A 17 year old boy is chosen for his height to investigate strange domes on the Moon, but just getting there is an adventure. Chris Godfrey is chosen for a mission to the Moon because of his size, but Communists may be stopping him from even getting off the ground.
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British scientists in the near future spot domes hidden in a crater on the Moon. They think the Communists may have beaten them into space and too the Moon, but they need pictures from outside the atnosphere. The only rocket they have isn't built for a person, so that pick Chris Godfrey because he is small. He is taken out of school and shipped to Australia for training.
Someone tampers with a test chamber while Chris is in it, but he escapes. A test launch of an engine explodes on the pad. Chris escapes someone sneaking up on him during the night, but does not see the man clearly. The training goes on with Chris and British agents trying to find the Communists among them. They catch one traitor, but there might be more.
The rocket launches and Chris gets the pictures. His rocket is fired upon, but he escapes back to Earth. They believe the domes to be of alien origin and the Communists are working for the aliens. The British begin building more rockets.
Best part of story, including ending:
The dialouge is a little stiff and campy, but it is a fun read out of the time period of pre space flight.
Best scene in story:
When the rocket finally launches successfully, is my favorite scene because there is a great deal of build-up to this moment throughout the novel.
Opinion about the main character:
Chris is small in stature, but rises to accomplish great things. It is a simple novel, but this character is delivered well as the unexpected hero.
