Red Moon Rising

Rating:
Summary: Threads
Review: A teenager succumbs to a disease that turns people into vampires, a disease most of her relatives have fallen prey to.

An ancient vampire spends his days helping other vampires withstand the curse of their own lives, instruct the newly changed into the ways of their kind, protects some humans from themselves, and generally tries to keep peace among all.

A magnate in the terminal stage of a fatal and cruel disease becomes convinced vampires do exist, and hires someone to find them, in his last attempt to escape death.

A pair of doctors, long-time lovers, get in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

We watch as these various stories combine to make Red Moon Rising. The general idea is interesting, but the pace is completely off. There is no build-up, no sense of things falling into place. Which is all the more curious because everything falls *exactly* into place, with such a precision that "coincidence" just doesn't cover it.

Looks to me like a good author with a good story to tell, but still lacking in experience. It's not a bad book, though.

Rating:
Summary: A refreshingly different type of vampire novel
Review: Billie Sue Mosiman, in Red Moon Rising, presents the reader with a promising new vision of vampirism. The author's basic premise is a good one, and it bodes well for the future of this book's sequels, but the storyline here begins to unravel a bit by the end, somewhat weakened by a lack of closure. There also seem to be a couple of inconsistencies over the course of the novel, but these do little harm. Red Moon Rising is a fast and enjoyable read, possessing a spirit of novelty that few vampire novels manage to attain these days, but it comes up a little short due largely to a few rushed spots and a few weaknesses in characterization.

In the world of Mosiman's creation, vampirism is caused by a mutated form of the blood disease porphyria (although vampires can be "made" on rare occasions); crossing the threshold from life to undeath involves a spiritual journey. There are three types of vampires - Predators, Naturals, and Cravens - and the afflicted Soul is transported to a dark and frightening world in which he/she must choose what type of vampire he/she wants to be. It is easy to give in to the Predators; these are the more stereotypical vampires, holding some disdain for mankind and partaking of fresh meals any time they want to. The Cravens also hold some allure to journeyman souls in this confusing new world, but Cravens are looked down upon by their brethren for their cowardly inability to cope with the change and take care of themselves in their new "lives." The Naturals reject the animal-like blood lust of the Predators and seek to live their lives in the guise of normal human beings, relying on the Predators' supply of bagged blood for their sustenance.

As the novel opens, eighteen-year-old Dell Cambian is forced to make her choice. She is a typical teenager who just happens to come from a family of vampires, but she had desperately hoped the disease would pass her by. An ancient vampire named Mentor is called upon to help Dell through her transition, and in a sense both of these characters compete for the role of protagonist as the book rolls along. Mentor has more to worry about that Dell's rebelliousness and growing love for a human boy, though. The Predator in charge of the area's blood supply business is poised to take drastic action when a pair of humans finds evidence of the vampires' existence, and an even bigger potential threat looms in the form of a filthy rich old man dying of the normal form of porphyria and seeking out a vampire to give him eternal life.

The novel starts off really well, especially in terms of Dell's troubles adjusting to her new "life." The reader also gets valuable insight into Mentor, a most unusual vampire who has undertaken the job of guiding all of his young charges in the area. The novel loses cohesion toward the end, however, and certain key elements simply come about without much explanation. Clearly, Mosiman was setting the stage for a sequel, and this results in a definite lack of closure to this particular novel.

All in all, though, Red Moon Rising is an original and quite enjoyable vampire novel. The medical rather than supernatural source of vampirism serves the author well, and the means by which vampires consume human blood is particularly interesting (albeit somewhat silly). The minor flaws in storyline progression and characterization are typical of a writer still developing his/her mastery of the craft. There is much to be excited about here, though, and I for one expect to see big things from Billie Sue Mosiman in the near future.

