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Summary: Good story, but....
Review: It's a good story, but I found the writing to be a bit opaque at times. For instance, I didn't realize the Count was a dwarf until halfway through the book (when someone finally SAYS it). Also, I sometimes thought Ms. McIntyre was just showing off all the research she did for this book, at the expense of moving the plot forward. However, despite all that, I had a hard time putting the book down. The scenes with the sea monster were riviting!
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Summary: From the press release from Jim Henson Pictures
Review: Jim Henson Pictures has optioned THE MOON AND THE SUN, a novel by best selling, award winning author Vonda N. McIntyre. The announcement was made by Stephanie Allain, President of Production, Jim Henson Pictures. The feature film will be produced by Michael London, former Executive Vice President of Production at Twentieth Century Fox, with Christopher Renshaw set to direct. Laura Harrington will write the screenplay. Stephanie Allain and Kristine Belson will serve as executives in charge of production. THE MOON AND THE SUN, the 1997 Nebula Award winner for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year, is an engrossing tale set in the 17th century court of Louis XIV about a young lady, Marie-Josephe, who defies the will of the King. In this "alternate history" of mermaids, Louis XIV captures what he believes to be the source of immortality, a living sea monster of maritime legend and lore. Marie-Josephe bonds with the creature and battles to prove the "monster"s" humanity against the most powerful man in the world. "Kristine and I were captivated by the book, Laura"s mesmerizing pitch and the passion that Michael and Christopher shared for the vision of the film," said Ms. Allain.
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Summary: More psychological than adventurous
Review: Marie-Josephe, after living in a convent, finds herself at the court of Louis XIV. Her brother, Yves, has found a sea monster and has brought it back to his majesty - who believes that the sea monster is the key to his immortality. However, Marie-Josephe can understand and communicate with the creature, and she comes to realize she's not as much a monster, as she is human. I loved all the research that went into writing this book. The court of Louis XIV was amazingly well recreated. I also liked the love-story that was woven in to the plot. The last hundred pages or so were my favorite. Unfortunately, the plot was very slow at times. This isn't a book about great adventures, epic battles and heroes and heroines in the typical sense. Most of the "action" revolves around Marie-Josephe's struggles - both internal, and external while trying to deal with life at court. Just a note of caution: the writing style was extremely descriptive. McIntyre uses a lot of unfamiliar, long words to get her point across. I had to have a dictionary beside me at all times while reading this book. Also, the book dealt a lot with Christianity at the time. Struggles to save one's eternal soul, struggles to discover immortality, and the immoral way most people at court behaved despite Christianity's role in their lives was explored at length. Overall, I would only recommend it to fans of the period, or fans of fantasy novels that are more psychological than adventurous.
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Summary: Sneak Peek
Review: Sneak peek at the wonderful cover (by Gary Halsey): http://www.sff.net/people/Vonda
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Summary: Great story, slightly disappointing writing
Review: Sometimes, there's nothing an author can do to kill a great story. Mermaid/Monster gets captured and brought to the court of Louis XIV, where a spunky young servant girl must liberate her. With a premise like that, how could you lose? The author did well enough telling the story to make the book a winner. The trouble for me was that I just really wanted the author to do more, and write better. The setting and story didn't deserve the awkward, flat prose, or the almost-but-not-quite believable characters. The worst part was when the plot seemed to come to a complete stop around Chapter 4 and didn't start up again until Chapter 10 or so. It was like the characters all avoided each other (often literally) for 100 pages. The author seemed to be so entranced by the location (how many times can she describe at length the same "green carpet" that the protagonist walks up and down every day?) that she forgot characters are allowed, even at court, to do something other than make courtly small talk with one another. Why this lapse, I never figured out. Once the plot got going again, it was intricate, exciting, and emotionally engaging right up to the satisfying-if-predictable ending. I can only hope Vonda McIntyre does with this book what Stephen King did with The Stand: come back in a few years when her skill as a writer has grown, add 100 pages, thicken the plot, and ratchet up the character depth and tension. Don't wait til then to read the book, though! Greatness will out, sometimes in spite of the author's efforts, and this is a truly great story.
