Fantastic werewolf novel

Ok, I have to admit, in deference to comment in others' reviews, that the allegory this book draws between the treatment of the werewolves in the novel and the treatment of minorities and the terrorist/freedom fighter dichotomy in the world today is rather belaboured and less than subtle and is the only reason for pulling a star from the story rating.
The novel depicts an alternate world where the same kind of prion mutation responsible for the BSE/human-variantCJD transition results in some humans mutating into lycanthropes and this difference has resulted in their being discriminated against. As the reader joins the story the lycanthrope fight for equality becomes much more direct and bloodthirsty (terrorists and planes ring any bells for anybody?)and relations between the two communities degenerates precipitously.
We meet characters from both sides of the battle-lines as well as very believable characters caught in the morally ambiguous hinterland of innocents dragged into machinations beyond their control.
As I said, the political allegory isn't vastly original or deftly handled but the writing itself is an absolute pleasure. Yes, Percy can sometimes linger a little too self-indulgently in the occasional description but overall the quality of the writing is very high and an important part of the pleasure which I found in this book. The plot is also a key element: it is well thought out, convoluted and fast-moving and though for me the climax felt a little too fast for such a long novel this is of little detriment to the whole novel. Then of course there is the barration, which is carried out by Mr Percy himself and my, but what a voice he has on him: so deep and baritonal that I thought it might start to grate but I needn't have feared as he was a pleasure to listen to and having the author narrate means that many of those jarring mis-inflections and stresses which jump out in other audio books do not happen. So, like the English teacher I am, I must congratulate the author not only on his writing but also his reading.
I heartily recommend this novel: it is an original approach to a werewolf themed novel and a well written "horror"/thriller romp.

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Gothic horror story

Would you try another book written by Benjamin Percy or narrated by Benjamin Percy?

I wouldn't choose another book by Benjamin Percy.

What could Benjamin Percy have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The story was bad enough, but (sorry Mr Percy) the delivery was so slow, every sentence drawn out for gothic effect, it almost succeeded in putting me to sleep.

Would you be willing to try another one of Benjamin Percy’s performances?

No, I found the pace of the delivery, milking the 'atmosphere' into thick slurry, extremely boring.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Red Moon?

Most of the totally unnecessary graphic gore, descriptive death scenes...

Any additional comments?

I can't recommend this book. Can I delete it from my library?

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1 person found this helpful

I can't carry on....I just can't!

What disappointed you about Red Moon?

The narration. Pure and simple. I am sure Benjamin Percy is a great writer and I am sure his deep booming voice would be wonderful for some types of voice work...reading an audio book is not one of them.

It was too deep, too slow and I ended up losing interest. In fact it wasn't even that. I usually listen to audiobooks as I drive back and forwards to work and I just ended up lost in thought and paying no attention to the book. So I gave up. Sorry.

Has Red Moon put you off other books in this genre?

Nope.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Benjamin Percy?

Just someone better suited to a long book. Deep and booming is effective, but not for hours and hours of listening.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment.

Any additional comments?

Gave the Overall and Story 2 stars each as I can't really rate it one way or another having been put off by the narration. I will say I do want to read the book, but on this occasion it will be the good old printed version!

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1 person found this helpful

Thankfully not a 'Twilight'

I started writing a long detailed review on this book but realised there was so much to cover that the review was getting too long.

I suspect that is what happened with this book. The author has a great idea set against the political backdrop of 9/11 but with Werewolves not Islamic Extremists (We will ignore the 9/11 conspiracies for now). But then the story got away from him and he didn't quite know how to tie up the loose ends and too much got edited out.

All of this, in my opinion, lead to a book which feels incomplete and lacking detail. Not to mention characters who I couldn't remotely like or even relate to. By the end of it I was rooting for Baylore as he seemed to be the only one with a personality and a plan (all be it evil) he stuck with. The others seemed like self indulgent muppets.

The narration was both brilliant and poor. There were times when the slow deep style of narration really built up the suspense, but more often than not the rhythm and tempo could have been sped up a little to keep the already jarring story line flowing.

Overall I am glad I finished the book as I was getting very little enjoyment from it.

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OMG The Narrator is sooo laborious!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was time fairly well spent but at times I wanted to hurry through it.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The story was good but sometimes it was a bit visceral and unnecessary. If I could chuck bits out it would make it a better book.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Benjamin Percy?

Anyone with a less deep and slooooow voice.

Do you think Red Moon needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

There must be a follow up as there were too many loose ends.

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what was the point in that

the story starts off promising but then muddles on with no real direction it feels like the writer didn't know how to end the story so randomly ended it very unsatisfying

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My Pleasure in read this book

This novel, "Deeply Odd", is a great story for the most part. Odd Thomas is here using his psychic magnetism to track down the "rhinestone cowboy trucker" who has powers of his own. That was a nice twist, as we saw that Odd wasn't the only person in the world with a touch of the supernatural on their lives. Unfortunately, the things that made the first book so interesting have slowly begun to fade away in the last two or three novels in the series. I am all for character growth, but it seems as if Dean has almost lost his original idea of what made Odd so special and has been moving him into a new character

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5 minute

What would have made Red Moon better?

change the narrator

Has Red Moon put you off other books in this genre?

No just one read by this chap

Would you be willing to try another one of Benjamin Percy’s performances?

definately not

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Red Moon?

didnt make it far enough to make a judgement on this

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Lost the plot

I have given up reading this book
I got to within the last 4 hrs but can't be bothered going on
The slow reading style really does my head in.
To the point I had to put it on a faster speed.
And the reader has a really deep voice
So slow in fact I thought my iPhone was going wrong.
When he puts on a voice for someone with a deeper voice I was expecting him to say
" hello ..... I want play a game"
Then make me escape some death trap.
Anyway this storY starts with lots of promise then total gets lost in itself. Flicking from scene to scene and leaving the listner thinking.
Did I miss something or did the mp3 skip somehow?
Won't be looking for anymore from this writer

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4 people found this helpful

werewolves: a metaphor for clichéd writing.

What would have made Red Moon better?

The story would have been much better if it didn't involve werewolves. The use of them just seemed to be a tired metaphor for any other civil rights/genocidal/persecuted minority throughout history. By using werewolves as the oppressed it gave the author the lazy ability to inject some sort of action and drama into an otherwise lacklustre plot.

Has Red Moon put you off other books in this genre?

The book has only put me off other Benjamin Percy books.

What three words best describe Benjamin Percy’s performance?

narcissistic,presumptuous,hackneyed.

Listening to Benjamin Percy was like listening to advert voiceovers for hours on end esp. Carlsberg: "probably the worst werewolf romance in the world."

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Some descriptive sequences were very evocative and atmospheric.

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