J.D. PayneCrescent (Helium-3, 2)

I read this book because I read Crater, and loved it. I'd seen some relatively negative reviews for this book prior to buying, but do not let them misguide you one bit. They are beyond inaccurate. *Spoilers Ahead* The book starts with a battle between the Medaris Irregulars and the crowhopper Phoenix Legion unfolding in the vicinity of Moontown. The Irregulars slaughter the Phoenix Legion almost entirely, save for a crowhopper Crater takes pity on. Upon arrival in Moontown, they find out that the captured crowhopper is a girl. Her name being Crescent Claudine Besette, she is adopted by the exiled queen of England and Crater's adoptive mother, Q-Bess. After Crescent is framed for the murder of a deputy, she is sentenced to death by Colonel Medaris. In order to save her, Crater becomes an outlaw by stealing a fastbug and an oxygen tank. The two come across a crashed crowhopper jumpcar, which they then take to Armstrong City. In Armstrong City, Crater becomes a guide for people wishing to go somewhere on the Moon. Crater is eventually hired by the exiled residents of Appalachia (or at least some of them) to take them to the abandoned town of Endless Dust, where they hope to make millions off of thorium. Just prior to their departure, Armstrong City is attacked by crowhoppers looking for Crater's ex-girlfriend, Maria Medaris. Crater, Crescent, and the Apps rescue her and a slave before running off into the wayback. Along the way to Endless Dust, they are ambushed by crowhoppers once more, but they defeat them after killing their first in command. Maria and Crater are separated from the group, but they ultimately find their way to Endless Dust. Upon their arrival, they discover that the nearby Alphonsus Crater harbors extraterrestrial life and a natural fusion reaction. The defeated crowhoppers from earlier cowardly stroll into Endless Dust and surrender. After a while, Crater proposes to Maria, she says yes, only for his foster brother Petro to arrive and rescue her from the town.

Crescent is a 2013 young-adult science fiction novel by Homer Hickam, the second of his Helium-3 books. Here, Crater befriends an enemy mercenary as he gets into various moon shenanigans.First, a note: I didn't particularly care for the first book in the series. I only read Crescent because Hickam saw my two-star review of Crater on Amazon and came and found me on my book review site. He encouraged me to give the series another chance, and I agreed to read the next one. So here we are.Crescent is a definite improvement over the first book. Crater himself has become a more interesting character. He's complex and somewhat inscrutable, he isn't nearly as insecure as he was in Crater, and he has a number of very good moments. Crescent, too, is a sympathetic and engaging character, even if her arc covers well-trod ground. We do less well with many of the one-dimensional supporting characters - the brutal-dictator-turned-small-time-sheriff is tough to take seriously, and the three slacker legionnaires (whose chapters could have been omitted completely) give us four out of four supposedly-fearsome crowhoppers turned cuddly. The romantic tension and conflict between Crater and Maria fails to generate much interest.Again, Hickam's mining and aerospace background shine through, as he provides immersive detail, good science, and reasonable conjecture about all things related to piloting, the moon, and space.Apart from this, though, the writing has problems. Conversations are frequently stilted; there aren't enough contractions. Too much dialogue is "growled." Most damaging, the story is all over the place, meandering and full of detours. Crater is doing everything - plot element after plot element is picked up, only to fall by the wayside, leaving the reader to wonder what, if anything, is really important to whatever the story might turn out to be. It seems as though Hickam had a number of themes he wanted to hit (if you missed any, he recounts them for you in his author's note), and so in they went.Crescent also lacks anything remotely resembling a climax - Hickam assembles his ragtag group and the book ends, leaving the reader to feel like the whole thing's been little more than setup for what surely must be a more interesting third book.While I feel that the Helium-3 series is definitely trending upward, Crescent has enough problems that I had something of a hard time just getting through it.

The helium-3 series part two continues three years later. Crater, Maria and now Crescent joins the team in this action packed lunar adventure. I love how Homer develops his charters. Their personalities, relationships, and emotions are captured with a level of reality that left this reader anxious to get to the succeeding chapters to learn the outcome as the plot and subplots build. I like the subtle approach to the way Homer treats the subject of discrimination and bullying with the introduction of Crescent. The lunar wars persist, Crater is a survivor and his leadership skills continue to grow. His relationship with Maria grows stronger and their love for each other matures. In the end, the adventure will continue in the third of the helium-3 series to be released in June 2014. I've already preordered Crater Trueblood and the Lunar Rescue Company and I am anxiously awaiting its delivery.

now we meet Crater a few years later, still working hard, and further learning about the politics of a boom town. We have the crooked sheriff, the selfish mine owner who thinks his wishes are always right, and the outcasts. We meet the moon versions of Indians of the moon, and the young hero battling odds against the forces of evil arrayed against him. All of this is a good rollicking old west story, set in a plausible future on the moon. Good sequel to Crater, and eagerly awaiting number three, because this must be a trilogy.

Part 2 as with part 1 available with audible narration, A Helium-3 miner Crater’s exploits on the moonIt's the 22nd Century and a tough, pioneering people are mining the moon to produce energy for a desperate, war-torn Earth. Crater, an orphan, loves his life in Moontown, a frontier mining settlement. he is a seasoned Helium-3 miner, pilot scout and guide.

Great read however in the end it left me wanting more. The next book will lead you into a new adventure and surely will not disappoint. I really grew to love the character Crescent and see that what really counts is what's on the inside.