from a mishap prior to his arrival - a mishap that goes unexplained. Scorcher also becomes paranoid about radiation poisoning from deep space although the Company medical experts contend that the risk to radiation poisoning is appropriately mitigated. He starts his own secret investigation which does not end well.

During all this, it becomes clear that Scorcher suffers from bipolar disorder, vacillating between manic episodes of overconfidence and energy to depressive valleys in which he feels worthless and unmotivated. His personality creates fault lines in his psyche which increases the tension until he descends into paranoia, hallucinations, and spats of psychosis while on an impossible mission to save a downed flight crew from a crash he blames on himself.

Book formats

The book is available on Kindle, eBook, paperback, and hardcover.