Moon Maid

When sabotage derails humanity's first manned expedition to the Moon, the crew crash-land in a subterranean world of ancient empires and warring nations. What begins as a fight for survival becomes something far stranger: diplomatic intrigue, reluctant alliances, and a love story that crosses the gulf between worlds. Burroughs throws his protagonists into the deep end of alien politics, where every handshake could be a trap and every alliance a necessity. The action never lets up, the reversals keep coming, and the author's fierce imagination populates the Moon with cultures as complex and ruthless as any on Earth. It's science fiction written with the pedal to the floor, pulpy, propulsive, and utterly unconcerned with what scientists might think of volcanos. If you want careful extrapolation, look elsewhere. If you want to hold your breath for two hundred pages, climb aboard.