Rating:
Summary: A refreshingly different type of vampire novel
Review: Billie Sue Mosiman, in Red Moon Rising, presents the reader with a promising new vision of vampirism. The author's basic premise is a good one, and it bodes well for the future of this book's sequels, but the storyline here begins to unravel a bit by the end, somewhat weakened by a lack of closure. There also seem to be a couple of inconsistencies over the course of the novel, but these do little harm. Red Moon Rising is a fast and enjoyable read, possessing a spirit of novelty that few vampire novels manage to attain these days, but it comes up a little short due largely to a few rushed spots and a few weaknesses in characterization.

In the world of Mosiman's creation, vampirism is caused by a mutated form of the blood disease porphyria (although vampires can be "made" on rare occasions); crossing the threshold from life to undeath involves a spiritual journey. There are three types of vampires - Predators, Naturals, and Cravens - and the afflicted Soul is transported to a dark and frightening world in which he/she must choose what type of vampire he/she wants to be. It is easy to give in to the Predators; these are the more stereotypical vampires, holding some disdain for mankind and partaking of fresh meals any time they want to. The Cravens also hold some allure to journeyman souls in this confusing new world, but Cravens are looked down upon by their brethren for their cowardly inability to cope with the change and take care of themselves in their new "lives." The Naturals reject the animal-like blood lust of the Predators and seek to live their lives in the guise of normal human beings, relying on the Predators' supply of bagged blood for their sustenance.

As the novel opens, eighteen-year-old Dell Cambian is forced to make her choice. She is a typical teenager who just happens to come from a family of vampires, but she had desperately hoped the disease would pass her by. An ancient vampire named Mentor is called upon to help Dell through her transition, and in a sense both of these characters compete for the role of protagonist as the book rolls along. Mentor has more to worry about that Dell's rebelliousness and growing love for a human boy, though. The Predator in charge of the area's blood supply business is poised to take drastic action when a pair of humans finds evidence of the vampires' existence, and an even bigger potential threat looms in the form of a filthy rich old man dying of the normal form of porphyria and seeking out a vampire to give him eternal life.

The novel starts off really well, especially in terms of Dell's troubles adjusting to her new "life." The reader also gets valuable insight into Mentor, a most unusual vampire who has undertaken the job of guiding all of his young charges in the area. The novel loses cohesion toward the end, however, and certain key elements simply come about without much explanation. Clearly, Mosiman was setting the stage for a sequel, and this results in a definite lack of closure to this particular novel.

All in all, though, Red Moon Rising is an original and quite enjoyable vampire novel. The medical rather than supernatural source of vampirism serves the author well, and the means by which vampires consume human blood is particularly interesting (albeit somewhat silly). The minor flaws in storyline progression and characterization are typical of a writer still developing his/her mastery of the craft. There is much to be excited about here, though, and I for one expect to see big things from Billie Sue Mosiman in the near future.

Rating:
Summary: Valiant effort with low pay-off
Review: Dell Cambian is a teenager with normal, adolescent concerns--boys, grades, the future--when she is struck by the same disease that affects most of her family. Suddenly she is a vampire trying to deal with the powers and needs of a vampire while also yearning for the love of her life, the mortal Ryan. Mentor is the ancient vampire whose role is to help guide young vampires through their change--a change that will determine if Dell becomes part of the Predator, Craven, or Normal clan.

Charles Upton is a filthy rich, eccentric old man who is dying. He is also convinced that vampires exist and will spare no expense in order to catch a vampire who will give him immortal life. Dell becomes caught up in this scheme, and she must act quickly to save herself and the boy she loves.

The idea that vampirism is a genetic disease is interesting. I also liked Mosiman's descriptions of the different types of vampires. However, overall this novel fell flat for me. The dialogue is strained, and the plot seems to be set up solely to establish a base for the sequel. There are many small stories within the larger tale, and most of them are not developed enough from start to finish; too many plot threads compete for space in this novel.

This novel just didn't work for me. I wanted more of the vampires, but that was never really delivered. Like I said before, I like the premise of this novel, and I think Mosiman takes a creative look at the vampire myth. Yet, she doesn't quite flesh out the main storyline, and I was left hanging at the rushed ending.

