Rating: 
Summary: Partial eclipse of the Moon
Review: A brilliant concept bogged down with politics and disease. The novel begins 50 pages too late, and ends 16 pages too late. In between there are many touching moments, a few fascinating ideas, and the immortalising climax which was all too brief to fully capture its power and beauty.
Rating:
Summary: The moon and a sixpence
Review: Although the subjects dealt with here are fascinating -- D.C. in the late 19th century, malaria in Foggy Bottom, the discovery of moons around Mars -- the novel just isn't all that involving. The strongest, most interesting character is Roscoe Conkling, the New York senator and king of the Republican Custom House machine. The made-up ones -- a widow with a flair for numbers and a self-destructive, Harvard-educated astronomer -- don't propel you through the plot. Lots of great period detail, and the ultimate tragedy of the tale will give you pause.
Rating: 
Summary: Plodding
Review: Extremely well-written. Lush. Eloquent. Most interesting when Mallon fleshes out the characters. The "plot," however, is so dull and the characters actions so uninteresting, that the reader is gently lulled to sleep. The premise is fascinating, and the attention to detail remarkable. But after several weeks, I have yet to finish this book.
Rating:
Summary: Plodding
Review: Extremely well-written. Lush. Eloquent. Most interesting when Mallon fleshes out the characters. The "plot," however, is so dull and the characters actions so uninteresting, that the reader is gently lulled to sleep. The premise is fascinating, and the attention to detail remarkable. But after several weeks, I have yet to finish this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Deadly dull
Review: I cannot for the life of me understand how this thing ever found a publisher. The prose is flat and insipid; the characters unexciting and drab; the pace leaden. Reading this is slightly less exciting than watching paint dry. The author has done some historical research and can't just use it; where he pops in an historical detail he elbows you in the ribs to draw attention to his cleverness. I had a very hard time dragging myself to the end of this book (first one by Mallon I have read) and would not recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Deadly dull
Review: I cannot for the life of me understand how this thing ever found a publisher. The prose is flat and insipid; the characters unexciting and drab; the pace leaden. Reading this is slightly less exciting than watching paint dry. The author has done some historical research and can't just use it; where he pops in an historical detail he elbows you in the ribs to draw attention to his cleverness. I had a very hard time dragging myself to the end of this book (first one by Mallon I have read) and would not recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting historical fiction, but falls a bit short
Review: I had read all the rave reviews about Mallon's book before reading it which may have been a mistake because ultimately I was disappointed. Gore Vidal's historical ficiton is much more gripping. I really enjoyed certain passages of this book, but after a while, it seemed hoakey. I think he's a strong writer, but overall I found the book uneven and overrated.
Rating: 
Summary: Sliver of the Gilded Age
Review: I'd actually give this book just under 4 stars, because there were a few slow parts, particularly at the beginning, where I had to push myself to get through. But there is still plenty to enjoy in this novel: the historical background of postwar Washington D.C. (where they still ring the "slave bell" at 9 P.M.), the astronomical metaphors which are mostly interwoven skillfully into the action of the novel, and the angle of the older woman/younger man romance. I especially appreciated the descriptions of boarding house life for the underlings of the the capitol--not glamorous at all, and certainly something that I've never seen depicted before. Now, there are a few problems: the Irish planet reader is pretty much an aulde sod cliche, and I never quite understood Conkling's attraction for Mrs. May. And the end is definitely a downer, with the ends not neatly tied up--very much like real life, but some readers may not like it. I found the novel's end very haunting--I shuddered a bit reading the last few pages--it seemed all too real and inevitable. Not to give anything away, but I'll remember those crackers and cheese and medicinal syrup for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: No Unified Theory Here
Review: In the real world Scientists have been and continue to pursue a Unified Theory Of Everything. In the genre of Historical Fiction, Mr. Mallon with, "Two Moons" appears to be searching for the literary equivalent. The period of History he chose to place his story in was a controversial and colorful period to say the least. Unfortunately this book communicates very little of those events, and when it does it tends to dull them.The Author had a great deal of History to work with as a stage for the fiction he chose to set upon it. Senator Conkling, the scandals surrounding the New York Ports, and elections so manipulated they make our most recent seem perfectly sane. None of this comes through in the book; the History that is there is a faded backdrop and no more. The fiction that is added is aimless, lacks any sort of focus to prioritize whom we are supposed to be interested in, and vaguely wanders around a goal of an Astronomer that is simply ridiculous. It's difficult to care about characters when they care so little for themselves. Lack of empathy for the players is compounded when their Histories are fragmented and scattered throughout the work. You could literally remove many of the Observatory staff and the story would lose none of the minimal interest it struggles to generate. Nineteenth Century Washington D.C. was a very interesting place, both in terms of the miserable place it was to live and work, the issues that resulted from the Civil War, and finding new bodies in the Heavens generally should fascinate as well. In this story the reader is given a great amalgam of gray. Even when the climax of the book's central male character takes place, as a reader you will wonder why it did, and find it difficult to care. The philosophical topic of infinity or eternal existence is so cliché and thin, as to be patently absurd. This Author may have written some good work, this is not one of them. It is also the first I have read, so it may be the poor exception.
Rating: 
Summary: Rich Historical Fiction Imbued with Life
Review: Mallon is both skilled and humane, and those who love a good book with a sense of place and time and an era past will enjoy this book.
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