Customer Reviews

Crescent

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I'm a horror/sci-fi reader who's very picky about the books I buy. So when I first heard about a free podcast novel called "Crescent," I jumped at the chance to listen. I mean, why not? It was billed as horror and sci-fi and it was FREE! As soon as I listened to the first chapter, I was in love. Phil Rossi's Crescent was the perfect blend of my favorite two genres. It was like Stephen King's "The Shining" meets "Battle Star Galactica." A haunted space station provides a nasty case of the chills, while a corrupt mafia-style politician and his psycho henchmen give the fear factor a wicked edge. It's practically a race between these two elements to see which one is going to lay waste to the main characters first. The writing is tight, the characters gritty, and the plot holds up well to the very end. All too often I've read horror books that fall apart once the monster is revealed. Not Crescent! What it promises, it delivers.

Best of all, Crescent doesn't rely on gore to be scary. Phil Rossi's novel has a creepy atmosphere from start to finish, one that ramps up the further you go along. Many of the best scares seem to happen just out of the corner of your eye. All that combined makes this story very hard to put down. Don't be surprised if you stay up all night reading it. And be even less surprised if you check inside your closet and under your bed before you turn out the lights to go to bed.

I'll be transparent - I haven't read much science fiction or horror. I just like a great story that sucks me in to a new world and keeps me intrigued and engaged. Crescent is amazing. I couldn't stop telling friends about it and I know my wife is done hearing me rave about the characters and story.

Rossi has written a story that transcends the genre - in a similar way that Battlestar Galactica did. You'll either find you can't put it down or you'll only read it during the daylight hours. It's that good.

Alright, let me just tell you that this book is so gripping, you'll realize you haven't blinked in hours as you find yourself drawn into Rossi's intricate world. It's the first truly scary book I've read in years. And more than that- it's not just an in your face terror fest (don't get me wrong, it's totally that too), but a really phenomenal story, filled with lush details and characters you feel connected to on a level that I haven't experienced with ANY other book (honestly!). I just can't say enough good things about it. BUY IT, you will be on here the next day writing your own rave review, I promise!!!!

"Crescent" is a gritty, disturbing, truly outstanding thrill ride. Rossi excels at crafting a believable far-future universe filled with the same beauty and sin that will probably haunt mankind forever. It's equal parts ghost story in space and tale of vice in the Wild West. Add in some splashes of Lovecraftian madness and allusions to a very grim Big Picture, and you have something truly special. My highest recommendation.

This is a great book!!! It was one of the first I have read by this author and I enjoyed it through and through!!! All the great components of a classic story mixed with mahem, a little gore, and mystery!! Most enjoyable.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I'm a sci-fi fan, and while I'm not that into horror, I do like a good thriller - and that's exactly what I found in Crescent!

This book is a great ride filled with tension, gritty realism, romance, thought-provoking concepts, and is dripping with mystery. If you're a sci-fi fan, a mystery fan, or a horror fan, you'll find something to enjoy in this book. Or, like me, it'll hit the sweet spot and resonate with you on each point!

After reading the reviews, good and bad, I decided to take a chance and downloaded the book to my phone, since the price was low and the story sounded interesting.

The run-down, half-finished, aging space station makes a great setting for this creepy tale. The characters were engaging and believable, the pacing consistent, and the alien an imaginative and original concept.

This is a full-length novel for only $2.39. I love sci-fi and enjoy a good horror story as well. This novel mixes the two nicely. This book didn't necessarily blow my mind, but just the same, I'm not sorry I read it. Crescent is good entertainment at a great value.

This is a helluva honky-tonkin' root'n toot'n space opera wrapped up in a coat of noir and thrust into a cold and hostile Lovecraftian universe. But then again, Crescent Station has kind of always been there, a last, cramped, barely functioning outpost on the extreme edge of human-settled space: imagine Babylon 5 if the dockworkers' strike had never ended AND a band of shogguths took up residence in the neglected cisterns (but no friendly anthropomorphic aliens to provide comic relief or comprehensible drama).

But as is often the case these days, the actual book isn't the whole of it. CRESCENT started out as a podcast novel and a series of audio vignettes, read with disturbingly sexy intimacy by the author himself, Phil Rossi, whose Virginia drawl heightens the tension unbearably; indeed it's almost a relief to see these words put in their place without this diverting and inviting distraction; I've already found details I'd clean missed when this was a story I could only listen to--so while I cannot recommend the original podiobook highly enough, it's no substitute, ultimately, for being able to take in this intricate and creepy tale at its own pace.

And once you've bought this book for yourself - you're clicking now, aren't you? Go ahead. I'll wait - take a look at the inside back cover, where you will find a code that will allow you to acquire the CRESCENT soundtrack. That's right: soundtrack. Rossi, renaissance man that he is, is also a musician and composed a truly kickass score to go with the story; on the podiobook it's mixed in and serves merely as moodsetter as scores do, but I'm thinking it stands up rather brilliantly on its own.

A final word: if nyctophobia is a serious problem for you, read in full sunlight. I'm a bit more afraid of the dark than I used to be (JC Hutchins' fans know why) but I still like the thrill, curled up in a shadowy nighttime nook with an itty bitty book light clipped to the binding, titilated and scared.

Rossi has the honor of simply making me jump at every noise and shadow after getting through this podionovel, twice I might add. You lose yourself in every exchange of dialogue, and the cast of characters are simply solid. In essence it kind of reminded me of the Event Horizon sci-fi flick, but leagues better. There isn't a dull moment, no time to breathe or as one review had mentioned, blink. Mr. Rossi has the horror genre on lock, his style is gritty and very sweet with just enough dark humor.This book makes you question your own fortitude to walk into the shadows, and dare to look into the smiles waiting for you.

Phil Rossi, well done sir!!

I was introduced to Phil Rossi's work through his podcast and I've been hooked ever since. This is a unique gripping story that you won't be able to put down. If you've listened to his podcast or not I highly recommend picking up this book. If you like creepy stories that stick with you long after you've read them then this is for you!