Rating:
Summary: A New Vampire-story twist
Review: I enjoyed this book and read it in one go. I liked the twist on the old vampire-story, where vampires are living among us and are just sufferers from a disease and trying to live "normal" lives. Where not all vampires are just preying on humankind. Predators, to prey, supply blood for other vampires and kill renegades. Cravens, little weaklinglings. Normals, as it says: no killers and trying to fit in with the humans.

Seems to me to have overtures of the Kindred: vampire-clans, Mentor like Archon, a vampire who tries to keep peace between the clans and a leader to help other vampires cope with their existence.

Nice concept and I hope it will be a first in a series rather than a stand-alone novel.

Rating:
Summary: Blows Ann Rice out of the water!
Review: If you enjoy reading Ann Rice then You MUST check this writer out! This was the second Billie Sue Mosiman book I've read, and she is awesome! This one really put me on the edge of my reading chair! Happy reading...

Rating:
Summary: Which type of Vampire would you be?
Review: If you're looking for a great Vampire story with a twist, then Red Moon Rising is just the book for you. Instead of coming up with another variation of what the Vampires will be, Billie Sue Mosiman takes the predominant qualities and separates them into three distinct type of Vampires; the Predators, the Cravens, and the Naturals. Making this type of distinction no longer limits which qualities, powers, weakness', personalities, etc. the particular Vampires have to 'fit' in.

Della Cambian, a high school senior two weeks away from graduation, has finally caught the 'disease', the one which transforms one into a Vampire. Her mother, father, younger brother, and most of her blood relatives have already gone through the transformation. To help with the transition and to make sure Della make the right choice of which of the three types of Vampire she will be, the family's summons Mentor, the areas helper and guide.

Mentor has a variety of roles, which include keeping the peace in the Vampire community, making sure their secret is safe from mortals, and getting involved in disputes. One of the main crisis he has to deal with is when a doctor finds one of the local blood banks is shipping out untested blood, a situation that may have been going on for over a century. Unknown to her, the Blood Bank is run by a Predator Vampire who supplies the blood to the rest of the Vampires, for a fee. It is up to Mentor and Ross, the head of the Blood Bank, to ensure their secret isn't found out.

This book is very fast paced and has an engrossing storyline. It's well written, entertaining, and hard to put down once you get started.

Rating:
Summary: could have been something...
Review: Interesting narritive hook with a genitic twist on the old thought that many persons once thought to be vampires in the past may actually have been victims of the somewhat rare disease porphyria.

The rest of the plot is a massive jumble of threads that Ms. Morrison should not have tried to tie together in 320 pages. The book would have been much better in a short series of three or four 300 page books that would have allowed for more detail and thoughfulness in dealing with characters, character developments and parellel storylines. As it stands, the novel seems rather shallow and flightly at times.

Ms. Morrison does show promise as a writer as the book is otherwise well written and the fragmented plots illustrated a good imagination, if not a well organized one.

Rating:
Summary: A variation of the vampire legend-quite fascinating
Review: There exists a rare blood disease that is fatal to most humans. The illness turns a person into a monster with distorted facial features and leaves the victims in excruciating pain. Thankfully their life span is short. In a statistically insignificant part of the population, a gene turns some individuals into vampires upon their death. That particular gene is dominant leading to whole families of vampires, but each clan differs on their approach to human contact. One clan, the Predators sees mankind as a food source while another The Craven prefers to hide in the depressing darkness away from people. The Naturals live among humans drinking their blood sold to them by Predators who own a blood bank.

High school senior Dell Cambien falls for Ryan just before she undergoes the change. Ryan struggles to control her new abilities as she chooses the path her life will take, which might include Dell shaking the foundation of vampirism to its core.

This novel provides a new fascinating twist to the vampire legend. Billie Sue Mosiman is excellent at creating characters that appear genuine even those who are supernatural because she makes her supporting evidence sound believable and scientific. Although the obvious inclination is to categorize RED MOON RISING as horror or perhaps urban fantasy, the novel contains a coming of age plot that deals with choices, morality, and honor. Genre fans and some mainstream readers will toast Ms. Mosiman for her creative novel.

Harriet Klausner