Moon Cops on the Moon

De: C. T. Phipps

Narrado por: Alex Freeman

"Welcome to the moon!"

Neal Gordon screwed up his assignment on Mars and they reassigned him to Antarctica. Now he's being reassigned some place even worse: Luna City. A crime ridden hellhole with a super-rich ruling class, he almost immediately finds himself targeted by bounty hunters and cyborg terrorists. Thankfully, Neal has an unusual set of partners in robot dog, Barksley, and the snarky but badass Lucy Westenra. Yes, make all the vampire jokes you want.

It's tough being a corporate cop on humanity's foremost colony and before this adventure is over, he's going to have to deal with deranged influencers, mysterious female secret agents, and a 1970s themed flying car called the Purple Rain. Can he survive to get reassigned? Who knows.

MOON COPS ON THE MOON is set in the Futurepunk setting of Agent G, the Cyber Dragons Trilogy, and Space Academy novels but functions as a standalone series. It is a humorous action-filled romp that fans of The Expanse, Robocop, Demolition Man, and Blade Runner will enjoy.

©2023 Charles Phipps (P)2023 David N. Wilson

Fun ride

It's a different story telling then the authors other books. I enjoyed the story, but had to get use to the narrator voice. But I don't think I could listen to a sequel if they changed him.

I had fun with this Cyberpunk blend.

As usual with C.T. Phipps's books, I had fun. Always a pleasure to read/listen to his books. This one, I listened to the audio book.

First, the narrator. I have to say, I'm going to date myself. But have you ever listened to the song "Wet Dream" by Kip? The tone to the voice, I found the narrator reminded me of it. lol. The old time detective feel with hidden innuendoes in the words. So cool.

The story is a detective/mystery style as Neal learns the ropes of being on the moon, a not so pleasant place to be with crime. Neal has a smart partner, Lucy, who has her own past with her mom's fame. Great detectives in a high crime place.

Then there's Barksley. lol. A talking dog. I love it and his history as well.

Everyone's got a "history" that's a hoot and fun to learn and see how it impacts them and the story here.

The story has a little feel of influence from the movie Cherry 2000. Also, with the punk feel from 1920-ish detective feel. I love this blend! I've not read much with this blend and I want more!

I'm afraid to give too much on the plot as I don't want to give it away. I want you to learn with Neal as you go through the book and world for the first time.

There is fun and action and guns along with high speed chase. All great things to add to the cyber punk feel.

Perfect blend of story, humor, and sci-fi

Another great entry from this author thoroughly enjoyed this. Look forward to the continuation of the series.

There is a moon cop, and they are on the moon!

CT Phipps is a student of pop culture, and it shows. He seamlessly Frankensteins genres, tropes, stereotypes, and social awareness in a completely unique way.

This book is a fun, funny action-adventure, sci-fi romp with political intrigue, espionage, romance mystery crime thriller drama...and also has a talking dog!

If you like humorous space-based science fiction, this could be the book for you. Loveable characters, and great world-building. The pace is right, and the length is perfect.

Satirical Fun and Engaging!

Neal Gordon finds himself once again being reassigned to a place far worse than Antarctica! He’s going to Luna City whose residents struggle under the super filthy rich ruling class. Given his personality and penchant for getting into trouble, Neal finds himself the target of bounty hunters and cyborg terrorists. His crew consists of a robot dog and tough as nails, Lucy Westenra. The fun and adventure begin with a bang!

The author, C. T. Phipps, is highly skilled at blending sharp humor with vivid world-building, he showcases a talent for fast-paced storytelling. His quirky, relatable characters navigate engaging situations with wit and resourcefulness. The snappy dialogue, often laced with dry humor or satirical commentary, brings a playful tone even to dramatic moments. Detailed and immersive descriptions enhance the setting, while the balance of humor, action, and narrative twists keep listeners entertained, all while reflecting on deeper themes of duty and humanity.

The narrator, Alex Freeman, delivers a strong, engaging performance, effortlessly embodying each character to draw listeners deeper into the action and forge a strong connection with them. His clear, well-paced delivery enhances the experience, skillfully highlighting the satirical comedy and playful moments in the dialogue.

This is a fun listening experience that is filled with both humor and action. I highly recommend this audiobook.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

Fun first book of a new series

If you’ve been reading my reviews for any length of time, you know I’m a big fan of CT Phipps. I’ve listened to most of his books and enjoyed every one I’ve tried. Some I like more than others, as would be expected, but they are mostly 4 stars and above for me. This is a new series from him, set in the same universe as Agent G, Space Academy, and Cyber Dragons. But it is part of a stand-alone series, so you can enjoy this without having read any of the others.

This is a very funny story about a detective who has been transferred to the moon. The moon is full of gangs and a lot of corruption in the government and the corporate company that has its own police force. Neal Gorden was an orphan where they named kids after SciFi characters. He signed a lifetime contract with the corporate police force. He has worked on Mars and Antarctica, which he thought was the worst post ever until landing on the moon.

The story starts off with him about to land on the moon with an elderly woman sitting next to him and acting along the lines of Mrs. Doubtfire. Then after he deplanes (or whatever you would call getting off a spaceship), she turns from lonely grandmotherly figure into a bounty hunter who will take Neal Gorden dead or alive. She’s not the only bounty hunter who is out to get him, though he has no idea why there’s a price on his head the moment he lands on the moon.

