Review: Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich

Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I picked this up for a reading challenge for a book involving a heist, though it could also fill the true crime heist. This is a non-fiction book, thought it is as the title suggests so audacious that it reads like fiction. It is hard to tell how much of the story is true and how much is poetic license. It has the feel that it is inspired by true events, but it definitely feels more like fiction than truth.

Thad Roberts, the main character, has a very conservative Mormon background. However, he has big dreams and those dreams lead to NASA. Thad rebels against his upbringing, and finds himself cast out of his family home, married at a young age, but with big dreams he won’t be stopped. He is determined to make it to NASA and hopefully someday to space. He is a persistent person, and portrayed with child-like tendencies as if he had no real understanding of consequences. Even after he was arrested for stealing the safe containing millions of dollars of moon rocks he never expected to be punished. His actions throughout the book were all selfish and self-serving. He was always angling to get to the top of the food-chain and make a name for himself. His motivations are success and love. It is hard to tell if the real Thad is truly like this or if the story just makes him out to be this way. He is doing everything for his lady love Rebecca (not her real name), whom he apparently wrote letters to during his time in jail. The letters are sprinkled throughout the book. They met, had a whirlwind relationship, and claimed he stole the rocks for her. He also took all the blame for her and his other accomplice. If you read the book, you will know that he had already put the plan in motion before he met her. The whole heist is ridiculous, but you just kind of have to keep reading/listening to know what happens in the end.

I listened to the audio book, which is fairly short and read by Casey Affleck. The narration is good and it has the feeling of listening to a movie. This book isn’t great, but it isn’t terrible either. It just just OK as my rating suggests. The characters are pretty unlikable, and the whole plot/true story if you can call it that just feels so unrealistic even if it is based in fact.


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