Waking the Moon

Rating:
Summary: Unique plot dies at the hands of poor style and execution
Review: I had great hopes for Waking The Moon. I've grown weary of finding that easily 80% of the novels available in the horror sections of my local bookstores are based on vampires. I do love the vampire genre, but most of what is being published is laughably bad pulp. So, I was really ready for a break and thought I had found it. I had never read any of Ms. Hand's previous works, but, the synopsis on the back of the book (along with rave reviews from actual readers of the book on the Amazon website) had prepared me for a new horror experience. However, after finishing Waking in three days, I was left largely unimpressed. I do concede that the plot of the book is definitely rather unique in the horror genre, especially of late. I give Ms. Hand a certain amount of credit for even thinking to tackle such an ambitious task as penning a convincing horror story whose basis focuses on goddess worship. The amount of research necessary to successfully pull off such a book would have to be an enormous undertaking and it appears that, at the very least, Ms. Hand was up to the challenge of researching and accurately depicting the history of goddess worship. As a witch, I, personally, do not focus my spiritual intentions solely upon a goddess figure; I integrate the male/female energies into a single entity, much as my Native American ancestors did. Nevertheless, I am very pleased to see a horror writer depicting one aspect of historic paganism in a responsible and seemingly informed manner. Far too many novels have been given shelf space that cast witches as malevolent, hate-filled hags bent on doing evil deeds for the Judeo-Christian Satan. Misinformation abounds in the witch genre (Anne Rice's witch series is a prime example), but Ms. Hand definitely approaches the subject sympathetically and informed. Frequently, she did go way over the top in her estimation of the goddess figure's dark side, however, I simply chalked that up a necessary evil for writing in this genre. So, the plot is very interesting. What detracts from the story as a whole (and, ultimately, ruined my enjoyment of the book) is Ms. Hand's pretentious writing style and her sloppy execution. I am a voracious reader and a well-educated person. Never before have I found myself referring to a dictionary as often as I did while reading Waking. Great writers have a love for words; Ms. Hand's relationship with words borders on obsessive. She is a word stalker, especially of obscure and flowery words with obsolete spellings. For those of us who read books not only to enjoy a good story, but also to admire a writer's style and execution, this preoccupation with the thesaurus interrupts the flow of the book by making the read stilted and, at its worst, reduces the book to nothing more than an ostentatious bore. I finally stopped referring to a dictionary a third of the way through the book. I feared it would take me a week to finish if I kept checking on the meaning of words like "pleached" (which means "laced") and "Ringolevio" (nothing more than the children's game, Kick The Can). Another bone of contention were anachronistic and out-of-character references and blatantly unresearched material. The first anachronism is the mention of tinted contact lenses occurs early in the book, which takes place in 1975. The only tinted contact lenses available to the public at that time were hard lenses and they were so large and uncomfortable to wear that virtually no one except movie studios used them. Another anachronistic reference to a "boom box" is made by the character, Annie Harmon, in the portion of the book set in 1975. The term "boom box" wasn't coined until the early 80s. In fact, nothing resembling a boom box even existed in 1975. Those were the days of 8-tracks. Equally frustrating were out-of-character references like Sweeney recalling twenty years after the fact that Warnick was wearing a specific designer's suit and that Angelica was wearing a specific designer's sandals on what was Sweeney's first (and likely most distracted) day at the Divine. And even if she did have a photographic memory that would enable her to remember those small details, when exactly did Sweeney become a clothes horse? As I recall, this character was depicted as being hopelessly out of style at the time she supposedly noticed these things. Ms. Hand was definitely caught with her proverbial pants down when she referred to Warnick's desk. She stated that it was made of "rowan - an ancient oak." A rowan tree is known today as a mountain ash. An ash. Not an oak. Anyone with even a modicum of understanding of witchcraft knows the difference. Niggling? I don't think so. It was sloppiness on Ms. Hand's part and could have been pretty easily avoided. Additionally, I felt Ms. Hand lacked complete insight into certain characters' motivations, which, in turn, made for two-dimensional character development (Balthazar Warnick and Dylan Furiano spring to mind). And, even more deplorable was the pitiful devolvement of a decent horror story into a cheesy romance novel when Sweeney meets Dylan. The entire afternoon interlude full of tepid romantic "tension" in a sultry Washington D.C. made me want to gag. I mean, c'mon.... how typical of the romance genre is the younger man/older woman combination, in which the coltish man-boy ends up in the sack with the heroine during which time he proves himself to be an inhumanly virile, breathtakingly skilled lover - even though he's a virgin!? Give me a break. Finally, the portion of the seemingly hoped-for cataclysmic ending that described Angelica's demise at the hands (? - mouth, maybe?) of the moon goddess was written too esoterically to be fully understood or enjoyed. I was just visiting the bookstore yesterday and saw that Ms. Hand has a new book on the hardcover rack. I've chosen to abstain.

