SHOOT
THE MOON
A NOVEL BY
FRED SHAHADI
You know the story. It starts here in the shadow of a book depository and ends in a police parking garage. A small man kills a great man who is in turn killed by a patriot.
Except that never happened.
Would you like to know the real story? It has never been told and you won’t believe it. It started before the Russians landed on the Moon on 22 November, 1963. Yes, that is correct. Pay close attention. Forget what you know. This is my only chance to get this out before we change it, hopefully for the last time this time.
-excerpt from Prologue of Shoot the Moon
Shoot the Moon is the ultimate time-bending trip through the sixties led by one hapless Apollo Astronaut racing to right history before it's too late.
In the Press
As a sci-fi and conspiracy buff, I thought I’d read it all, but SHOOT THE MOON turns history on its head in a completely original and fresh way. It’s painstakingly well researched and thought through. But unlike all too many “what-if” novels, it’s not pretentious, tedious or intellectual at all. The writing has an easy, playfully conversational tone that had me ripping through pages to get to the next mind-boggling twist and turn. And at times it’s downright hysterical. The characters are compelling and real, and the story is so unexpected that you cannot predict what’s coming right up to the last page.
Glenn Sanders,
Screenwriter WGA (Near Earth Object, Snowfall)
SHOOT THE MOON is a brilliant fever dream of a novel—wildly creative, relentlessly funny, and wholly unique. Fred Shahadi has an utterly original literary voice that you’re going to want to sit down and listen too.
Mat Johnson,
Author of Pym and Loving Day
SHOOT THE MOON isn’t a science fiction novel. It’s a science fiction JFK conspiracy alternative history Cold War satire with a twist of lemon. From the very first page, you’re pulled into Fred Shahadi’s utterly unique vision, written in a breathlessly engaging style that’s manic but not annoying, clever but not condescending, funny but not cheesy, charming but not cutesy, and all-around fun to read. Chapter by chapter, the complications of trying to save the world via time travel create a butterfly effect of madness that lead down a series of Rube Goldberg-like narrative wormholes. Imagine doing vodka shots with Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, Richard Feynman and Bugs Bunny, and you scratch the surface of what’s going on here. Or imagine Doc Brown scribbling timelines on a chalkboard with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, saying, “Have I got a story for you.”
It's Full of Stars
IFOS9000.com
Media Links:
Box Opening
It's very rare to read a book that is so historically accurate about a history that
never happened. SHOOT THE MOON creates a world where JFK never died, NASA lost the Space Race, and Lee Harvey Oswald became an
International hero. Sounds
crazy right? Just wait.
Imagine a room with
hundreds, even thousands of doors, and there's a lion behind all of them except one, such are the challenges of finding the right timeline for one Apollo Astronaut in this wildly entertaining must read time-bender by Fred Shahadi.
There’s a variety of entertaining theater on Broadway but none quite like Box, the Stage Play. Written by Fred Shahadi ... BOX is more than just a stage play, it’s a journey of self discovery and acceptance. BOX pushes the performance envelope and goes beyond expectations by delivering strong messages of pride, strength and freedom.
Bronze Magazine
Attendees should not fear that Box is a bleak and morbid tale. There is a fair share of laughter between the tears. Fred Shahadi carefully crafted the comedic beats that make it easier to get through some very tough subject matter...BOX gives poetic dignity to those who suffered the indignity of slavery as well as people experiencing modern-day forms of involuntary servitude and oppression. BOX provides a transformative experience by asking us a singular, cathartic question: Are we really free?
Cecilia T. Capers,
Huffington Post
Read An Interview with Fred Shahadi
LA Indies Magazine
Lance Paul,
The Traveling Nerd
BOX
Bio
Fred is an award winning filmmaker, playwright, and television writer living in Los Angeles California. His play BOX enjoyed two stints Off Broadway. He was the head writer/Host Producer for the Emmy nominated Recipe Rehab on CBS, winning a Parents Choice Award in its final season.
Fred is a two time consecutive winner of the Heck-Rabi Dramatic award for his plays Brigantine and Supertrain. His short film Two Out-of-Work Actors has won 10 film festival awards for Best Comedy. Shoot the Moon is his debut novel.
Author's Note on Shoot the Moon
I have always been fascinated with the conspiracies surrounding the Kennedy assassination. The theories, the books, the films, all seem so certain. Having visited Dealey Plaza many times, I've personally encountered hundreds of JFK "experts," each with their own foolproof take on what actually happened. With each theory the sad event takes on a life of its own, a life that can only grow in a dark place. Most of the theories cancel each other out. After all, how can it be the CIA, if it's also the Soviets, or the Illuminati?
Then of course there's the other conspiracy some people can't seem to let go: the Moon landing. I wondered how two of the biggest conspiracy theories, even after five decades, can still have so much life? What is it about the questions behind these two monumental events in history that continue to enthrall so many years later? More than half the people peddling these crazy theories weren't even born when these events occurred, yet thousands of books have been written assuring conspiracy. Before I continue let me categorically state the Moon landing is not fake, period. Thousands of the smartest people in the world got together, along with some of the bravest (and craziest) pilots alive, to pull off the impossible many times. Nothing could be less-fake. So why embrace one conspiracy and not the other? Easy, JFK's charge at Rice University led NASA to the Moon. His life cut short is honored by Apollo's success. What if this was all tied together?
Shoot the Moon marries many of the theories behind these conspiracies and offers an explanation like no other. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
Contact
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