Moon Base Alpha (Definitely no relation to the video game of the same name!) is a Science Fiction and Kid Detective trilogy by Stuart Gibbs (the author of Fun Jungle, Spy School, and Bruce Wayne: Not Super).
Dashiell Gibson is the tween son of two scientists assigned to the eponymous moon base, which is about the size of a soccer field. Despite the Small, Secluded World nature of their home, the base hosts a murder, a disappearance, and an attempted murder, all of which Dash and his friend, newcomer Kira, must solve. There's three books in the series.
- Space Case (2014)
- Spaced Out (2016)
- Waste of Space (2018)
Tropes:
- The Alleged Expert: The base's psychiatrist, a former self-help guru, is a quack who "got his medical degree from a sixth-rate school in the Bahamas." He only got the job because NASA wanted a celebrity as part of the crew for good press. He also can't control his sons and panics and blabs about his other patients' confidential information to divert suspicion from himself.Dash: But he's famous.Chang Hi-Tech: That's doesn't mean he's good.
- Armies Are Evil: U.S, military intelligence gets a very negative portrayal, being ruthless and overly paranoid. The killer is their secret agent at the base.
- Big Brother Bully: Cesar Marquez isn't that nice to his video-game obsessed brother Roddy.
- The Bully: The Sjoberg kids. Being from such a wealthy family, they pretty much act really nasty to everyone on the base, and are rich enough that Nina can't really afford to punish them.
- Character Narrator: All three books are narrated by Dashiell Gibson.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Space tourist Lars Sjoberg is an ultra wealthy tycoon back on Earth who has been accused of breaking regulations and bribing people hundreds of time. He isn't any better during the main series.
- First-Episode Spoiler: The killer from the first book and Zan being an alien are pretty apparent in the sequels despite being big twists.
- Genius Bruiser: Chang Hi-Tech is tattooed, has a mohawk, and is built like a weight-lifter. He's also one of the best scientists in the series.
- Hidden Depths: There is more to multiple characters than meets the eye, although as Dash lampshades, hidden depths don't mean that a person's flaws aren't real and serious.
- Overly strict moon base commander Nina sleeps with a teddy bear and has a sick mother back home.
- Spoiled Brat and occasional bully Lily likes to sit in the greenhouse for long periods of time without stealing any of the food (which is more than her family, Nina, and most of the scientists can say) so that the plants can remind her of Earth.
- Manly Gay: Viktor Balnikov and Chang Hi-Tech are the brawniest of the scientists on the moon base, with Chang specifically being noted as working out four hours a day, and having a mohawk and tattoos. Halfway through the third book, it's casually mentioned that they're both gay and seeing each other, with some of Chang's suspicious behavior in snooping around the greenhouse having been because he was getting flowers to give Viktor.
- Plastic Bitch: Sonja Sjoberg is a greedy and temperamental woman who's had lots of plastic surgery.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: One notable thing this series does is show what living on the moon would really be like.
- Since gravity is lower on the moon, any newcomers are taken by surprise when they try to walk like they did on Earth, and end up launching themselves upward. They basically have to learn how to walk all over again.
- Because the moon doesn't have any of its own water sources, everyone on Moon Base Alpha has to share a small bathroom that has six toilets (three for boys, three for girls). Part of this means constantly recycling the water they urinate, so they're pretty much drinking their own pee up there.
- Due to the moon having weaker gravity than on Earth, a gymnasium was installed for the colonists to use to make sure their bones and muscles don't atrophy too much. Dash noted in the first book that Roddy will probably suffer the worst from it, since he's such a gamer and hasn't used the gym once since coming to the base. His body now looks more like pudding, and he suspects his bones will snap when he gets back to Earth.
- On Earth, the friction of entering the atmosphere will usually cause small celestial bodies like meteors and space junk to burn up into nothingness. Since the moon has no atmosphere, such small objects are a serious hazard to anyone not inside the base. When Dash and Kira are caught outside during one, they're scared for their lives because even one tiny meteor that strikes the surface causes massive craters, and could seriously, possibly fatally, injure them. One of them pierces Dash's spacesuit and leaves a tear that causes his oxygen to start leaking out.
- Token White: The Sjobeg family of Nordic Jerkasses are the only Caucasian people on Moon Base Alpha. They're also the only entirely white people Dash has ever met in his life, as most people in the future are of mixed ancestry.
- Virtual Assistant Blunder: The base's computer is bad at hearing people correctly or alerting people about suspicious activity. This seems to be a problem with advanced computers in general. Dash relates a rumor that World War III was almost started when an AI missile system back on Earth misheard "I hate syrup" as "annihilate Europe."
- Wham Line: The first book alone has five lines that make a big impact in-universe and on the readers.
- After Dash talks about how he overheard Dr. Holtz talking about a phone call, his new friend checks this out and then get back to him. Holtz wasn't really on the phone. Instead, Zan was telepathically communicating with him and he was talking out loud.
Kira: Well, I tried, but .... there's no record of Dr. Holtz making a call at two thirty that night. In fact, there's no record of anyone making a call at any time around then.- The nature of the discovery Dr. Holtz was working on when he died is revealed by an audio recording.
Dr. Holtz: I've identified an alien life form.- The Reveal about who the Big Bad is is discerned through re-watching a video where someone is talking in American sign-language. In a Virtual Blunder, the computer initially said that Dr. Holtz was saying "Earth killed me." Actually, he was spelling out someone's name.
Dash That wasn't an E, was it?Dash's Mom: No.Dash Was it a G?Dash's Mom: Dr. Holtz wasn't spelling "earth". He was spelling "Garth."- Immediately after the third Wham Line, the adults look around for that person.
Nina: Computer, where is Garth Grisan right now?Computer: Dismantling the main air lock.Everyone gasps in alarm.- After the culprit's capture, Dash figures out a loose end and goes to visit a mysterious investigator who no one else knows anything about.
Dash: Tell me. What planet are you from.
