Task to Luna

Two rockets reach the Moon almost simultaneously, carrying the rival hopes of the Anglo-American and Russian powers. Their mission is strategic as much as scientific: seize the lunar high ground, establish a base, and gain the power to threaten enemy cities from beyond Earth. But beneath the patriotic language and military objectives lies a starkly human situation—two men alone in an immense, hostile wilderness.

When the Russian craft crashes in the jagged Doerfel Mountains, American pilot Randick ventures out to confirm that its occupant is dead. Instead, he finds an enemy who is very much alive, armed, watchful, and determined to survive. As the two astronauts stalk one another through the Moon’s blinding sunlight and absolute darkness, their carefully taught hatred confronts the strange silence and indifference of the cosmos. This tense science-fiction adventure combines lunar exploration, Cold War suspense, and a quietly satirical view of the grand causes that send ordinary people into extraordinary danger.