Rating:
Summary: best book ive read in a long time
Review: name army of the damned futuristic sci fi war with the main charecters being the minds of the death sentenced inmates. very griping could not put it down.

Rating:
Summary: Boooooring
Review: So transparently "goth" and so excrutiatingly tedious that I never finished it

Rating:
Summary: Lucent, limpid, luxurious prose
Review: Ditto to almost everything written heretofore. Add to that prose of great facility and voluptuousness. Language that in a controlled and wonderful way suggests the very best of Jack Vance and Clark Ashton Smith, with exactly the right words to describe precisely what is occuring in the scene. The scenes become tangible, livable entities, increasing the horror and the delight.

Rating:
Summary: A book you'll never forget.
Review: Elizabeth Hand does in this book what Mary Shelley did in Frankenstein, Bram Stoker in Dracula. She has written a horror novel that is so plausible, so believable that after reading it you will be scared of the moon... of Othiym, the Woman in the Moon. It's almost heartbreaking to read. Hand uses such poetry in her narrative that at one point you could feel yourself sinking down into a Sweeney-like depression and rising up again when Dylan, who looks so much like Oliver, tells her he loves her. While one part of Sweeney accepts this present, remembering Oliver's promise that "I'll love you next time." another part still yearns for the time before she knew who or what Angelica really was... before Oliver died... when the Benandanti could still protect her. You will read this book once, you'll read over again, and you still won't really understand

Rating:
Summary: Nothing is what it seems to be.
Review: I have been a fan of Hand since reading -Winterlong-. Her ability to make the most surreal landscapes seem probable is uncanny. Her characters are always fascinating and their struggles instrinsic to each story she tells. --Waking the Moon- is a story of love, protection and final absolution as seen through the eyes of a college girl named Sweeney. We have all heard the rumors of an agehold society of power brokers who control the world. Theyare very real in this book and they exist to shield the rest of us from an unimaginable power. Three people are touched by this power, Sweeny and her friends Oliver and Angelica. Tegether and alone, they forge the future for the restof the world. Angelica is a chilling, thought provoking character, appearing i

Rating:
Summary: A smart horror novel that will keep you awake at night
Review: Convincing characters, original use of old horror themes, sharp social commentary and the smooth integration of research makes Elizabeth Hand's "Waking the Moon" a novel worth any reader's time. Hand makes the characters practically live and breathe on the page; readers will relate to main character Sweeney's longing for the "Beautiful Ones," and cheer on her unlikely May-December romance with Dylan. Hand avoids making anyone in the novel the "bad guy," as so many horror novels do. Even as the reader is terrified of Angelica, they can empathize with her sadness over killing those she loves. Also, Hand rises above the cliched horror plot of friends reunited to confront an evil from their past, by making each friend unique. The novel enthralls as well as educates the reader. It's well-researched, and Hand skillfully mixes this information in along with the plot. Lastly, with Angelica's cult, Hand comments on today's society and women's role in it, and takes today's "goddess" movements one horrifying step further. A wonderful novel in every way

Rating:
Summary: Great. A terrific book.
Review: This is a terrific book--I didn't want it to end! The narration of the heroine Sweeney, in her loneliness and insecurity, remembering her lost love, will break your heart. There are some really hauntingly beautiful passages in this story. You know how once in a while you come across a book stays with you for a while, sort of at the back of your mind? This one does that for me

Rating:
Summary: HAND HAS DONE IT AGAIN!
Review: HAND IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE WRITERS. WAKING THE MOON IS A GREAT EXAMPLE. WAKING HAS ALL THE ELEMENTS THAT I LOVE IN HER BOOKS:LYRICAL WRITING, VIVID EROTICISM, AND ATMOSPHERE OF MENACE. I ESPECIALLLY LIKE SWEENEY. SHE IS NOT YOU TYPICAL HEROINE. SHE IS LONELY AND SHE HAS DOUBTS, FEARS.MOON ALSO CREATES A CHILLING CULT THAT MADE MY BLOOD TEMPERATURE GO DOWN A FEW DEGREES.

Rating:
Summary: Great book- you wont put it down
Review: I am not someone who reads novels all too often. A friend gave me this book and told me to check it out. I read the first chapter hesitently and was hooked. Hand does a great job of weaving a wild tale. Just when you think the plot has gone as far as it can go.... Hand takes it a step farther. I could not put the book down