Read the review - buy the book at Amazon.com - judge for yourself!Moonseed takes off with the unexplained explosion of the planet Venus and the flood of radiation it leaves on Earth. Henry is the NASA scientist trying to understand it and takes leave to Scotland to study the rocks brought back from the Apollo missions that may hold a key to finding why Venus died.
During this, Henry is battling the repercussions of his recent divorce with Geena, an astronaut who had an affair with her Russian counterpart.
A few specks of moon dust are accidentally dropped on an ancient volcano, leading to a chain of events similar to what happened to Venus. The dust, now called moonseed, eats through rock, and loves volcanic rock. It can spread though the ground, air, and water, liquefying the planet. Henry races against time to solve the mystery of moonseed and prevent the destruction of Earth, all the while having to work with his ex-wife, Geena, and her Russian cosmonaut boyfriend on a mission back to the Moon.
I have read hundreds of books, and this one falls into one of the best. Stephen has a knack for 'here-and-now' science fiction. The reader is taken from the highlands of Scotland to the cratered surface of the Moon with great detail. Stephen has done his fair share of research for this novel and put it together with superior care. With the assistance of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA and the Department of Geology and Geophysics, Edinburgh University, in Scotland and many other resources, it glued together the science behind the fiction and helping to bring out the color of a 'dead' Moon. It shows how vulnerable we are on Earth and how we need to continue to explore the outer reaches of space.
I highly recommend reading Moonseed as Stephen is extremely talented in his craft. He's not just a writer, he's a creator of images through words.
Stephen Baxter has also written the best-selling novels Titan and Voyage.