Dark of the Moon

Very much enjoyed this second installment of the Kencyrath chronicles. Jame has left the city of Tai-Tastigon where she had found refuge and friends with Marc, her Kendar ally, and the ounce, (think big smart cat) to seek out her brother to give their father's sword and ring which she recovered. Naturally things won't go according to plan. Lots to like here -- complex world, where the dead, unless burned, are likely to transform into something in-between and where the living, if they aren't careful are also in danger of losing themselves in the darkness that surrounds. We get two protagonists this time. Jame and her brother Torisen (and brief moments in the minds of some lesser but interesting characters). Torisen balances well with show more Jame. He is naturally open and kind and relatively uncomplicated and it is entirely convincing that he "binds" people to be loyal to him. Some fun baddies too here, along with the scary ones. More humor as well, a sign that Hodgell is feeling more confident as she moves us deeper into the story. I've got the next two ordered and will plunge back in when they arrive. Much less confused this time. My only complaint would be that there are moments when characters drone on with explanations about why something is the way it is, exposition. Hodgell is hard pressed because the world, characters, and plot is complex and things have to be explained somehow, but. **** show less

This is the second in the Chronicles of Kencyrath, a fantasy series which a fellow bibliophile here on LT has highly recommended.

Dark of the Moon continues the story of Jame, her friend Marc and her ounce, a kitten of a variety of large wild cat and with whom she is telepathicically linked.

She is searching for her brother Torisen,who although he is her twin, is older than she; the two having spent time in areas where time moves at different speeds. Torisen is trying to establish himself as high king and major battles are looming, not just with the more mortal elements of the land.

It seems like anything I may say might contain spoilers so I will just say that I enjoyed this much more than [God Stalk], the first of the series, which I show more found a bit confusing.

It all ends with a bit of a cliffhanger – no, wait there must be more! So I'll definitely go on with the series. But I think I may skip months in between. Or maybe not. show less

In this sequel of "God Stalk," Hodgell follows her main character from that book, Jame, but the tone of the story changes drastically. "Dark of the Moon" is a much more 'epic'-feeling fantasy, as Jame returns to her mission to find her brother, whom she suspects is now High Lord of the Kencyr . So she sets forth with the 'giant' man, Marc, and her mind-bonded blind hunting cat, Jorin, and much questing and adventure ensues...
Meanwhile, her brother, Torisen, is indeed High Lord, and as such is dealing with much political maneuvering, as Kencyr society is bound by all kinds of strict traditions and rigid ideas about honor... which can get in the way of dealing with issues that come up, such as shape-changing impostors, assassins, show more power-hungry rivals, not to mention the rumors of a three-million-strong, half-human cannibal horde about to overrrun civilized lands...
Well-done fantasy but I have to admit that I missed the more intimate tone of the first book, as well as the intriguing setting of the city of Tai-Tastigon. show less

Much easier to read and follow than [God Stalk] it was less interesting and fairly similar to the other fantasy of its time. I don't like nasty dudes being political as a form of entertainment, and though some of the landscape and characters have the potential to interest there were too much of the former and too many of the latter to get any real feel for them. And a couple times just to show how clever she is Hodgell put words in the mouths of her characters that didn't really suit them.

I just wish she was more prolific: Five or six years ago I was going through a stack of about fifteen or twenty books. They were SF Book Club monthly shipments that I had never gotten around to reading. There was one by C.J. Cherryh(sp?) but most of them weren't memorable. With one BIG exception.Dark of the Moon from the very first chapter captured my imagination. This book was able to pull some deep chords in my psyche. Some of the written passages gave me the most indescribable feelings of having been through this before, in a nightmare. The plotline itself isn't as strong as some other books but it is good and the action is very good. The main attraction of this book to me though is the world it's set in. I could imagine countless show more stories set on this ghostly and fantastic plane. I liked the portrayal of evil in this book as what was once good but is now lost. Evil is sort of a distorted reflection of good so the beauty you see in one is also there in the other. Even if the book doesn't resonate with you on a deeper level it's still just a very good read. In my opinion the best thing that happened in fantasy in the eighties(weis and hickman are good but I like resolution). Unfortunately Mrs. P.C.Hodgell's name is so hard to remember, it sounds like an English historian, barrister, something other than a writer of fantasy. The books might come out again in paperback around this time next year. I hope so and I hope you can get a chance to read this book and find out for yourself how good it is. show less

I enjoyed this book but nowhere near as much as the first one. A big part of what worked for me was the culture of the city Tai-tastigon, the people and how Jame navigated and interacted with them all. The rest of the world seemed rather pale in comparison to the richness of the city.

I also don't care much for military stories or political intrigue, you can't trust anyone even though you will and probably get betrayed stories as a rule, and while I could be wrong as I haven't read any of the other books, that seems to be where this series is heading which has seriously cooled my interest. Someday I need to find and read the rest, just to be sure.

Still, it was well worth reading, I just find I don't go back to it as much as the first show more one, it doesn't resonate with me as much, and if I ever lost it I probably wouldn't try to replace it, while I know I would Godstalk. show less

The second book in this series, I liked it just as well as the first. The writing style is perfect for me; the author was able to catch my attention with the action and adventure. I also attached well on an emotional level. I felt the need and urgency to complete the quest, as though I had invested the time, energy and emotion that Jame did. This book had me from the first chapter. In fact the whole series did. Great original ideas and story telling, classic good vs. evil plotline, the book has it all. One of the few books I have read multiple times.