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Summary: Versailles, Sea Monsters, Sun King and Love with Dwarf
Review: The author has an incredible imagination. She makes a young woman, fresh out of the convent, the protector of a female Sea Monster. The monster was captured by the woman's priest-brother for the king. King Louis XIV at Versailles plans to eat the Sea Monster since he believes that she will thereby give him immortality. Added to that incredible mix is a dwarf at court, Count Lucien. He is lover to countless women who adore him plus he is the hero who will come to love the heroine and help her save the sea monster. All of this is created in stunning detail by the author. Maybe if she had just tried to convince me of the Sea Monster at Versailles with Louis's plot, that would have been enough though. When she added in the dwarf Don Juan, I felt as if a Fellini movie had been added into the mix. It just pushed it a bit over the top for me personally. Nevertheless, it is a very good reading experience and you will be fully rewarded if you are a fantasy fan.
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Summary: Fine ideas; poor writing.
Review: The Moon and the Sun begins with the compelling premise of a sea monster brought to Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV. Yet Ms. McIntyre neither takes the plot anywhere of real interest, nor infuses her characters with anything more than stereotypical personalities. The novel's heroine, Marie-Josephe St. Croix, is a stark anachronism at the court of Versailles. Although Marie-Josephe's ideas and worldview are undeniably sympathetic, she epitomizes a thoroughly contemporary ideal -- her views on slavery, education, religion, and the rights of women are all modern ideas -- and, as such, she fails to be a believable character. Moreover, the other characters of the novel fall into predictable roles and never surprise the reader with any of their actions. Ms. McIntyre wrote The Moon and the Sun as an alternate history (with only the one, central fantasy element), but it seems unlikely that this novel would not have garnered praise had it been written for another genre. That fantasy readers reward such mediocre novels with their highest awards reflects tellingly on the sci-fi/fantasy genre as a whole -- and that reflection is decidedly negative.
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Summary: Publishers Weekly Best Books of 1997
Review: The Moon and the Sun has been named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 1997.
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Summary: McIntyre's "alternative history" is fantastic fun
Review: The Moon and the Sun is a social history for anyone who also loves the magical and mythical. The "Splendid Century", with Louis XIV at its apex, is surreal enough without putting a sea monster in the waters of a Versailles fountain. McIntyre blends just enough fact with her creative fantasy to qualify as historical fiction, and then she tweaks the myth to a point of possibility. I hope her companion screen play becomes a movie. It would bring the extravagance of the Sun King's costumes (Liberance's wardrobe pales in comparison), an intimate tour of the splendor and squalor of Versailles, and the social commentary on the beauty within the beast to those who always watch and never read
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Summary: Excellent blend of fantasy and alternate history
Review: The Moon and the Sun" (1997) is an excellent fantasy novel by US science fiction author Vonda McIntyre. The novel is not a standard fantasy, but rather an alternate history novel with fantasy elements. It won a number of awards, including the 1997 Nebula Award for Best Novel (beating the favorite "A Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin). The story is set in 17th century France, during the reign of the Sun King Louis XIV, at his court in Versailles. The novel is filled with a large cast of courtiers, many of them historical figures, who are all competing for the favor of the King. The main character, Marie-Josephe de la Croix, assists her brother, Father Yves de la Croix, in the scientific study of a recently captured sea monster. The King hopes to gain immortality by consuming part of the creature, but as the study continues, Marie-Josephe discovers the sea monster may be more than a dumb beast. This discovery tests Marie-Josephe's loyalty to her brother, her king and her religion. Vonda McIntyre thoroughly researched the historical setting for "The Moon and the Sun" and created a very convincing setting, filling it with believable and well-rounded characters. Because of the level of detail, the novel can be enjoyed as a historical novel and a fantasy. Very highly recommended. Note: the novel originated as a short story, written in the form of a fictional encyclopedia article, "The Natural History and Extinction of the People of the Sea", which was illustrated by (fellow author) Ursula K. Le Guin and indirectly inspired by research done by the late Avram Davidson, another brilliant SF writer. The novel also exists as a screenplay.
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