He meets his partners, Lucy and Barksley. Lucy’s family has money and she has quite the interesting past. Barksley is a sentient robot corgi, who was originally designed as a child’s toy until some became sentient and they were pulled from the market. Barksley has got to be the most interesting sidekick ever. Not only does he still think in ways that will always be cute, per his original programming, he’s also been upgraded, so that he can also be used as a flamethrower.

As per usual with a Phipps story, there’s a ton of humor, lots of twists and turns, pop culture references and just overall fun. His stories do often have a dark side to them, this one has slave trafficking. But the humor and great characters don’t let the darkness overtake the humor. Think of this as a cross between Blade Runner and Airplane. There are other comparisons, but these movies I’ve seen recently and what comes to mind for me. If you’ve never read CT Phipps before, this is a fun story to start.

Narration:
This is my first time listening to Alex Freeman. I’n really used to Jeffrey Kafer reading Phipps stories to me. So, I wasn’t all that sure about the new guy. But it didn’t take long for me to get lost in the performance Freeman does with this story. I think he did an amazing job. The women’s voices were great and there are quite a few women in this story. And the voice of Barksley, the talking corgi, is great. He did a great job of bringing out the humor in the story and then showing the darker parts with the correct tone there. I look forward to listening to him again.

**I'd like to thank the author for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The makings of a great new series

A good mix of camp, ,cyber punk, humor and nostalgia. The twist at the end, did catch me a bit by surprise, and the universe he has created here has me eagerly looking forward to listening to the next book.

So Enjoyably Funny

Moon Cops on the Moon is, I believe, the 42nd review of a Phipps book. That’s… insane to me. Not only to have written that many books (which by itself is amazing), but to have read so many books by the same author. That being said, when I saw this one was coming soon – I got really excited. I always get excited when I see books from him, but this one really caught my attention. It’s one of the rare books that doesn’t seem to be set in the same multiverse as his others. But the world felt just as fleshed out and wonderfully screwed up.

Moon Cops on the Moon was a story about a good cop coming to a place that seems to either eat up cops or reveal how corrupt they are. The story opens with him losing all of his money and being jumped for a bounty he had no idea existed. We quickly meet his partner(s) and have one of the funniest scenes in a Phipps book. When Lucy is reading him the data she has on her tablet and reveals the different colors for different things (how “good” of a cop he is, how many cases he solved, and some other very personal information I won’t spoil) — I was cracking up. Both Neal’s reactions and how flustered he gets were just comedy gold.

Speaking of comedy gold mixed with the best idea in a book ever. One of Neal’s partners is a talking sentient robotic Corgi. Seriously, he’s a bit hidden on the front of the cover but once you see him he steals the entire story. Literally one of the funniest, most ironic (you have to read to understand the irony), and just perfect sidekicks for this style of story. I was thrilled to see both the pop culture references and the comedy in this story. Phipps can pull off stories without them (see my review of the recently released Wraith King for an example of that), but when he can include them AND be snarky like Neal’s character was… it’s perfection.

Overall, Moon Cops on the Moon was one of those stories that as soon as I finished it I was wondering who I should share it with. It just ticked every box I had for the type of story I love. And it felt like he could very easily do more with both the world and the characters. I’m not kidding when I say that I would read an entire story on Barksley. He won my heart and I want to know more about him (even if he’s AI). He was almost pure comic relief and it was perfect.

Phipps does it again

I received a free copy to give my honest opinion, will try to avoid spoilers. I've been a long time fan of Mr. Phipps work, from "The Supervillainy Saga" to "Space Academy". And one of the common thing that keeps bringing me back to his books is his style, His main characters are often sarcastic, world-weary, anti-heroes doing their best to survive their bad situations. However he always manages to avoid the typical clichés and makes each character work for each story. And Moon Cops is just as enjoyably fun as the rest of his works. Give this book a shot, I promise you'll have a fun time.

A Detective Noir Story...On the Moon

Neal Gordon is a sarcastic hard boiled detective. As a corporate cop, he is a little dirty, irreverent, and prone to an ancient pop-culture reference or quick double entendre.

Right off the bat, I didn't like him. Like Dirty Harry or Philip Marlowe, (with a little Nick Charles thrown in), you really can't see yourself being friends with them. They just live in a perpetual world of shady dealings and taking down even worse guys.
Add in a beautiful partner with a strange backstory, (anarchist punk band keyboardist, TV vampire slayer, and energy-whip wielding corporate cop), and an adorable AI robo-corgi, and you have the start of a great "Walked into a Bar" joke or a very funny partnership that takes the edge off of taking down corrupt slavers and murderers.

The book is fast paced with a good amount of world-building that is made enjoyable via the constant humorous quips and lead-ins to the big battle. With a very satisfying conclusion, I am left to wonder, (without giving too much away), if I was supposed to empathize with the bad guy? Because I did. By the end of the book, I couldn't find fault with the decisions the big bad made, even though it hurt others.

At the end of the day, this is a modern take on an old fashioned detective mystery, And I absolutely loved it!

As for narration, Alex Freeman did a wonderful job. A very steady voice all the way though with just the right amount of voice shift to differentiate characters.
All in all 10 out of 10 on this one. Just the right amount of humor with a great mystery to solve. Highly Recommended!