Moon Base Alpha was supposed to be an exciting place to live, but Dash didn’t expect it to be this exciting. After solving a murder and rescuing the moon base commander, he just wants to have a calm, quiet thirteenth birthday. But of course, multi-billionaire and total pain Lars Sjoburg ruins it—by being poisoned.

Now there’s a murderer loose on Moon Base Alpha again. And Dash is charged with finding out who it could have been.

Everyone has a motive, and time is running out.

The spoiler warning above is because I want to talk about the secret occupant on Moon Base Alpha, Zan. Zan isn’t physically on MBA but appears to Dash through thought (a process that, according to reliable sources, may be how intelligent extraterrestrial life contacts us in the future). According to Zan, humanity is in grave danger of destroying itself (no surprise there). Zan’s species has a way of solving many of Earth’s problems, but the solution has the potential to be dangerous if misused. And we humans do have a track record of taking new technology and using it to destroy each other.

But enough about that, let’s discuss the possibility of contact with an extraterrestrial being. They could be looking down at us right now. Just imagine how weird we would appear to an alien species. I’m human (or so I’ve been told), and I don’t understand us. Would they be impressed with our accomplishments, technology, music, and art? Would they question why we care so much about appearances, religion, and celebrities who are famous for doing nothing? Would they be offended by the way we portray them in our TV shows and movies? With that said, I leave you with this question, how would you explain all of human existence and how we live to an alien species?

Now, let’s discuss another topic from this story, the Sjoburgs’. The Sjoburgs’ are a wealthy family of four from Sweden and are the first space tourists to visit Moon Base Alpha. They are also absolutely horrible human beings. But that’s not the point I want to make here. Let’s talk about space tourism. Yes, this is actually going to be a real thing. Check out the YouTube link below if you don’t believe me.

Is it really a smart idea to let civilians, not just those who can pay for a $250,000 ticket, go up into space? And I highly doubt that any company will be able to launch a space hotel by 2022, considering how many things can go wrong up in space. If this is really going to happen, there needs to be a thorough psychiatric and background check on everyone who signs up for this because not many people are mentally capable of being in a small enclosed space with strangers.

But let’s stop talking about my opinions on certain subjects featured in this book and talk about my opinion on the book itself. Stuart Gibbs has once again written a great mystery that draws the reader in, and I’m still impressed by how he can insert the subject of poop in every one of his stories. There really is no end to the humor of poop, especially space poop. This story is an excellent conclusion to the series. Yes, this is the third and final book in the series . . . for now.

Before I end this review, I would like to make an announcement. From now on, at the end of a book review, I will be sharing a Weird but True/Awesome fact that I’ve found in National Geographic Kids books. I’m going to try to have the facts relate to the featured book in some way, but that might be difficult. So, without further ado, here is this week’s Weird but True fact about Space Travel: