JULY 2013 - AudioFile
Benjamin Percy delivers a ponderous narration for this very long story set in a parallel universe in which lycans (wolf shape-shifters) live openly, register with the government, and face discrimination on all sides. Revolt is inevitable. Percy includes a great deal of background detail and context for the various story lines, which may of interest to listeners who revel in detail. He does some effective characterizations and dialogue and provides a few lighter moments. However, the book’s passages of exposition seem endless, and the narration does little to relieve the tedium. The plotlines are hard to follow, and the narration doesn’t help one to keep them straight. J.E.M. 2014 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
Reviewed by Stefan Dziemianowicz. Benjamin Percy’s extraordinary new supernatural thriller is a blend of alternate history and weird fiction that holds a mirror up to contemporary America to reflect its fears and biases.The novel opens with scenes that will resonate powerfully for anyone attuned to global events of the past decade: a father saying goodbye to his son before the father, a military reservist, deploys to a remote country where a fanatical sect holds sway, and an engineered terrorist attack that brings three jetliners down on American soil in a single day. In both instances, the antagonists are not jihadists, but lycans: lupine shapeshifters who have lived among regular humans since prehistoric times, and who in 21st-century America are a stigmatized subclass, forced to suppress their bestial nature pharmacologically. In quick succession, Percy introduces the characters who are the major players in his novel’s drama: teenager Patrick Gamble, the sole survivor of the airplane attacks; Claire Forrester, a teenage lycan on the run from government agents who killed her parents; Chase Williams, the opportunistic governor of Oregon (where most of the tale is set) who hopes to exploit fears engendered by the terrorist attack in his bid for the presidency; and Miriam, Claire’s aunt, who has defected from the lycan resistance movement (headed by her husband), which takes credit for the terrorist attacks. Patrick briefly falls in with a group of scary antilycan skinheads who call themselves “the Americans” before befriending Claire. Patrick’s father becomes a victim in the military occupation of the Lupine Republic, which is situated between Russia and Finland but is seemingly modeled on Iraq and Afghanistan. Chase becomes infected with the lobos prion that causes lycanthropy, and struggles to hide this from the public until a vaccine can be perfected. And the resistance, responding to increasingly inflammatory antilycan laws, plots ever more outrageous terrorist acts that escalate to an explosive denouement. Percy lends his novel’s events credibility by working out a convincing pathology and epidemiology for the lobos prion, and situating the lycan struggle at the center of historical moments that echo 20th-century eugenics experiments, the civil rights movement, the ’60s Days of Rage, and the current “war on terror,” whose rhetoric he adapts brilliantly to his story’s purposes. His precision-crafted prose conveys an astonishing amount of detail in as few words as necessary, as in this description of Claire’s lupine transformation: “Her bones stretch and bend and pop, and she yowls in pain, as if she is giving birth, one body coming out of another.” The confidence and assuredness with which Percy tells his story compel him to take some risks that pay off in a shocker of a finale that follows through audaciously on the possibilities of his tale’s premise. By tapping the zeitgeist of the contemporary sociopolitical climate and distilling it into a potent myth concerned with the tyranny of the majority and the demonization of the Other, he has written an ambitious, epic novel that deserves to reach a larger readership beyond genre audiences. Stefan Dziemianowicz is co-editor of Supernatural Literature of the World: An Encyclopedia.
From the Publisher
"I can't think of another book that is more timely and relevant to the world we live in at this precise moment-the post-September 11th, post-Boston Marathon bombing landscape of heightened xenophobia and security-than Red Moon."—The Nervous Breakdown
"Red Moon is a serious, politically symbolic novel-a literary novel about lycanthropes. If George Orwell had imagined a future where the werewolf population had grown to the degree that they were colonized and drugged, this terrifying novel might be it."—John Irving, author of In One Person
"Benjamin Percy is one of the most gifted and versatile writers to appear in American publishing in years. His degree of craft and natural talent are extraordinary; his ear for language is absolutely perfect. His prose has the masculine power of Ernest Hemingway's, but also the sensibilities and compassion of Eudora Welty. His writing is like a meeting of Shakespeare and rock 'n' roll. Benjamin Percy knows how to keep it in E-major, and what a ride it is."—James Lee Burke, author of Feast Day of Fools
"With Red Moon one of our most blazingly gifted young writers stakes his claim to national attention. Benjamin Percy has one great advantage over most writers who attempt 'literary horror': he understands the literature of real horror from the inside out, and he speaks it like a native. This is a novel with the power to thrill and transport, also to lead the reader well out of her comfort zone and into emotional territory few people have ever seen."—Peter Straub
"There's no other way to say it: Benjamin Percy has written a stunner, a genre-bending novel of suspense and terror but with Percy's usual force-of-nature language and his deep insights into character. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough, nor could I put it down."—Tom Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, Hell at the Breech and Poachers
Entertainment Weekly (grade: A-)
"Percy is an ace world-builder, creating a massive cast of characters and a surprisingly believable alternate history. . . . Devastating and darkly funny."
