"This narrative depicts an endless night-path down which I stumble, slashing and philosophizing." (pg. 172)

While the author himself has become one of my favourite writers, Raymond St. Elmo's Quest of the Five Clans series does not rotate at my natural speed, or along my favoured orbits. It's a mad, disorderly adventure, overdosed with shape-shifters and outlandish personages. But, as with the previous instalment in the series, The Moon Tartan ended up winning me over simply by its quality.

I found it difficult to orient myself at first, and even by the end I had to work to keep my wits about me. St. Elmo uses an odd, stop-start syntax in The Moon Tartan that gives me something akin to motion sickness (his other, non-Clan novels are more flowing). At its worst, it leads to clumsy lines of faux-regal dialogue like "This castle fast bests me" (pg. 120). The content itself – a relentless procession of moon-touched loons dip in and out of the story – makes it hard to identify quite what the story/quest/narrative is meant to even be, and is so random in its fantastical creativity that it's not always clear what the rules of the story are, and what is possible.

But then, perhaps it's my fault for not being able to hold my literary liquor. The Moon Tartan is rich and theatrical, and consistently involving, with the originality and erudition that I'm always seeking out (and so rarely find) in contemporary fiction. Though the book never settles, I – as reader – did manage to, and the main confrontations – such as the ones with the Laird Mac Tier and, later, with Dealer and the Aldermen – are tense, thrilling and great theatre. In such powerful moments (which, it should be said, soon outweigh the book's more challenging features), The Moon Tartan shows itself as intoxicating writing, like a lunatic Zorro. While the series is not, as I said, at my preferred speed or inclination, I would have liked this much less from a writer less capable of delivering it. St. Elmo is a singular writer and I know that, once I have recovered, I will be keen for another round of whatever he's concocting.

"I sighed, drained the wine-cup, reached to place it upon an ancient throne." (pg. 76) ( )

In The Moon Tartan, Rayne Gray pursues both vengeance and duty while navigating the complexities of his newly acquired family. It’s a toss-up whether they or his old enemies will get to him first. With Gray’s mix of present-day concerns and reminiscences of the past, we get a fuller picture of both himself and the historical environment he inhabits.

It’s very readable with lovely, rich prose. I say this as someone who almost always prefers “functional” writing, so the author’s on to something here. It probably helps that the book’s fairly short: and for me this isn’t a series that I’d binge-read over a weekend. I’ll take my time before picking up the next one, which is something to look forward to.

An excellent entry to a very unique series

Goddamn, I love this book. Mister St. Elmo seems to revel in clever word choice and creating the most delightful phrases. Like the first, the second book feels crafted rather than simply written, as if each sentence was given special attention, and so demands attention from the reader. But it isn’t just the writing style that makes this book excellent. Our hero the spadassin, the incomparable Rayne Gray, is such a wonderful character. Skilled and intelligent, principled and stubborn, he narrates his adventures once again with anecdotes, musings, and humorous commentary that engage and entertain throughout.

As the world inches closer by the day to industrial revolution, Rayne Gray takes up his self-imposed responsibility to right the injustices of the era. He leaves his new wife to establish order in their wedding-gifted haunted castle while he returns to the city “[t]o kill a man, affirm social justice, place flowers upon a grave, and recover a fortune stolen […]”. Upon arriving in the city, he finds... himself - no, not in some revelation of self-discovery - literally, another Rayne Gray. As he endeavors to check items off his to-do list, he crosses paths again with family members and old acquaintances.

If you liked The Blood Tartan, you will be delighted in this sequel. If you finished The Blood Tartan unsure of your feelings, I would encourage you to pick up The Moon Tartan - we get more of Gray, more of the family, some development of our characters and some introductions of new ones, and all-around another excellent entry in this very unique series. ( )