Thad Roberts had everything a young genius could ask for: An internship at NASA, the respect of his fellow scientists and a foxy, brilliant girlfriend. It wasn’t enough, Roberts wanted more.
Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History is Ben Mezrich’s new non-fiction book, telling Roberts’ story.
Roberts’ standing among the NASA scientists allowed him access to some of the most secure areas of the facility. His desire for more takes shape as a plot to steal invaluable moon rocks from the government agency.
Part of his plan involves engaging rock hounds who would want to purchase these -illegal-to-own rocks. To that end, he contacts a man in Belgium and finds a price for the yet-to-be-stolen rocks.
With a team including his girlfriend and another girl, he succeeds in the heist. He justifies his actions by planning to take only rocks that are considered “garbage” by the agency. After the heist, the dalliance that the book takes its titillating title from happens.
Yet, unsurprisingly, things don’t go as Roberts plans from there.
Like any good book about a protagonist with questionable ethics, Mezrich succeeds in getting the reader to consider hoping for the best for him. Roberts, as written by Mezrich, is enigmatic and magnetizing. Several days after finishing the book, I was still thinking about Roberts’ heist and his decisions after it ended.
Sex on the Moon is flawed in the same way Mezrich’s books Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down the House are. He creates much of the dialogue (based on interviews with the principle characters), giving the book a surreal edge. (He should take cues from Erik Larson, writer of the excellent Devil in the White City).
Accidental Billionaires became 2010’s excellent The Social Network and Bringing Down the House became 2008’s 21. Sex on the Moon is as cinematic as Mezrich’s other books, and following suit, the movie will probably be better than the book.
Perhaps this time the title will even stick. (Though they will probably jettison the hyperbole-soaked subtitle.)
Sex on the Moon is flawed, but nonetheless, it is a quick, enjoyable read.