Tom Franklin
"There's no other way to say it: Benjamin Percy has written a stunner, a genre-bending novel of suspense and terror but with Percy's usual force-of-nature language and his deep insights into character. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough, nor could I put it down."
Peter Straub
"With Red Moon one of our most blazingly gifted young writers stakes his claim to national attention. Benjamin Percy has one great advantage over most writers who attempt 'literary horror': he understands the literature of real horror from the inside out, and he speaks it like a native. This is a novel with the power to thrill and transport, also to lead the reader well out of her comfort zone and into emotional territory few people have ever seen."
James Lee Burke
"Benjamin Percy is one of the most gifted and versatile writers to appear in American publishing in years. His degree of craft and natural talent are extraordinary; his ear for language is absolutely perfect. His prose has the masculine power of Ernest Hemingway's, but also the sensibilities and compassion of Eudora Welty. His writing is like a meeting of Shakespeare and rock 'n' roll. Benjamin Percy knows how to keep it in E-major, and what a ride it is."
John Irving
"Red Moon is a serious, politically symbolic novel-a literary novel about lycanthropes. If George Orwell had imagined a future where the werewolf population had grown to the degree that they were colonized and drugged, this terrifying novel might be it."
The Nervous Breakdown
"I can't think of another book that is more timely and relevant to the world we live in at this precise moment-the post-September 11th, post-Boston Marathon bombing landscape of heightened xenophobia and security-than Red Moon."
Wisconsin State Journal
"Engrossing. . . . Readers shopping for some juicy literary horror to bite into this summer, perhaps starring hungry werewolves, would do well to pick up Benjamin Percy's Red Moon. . . A beast of a tale. . . . tense, slick and as gory as anything you'll read. But Percy's story possesses an unexpected depth, one that forces the reader to hold up a mirror and examine some uncomfortable prejudices."
Tampa Bay Times
"A powerfully written alternative history."
Austin Chronicle
"A heady mix of political allegory and urban fantasy. . . . Percy is a skilled writer, able to sympathetically portray both sides of this conflict, never resorting to a good-vs.-evil delineation. His novel examines the themes of race, religion, social injustice, and the war on terror while also providing a provocative update on the werewolf mythos. . . . Those looking for some contemporary politics mixed in with their modern horror will definitely find something to sink their teeth into."
The Guardian (UK)
"Red Moon is that rare beast, a genre novel that is literary, politically aware and thought-provoking."
All You Editors
"Packed with suspense, political intrigue and an against-the-odds romance, Percy's latest has all the makings of a summer blockbuster. . . . If you toss this supernatural thriller into your beach bag you're unlikely to regret it."
The Strand
"RED MOON is a complex novel, and a thriller of real power. The action sequences are fast moving, often gruesome, and delivered with an edge-of-the-seat pace. The descriptive scenes can take your breath away with the power of the writing."
Book Page
"Spellbinding . . . RED MOON is a cross between Stephen King and the Michael Chabon of The Yiddish Policeman's Union . . . . A fat, multilayered page-turner. . . . If you haven't read Percy, get started."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"A remarkably rendered speculative history of America as well as a gripping grisly horror story... Complex, clever and on occasion wonderfully ironic."
The Missourian
"The prose in this page-turner is purposefully cinematic. . . . Reading Red Moon involves a personal connection with a diverse set of characters, some of whom we may recognize. Percy seems to foster this connection, hoping we relate on a grand scale of humanity. He challenges readers to acknowledge a kinship with the enemy and to 'make yourself heard. Howl.'"
The Inlander (Spokane)
"One of America's promising young writers. . . . [Percy] crafts sentences that drip with the same drool of the lycans who both terrorize and save his protagonists. . . . Literary fiction with a menacing tone, a thrilling pace, and no shortage of bloody imagery."
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"A remarkably rendered speculative history of America, as well as a gripping, grisly horror story. . . . Poetic . . . In Percy's plagued fictional reality the allegorical connections to current affairs are complex and clever."
