Apollo Deception, The

By Mitch Silver

Gary Stephens is brought into a government-sanctioned cover-up when he discovers that his father helped fake the Apollo 11 moon landing in the 1960s.

After China announce a space mission to place their own flag next to the one US astronauts planted during the Apollo 11 mission, few people bat an eyelid. Shortly after this statement Charlie Stephens, a 81-year-old former filmmaker, is murdered. The incident is made to look like an accident, but why?

Going through his father’s effects, Gary Stephens – a director of beer and yogurt ads – discovers seven cans of old 35mm film. Dated before the landing, they’re identical to the footage NASA claims was shot by the Apollo 11 crew. The US flag is not and has never been in the Sea of Tranquillity, and only Tricky Dick and a handful of others knew it.

Why was the real nature of the Apollo 11 mission kept hidden? And what measures will be taken to keep the secret buried?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers
• Release date: Dec 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781448303595

Mitch Silver

Mitch Silver is an advertising agency creative director who lives in Rye, New York. In Secret Service is his first novel.

Reviews for Apollo Deception, The

[jfe16 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Following China’s announcement of its plan to land men on the moon and plant its flag beside the American flag on the Sea of Tranquility, a former filmmaker dies in what is purported to be an accident. While going through his father’s things, Gary Stephens, a filmmaker himself, finds several reels identical to the televised 20 July 1969 Apollo 11 lunar landing. If there was no lunar landing in 1969, what will happen when the Chinese astronauts arrive at the Sea of Tranquility and find there is no American flag there? The world will know the widely-publicized Apollo 11 mission was nothing but a fake . . . and the Chinese will claim the moon for China. A panicked NASA hastily puts together a “Dark Side” lunar mission to beat China to the moon and place a weathered American flag on the Sea of Tranquility where the Chinese astronauts expect to find it, thus keeping the Chinese from discovering and revealing the hoax of the Apollo 11 lunar landing.Will the plan work? And who are the people trying to jeopardize the secret mission and its daring crew?If, like many readers, you’ve ignored all those nonsensical conspiracy theory books that maintain “we never went to the moon” because you feel it’s a slap in the face to the thousands of folks who worked the missions, paid the price, and ventured beyond our planet, the author acknowledges that, despite the story he’s penned, he [like this reviewer] is certain Neil Armstrong actually made that “one small step, one giant leap.”So, why read this book? For one thing, the writing is good. Really good. And the prospect of exploring the idea of what might have happened had Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins not actually gone to the moon is rather intriguing. Why deceive everyone? And what would happen if someone revealed that stunning duplicity? The characters in this science fiction narrative are realistic; the plot, while bouncing around between past and present, has some unexpected twists and spins out a fantastic science fiction tale that’s great fun. Readers looking for a quick read will enjoy the fabricated narrative filled with international intrigue, spies . . . and a trip to the moon.