The Oregonian
"It would be tempting, or at least easier, to put Percy's book in the werewolf subgenre, but Red Moon is much more than that. Dark, bloody, violent, relentlessly grounded in the post-9/11 world and the Pacific Northwest, not without humor but sparing in its application, Red Moon could well serve as the Heart of Darkness of a new, more anxious generation, one that must somehow come to terms with the enemies, real or perceived, who live quietly among us."
Booklist (starred review)
"A splendid read. . . . Percy focuses on a trio of engaging and beautifully drawn characters. . . . [Percy] humanizes the werewolf, turning him from snarling beast into a creature for whom we feel compassion and affection."
Roxane Gay
"[Percy] deftly negotiates the delicate balance between crafting commentary and a compelling literary creation. . . . A gripping and violent story."
New York Observer
"Don't mistake this book for anything less than a great literary achievement; Red Moon is, in all likelihood, the most well-written werewolf novel you will come across."
Nylon
"Evocative, poetic prose...Percy's panoramic portrait is a welcome addition to literary horror."
Chicago Tribune
"Terrifying and tense."
Ron Charles
"Smart and brisk and often poetic...Percy knows how to draw intense, dramatic scenes as the world goes feral."
O Magazine
"[A] stunning new read."
Vanity Fair
"...a terrifically hairy werewolf novel."
Christian Science Monitor
"Audaciously complex and hauntingly composed. . . . [Percy] ballasts his nightmare with a poet's more natural magic. . . . Fear, this book reminds us, is a beast that's always hungry."
Entertainment Weekly's "Must List"
"Percy's latest novel is a smart, action-packed political thriller. . . . It's a high-wire literary act that the author pulls off with panache."
USA Today
"Atmospheric . . . While some writers of paranormal novels wrap their creatures in romance and comic subplots, Percy has chosen a darker, more literary path. Red Moon is a morality tale cloaked in fur, fangs and social injustice. Werewolves are the monsters in the story, but the bête noire is humanity's moral decline."
Justin Cronin
"Percy has a lusty flair for describing destruction. . . . When Claire and Patrick take the field, the book lights up, and the writing possesses a resonant, emotional honesty. . . . The story is imaginative and lots of fun, and it will deservedly charm many readers."
Stefan Dziemianowicz
"Extraordinary. . . . An ambitious, epic novel. . . . Holds a mirror up to contemporary America to reflect its fears and biases."
Booklist
"A splendid read. . . . Percy focuses on a trio of engaging and beautifully drawn characters. . . . [Percy] humanizes the werewolf, turning him from snarling beast into a creature for whom we feel compassion and affection."
-Tom Franklin
"There's no other way to say it: Benjamin Percy has written a stunner, a genre-bending novel of suspense and terror but with Percy's usual force-of-nature language and his deep insights into character. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough, nor could I put it down."
JULY 2013 - AudioFile
Benjamin Percy delivers a ponderous narration for this very long story set in a parallel universe in which lycans (wolf shape-shifters) live openly, register with the government, and face discrimination on all sides. Revolt is inevitable. Percy includes a great deal of background detail and context for the various story lines, which may of interest to listeners who revel in detail. He does some effective characterizations and dialogue and provides a few lighter moments. However, the book’s passages of exposition seem endless, and the narration does little to relieve the tedium. The plotlines are hard to follow, and the narration doesn’t help one to keep them straight. J.E.M. 2014 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
Percy tries his hand at horror in his latest novel. Here, he envisions a world divided between those infected with a disease that turns them into lycans and those who are disease free. Patrick climbs aboard a plane headed to his mother's as his military father leaves for an assignment. After takeoff, a lycan wreaks havoc, killing everyone in the cabin area except for Patrick, who hides under a pile of dead bodies. Dubbed "Miracle Boy" by the media, the teen tries to live down his instant fame but seems destined instead to be haunted by it. Meanwhile, lycan Claire witnesses the terrifying murder of her parents and flees ahead of the mysterious avenging agency that seems dedicated to killing off the lycan population. A man with questionable character who may or may not run for president, a woman married to a lycan ringleader and a lycan rebel round out the large cast of characters in this novel about the struggle between the lycans and their uninfected counterparts. At stake: the lycan nation's place in society and a country that was once theirs and the toll the escalating war between the two is taking. The smaller story follows the growing romance between Patrick and Claire. Running with gore--almost every page drips blood--and soaked in violence, the book switches back and forth between characters. Percy elbows his way into the horror genre, adding literary polish along the way, but this tale rambles on much too long, with page after page of superfluous detail. Percy leans toward colorful and obscure terms or word usages that will propel many casual readers to pause and pull out their dictionaries, often with unsatisfying results. Percy births an interesting concept that he then submerges in a writing style that is both affected and self-consciously literary.
